‘Instant Heart Attack Sandwich’ at the 2nd Ave Deli — half-pound of pastrami, Russian dressing and mustard between two potato pancakes. (Warzer jaff)
‘Triple Bypass Burger’ at the Heart Attack Grill — three half-pound patties, bacon, cheddar cheese, red onion, tomatoes and ‘gourmet sauce’ on a freshly baked bun. (
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It’s a clash over coronary-causing cuisine.
The 2nd Avenue Deli filed suit yesterday to beat back a chutzpahladen challenge to sales of its Instant Heart Attack Sandwich and a planned Triple Bypass Sandwich.
The famed kosher restaurant says it got an accusatory letter from lawyers for Arizona’s Heart Attack Grill, which specializes in fatty food with a “taste worth dying for.”
The March 29 missive alleged infringement of the hamburger joint’s trademarks and “unequivocally threatened” legal action.
But court papers say there’s “no likelihood of confusion” between the Murray Hill eatery and its adversary from the Southwest, insisting that “the food sold, as well as the clientele served, could not be more different.”
“The defendant’s Triple Bypass Burger is more precisely a cheeseburger, and as such is decidedly not kosher and unsuitable for the Second Avenue Deli’s customer base,” according to the Manhattan federal court filing.
“Similarly, anyone looking for a milkshake, cheeseburger or french fries cooked in lard will not find them at the Second Avenue Deli.”
The suit also notes that the Second Avenue Deli has been serving its popular Instant Heart Attack Sandwich — a half-pound of deli meat crammed between two large, fried potato pancakes that sells for $23.95 — “since before the Heart Attack Grill even existed.”
2ne Avenue co-owner Jeremy Lebewohl said his late father, Jack, dreamed up the high-calorie concoction.
“It was something my father, God bless him, loved to eat,” said Jeremy, who runs the restaurant with his older brother, Joshua.
“He loved potato pancakes and he loved pastrami. A customer saw him eating it and said, ‘That looks delicious.’ ” The Lebewohls plan to start selling an even deadlier version, the Triple Bypass Sandwich — three-quarters of a pound of meat layered between three potato pancakes — but apparently ran afoul of the Heart Attack Grill when they went to trademark the names.
“I think it is chutzpah to accuse us of stealing their concept,” Jeremy Lebewohl said. “We decided to strike first.”
He said that he never heard of the Heart Attack Grill — which plans to open a second outlet in Dallas on Friday — until the legal challenge.
A lawyer for the Heart Attack Grill didn’t respond to a request for comment.