At the new Hook & Ladder in Conshohocken, a $99 gold-leaf wrapped burger gilds the lily

Is Conshohocken, which has long enjoyed a solid downtown dining scene at assorted price points (Blackfish, Southern Cross Kitchen, El Limon, The Great American Pub), ready for a restaurant that serves a $99 burger wrapped in gold?

Admittedly, the Fireman Burger offered at Hook & Ladder Sky Bar & Kitchen, which opens Oct. 14 inside the new Hotel West & Main at Fayette and Elm Streets, seems like a marketing play, on the order of the cheesesteak at Center City’s Barclay Prime, now priced at $140. (The Fireman Burger happens to be a Wagyu beef patty wrapped in gold, topped with butter-poached lobster tail, arugula, onion rings, truffle aioli, and Super Sharp three-year aged Cheddar bechamel sauce; truffle is shaved on top tableside.)

The burger may be hype, but it’s not totally off-concept. Concord Hospitality and Tapestry by Hilton, operating the hotel, have opted for the high-end steakhouse/seafood route in Conshy, just off the Schuylkill Expressway and at the front door of the Main Line.

They have unleashed executive chef Zack Wannawong, a veteran of The Boathouse and The Olde Bar. His menu at Hook & Ladder, on the hotel’s second floor, includes caviar, Wagyu beef carpaccio, pan-seared foie gras, lobster, oysters, crudo, King Salmon, and prime Certified Angus beef including a 28-ounce, 32-day-aged porterhouse for two.

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There’s also the more casual 1874 Social, a bar-restaurant, on the ground floor, serving breakfast through late night (with a $17 burger).

Hook & Ladder and 1874 Social occupy the circa-1874 Washington Fire Co. firehouse, which has been restored with smart looks and incorporated into the hotel next door. All told, they seat 184 people, including dining, bar, private dining, and Hook & Ladder’s outdoor Sky Bar overlooking a public plaza.

Nearly two decades in the making, the 127-room hotel is part of Keystone Development + Investment’s SORA West development, which also includes the new corporate headquarters for pharma giant AmerisourceBergen and a parking garage. The hotel itself, which faces Fayette Street, is a new building attached to the firehouse.

Note that in its early weeks, 1874 Social will be open for breakfast, drinks, and dinner but not yet for lunch. Hook & Ladder will be open at 5 p.m. daily for dinner.

N.B.: Despite the similar name, Hook & Ladder is not related to Jose Garces’ Hook & Master in Kensington, or, for that matter, to the Hook & Reel seafood chain.