Hamburger Helper: Is 2009 the Year of the Burger?

A burger and fries from The Spotted Pig restaurant in New York City.

(Thomas Krakowiak)
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'Burger Bling'

At about a third of the cost, in theory, you can have your $40 dry aged steak for just $12. To prove this, we ended the day at City Burger, located near New York's Time Square. They serve the Black Label burger made from Pat Lefrieda's special dry-aged meat mix.

"I mean this is like burger bling," said Ozersky. "This is a kind of status symbol, conspicuous consumption... You're only spending $12. A pizza costs more than that. But its like, I spent $12 on a hamburger and you know what? It's worth every penny. It's a bargain at $12! It is like a steak! I mean you could go to a lot of steakhouses and not have this kind of a redolent mineral funk."

Ozersky is not the only one passionate about the burger. They bring out the America in Americans.

And if the recession is going to be lengthy, at least it will taste good.