A battle of the bulge has broken out between two restaurants that feature sexy "nurses" as waitresses, heart-attack-themed ambiance and towering burgers that would make a vegan vomit.
Jon Basso, who launched the Heart Attack Grill in Tempe five years ago, is suing a Florida restaurant with a similar theme. Basso later moved his restaurant to Chandler.
Heart Stoppers Sports Grill in Delray Beach opened in December; owner Iggy Lena says in an online article from a Florida TV news outlet that he doesn't know much about the Chandler restaurant and had never seen it. Considering the fact that Basso's restaurant has garnered international attention in the media in the last few years, Lena's claim doesn't pass the smell test.
The Florida joint offers the nurses, (as can be seen in the photo at left), the big burgers, and the cardiac-medical theme. There are some differences -- it also offers food for vegetarians, for instance.
Whoever wins, the high-calorie lawsuit is certainly providing plenty of food for thought in the blogosphere. It's also generating lots of free, worldwide advertising for both places -- and arteries with heavier build-up from coast to coast.