How Much Would You Pay for a Burger? 🍔

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: We walked past a burger line yesterday that looked suspiciously like a TSA checkpoint. Forty minutes. One burger. No one complained. Something strange is happening here 🍔🤔

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

The foyer was packed with twentysomethings, waiting 40 minutes to score a table on a Saturday night for the chance to grab a burger.

Not exactly ‘fast food.’ Then again, the burger has taken on a new life in places like Le Burger 4034.

The recently opened Ohio City joint rolls out smash-style, waygu-blend burgers, a cocktail bar, modern minimalist furniture and unadorned white walls in a non-descript space.

What’s French about it?

There’s the poutine and the ‘La Royale’ – which is reminiscent of the oft-quoted exchange about French burgers in ‘Pulp Fiction.’

The price -- $23.50 – places it at the top of Cleveland’s burger chain, topping offerings from upscale eateries like Pier W, L’Albatros and Cordelia.

Le Outrage!

There’s something of a backlash on social media – you mean, it doesn’t even come with fries?

But it’s dwarfed by the hype surrounding the latest addition to a burger craze that has seen prices appreciate like silver, gold and AI stocks.

Born out of convenience and affordability, the burger defined fast food -- a greasy patty sandwiched between buns, slung from drive-thrus for pocket change.

Two decades ago, the rise artisanal comfort food and the additions of wagyu beef, truffle aioli, foie gras spawned a ‘luxury burger’ craze and crazy prices.

The $30 burger is not uncommon on the coasts.

The average price of a burger in Cleveland is $14.84, which sounds crazy to anyone who can remember back more than five years.

It’s still 20% lower than the national average of $18.58, according to a report by DoorDash that measures food prices to gauge inflation and growth in 100 U.S. cities.

The ‘burger index’ reveals a level of affordability here also seen in the housing market, rents and cost of living.

After all, the price of a meal at McDonald’s has become shorthand for inflation anxiety – especially beef prices, which have stampeded higher 15% year-over-year.

(Personal observation: The decoupling of fries from the burger is downright criminal!)

But there are still bargains out there, like Bearden’s, whose burgers top out at $9. No surprise it enjoyed its biggest sales since opening in 1948.

Check out our chart on burger prices and chime in your favorite places and deals.

When it opened in 2013, Porco was out on an island -- -- six-tenths of a mile south of and seemingly a world away from the hot spots of West 25^th Street.

There was the whole tiki thing – long perceived as a gimmick.

Now, area drinkers and island romantics have made the bar a destination.

Out of towners, too.

Food & Wine has proclaimed one of America’s best bars to beat the weather:

“From the outside, Porco looks like any other brick building.... But cross the threshold and you’re suddenly in a lush, rum-soaked portal to parts unknown, a welcome shock in the dead of a Cleveland winter.”

Porco isn’t new to lofty praise. It has been honored seven Spirit Awards since 2018 by the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail Foundatation.

Condado has been on a tear since former Barrio partner Joe Kahn opened the taco concept in Columbus in 2014. It’s opened 52 total and four in Greater Cleveland. Make that 53 and five come Tuesday – when the colorful build-your-own tacos spot opens in Independence. It starts at 11 a.m.  with giveaways, $5 margaritas and a free taco for everyone that stops by. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Legendary filmmaker Jim Jarmusch didn’t just grow up in the area. He drew on it for inspiration and spawned a vision here.

The director of films such as “Ghost Dog,” “Broken Flowers” and “Stranger than Paradise” grew up watching low-rent monster flicks thanks to his childhood hero – late-night TV host and Cleveland legend, Ernie “Ghoulardi” Anderson. He’s also set and referenced to Cleveland in his films.

His latest, “Father Mother Sister Brother,” is now playing in area theater.

It took the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival and stars Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett and Tom Waits.

Slides from the first film ever made in Cleveland — an 1997 short shot in the Flats by the Thomas A. Edison Company called “Coal Unloader.” To watch it, follow our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

31°F 🌡️ 25°F | ❄️ (Light Snow) | 85% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 14 mph (≈ 12 knots)

26°F 🌡️ 17°F | 🌨️ (Lake Effect Snow) | 55% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 22 mph (≈ 19 knots)

23°F 🌡️ 12°F | ⛅ (Mostly Cloudy & Frigid) | 10% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 11 mph (≈ 9 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Home vs. Jazz, 7:00 PM January 12 (Monday)

Away vs. 76ers, 7:00 PM January 14 (Wednesday)

Away vs. 76ers, 7:00 PM January 16 (Friday)

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