Les Escargots

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in France - eat snails. It's mandatory. Well, not actually, but personally I think when traveling to places, you have to try as many of the local specialties as possible. And snails are certainly a specialty of France - where else do people eat snails? I went to France with the goal of not leaving without having eaten snails. 

We found a French bistro that served snails as an appetizer, so I went for those. I was presented with a dozen beautiful snails flavored in a garlic herb butter. I didn't know there existed special snail plates, with twelve small round indents to hold the shells, along with a special pair of snail tongs to grasp the snail shell while pulling out the snail flesh with a special, tiny snail fork. No one ever told me snails were so difficult to eat. They give you special tools and everything, yet the snails are so slippery from the garlic butter, it is difficult to hold them. I ended up sort of getting the hang of it, but also using my hands. Good thing the restaurant wasn't too fancy. 

I actually quite enjoyed the snails. I mean, just about anything tastes good when slathered in garlic and butter, right? Snails are a little chewy, but the texture isn't unpleasant and they are high in protein. Snails are often accompanied by pieces of fresh baguette to soak up the extra garlic butter that leaks out of them. Snails may not sound appealing, which is why menus list them as "escargots" but they are quite tasty and I would eat them again. 

See? I did finish them. Well, all but one, which I shared. I'm surprised no one else at the table wanted to try one!