The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-31
SOMETHING TO EAT.
Chat of an Epicure Who Has Dined Upon
Some Very Remarkable Food.

new York correspondence Philadelphia Times.
Il can give you eggs to-day sir" said a
waiter to my friend as we seated ourselves in an
uptown cafe.
''Good' was the reply, 'and let it be for two"
Land eggs are well enough for me-" / sug
gested, knowing the somewhat remarkable tastes
of my comrade.
If you have never eaten eggs" he pro-
tested, you should not allow another day to
pass over your head; it's positive sin to neglect
the offerings of nature. All. here they are
and the waiter placed upon the table silver
dish mounted upon spiritlamp that. uncov-
cred. displayed four oval sea eggs echini de-
prived of their spines and polished white, the
oval balls upon which the spines worked shin
ing like silver. and at the top the five plates,
with the little madreporic sieve. had been
| moved forming small chimney, like the crater
of volcano, out of which mysterious
fumes of the sea egg
Where did you contract this habitW / asked
as ne took one of the eggs in his left hand and
disemb oweled it with a gold plated spoon.
Contract III" was the reply; "why. love for
such things is Unborn in the soul of every man
OF taste. The sea egg is an inheritance from the
Greeks and Romans. our ancestors. 1t was
their choicest dish You perceive l eat it with
the ancient OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES or hydromel
and a little mint and parsley. In this way they
were served at the marriage of the Goddess
Hebe and when Lentulus dined the priest of
Mars, the Flamen Martalis, they were the first
and principal dish. But, like many dishes. it
depends much upon the surroundings,
and to my mind there is only one
spot where you can thoroughly enjoy them,
and that the famous Reserve Restaurant at
Marseilles; especially in the old glass building
that overhung the sea were they delicious-as
you seemed suspended between heaven and
earth-and as you ate the eggs the roar of their
native waves fell upon your ear, the music of
! nature The eggs Of this coast are useless, and
have rank, disagreeable fshy taste; but these
but perhaps you don't perceive it didn't, and
haps To me they are as balm to wounded
spirit The proprietor here knows my taste
and every time there is an opportunity he has
some imported. They are mostly brought over
by Italian sailing vessels, and it requires an
pert to select them. as the coast of Italy
there are kinds not agreeable to the
inner man. The species most in demand
are the sea melon of Corsica, or Echinus melo.
In Naples they much esteem Echnus lividus,
while at the French ports many eat the esculen-
tus and granulasus. IL point of fact said my
| friend, while we have advanced in the arts and
| sciences we have refrigerated in ''gastronomy."
The majority of people will reject dish because
| the original animal is disagreeable Now. this
/ is manifestly foolish If you follow it out why
not reject the baked potato, that grows in the
| ground and is often served surrounded with
| goodly amount of the original earth and bone
| dust that contributed to it's growth?
Now take snakes Some of the large boas
| that have eaten in South America are simply
| delicious. and their flesh is always in demand.
1t is clear, white and firm, just like that of
| turkey, and why should you object simply be-
| cause it is snake? You esteem the turtle, that
| is much reptile, and yet the snake is to be
neglected. and indeed some go so far as to re-
/ fuse cells because they resemble snakes The
lamprey eel is one of the finest edible fishes we
have. yet only on the Connecticut and in few
| towns are they eaten. In olden times thousands
| of dollars were paid for them by the epicures of
| the day. To show you that am right [ served
1 I'll, &c
| summer, and every man at the table wanted to
know how it was done. One fellow offered my
| cook $50. but it's state secret 80 far But let
me tell you that boned snake and frog, pressed
with alternate layers of hare, and served cold
with guava. will surprise you | take the
ground that all things that taste we'll and are
| coed for us should be eaten. There is nothing
more delicious than caviare of the great
mygale's eggs of South America and indeed the
natives Informed me that the species were not
bad themselves, and why should they be when
they closely related TO the crabs2 They
have curious way of catching big spiders on the
Amazon. They are huge fellows sometimes six
inches across, with great hairy bodies and legs,
| and, like some crabs they live in holes in the
| sand and often dart out and bite the feet of
/ horses or mules as they are passing along; and
/ if it don't kill the animal the noof comes off.
| So when the natives want the spiders they jar
| the ground near the nest, then drop piece of
| wood or stone in suspended from string this
is seized i'll rage by the spider, that is jerked
out. and killed before it knows where it is. /
/ suppose have tried fifty kinds Of insects for
| food. and some are delicious
| In Mexico have eaten the honey ant. one
| that gorges itself until its abdomen looks like
| an amber globe, so distended is it with honey.
| They served in this way for dessert and
| are very fine In the Northwest / have been
entertained by the Indians with dried earth
worms-not at all bad when you acquire the taste
| for them. The Indians of some tribes collect
| thousands and dry them for winter use, and in
| In
| of the Pacific islands great sea worm is eaten.
and when it first appears is collected and sent
| to the King with much ceremony, and great
| faasts are held during the time. La some parts
of Africa a sort of Mayfy is collected and made
into a very nice bread. AT certain seasons they
| appear in such vast numbers that they are swept
| up by the bushel, and when flying the air is com
pleteiy filled with them, so that it seems to be
showing.
| Did you ever eat a dragon fly? No? Then
you have missed a treat In the south of Africa
they caught on lined twigs that are held aoft
by natives Great fellows, six inches long are
sold at the markets a luxury, and when
cooked in white wine, are very fne indeed
The common grasshOprer-Or locust as some
call him-is eaten in North Africa. and locusts
and wild honey Isl believe, recommended in the
Bible Some people insist that flies Indirectly
give flavor to cheese. but draw the line there
| cant go it, Now, coming back to meats, the
common cat when in good condition, is fine eat
ing. It's only matter of prejudice and will
prove it. | consider myself good Judge of liv-
ing and game. and once was invited to a break
fast where there was game pie, supposed to be
hare. In fact, everybody thought it was hare
and wouldn't ask what it was for fear of being
considered behind the time 1t struck me as be-
ing something very fiue, and / determined to
have it; so l went to the host who was friend of
mine and said: Bob, must have the rules for
that pie He didn't want to let it go, but as he
said he was indebted to me for "A new way to
cook crow, he told me in confidence.
rin Enro 7
kept it to myself at the time but stick to it
yet, it was fine Every hunter knows that puma
is a royal dsh-and the puma is nothing but a
big cat. In fact, all these animals are good eat
ing. Take the skunk"
You don't mean"
mo, don't replied the epcure. ''You over
reach me. What was about to say was, the
skunk will eat an owl, and why shouldn't any