A burger which was inspired by The King, Elvis Presley, and became one of an East Midlands restaurant chain’s biggest – and most divisive sellers – has been restored to the menu after it was taken off sale a year-and-a-half ago.
Called simply The Elvis, the recipe instantly won a legion of fans at Annie’s Burger Shack when its owner Annie Spaziano first combined the unlikely combination of peanut butter and raspberry jam on top of a burger and served it in a bun in homage to the world-famous singer back in 2006.
Although it undoubtedly divided opinion, the burger was always one of the most ordered dishes at Annie’s restaurants in both Nottingham and Derby until Annie decided to remove it from the menu and seek a peanut butter alternative so that people with restricted diets could enjoy it too.
Annie Spaziano, owner of Annie’s Burger Shack, with the restaurant’s iconic The Elvis burger, which has been restored to the menu after a year and a half away.
However, following an exhaustive search, it wasn’t until this year that she hit upon a suitable replacement in the shape of Wowbutter, a spread that is made from toasted soya and is 100% peanut-free and tree nut free, along with egg-free and dairy-free, making it suitable for vegans too.
And the discovery has meant the restaurant has also restored its Kogumaza, a Dutch-Indonesian recipe featuring a patty topped with peanut satay sauce with crunchy onions, coconut, coriander and lime, which, like all of Annie’s burgers, is available as vegan, veggie and meaty.
Annie created The Elvis after she was inspired by the tales concerning how he used to enjoy deep-friend peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but she decided to swap the banana for raspberry jam to reflect her own and other American families’ love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
It was an instant hit and brought diners back again and again to experience its unusual flavour, which is why Annie says she is delighted to have reintroduced it with its key nut-free ingredient.
And she hopes that sales of the burger will be particularly strong on New Years Eve, when her Derby restaurant plays host to popular local Elvis Presley impersonator Bob Badwal.
She said: “We’re proud to be an inclusive restaurant where everyone is welcome and so while it was only right that took the Elvis Burger off sale to ensure that everyone’s dietary requirements were met, we felt bad for everyone who really enjoys it so spent ages looking for a replacement.
“There are loads of different options but nothing tasted quite right until we used Wowbutter, which was the closest we got to the real thing and some people even preferred it.
“It’s definitely not for everybody, but our Elvis burger was the first-ever burger we sold as Annie’s Burger Shack all those years ago and it’s still as iconic as ever. It’s brilliant to have it back on the menu and it’s proving just as popular as it ever was.”
For more details on the Elvis Burger and Bob Badwal’s New Year Elvis appearance visit www.anniesburgershack.com
ENDS
For further information please contact Simon Burch at Penguin PR on 07735 397888 or email simon@penguinpr.co.uk
