Just eatin’ some ostrich @ Bareburger in West Village, NYC

Do not let Bareburger’s satiated grizzly mascot mislead you as they do not actually serve bear burgers. They do, however, serve wild boar, elk, bison and ostrich - along with beef, turkey, lamb, chicken and vegetarian options, of course. Bareburger is a small chain of organic burger restaurants with about a dozen locations in NYC. Their meats are free of hormones and pesticides, hence “bare”. The menu features a list of preset burgers as well as a build-your-own option. And in case you’re dull and have no soul, they serve a variety of salads… Their fries are also excellent and served in generous, meant-to-be-shared tins with flavorful house-made sauces like curry ketchup and chipotle mayo. As for alcohol, there are organic wines and beers.

At first it seems wrong and even slightly perverted to order, say, ostrich, remembering full well about their fragile lower extremeties and dissatisfied little faces (hey, you’d be dissatisfied too if your body was so grossly unproportionate), when you could just go for good ol’ beef. But if you think about it, there’s really no reason why you should discriminate between eating one animal and not another. Once you’ve chosen to be a carnivore, then that’s really it.

I’ve been to Bareburger on several occasions before but I’ve finally decided to write about it after my last visit, when I ordered the “Big Blue Bacon” burger with ostrich meat. The burger comes with Wisconsin blue cheese, thick-cut bacon, sautéed mushrooms, fried onions and bacon marmalade. Ostrich is most like beef but it is drier and blander so I suggest ordering it medium. The Big Blue Bacon is the ideal burger - between the sweet brioche bun, crispy onions, salty cheese and six ounces of organic meat, it is almost too much for taste buds to handle. It is the kind of burger that basically gets eaten in one breath. It is also probably best eaten in solitude - you’re not gonna want conversation to distract you from all those flavors. And let’s be real, traces of bacon marmalade and specks of blue cheese in and around the mouth is not a good look for anyone… not even you, gorgeous

On the off chance that my raving hasn’t convinced you, the Michelin guide has recommended this place for the past three years!

So, fellow New Yorkers, what’s your fave burger place?