The 13th Floor

Ever Wanted to Try a REAL Tarantula Burger? Now’s Your Chance!

Gregory Burkart

@G9Burkart

As far as we can tell, this is no joke… it’s just a big, juicy double-decker serving of NOPE.

Known for including some seriously unsettling items on their menu (their motto is “We never met a meat we wouldn’t eat”), Bull City Burger & Brewery in Durham, North Carolina still manage to shock the public every April, their “Exotic Meat Month” — which has included items such as real alligator, lizard and snake dishes. But it’s their bug-themed items that seem to make the most headlines, not to mention causing the wildest social media uproar.


While we’ve covered stories about edible creepy-crawlies before [including Nicole Kidman’s four-course bug meal and these TRUTH OR DARE cricket-topped potato skins], this is the first time we’ve seen a hamburger topped with a gigantic, whole spider.

Eighteen zebra tarantulas (Aphonopelma seemanni, a common species in South and Central America, common worldwide as a pet and a food source) were obtained by the brewery for this promotion, and each one ordered is lightly salted and baked before being placed atop Bull City’s signature hamburger.

“People say it tastes most like crab, or other shellfish, sometimes with a bit of a metallic taste,” restaurant management claims. “Each bite tastes a bit different.”

In case that’s not enticing enough — or if your friends haven’t double-dog-dared you to try it after a few too many pitchers of IPA — the brewery presents a free t-shirt to anyone who manages to finish the entire sandwich, including every last crunchy spider leg.


So far, at least nine patrons have signed up for the challenge as of this writing, which involves purchasing a “raffle ticket” to get your name on the list. Ticket-buyers’ names are displayed proudly on the Bull City Brewery website and social media.

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