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Meet the McGuire's burger king
Airman completes quest to eat every burger on menu
DESTIN — Two years and 28 monster burgers later, Geoff Dobson’s mission is accomplished.
He’s eaten every steak (and one chicken) burger on the menu at McGuire’s Irish Pub — in order.
“As my career comes to a close, I’m happy to say that this is one
of the best accomplishments of my life,” Dobson told his dining
companions Saturday at the restaurant in Destin. The 29-year-old Air
Force lieutenant was sitting in front of the restaurant’s Grand Burger,
a $100 custom-ground filet mignon served with caviar, beefsteak
tomatoes and a grand magnum of imported champagne.
“He needs goals in life,” quipped his friend, Tom Grant.
Dobson was at the pub for his going-away party as well as his and
another friend’s promotion. Soon, Dobson will head back to his hometown
of Pittsburgh to work as a software developer. He’ll also serve in the
Army Active Reserves and expects to deploy to the Middle East in about
six months.
Saturday’s feast fell close to the two-year anniversary of
Dobson’s idea to eat every burger on McGuire’s menu. He had his first
(a deli white cheese steak burger and a beer) in April 2006 and never
stopped.
He can rest now.
“Never had caviar before,” he said as he spooned it onto the giant patty. “In fact, I’ve never seen caviar before.”
Three of the 15 others at the table also had the Grand Burger
(Dobson’s treat) after their names were drawn from a hat. He told them
they had to try the caviar, too. Another rule Dobson imposed on himself the beginning of his quest was
that no ingredient could be left off any of his orders; he had to eat
the burgers as the chef meant them to be eaten.
That meant no picking toppings off the Pizza Burger, no scraping peanut
butter off the Gourmet Peanut Butter Burger (Dobson’s favorite), no
giving up on the messy Garbage Burger (his least favorite).
“It became soup,” he said.
It’s a matter of taste. Robert Lavely, McGuire’s executive chef,
said he loves the Garbage Burger’s meshing of flavors and estimates the
cooks prepare about 10 of them a night.
The Grand Burgers are ordered less frequently, he said. McGuire’s has sold less than 20 so far this year.
Lavely described the differences — there are a handful — between
his luxury burger and more common fare as he fed chopped filet mignon
through a grinder. There are zero flecks of white in this 14-ounce
patty, he said as he pounded out any hidden pockets of air. And Grand
Burger patties contain less than 1 percent fat, he added.
Back at the dinner table, Dobson said he’s never been a
competitive speed eater. He’s entered one wing-eating contest in his
life and finished last.
The marathon mission at McGuire’s was something of a whim after his first visit.
“I needed something to eat, so I just picked the first burger” on the menu, he said. “And now I’m on number 28.”
