SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Walking around Levi’s Stadium at Super Bowl LX, you’ll find $8 waters, $19 beers and $36 team-themed specialty cocktails. And when you get hungry … a $180 burger. If you can call it that.
The most expensive concession on Sunday’s menu was the LX Burger, a bone-in braised veal shank coated in a mire poix demi-glace and bleu cheese fondue, served on a brioche bun. Levy Restaurants was reportedly only preparing 200 for Sunday’s game day.
It’s heavy — about five pounds — so you need two hands to dodge concourse traffic and find a place to dig in. Bring your friends, too, because it’s meant to serve four. With tax (and before tip), you’ll end up paying $196.46 (or about $50 a person if you’re sharing).
But calling this simply a cheeseburger doesn’t do it justice. This isn’t finger food. I tasted the meat first, which reminded me of a pot roast. It was a little cold, but tender and fell off the bone easily with a fork. The meat was probably my favorite part of the dish.
I was underwhelmed by the bleu cheese fondue, which didn’t add much flavor. I would have loved another topping that added some spice, like some sweet or hot peppers.
The top bun was a little dry, but if you dig into the meat first, you probably won’t have a lot of room left for the carbs. Again, I didn’t eat this like a burger, and I’m not sure how you could without risking a few stains on your Super Bowl gear.
Presentation-wise, the dish is a crowd stopper. The bone was bigger than my head, and we were stopped multiple times on the way back to the media workroom for inquiries on what we had.
The LX Burger serves four, making the large price tag a little easier to justify. (Scott Krinch / The Athletic)
Just before kickoff, a fan sitting in section 107 turned around and asked about it. We offered him a sample, and he returned a review of his own.
“My review is $100,” he said. “$80 surcharge because it’s the Super Bowl.”
I’d say he was pretty on point. The dish was pricey — but that’s expected for Super Bowl concessions. Where this dish really lacks is in the flavor department, which was just pretty underwhelming.
It’s definitely not your typical bring-back-to-your-seat gameday snack, but if you want to try something different, you’ll probably make some new friends throughout the stadium who can’t believe their eyes. Just remember the napkins.