Eatery takes ‘exotic’ meals a step too far

Hamburger is not one for the faint of heart

A restaurant in North Carolina has a flair for the unusual. During its Exotic Meats Month, it features such options as python, iguana, camel, alligator and scorpion on the menu.

And this year, it added a bonus option: a hamburger topped with gruyere cheese, spicy chili paste, and an oven-baked, salted zebra tarantula, Reuters reports.

The restaurant only gets 15 of the “farmed, organically raised” spiders each year, so diners are selected via a lottery system. (Side thought: Who knew there were farms growing organic tarantulas?)

Apparently, the owner got the idea after reading about how tarantulas are street food staples in Cambodia, mixed with salt and sugar, Reuters notes.

The restaurant, Bull City Burger and Brewery, says that “Exotic Meat Month is a chance to experience tastes that other cultures enjoy every day,” noting “We never met a meat we wouldn’t eat!”

The website notes that other exotic meat options include venison, bison, goat, wild boar, ostrich, duck, caribou, reindeer, rabbit, elk and turkey — which frankly sound downright tame in comparison to a salted zebra tarantula.

Of course, the restaurant’s website also notes that squirrel is the chicken of the tree, so … yeah.

I’ve yet to meet a vegetable that I don’t like, although peas are pretty low on my totem pole of preferred foods.

But when it comes to more carnivorous options, my preferences are really limited — chicken and cow, with occasional bacon. I do have a standing policy with my spouse, who is a much more adventurous consumer of food than I. If he tries something that he declares to be knock-down delicious, I’ll try a bite.

That has included shrimp and lobster, which I’m suspicious of, due to the whole “wearing its skeleton on the outside” business. There is a mental element to food for me, and anything that is so reminiscent of insects makes me shudder.

I’ve had bison, venison, rabbit, goat, lamb and elk. I’ve tried alligator, duck and a variety of seafood. Venison is an Ohio staple, and I have relatives that specialize in homemade deer jerky.

So back to this tarantula burger. No way would I order one for myself. But if the spouse should order one, would I try a bite? Maybe a nibble of a crunchy leg?

Honestly, I don’t think I could. And the suggested dessert pairing of chocolate-covered bugs served over ice cream? That’s a hard pass.

What do you think, Yuma? What’s the most exotic food you’ve had, and would you try a tarantula burger? Let us know. Share your thoughts online at www. YumaSun.com, or send in a Letter to the Editor at letters@yumasun.com.

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