Uncommon Grub
August 31, 2009
Two and a half weeks ago, my wife and kids decided to go on a 3-day vacation to the scenic areas of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, which is located about 200 miles north of our house. My wife enjoys visiting those places because the scenic landscape there is just adorable. Both cities sits along the coastal area of California and so long stretches of light colored sand beaches abound. To the north of the cities are numerous camping grounds and hiking trails that travel along the coast and also snakes up to the mountains. There are vast vineyards and wine aficionados flock to wine tasting stores. Yours truly has shied away from wine drinking because my 11 year old daughter is repulsed by all types of alcoholic drinks.
On our last day, we went to Pismo beach, which is a well known beach in San Luis Obispo. After lunch, we passed by this candy store and I was surprised to discover that one type of snack that they were selling were insects coated in white or dark chocolate. It reminded me of the TV reality show, “Fear Factor”. I asked the young girl, who was tending the store display, if the insects were clean. She assured me that they were. Wanting to experience something different, I decided to purchase one chocolate coated cricket (Lukton) for 25 cents. I took a deep breath and tossed the cricket in my mouth and chewed like crazy. The fat tail (a.k.a. butt) of the cricket was a bit nasty because when I bit it, it popped spilling its contents. Its tiny legs gave me a problem swallowing because they poked my throat on their way down. I vowed never to eat a cricket after that.
Next to the crickets were a tray of chocolate coated scorpions. The price was a little higher--$1.50 per scorpion. I asked again the girl on the counter if they already took off the poison from the scorpion’s tail. She assured me again that they already took care of that and the scorpions are safe to eat. I looked at the scorpions and all of them still have their stinger tails and also claws. I don’t know what possessed me that day but I paid the $1.50 and ate my very first scorpion. To my surprise, it tasted good! At first I thought that there will be a gooey stuff in the scorpion but it did not. The scorpion tasted like a small chocolate flavored “Chicharon”. I enjoyed it so much that I bought another scorpion! The teenagers who were watching me eat the scorpions gave me a look of disgust. I could be wrong but I heard before that scorpions are a good source of protein.
Bugs appétit!
Two and a half weeks ago, my wife and kids decided to go on a 3-day vacation to the scenic areas of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, which is located about 200 miles north of our house. My wife enjoys visiting those places because the scenic landscape there is just adorable. Both cities sits along the coastal area of California and so long stretches of light colored sand beaches abound. To the north of the cities are numerous camping grounds and hiking trails that travel along the coast and also snakes up to the mountains. There are vast vineyards and wine aficionados flock to wine tasting stores. Yours truly has shied away from wine drinking because my 11 year old daughter is repulsed by all types of alcoholic drinks.
On our last day, we went to Pismo beach, which is a well known beach in San Luis Obispo. After lunch, we passed by this candy store and I was surprised to discover that one type of snack that they were selling were insects coated in white or dark chocolate. It reminded me of the TV reality show, “Fear Factor”. I asked the young girl, who was tending the store display, if the insects were clean. She assured me that they were. Wanting to experience something different, I decided to purchase one chocolate coated cricket (Lukton) for 25 cents. I took a deep breath and tossed the cricket in my mouth and chewed like crazy. The fat tail (a.k.a. butt) of the cricket was a bit nasty because when I bit it, it popped spilling its contents. Its tiny legs gave me a problem swallowing because they poked my throat on their way down. I vowed never to eat a cricket after that.
Next to the crickets were a tray of chocolate coated scorpions. The price was a little higher--$1.50 per scorpion. I asked again the girl on the counter if they already took off the poison from the scorpion’s tail. She assured me again that they already took care of that and the scorpions are safe to eat. I looked at the scorpions and all of them still have their stinger tails and also claws. I don’t know what possessed me that day but I paid the $1.50 and ate my very first scorpion. To my surprise, it tasted good! At first I thought that there will be a gooey stuff in the scorpion but it did not. The scorpion tasted like a small chocolate flavored “Chicharon”. I enjoyed it so much that I bought another scorpion! The teenagers who were watching me eat the scorpions gave me a look of disgust. I could be wrong but I heard before that scorpions are a good source of protein.
Bugs appétit!
posted by Narratives of a Novice | 8:35 AM
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