Flying in the face of conventional thinking yet again, Hardee's announced today that it is thumbing its nose at the current value menu movement by rolling out a Prime Rib Thickburger. This is the chain's latest foray into its highly successful "meat-as-a-condiment" menu development strategy and is the most high-end offering yet.

"We've never been ones to follow the fast-food herd mentality," says Brad Haley, Hardee's executive vice president of marketing. "So, while other places are hopping on the value bandwagon and promoting their smallest and lowest-quality menu items, we'll keep doing what we do best by giving our customers what they really crave: big, delicious, premium-quality burgers."

And what exactly is a Prime Rib burger? You would be forgiven for thinking it's a burger made from prime rib, but you'd be wrong. It is, in fact, a charbroiled, one-third pound Black Angus beef patty topped with thinly-sliced prime rib, horseradish sauce, Swiss cheese, and grilled onions on a Ciabatta roll, served with jus for dipping.

"At a suggested selling price of $4.49," says Haley, "that's our idea of a value burger."