It's National Bison Day, and there are several places around town to chow down on the distinctly American meat, which is often used as a leaner alternative to beef.

Ted's Montana Grill: The founder of CNN and longtime Atlanta resident put bison on the map when he started featuring it on the menu at his Atlanta-based chain of restaurants. The eatery features several items made with bison on its menu, including bison nachos, sliders, chili, salad, meatloaf, burgers, pot roast, short ribs and steak.

Ted's Montana Grill, various locations in Intown Atlanta and Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and North Fulton counties. tedsmontanagrill.com

Yeah Burger: The build-your-own burger concept offers bison patties as one of its several burger options. Choose your own ingredients or go with the restaurant's Triple B, which uses a bison patty topped with bacon jam, caramelized onions and blue cheese crumbles. You can also add a bison patty to any of Yeah Burger's salads.

Yeah Burger, 1017 North Virginia Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-437-7845 and 1168 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, 404-496-4393. yeahburger.com

Bucket Shop Cafe: The Buckhead pub, which has been around since 1969, allows diners to choose their own toppings for the bison burger but also offers up The Buffalo Buffalo, a ground bison burger topped with spicy buffalo sauce and blue cheese crumbles.

Bucket Shop Cafe, 3475 Lenox Road, Atlanta. 404-261-9244, bucketshopcafe.com

FLIP Burger: Belly up to FLIP for its Big Bison, a bison patty with lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, a fried egg and FLIP sauce.

FLIP Burger, 3655 Roswell Road, Atlanta, 404-549-3298 and 1587 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, 404-343-1609. flipburgerboutique.com

The Counter Burger: The chain's one metro Atlanta location features a Bison is Gouda burger made with a bison patty topped with smoked gouda, bacon onion marmalade, a sunny side up egg, baby spinach, scallions and Thousand Island dressing. The restaurant also offers a Bison and Brie salad made with bison, brie, cranberries, jalapenos, carrots, kale and apricot sauce.

The Counter Burger, 850 Mansell Road, Roswell. 678-461-9661, thecounterburger.com/roswell/

There Brookhaven: The gastropub makes a bison burger with roasted poblanos, white cheddar cheese, avocado, red onion and spicy mayo.

There Brookhaven, 305 Brookhaven Ave., Atlanta. 404-949-9677, therebrookhaven.com

Meehan's Irish Pub: The five metro Atlanta Meehan's locations offers up a Farmstead Burger made with bison, bourbon bacon marmalade, fried egg, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato as well as a meatloaf made with a bison, beef and Italian sausage blend.

Meehan's Irish Pub, various locations in Intown Atlanta and Cobb, and North Fulton counties. meehanspublichouse.com

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