Flippy the robot is off and cooking burgers

Flippy is now cooking burgers in Pasadena, California. The Caliburger chain unveiled its kitchen assistant this month which flips burger patties and removes them from the grill when cooked to order.

Miso Robotics, a leading robotics and artificial intelligence solutions company, aimed to augment commercial kitchen operations with advanced technology and developed Miso AI, a cloud-connected learning platform that powers industrial robotic arms.

The company says Miso AI combines 3D, thermal and regular vision to automatically detect when raw burger patties are placed on the grill and monitors each one in real-time throughout the cooking process. As the patties cook, Miso AI displays the cooking time on a screen that also alerts kitchen staff when to place cheese on top or when to dress a burger. It also enables Flippy to switch from using a spatula for raw meat and one for cooked meat. In addition, Flippy has the ability to clean spatulas while cooking and to wipe the surface of the grill with a scraper.

According to John Miller, chairman of Cali Group, “The deployment of Flippy in CaliBurger restaurants represents a major milestone in helping our staff produce mouthwatering burgers more consistently and in a timely manner. The ease of integration into our existing kitchen lines will also allow us to quickly install Flippy in more locations nationwide.”

Coming to fast food outlets - a healthier and environmentally friendlier burger starring mushrooms

The idea of the blended beef-mushroom burger came from New York's Menus of Change initiative of the Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The pair came together "to realize a long-term, practical vision integrating optimal nutrition and public health, environmental stewardship and restoration, and social responsibility concerns within the foodservice industry and the culinary profession." This week SONIC, the largest chain of drive-in restaurants in America, is bringing items from the Menus of Change to the American public.

According to the Culinary Institute, the two burgers SONIC is adding to its menu are the kind of menu change that's "a powerful, and previously underappreciated, way to drive improvements in our health and our planet."

NPR  reports:

The idea is that mixing chopped mushrooms into our burgers boosts the umami taste, adds more moisture and reduces the amount of beef required for a burger. And reducing the need for beef has a big impact on the environment. According to the World Resources Institute, if 30 percent of the beef in every burger in America were replaced by mushrooms, it would reduce greenhouse emissions by the same amount as taking 2.3 million vehicles off of our roads.

Sonic, though, isn't stressing the saving-the-planet angle. In a press release, the company's vice president of product innovation and development, Scott Uehlein, said that its new blended cheeseburgers, which contain 25 percent mushrooms, will "deliver the juicy savory deliciousness you expect from a burger in a way that makes you feel like you're getting away with something."
The company promises that people eating the burger will get all this flavor but "none of the guilt" but does not reveal whether the guilt reduction will come from cutting calories or greenhouse gas emissions.

The McDonald's vegan burger - firm, weighty, a tiny bit smoky with a note of instant ramen

Even The Hamburglar Might Like McDonald's New Vegan Burger (We Did) - NPR

When McDonald's recently announced the introduction of a vegan burger in Sweden and Finland, Twitter responded with a mix of earnest enthusiasm (@themodvegan: "So exciting- I hope we're next"), a little disgust (@JenaRoberta: "why would a vegan ever...support a company that sells millions of dead cow burgers a day?), and a touch of guilty hand-wringing from aging ideologues (@siniauer: "Feels like I'm cheating the 90's me").
As someone who has spent the better part of two decades wandering up and down the vegetarian spectrum, I'm with the last caller. But the overall thumbs-up emanating from the Twitterverse says a lot about the changing nature of vegetarianism, and the market driving this move.
According to a recent poll by Animal Rights Sweden, almost 1 in 10 Swedes is now vegetarian or vegan. Among the under-30s, the figure is an even more staggering 1 in 5. But perhaps the most eye-catching statistic from McDonald's viewpoint is that half of Swedes expressed an increased interest in choosing vegetarian options during the last year. It's these folks, the flexitarians, who are the McVegan's real target audience. ... Firm, weighty, a tiny bit smoky with a strange — but not unpleasant — note of instant ramen, the patty comes topped with a generous dose of McFeast sauce (a vegan "special sauce"), lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles.

The posh burger phenomenon keeps growing

I have to confess.I have noticed that McDonald's has tried to give the menu a bit of an up-market tart-up with those Angus beef things and the rump steak version. But I didn't really know why until I read The Financial Times of London this afternoon. And there in the venerable pink lady was the explanation: "Rising disposable income, especially among the well paid and educated, has unleashed a challenge to McDonald’s and other “Quick Service Restaurants” from “fast casual” chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread and Noodles & Company. They offer lighter, healthier varieties of food (although a Chipotle burrito often has more calories than a Big Mac). The young are leaving McDonald’s and Taco Bell for such outlets, and for burger brands such as Shake Shack and Five Guys. They prefer the food, they can afford the prices and they regard McDonald’s as unhealthy, outdated, downmarket and not a nice place to be."

One of those new challengers is about to join McDonald's on the stock exchange and the prospectus tells the story

Shake Shack is a modern day "roadside" burger stand serving a classic American menu of premium burgers, hot dogs, crinkle-cut fries, shakes, frozen custard, beer and wine. Founded by Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, LLC ("USHG"), Shake Shack was created leveraging USHG's expertise in community building, hospitality, fine dining, restaurant operations and sourcing premium ingredients. Danny's vision of Enlightened Hospitality guided the creation of the unique Shake Shack culture that, we believe, creates a differentiated experience for our guests across all demographics at each of the 63 Shacks around the world. As Shake Shack's Board Chairman and USHG's Chief Executive Officer, Danny has drawn from USHG's experience creating and operating some of New York City's most acclaimed and popular restaurants, including Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, The Modern, Maialino and Marta, to build what we believe is a new fine casualrestaurant category in Shake Shack.
Shake Shack originated from a hot dog cart that USHG established in 2001 to support the rejuvenation of New York City's Madison Square Park through its Conservancy's first art installation—"I © Taxi." 

The hot dog cart was an instant hit, with lines forming daily throughout the summer months for the next three years. In response to this success, the city's Department of Parks and Recreation awarded Shake Shack a contract to create a kiosk to help fund the park's future. In 2004, Shake Shack officially opened and immediately became a community gathering place for New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world. Over the last decade, Shake Shack has become a beloved New York City institution that generates significant media attention, critical acclaim and a passionately devoted following. We have since grown rapidly, with 63 Shacks in nine countries and 34 cities.
Our vision is to Stand For Something Good in all aspects of Shake Shack's business, including the exceptional team we hire and train, the premium ingredients making up our menu, our community engagement and the design of our Shacks. Stand For Something Good is a call to action to all of our stakeholders—our team, guests, communities, suppliers and investors—and we actively invite them all to share in this philosophy with us. This commitment drives our integration into the local communities in which we operate and fosters a lasting connection with our guests. 

We continually invest in our "Shack Team," as we believe that team members who are treated and trained well will deliver Enlightened Hospitality and a superior guest experience. Through our leadership development program, The Shacksperience, we teach our team members the principles of Enlightened Hospitality and how to live and breathe our Shack Pact, the agreement that encompasses our value system and brand ethos. Our people make all the difference, as they embody the sense of community necessary to create the complete Shake Shack experience. This vision reflects our goal to be the best burger company in the world, for the world and for our team.