Red Robin testing $15 Kobe beef burger

While some restaurants and fast-food chains are slashing prices to entice diners, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) is testing a novel idea: a line of premium burgers that would include Kobe beef and potentially bison. 

The burgers may appear on the chain's menu in the second half of 2013, Chief Executive Stephen Carley said at an investor conference last week, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

The big question, Carley said, is what diners want in a premium burger, and "what guests are prepared to pay a premium for."

The new dishes won't come cheap: one Wall Street analyst said he expects the new burgers to be priced as high as $15. 

That would mean a single Kobe burger -- even before taxes and tip -- would cost the average American about 10% of his or her weekly food expenditures. The typical consumer spends $151 on food each week, according a study from Gallup last year.

Kobe beef means a specific breed of cattle raised around Kobe, Japan, which is known for tenderness and flavor. Most beef advertised in the United States as "Kobe" actually isn't, but instead comes from other regions of Japan or America. 

Nevertheless, it's become a byword for high-quality beef and has found its way onto the menus of both high-end restaurants and casual dining chains, including the Cheesecake Factory, which sells an "American Kobe beef" burger for about $13.95. 

Red Robin has grown into a chain of 470 restaurants by offering a range of fire-grilled beef hamburgers and chicken burgers, which generally cost from about $7 to $10. 

While it may be a gamble that diners will pay more for food, some restaurant chains are making that bet, given the creeping cost of ingredients. 

Wendy's (WEN) earlier this month said it would change its value menu offerings, because selling items for 99 cents was leading to losses. Last week, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) hinted at higher prices to cope with faster-than-expected​ food inflation.

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