Snails

I like to eat snails, I enjoy their taste and texture, but I have to confess I do like the shock effect eating snails causes.

I was at a new Korean/Japanese restaurant last night. Firstly I've no idea why that combination was chosen, unless perhaps they thought we'd be frightened by just Korean food here in the bustling metropolis that is Nottingham.

I'm not going to review it because a) its a very new place & I'm not sure they've got all the bugs out yet and b) for various reasons (Including having to pay in cash unexpectedly I wasn't able to give the menu a thorough look. What we did have though was very nice, and I'll be going back if only for the Korean BBQ rice which was a lovely mix of Beef, sauce, steamed rice & pickles.

I've been trying to find out more about the snails as I wasn't convinced at the time they were land snails, the internet seems to suggest that they may actually be whelks. It tasted like a good chilli squid, with the same sort of bite but after 3/4 of a plateful the spicing got a bit much & my eyebrows broke out into a sweat.

Famous snails

This is one of the most famous/infamous snail dishes available in the UK. Heston Blumenthal's Snail porridge. This is a phenomenal dish, full of great textures & rich earthy tastes. In fact it tasted so good I almost forgot to document it. The snails are slow roasted, and have a mushroomy earthy flavour, which is slightly unexpected (most of the time the taste of snail (here in Europe) is masked by garlic.

So yes I eat snails, and am quite happy to do so, from the humble escargot drowning in garlic butter to the dizzy heights of Michelin starred molecular gastronomy snails. The gastropod has it's place on the end of my fork.