I’ve eaten infinity beef burgers, a smattering of plant-based burgers and zero bison burgers that I’m aware of. Suddenly, I’ve become bison-curious.

I chose a different tack for this week’s edition: Rather than square off bison burgers at two restaurants, I chose to pit a bison burger against a beef burger in the same place: Ford’s Garage.

We decided to make it a blind taste test. Simple, right? Not for us. And not for the Ford’s Garage service staff. The exercise did make our outing more fun, though.

I racked my brain trying to figure out how to do a dramatic reveal between beef and bison in this space, but I guess I’m just not smart enough. I will, however, reveal which one I preferred.

FORD’S GARAGE

We arrived at the downtown St. Pete location — there are three on the other side of the Bay — at 6:30 Tuesday, and sat inside amid the wild assortment of Ford paraphernalia. Our server, Jared, was game for the blind test. We opted to put basic toppings on each burger: American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. (The beef burger cost $14.99, the bison version was $19.98.) Jared explained to the kitchen people and the manager that we should not know which was which.

After about 10 minutes, a woman walked towards us with two plates. She presented them with a flourish. “And heeere’s the bison bur…” “No!” I exclaimed. Her name was Tracy, the managing partner, and we had a good laugh about it. Fortunately, I had turned my head away quickly enough to preserve the blindfold test.

Appearance

I’ve stacked the two photos above so you can play along. Can you determine on a screen which is beef and which is bison?

One burger looked fatter and more pink inside. But there was no tell-tale evidence differentiating the two. One dish had fries, the other onion rings, and we hoped that Jared and/or Tracy would remember which was which. Bonnie and I debated how we could best keep track of each burger as we taste-tested, and ultimately found that a third plate helped.

Taste and Texture

I alternated between burgers, reluctantly setting aside my regular ketchup or other condiments to better taste the meat. Such hardships.

We had fun analyzing each burger almost as much as we enjoyed eating them. The fatter one had a meatier flavor, and — if I chewed slowly enough — a more grainy consistency. I could detect in the darker one a more pebbly texture. Neither was noticeably more juicy than the other. Bonnie and I made our beef-or-bison determinations early on, both of us on the same page.

As I ate further, the differences between the two began to diminish, and I had pangs of doubt about my choices.

The Reckoning

While I pause to build suspense, take a moment of have a look at the restaurant’s bar area. Notice the antique Ford hovering above. Dig the rims.

Bonnie and I decided that the pinker/fatter burger (the upper photo) was the bison. We asked Jared for the reveal. He looked over the remnants of each and declared it was the other way around. I didn’t buy it. We called Tracy over. She had kept track of the fries and onion rings, and informed us that Bonnie and I were correct.

Yay!

And the Winner of the Beef vs. Bison Burger Battle Is …

Bison.

Mostly due to the novelty of trying something new. And being right. And getting to talk trash to Jared and Tracy after it was all said and done.

This verdict does not mean I’m a convert to bison burgers. But I’ll order one again — some time, down the line, probably out West.

Our burger competition was sloppy and silly and the polar opposite of scientific. Thanks to the Ford’s Garage crew for accommodating us and joining in the spirit of the project. We had a blast.