cicada cocktails and scampi at afterwards

[babka]

"In Barich's hands, cicadas have a vaguely nutty taste, reminiscent of M&Ms, although the inner texture -- chewy, kind of sticky -- feels more like coconut on my tongue....

You might want to dip your cicada in the liquid -- it hydrates the innards, which can be a bit dry."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...004May27_2.html

[hillvalley]

Do I need to contract some cicada hunters for you? They get paid in chocolate and bonus stars

[Al_Dente]

I've been trying to find some freshly molted cicadas. They have a more attractive lighter color as opposed to the totally black gigantic house-fly look of the readily available bugs.

I'll be grilling and drinking on Sunday. Who knows, I might have to throw a few on the grill. If I do, I'll be sure to have plenty of pictures taken for posting somewhere on eGullet.

No promises, but I'll try.

[mighty quinn]

DIP MOLTINGS IN GUACAMOLE OR USE AS SUBSTITUTE FOR SHRIMPSHELLS IN FISHSTOCK. HAVE NOT SEEN OR HEARD A KATYDID HERE IN RICHMOND.

[babka]

oh c'mon--won't someone take one for the team? If kriscolby could brave eggspectation for us, how bad could a lil' afterwards bug be??

[hillvalley]

I couldn't even read the whole article.

[hjshorter]

I have giant dead, squished bugs all over my yard and driveway. The smell is awful. No way!

[babka]

will admit, my standing as a good feminist to the side, I was sorta hoping this one would find a little more resonance with the eG-boys.

[hillvalley]

Yeah! What's the point of having a Y chromosome if you aren't going to eat bugs?

[Mark Sommelier]

FYI, Lulu's on M Street is having a cicada eating contest this weekend.

[bx23$qa]

I tried the cicada cocktail last night at Afterwords. I'm told the cicadas were boiled with sugar first (sans eyes, wings, and legs), then dipped in chocolate, impaled with a cocktail spear, and then refrigerated. The cicada garnish is paired with Jack, amaretto, and cream.

As for how the bug tasted, I was in disagreement with a friend about it. She said it tasted like burnt popcorn, and I thought it was more musty--sort of like how grandma's sofa smells. I didn't notice the stickiness that the Post article mentioned, but the refrigeration made it rather hard. What I did notice, however, was that the taste lingered for quite a while. Even after a giant slice at Albertos, I could still taste the sofa.

I like to forget about the fact that I ate a critter that has been licking sap for the past 17 years. The cicada probably just emerged from its casing and was thinking about how much cicada-sex is was going to have for the next month when it was snatched and dipped in chocolate.

[FunJohnny]

Then there's this from today's Washington Times - Inside the Beltway:

Cicada farmer

An entrepreneur named Howard set up his deep-fryer at Alexandria's Del Ray Farmers Market and cooked up a batch of tempura-coated cicadas, served on skewers and sold for 50 cents a bug.

"His presentation was great," conceded one woman, who nonetheless declined the delicacy. Still, Howard raked in an estimated $100, which impressed several of the nearby farmers.

How come no one reported this on the what's new at the Farmers Market Thread?

[theakston]

And an enterprising brewer here in Arlington has made Cicada beer:

CicadAle

[Roger Troutman]

And an enterprising brewer here in Arlington has made Cicada beer:

CicadAle

Now that is gruesome.

Don Geronimo has been eating a lot of live cicadas on the air lately.

[JennyUptown]

"cicada-sex"

I love it.

[DonRocks]

"cicada-sex" I love it.

So do they. Ever seen it? It's like two trailers, back-to-back in a straight line, coupled at the hitch, motionless, providing a deeper meaning to the notion of the cicada cocktail.

And then there's this.

[hillvalley]

"cicada-sex" I love it.

So do they. Ever seen it? It's like two trailers, back-to-back in a straight line, coupled at the hitch, motionless, providing a deeper meaning to the notion of the cicada cocktail.

And then there's this.

Come to my playground at recess. Or check out the cicada thread (where you can see two cicadas "stuck" together).

Today I had a kid come up and show me a "cicada being born."

I didn't feel like explaining the birds and the bees, or the cicadas and cicadas. Trust me, at least in Rockville they are having sex everywhere.

[bx23$qa]

Interestingly, the cicada-sex is initiated by the males' calling, using what I've heard described as the Heavy Metal Method: The males form concentrated groups and produce as much noise as possible together in order to attract female cicadas. The next time you hear the annoying oscillating sound overlaid with a high frequency hum, think Iron Maiden.

[FunJohnny]

"cicada-sex" I love it.

So do they. Ever seen it? It's like two trailers, back-to-back in a straight line, coupled at the hitch, motionless, providing a deeper meaning to the notion of the cicada cocktail.

And then there's this.

Oh Yeah! For some reason, my deck seems to be the love-shack of choice (or maybe just a choice for the exhibitionists among the cicada herd). I've had two or three couples doing it at once on the railing outside my kitchen. Made me scream, "Get a room!"

[Al_Dente]

"cicada-sex" I love it.

So do they. Ever seen it? It's like two trailers, back-to-back in a straight line, coupled at the hitch, motionless, providing a deeper meaning to the notion of the cicada cocktail.

And then there's this.

I prefer this tshirt. Somehow I imagine this is what the cicadas are trying to communicate to us through that crazy sound they make.