Today on the way back to my office from a meeting off-site, I decided to grab lunch at a place I have eaten at on and off over the last 14 years. The place is usually wonderful, with food grilled over mesquite wood. They specialize in fish and seafood. They also have gyros that are unlike any I have ever had. The meat isn't shaved from a rotisserie, but is in chunks that melt in your mouth and have a fantastic flavor.
So anyway, I was savoring the thought of those gyros, and had ordered a cup of their Manhattan Clam Chowder. Well, as I got to the bottom of the chowder, I felt a crunchy ingredient when I bit down. I knew something was amiss. Sure enough, it was a long, skinny black bug, with a thorax, one wing, one leg left, and a head. YIKES!!
I reported it to the waitress (who owns the place with her husband), and she was shocked. Probably not as much as I was, but shocked nonetheless. She said my meal would be at no charge, but I told her I didn't feel like having it now, and suggested they toss the entire kettle, which she agreed with.
Now I know bugs can get into the food, even at good restaurants. But I gotta say, it may be a while before I go back there. I won't name the establishment here, as it was probably a fluke that won't be repeated, and I don't want to damage this little business that usually is fantastic.
Now I know that people eat bugs in other parts of the world, and that Americans do on Fear Factor, but it isn't an appetizing thing for me. So I left, and composed my mind and my stomach. What happened next will wait until a later post.
