Supper club Charlie’s Burgers serves bug-centric menu in Toronto

The environment has long been a hot topic among foodies, and this weekend, surreptitious supper club Charlie’s Burgers is planning an unsettling menu centred around bugs, which sustainability gurus say are a readily available source of protein, vitamins and minerals.

But before you pull out the knife and fork, know that not just anyone can chow on crickets at Charlie’s. A prospective diner must give their e-mail address at Charlie’s Web site, answer a questionnaire about their food fixations and, if the Charlie’s team likes the responses, meet at a secret location at an exact time and pay with cash.

This Sunday’s meal promises such treats as lime-scented roast crickets and grasshoppers, queen ant Thai salad, a chickpea and bean burger with spicy water beetle aïoli, rhinoceros beetle juice sorbet, and a risotto of wax worms, meal worms, super worms and butter worms, with wine pairings, for $155.

We just hope that in keeping with other food trends, these creepy-crawlies are locally sourced, heritage breed and organic.