This past weekend I did my very first burger tour in which I strapped myself into a vehicle and headed out on the open road in search of some mighty fine burgers.  The first destination, Half Moon Restaurant and Saloon, was just outside of Philadelphia in a town called Kennett Square.  Thankfully my accomplice for the day’s festivities, my Pennsylvania buddy Wendy, brought a GPS so tracking down the place was a breeze (I had accidentally written down the wrong address before I left, though it was still in Kennett Square and only about 5 minutes away – weird).  I had heard about Half Moon watching a TV show of the best burgers in America and was amazed at their variety of wild game meats.  This specialty burger, changed daily, can range from anything between kangaroo to even alligator meat.  I had also read reviews raving about their mushroom appetizer (Kennett Square is known as the mushroom capital of the world apparently).  Before we even started, we knew we were going to have quite the feast at Half Moon.

We settled into our long wooden booth in this friendly bar and our nice waitress brought us some local beers from their casks.  We scoped the menu and found today’s meat to be…(drums on desk in dramatic manner)…ostrich!  We also ordered a buffalo burger.  

First to come out since it was…like, the appetizer after all, was the Half Moon Exotic Mushrooms. Besides what seemed like 6 or so various mushrooms, this appetizer was served with sauteed cranberries and walnuts in claret sauce, all on top of some gorgonzola ciabatta.  The mushrooms were sensational and I could easily see why people would call this dish outstanding.  The bread was still crunchy even though it was buried beneath a mountain of mushrooms (dude, just look at that photo). This town really does live up to its title after all.

The Ostrich Burger had American cheese (not to overpower the meat – a wise recommendation from our waitress) and some more exotic mushrooms spread on top, served on a soft roll.  The meat was very tender and had a buttery-like texture to it.  According to Half Moon’s website, ostrich meat is very low in fat.  I was surprised to read this considering how juicy and tender it was.  The burger was extremely pink inside (medium rare, of course) and I’d love to have shown you a picture but honestly, I enjoyed it so much I didn’t even think to snap a shot at that time.

The Half Moon Buffalo Burger was a very lean but juicy (just how do they do that?!) burger topped with some caramelized onions and Gorgonzola cheese. The buffalo meat was great to have alongside the ostrich to compare just how unique the ostrich tasted. All in all, Half Moon Restaurant and Saloon is definitely a great place to stop by for some unique burgers, excellent beer selection and a great atmosphere.