Bare Back Grill is out to prove it has the best burgers in the universe. While advances in space exploration may someday uncover that they are rivaled by some fantastic extraterrestrial Greasy Spoon, let’s just say for now they’re pretty far up there on the list. The Gaslamp Quarter’s new New Zealand-style burger joint is bringing a bit of Down Under to downtown. “We’re a healthy alternative to a normal, everyday cheeseburger,” said PJ Lamont, co-owner. The concept behind Bare Back Grill is burgers and sandwiches made with more healthful, fresher ingredients served in a laid-back atmosphere. The beef is 100 percent organic, grass-fed and ground fresh on site every day. The veggies are locally farmed, and special sauces are mixed fresh daily. Most burgers are $10 or less, and there are tasty specialty creations such as the Bare Li’l Lamb, a prime New Zealand lamb burger featuring bleu cheese crumbles with mini dressing, beet root, lettuce, tomato, red onion and barbecue sauce; and the Blind Chookie, fried chicken tenders, bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, red onion and barbecue sauce on a fresh focaccia bun. The first Bare Back Grill opened in Pacific Beach in 2005 on Mission Boulevard just north of Crystal Pier. It quickly became a popular beach haunt, where parched, flip-flop-clad sunbathers and beach cruiser bicycle gangs wandered in for burgers and brews.?The downtown location, more than twice the size of the first, draws a slightly different crowd, a lunch rush of businesspersons followed by waves of late-night partygoers, but it maintains a similar relaxed atmosphere.  It opened in April and is quickly gaining a following.?”We wanted to bring the beachlike feel to Downtown,” said Lamont. “It’s nice to get that different vibe.”?The idea for Bare Back Grill was hatched when Lamont and his friend Matt Baker were traveling through New Zealand. They stumbled upon a burger shack called Fergburger in Queenstown, which was packed out all hours of the day with patrons wanting good burgers served with a touch of New Zealand humor.  Upon returning back to the States, the two opened the Pacific Beach Bare Back Grill along with Lamont’s brother, Martin Gillespie.  “PB went so well, we got such a good reaction, that we wanted to open another one,” Lamont said. Happy Hour specials run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily and include $3 you-call-its and, on game nights, $1 drafts with your Padres ticket stub. They host a variety of events, the next occurring today, Sept. 4, when Surfshot magazine holds its Action Sports Retailer (ASR) party coinciding with the Convention Center trade show. Bare Back Grill will also soon launch its new website (www.barebackgrill.com) and survey contest, the “Best Burger in the Universe,” an online promotion to prove their burger supremacy throughout space and time.  Bare Back Grill is located at 624 E St. in the Gaslamp. It is open for lunch and dinner. And the fries… out of this world.