Snails

Perhaps the most surprising cuisine I’ve come to enjoy while abroad are Caracoles, or snails. Never in my life before my tie abroad did I ever think I would ever eat a snail. In fact it was one of a few things I would have been ok with never doing once in my life. But on my weekend trip to Paris, my travel companion insisted that I try to special delicacy. Though reluctant at first, I finally gave in to the pressure and agreed to try one. When they were served they were still in their shells, though dead, and covered in a green garlic sauce. To my surprise I ended up loving them and eating a few more than my original one. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that when I traveled to Sevilla and encountered a restaurant called “Caracoles”, I knew exactly where I wanted to eat for the night. Ordering off the tapas menu, we requested a plate of caracoles, Iberian ham, green olives, and of course some nice refreshing cerveza. To our surprise though, we received a plate filled to the brim full of caracoles, rather than the ten we had received in Paris. And these were not covered in the same heavy green garlic sauce, but rather had been stemmed and soaked in a light olive oil sauce. These Spanish snails were delicious as well, but did not cover the taste of the snails as much as I had anticipated. I will certainly be more careful next time I order something so adventurous in Spain.