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Japanese Hotel Launches Unnecessary $900 Burger to Celebrate New Emperor

Plus, the inventor of instant cocoa dies, and more news to start your day

Tokyo Grand Hyatt/Official

It’s ten inches wide, and weighs over six pounds

Japan is getting a new emperor on May 1, and one restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo is “celebrating” by creating a $900 burger laden with rich people accoutrements. Named the Golden Giant Burger, it’s nearly 10 inches in diameter, and the patty alone is 2.2 pounds. It then has even more beef thrown on top in the form of kuroge wagyu steak, as well as foie gras. The exercise in excess continues as a chef slices fresh truffles in front of customers, places them atop the burger, and finishes it off with a gold powder-infused bun on top.

Don’t worry, you won’t be eating just meat and shiny bread: the burger has two full onions between its golden buns (sliced, of course), lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and what appears to be nothing-special cheddar to, um, balance things out. The whole thing clocks in around 6.6 pounds, and is intended for sharing between at least six people, so really, it’s only a casual $150 each — but still, another reason not to order burgers at expensive restaurants, even if it is literally the dawn of a new era.

And in other news...

  • Apparently millennials are tiring of booze, although it seems like it could be less of a trend, and more due to millennials turning 30 and — like generations before — realizing that hangovers are unpleasant. [The Atlantic]
  • The inventor of instant cocoa powder — which later ballooned into the Swiss Miss company — has died, aged 101. [NYT]
  • Read this retrospective on how Ebony magazine’s food column, A Date With a Dish, attained icon status. [James Beard Foundation]
  • The latest chain to dip its toes into meat-free offerings is Taco Bell, which is testing two bean-heavy items in the Dallas area. True to the chain’s nature, they’re cheese-laden and thus, not vegan. [Business Insider]
  • Looks like Wal-Mart is hoping to beef up its online grocery-ordering game in a play to compete with Amazon. [Digiday]
  • A Canadian businessman learned the hard way that you shouldn’t spend money bringing Starbucks to town until the chain actually confirms it’s going to open. He tried to sue the coffee giant for leading him on; a judge threw it out calling the man a “jilted suitor”. [CTV]
  • The next Time Out Market, the magazine’s fancy food hall offshoot, will be in Dubai. [Twitter]
  • The FDA has announced hearings into whether CBD should be permitted in food and beverages — the cannabis compound is officially banned from consumer products at present, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of small businesses from doing it anyway. [CNBC]
  • Who’s ready to smize? In a slightly out-of-left-field pick, Tyra Banks will host this year’s James Beard Media awards in May. [James Beard Foundation]
  • If Trump closes the border, avocados would likely be in short supply within a few weeks; Stephen Colbert offered up a bizarro, Mad Max-inspired take on that possibility. [YouTube]

All AM Intel Coverage [E]

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