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Is Philly’s $700 cheeseburger for real?
The Gold Standard burger (about $750.00 with tax) debuted on the Drury Beer Garden's revamped menu. Any way you cut it, it’s an absurd abundance of really expensive things.
- May 25, 2023
So it makes sense that George Tsiouris and Vasiliki Tsiouris Balis, sibling proprietors of the Drury Beer Garden, wanted something flashy to compliment their new $2.95 happy hour burger. What they decided on was a $700 cheeseburger.
Their new Gold Standard burger (which is really about $750 with tax) debuted last week on the revamped menu of their Midtown Village eatery. Any way you cut it, it’s an absurd abundance of really expensive things. It includes wagyu beef, aged Irish cheddar, Italian black truffles, caviar and lobster flambéed with Louis XIII cognac. It comes served on a gold leaf bun. There’s a Louis XIII chaser (a bottle of the ritzy booze retails for $4,300).
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/UCVUPPRD5NGOTLURCEDSMKW2SY.jpg "Drury Beer Garden owners Vasiliki Tsiouris Balis (left) and George Tsiouris were photographed at their Drury Beer Garden, 1311 Sansom St. in Phila., Pa. on Wed., May 24, 2023. Drury Beer Garden now offers a $700.00 cheeseburger, which is topped with caviar, truffle, lobster flambeed with Louis XIII cognac, and a gold leaf.")
Drury Beer Garden owners Vasiliki Tsiouris Balis (left) and George Tsiouris
Not bad eats for the casual drinking spot, where crowds of twenty-somethings can pair bar snacks, like nachos and pickle chips, with specialty cocktails, like the Philly Dilly whiskey shot.
“We thought it would be interesting if we not only have the cheapest burger in town, but the most expensive one too,” said George Tsiouris.
Forget the town. The gold-wrapped burger looks to be the most expensive burger in America. For a time, there was French Chef Hubert Keller’s $5,000 burger in Vegas. That high-priced patty was served with a bottle of 1995 Chateau Petrus from Bordeaux, one of the most prized wines on earth, and could be enjoyed amidst in the full splendor and opulence of the Las Vegas Strip. Guests at the Drury Beer Garden can enjoy ping pong and picnic-style seating.
The budget-busting burger comes during the restaurant’s latest redesign, the Tsiouris’ said. Originally opening it in 2011 as Opa, they’re rebranding it to simply “DBG.” It remains decidedly casual, but boasts sleek new touches, like a bar lounge mural of Benjamin Franklin listening to headphones. The Gold Standard burger is what’s making the noise though. And like the saying goes, laughed George Tsiouris, any publicity is good publicity.
Indeed, its debut to the menu made headlines all over (”Bougie Burger,” screamed the New York Post) — and garnered the sort of eye-rolls that can only be expected when a burger costs more than many people’s mortgages.
Philadelphia Magazine’s list of “14 Things to Eat Instead of Philly’s New $700 Burger” included the entirety of “Banquet Menu B” at China Gourmet in Northeast Philly, and 35 oxtail platters at Ron’s Caribbean Cuisine in North Philly.
For their part, the Tsiouris’, who also own Craftsman Row Saloon on Jeweler’s Row, say the high-priced patty is no gimmick. It’s obviously not for everyone, they say. But they feel it works well with their wide selection of reasonably-priced specialty burgers. Like their ice cream burger, topped with shoestring coated fried ice cream and cooper American.
“It’s a serious burger with serious ingredients,” said Vasiliki Tsiouris Balis, getting back to the Gold Standard. “But we’re not taking it seriously — we’re just having fun with it.”
“If things happen to get attention, well that’s awesome,” her brother added.
After all, they grew up in the restaurant business. Their father, Ethimios Tsiouris, owned The Continental Inn restaurant in East Frankford for 37 years, selling everything from eggs to lobster. A diminutive man with a big personality, known to his customers as “Jimmy,” he took special pride in drawing up the businesses intricate nightly specials.
“I remember Dad typing them up on his typewriter,” said Tsiouris Balis.
They’re proud of their burger, they said. They hope some people come to enjoy it. Despite the attention, no one has actually ordered the lavish burger yet, they said. Though one regular customer seems close.
Maybe next weekend, he told them
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