Metal hamburgers are not a new notion of genius or tasty excess for that matter. With each burger at Kuma’s Corner in Chicago known for its rock star roots, a new 10-ounce beef burger created for Ghost B.C. isn’t causing hype so much that a metal band has spawned it, but more that it could be offensive to the man upstairs.
The burger, The Ghost, is flavored not only with a red wine reduction, but is topped with a Communal wafer that the restaurant stresses is unconsecrated, according to chicagoist.com. But even though the beef and its adornments haven’t been blessed by a Catholic priest, the idea that the Catholic symbols for the body and blood of Christ are being marketed for gluttony is uneasy for some burger fans.
General manager and chef for Kuma’s Corner, Luke Tobias is brushing off the controversy, stressing to The Chicago Tribune that the the wafers haven’t been blessed, which makes them just “pretty crackers.” Tobias, who clearly has a way with words, also moonlights as a guitarist for Encrust whose lyrics are a bit more pointed against any kind of establishment. Listen to “Engine of Deceit” or any Ghost B.C. song for that matter, and decide for yourself if the burger’s sacramental symbols were chosen purely as culinary decor.
While religion and metal have been an intertwined topic since the birth of the genre, burgers may be adding a new element. To see more of the debate, including comments giving props to the burgers and others just saying “Not cool, man,” pull up a chair to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
