Okay, not completely gross, more like bland. And definitely not worth the price.  Let me tell you what to expect from your burger:  nothing.  If you expect nothing, you will be pleased with what arrives alone on a huge white plate.  Choose your toppings wisely since any flavor you find from your first bite of the burger is because of the toppings, not the beef.  I’ve ordered the Hell’s Kitchen Burger replete with cheese, roasted jalapeño peppers, avocado and an oven roasted tomato; the Earth Burger where meat is replaced by a grilled portobello mushroom topped with fontina cheese, arugula, and a roasted tomato; and his version of an American hot dog.

Hell’s Kitchen Burgr on the right, Earth Burgr on the left: a lot of bun, not a lot a meat.

Whereas the burgers were served with a shiny bun warmed on a greasy grill, the Fresh Roasted Chili Dawg was brilliant!  Gordon Ramsay tops his dawg with roasted fresno pepper and jalapeños, cheddar cheese, avocados, red onion and chipotle ketchup. Apparently the Standard Dawg (mustard, ketchup, pickle and onion) is, according to two best friends visiting from Canada, delicious as well.

Since Gordon Ramsay does not include sides with your burger or dawg, you must purchase these separately.  BurGR’s Just Fries will cost you $7 extra at lunch and $1 more for dinner (on a side note, could someone please explain to me why it costs

Best bite in the joint.

more to serve the same food with the same staff and overhead after five as it does before?).  Since opening, BurGR has altered their fries from fat and greasy to slim and delectable – I was fortunate

enough to share a neighbor’s truffle fries on my last visit and found them much improved.  The onion rings, however, are as grease laden as the first time I tried them — avoid.

Also avoid the desserts – all of them.  On my first visit, which included onion rings so greasy I got sick and a waitress who presented the check and then added a cup of coffee after I gave her my credit card, I accepted a Shake # 5 “chocolate hazelnut pudding + coffee shake + praline cookie” on the house.  The shake, made from Häagen-Dazs ice cream and house made pudding and cookie, was über thick and sickeningly sweet.  On my second visit, I tried Gordon Ramsay’s signature dessert, the Sticky Toffee Pudding; this variation is presented as two push-up pops and do little to pop the palate. Instead, the deconstructed sticky toffee

Too sweet, too layered, too bad.

pudding provides layers of individual sweetness with no sensation of the tasty layers of deliciousness the dessert usually holds.

There is one good bit about the restaurant — the dining counter reminiscent of true American diners.  When I say good, I mean only in terms of what you bring to it.  I ordered the Roasted Jalapeño Poppers and proceeded to share them with those around me.  This opened up conversation and we began, as days of old, sharing our food (which is why I know that the fries have changed for the better and that the onion rings have not). Additionally, the charm of the counter comes from fellow diners, not from the staff working the grill or the foul mouthed expediter; not even from the jacketed, sullen general manager asked how we were or even make eye contact.

View from the counter – burgers waiting for pick-up.

If you want a good burger and fries served with a smile, avoid Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR.  Instead, the walkway between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay holds Burger Bar — a local joint that allows you to build your own burger, mixing delicious beef (or turkey or portobello) with too many fixings to list. And if you like beer, they pour a local Sin City Brew.  Happy eating.