Eating Worms In Mexico City, 2008

One of the things that I love the most about traveling is getting to try interesting cuisines. I first sampled hummus in Jerusalem's Arab quarter back in 1984 and that's now one of my favorite foods. I tried lotus root in China, rabbit and pigeon in France, and kangaroo in Australia. So when we went to Mexico City, I suggested that we try some pre-Hispanic cuisine. There are several restaurants that serve this style of food, but we chose to eat at Fonda Don Chon, which is a Mexico City institution. Their dishes include armadillo, ostrich, wild boar, but they're really known for their deep fried cactus worms. That's right: WORMS. I knew that my husband Jon would be game, but wasn't sure that our travel companions, Lani and Scott (a vegetarian) would be up for such a unique dining experience. They were in, though, and we stopped by for lunch during our last day in the city. I'm not sure what I expected Don Chon to look like exactly -- maybe a market stall? -- but to my surprise, it's a very nicely decorated cantina-style restaurant with tiled walls and a fountain. The hosts were extremely friendly and eagerly led us to a table in the corner. They then handed us menus that offered all sorts of goodies. Ostrich? Check. Armadillo? Yep, there it is. Mosquito eggs? Um, no thanks, but they're there if you desire. Cactus worms. Ahh, yes. We wanted to sample some of the other interesting sounding dishes, but they unfortunately didn't have armadillo or ostrich. I opted for wild boar meatballs with huitlacoche (corn fungus) sauce. Happily, they did have the worms.

Mmmm.... worms! I knew that we were getting worms, but didn't expect them to look so uh, wormy. I freaked a little. I have a fear of bugs and worms and squirmy critters, anyway, and here they were on our plate. Gulp. Scott dug in first, spearing a worm with his fork and dipping it into the guacamole. He chewed for a minute before declaring, "It tastes like meat. I don't like it." Still, he won the right to brag that he'd eaten worms. Jon went next, grabbing a few for himself. "They're so deep fried, they don't taste like anything. They're like chips," was his description. Still, he enjoyed them. Lani loved them. She piled a whole bunch onto a tortilla and slathered them with guacamole before gobbling down her "wormwich." "I think I've found a new favorite food," was her critique. I gulped down a shot of mezcal and tentatively picked up a worm. I put it in my mouth, barely licking it and ... I'm ashamed to admit this, spit it out. I just couldn't. I know that different types of foods are eaten around the world and I respect that some people find worms and insects tasty. I wanted to try. I was all psyched to do so. But it was a WORM. I just couldn't separate myself from my perceptions of worms as being the gross creatures that you see squiggling on the ground fter a hard rain. To my credit, I polished off the meatballs and corn fungus, and truly enjoyed both, so I'm not averse to trying new things. I just think that worms pushed my limits. For more of my adventures, check out my jewelry blog: Naomi's Designs.