Bug Buffet (go back »)

An estimated 500 people attended the customer appreciation party at the Tye-Dyed Iguana reptile store’s edible bug cookout on Saturday afternoon. The free event is annual, but the bug buffet was new this year.
A moving bug chef prepared scorpions, crickets, beetle grubs, and caterpillars. He barbecued cockroaches and deep-fried scorpions. A keen crowd of adults and children watched and waited their turns for a plate of these creepy crawlies.
Reactions were mixed, but most of the brave agreed: They're hard to pick out of your teeth.
"It's like French fries, except juicier," said Marty Bass, a 9-year-old from Fairview Heights, after finishing a plateful of crickets and rice.
Another cricket-eater, 34-year-old Jason Kemfpr of Mascoutah, described the bug as having a mushroom flavor as he pulled a leg from the corner of his mouth.
Dennis Dixon, a 44-year-old from Dupo, said his barbecued cockroach had a shell quite similar to a shrimp's. He then spat the bug out.
Chef Dave Gracer works in Providence, R.I., as a college writing and literature teacher but travels the country doing bug cooking demonstrations.
He favors his tastes to bush crickets and Thai fried grasshoppers. He never serves-live insects; the bugs served Saturday were dead before they were cooked.
Ray Gallamore, 40, of Dupo made the mistake of ramming an entire scorpion into his mouth at once. The outside was too tough, he said, so it's better just to suck out the meat, which he said tasted a little like shellfish and was "actually pretty good."
Those not eating insects listened to live music, had their faces painted, and wandered the store's range of exotic reptiles for sale.
People lined up for photos with Erik Sprague, known as "Lizardman," a popular traveling comedian famous for his appearance. He had his tongue split to look like a lizard's, and has implants made to look like horns, filed-down, pointed teeth, and green, scale-like tattoos.
He hadn't yet tried the food offered Saturday -- he prefers live insects.
"Wax and grub worms are some of the best snacks on the planet," he said.
View video of bug buffet in Thailand

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