Heart Attack Grill puts mighty meat on the plate for those who dare
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
GET OUT

Throw In-N-Out and Hooters in a blender, add a splash of television show “Nip/Tuck” and you have Tempe’s new Heart Attack Grill.

The young servers in the small burger joint sport sexed-up nurse outfits (fishnet stockings, revealing tops, super-short skirts, etc.) and cooks wear surgical scrubs. “Taste worth dying for” is the slogan, and the only options are a Single, Double or Triple Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries. There’s a Quadruple Bypass on the “secret menu” for anyone who’s up for some angioplasty.

Oh, and, of course, there’s beer. Kegs and kegs of it, including Fat Tire, Blue Moon and Stella Artois — all at three bucks per 19-ounce glass.

The kooky concept may seem sexist, but, hey, it’s teacher approved.
“My master’s thesis was this, the Heart Attack Grill, and my professors just absolutely adored it — the fact that we are bad for you and proud of it,” says owner Jon Basso, a married father of two with one on the way.

“We’re screaming it from the rooftops,” says the 40-year-old entrepreneur. “Enjoy, because you shouldn’t eat here every day of the week. It’s not good for you, but if you eat here once or twice a week it’s not going to kill you and you’ll have a good time.”

Each “bypass” patty is freshly ground in the center of the metallic open kitchen, thrown on a grill and topped with a fried egg, slice of cheddar cheese and three strips of bacon.

Burgers don’t hog all the glory. The tasty Flatliner Fries live up to the Heart Attack name as well.

“We take real lard-cooked steak-cut fries, melt mozzarella over the top and dump beef gravy on it,” Basso brags.

The restaurant, which is on the northwest corner of Warner and Kyrene roads, is mostly counter seating — a spot servers seem to enjoy hopping up on in their tiny, tight outfits. The napkin holders and soda machine have pictures of provocative-looking nurses with the saying “Size matters” in big, bold letters.

“I have to admit, it is a little sexist,” says Basso, a Cave Creek resident.
“But hey, I have my 3-year-old daughter who works here. She has her nurse outfit, too, I got it on a kids Halloween site. My little 1-year-old boy, he's got a little doctor’s jumpsuit so he can be like daddy and flip burgers.”
Customers certainly aren’t complaining about the grill’s theme.

“The idea of the naughty nurses and doctors is great,” says Erik Johnson of Mesa.

“I just started going here last week and I've been here every day since,” he says. “I started with a Single Bypass Burger, moved up to a Double Bypass and I'd like to make it to the Triple Bypass.”

Basso says business is good so far, maybe too good.

“I've got these guys who are coming in for both lunch and dinner,” Basso says. “And I'm starting to think — hmm, that's not right.”

Heart Attack Grill
Where: 440 W. Warner Road, Tempe
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Menu: $2.50 to $11.75
Information: www.heartattackgrill.com