MINNEAPOLIS - Just eight hours after giving birth, Deb Myhre was ravenous. What she really wanted was a cheeseburger and fries and all the fixings - and that's what she got.

All she had to do was call room service, the newest patient perk at Unity Hospital in Fridley.

Unity is the latest in a string of hospitals trying to turn bedside meals into something resembling fine dining by borrowing a few lessons from the hotel industry.

Last month, it replaced its daily food checkoff sheet with a leather-bound menu that offers patients their choice of dozens of entrees, salads, pastas, pastries and desserts.

The food can be ordered anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. All patients have to do is pick up the bedside phone and dial FOOD (3663), and their order should arrive in 45 minutes or less - with no extra charge.