EAT YOUR HEART OUT: We found the very best hamburger joint in the world at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas. Called BURGER BAR, this amazing restaurant is the site of the best hand-made fresh hamburger this side of the sea. The reason is that their meat is made fresh every day in their meat room. Executive Chef Hubert Keller also owns fine dining establishment Fleu de Lys in San Francisco and in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.

The best part of Burger Bar is that there are 42 different toppings that can be added on top of burgers and sandwiches. There are also five different buns and six types of burgers. Diners can have either Farm beef, Black Angus, Kobe beef or Colorado Lamb. Manager Lisa Gourgeon said Burger Bar is so popular that there is a 30-minute wait for a table. “I have people that come to Las Vegas for a convention and they come here to eat everyday.” There are also 15 TV sets at booths and eight sets at the bar. This one-year-old restaurant is a real find. Customers are constantly asking Gourgeon to open Burger Bar’s in other cities in the US.

I said it before, I will say it again: Consumers are motivated by the ability to change or re-arrange their destiny. Restaurants are catering to their customer’s passion for individuality and personal choice. BLT Steakhouse that I profiled in the last newsletter is doing the same thing. It’s called “give the customer what they want.” If you don’t, someone else will. Just remember I said it first. This theory also relates to headwear and fashion. You must give the customer a variety of choices. Remember the 70’s when watches came with multiple bands? Well, it’s time to start making hats with interchangeable hat bands in different colors and fabrics. The trick is to get them on the hat without the extra bands being stolen. Ethics, that’s a subject I won’t elaborate on here.