Step aside, animal lovers. Some of your favorite creatures may be up for grabs … for dinner.
Burger Centric on Delaware Avenue in Albany has changed locations and names and is now operating as Dave’s Pizza & Burgers at 53 Fuller Rd. in Colonie, and serving some of the more exotic meats the area has to offer.
Former bodybuilder and restaurant owner Dave Khan, originally from Pakistan, said he wants to introduce 39 different styled burgers, including llama, crocodile, ostrich and kangaroo.
“Kangaroo is a regular cuisine in Australia,” Khan said. “People eat them like we eat cows here.”
The small burger joint also offers a more exotic cuisine in both source and price — lion burger, for $75.
“I brought the price down … it used to be $175. I sold a lot of them at Burger Centric,” Khan said. “I used to sell like three to four every day.”
Lion is the most expensive thing on the menu, and other burgers range from $9 (bison) to $22 (rattlesnake). Khan also sells Kobe burgers for a mere $11 each.
While some of the meat, like kangaroo, is shipped from overseas, Khan orders from a company in Menands that specializes in exotic meats. Whenever possibly, all of the meat is from local farms, is organic and free of antibiotics, hormones and GMOs.
Khan also emphasizes the importance of not wasting any part of the meat.
“I learned that we’re wasting half the thing in the grease … we’re not eating it all. So I created a system – whatever you get on your burger, you get the 100 percent, all natural vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates. Whatever’s inside that meat, you have it,” Khan said.
Although he’s a meat lover, Khan has a few vegetarian specials on his menu, including the “Smothered Veggie,” a vegetarian burger with sautéed mushrooms topped with melted Swiss for $9.
“I have the best vegetarian burger on planet earth. Guaranteed, no doubt about it.” Khan said. “I import the batter from North India, made with chick peas and some other beans. I make a powder like flour and add fresh vegetables and my 27 different spices, including garlic and ginger.”
Since taking over the former Mama Mia pizzeria, Khan wants to continue the pizza legacy through his own take on the form. Similar to the burgers, some of the exotic meat, including alligator and python, can be added to the pizzas. For more pinpointed service, customers can also order pizzas exactly to their liking, whether it is crispy, non-crispy, soft, burnt, over-cooked, etc. Khan said they also want to offer several different cheeses.
“We’re going to give (customers) options now. We don’t want to just cook the pizza and say, ‘Here’s the pizza,’” Khan said.
Khan said people have been responding “like crazy” to the new restaurant.
Nick Hill, of Clifton Park, said he drove by the burger site one day and had to stop in.
“I was amazed by the menu. (The food) is amazing,” Hill said. “I’ve only tried the Kobe and bison, but even his steak and cheese … I was surprised by the high quality of meat in a simple steak and cheese,” Hill said.
As for the rest of the options on the menu, Hill said he plans to start “knocking off the list.”
And for Khan, regardless of a busy or slow day, he said he’ll cook all day for work, and then go home and cook some more.
“I’m addicted to cooking,” he said.
Dave’s Pizza and Burger is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Delivery is available with a $2 fee.