“Could I have a side of chapulines, please?”
You love asking this question. Your spouse frowns. Your kid wants to know what chapulines are. The waiter doesn’t bat an eye. Xaco Taco is one of your favorite restaurants in Providence, and you’re giddy to receive a little bowl of grasshoppers. Insects aren’t your favorite snack. But they trigger a memory—of the first time you ever tried them.
*
A little bar in Antigua, Guatemala. A decade ago, at least. The place served fine mezcal, which you had also never tasted. A bowl appeared. Set down casually, like a plate of salted peanuts.
“They them!” exclaimed a new friend. “They taste like popcorn!”
And so they did. Salty, crunchy, the dried-out bodies clumped together in your fingers and mouth. Every now and then, you plucked an insectile leg from between your teeth. You knew, even then, that many cultures eat grubs and bugs. High in protein, experts said, judging your reaction. You wondered whether you could ever force a tiny exoskeleton down your throat. Suddenly, to your surprise, you couldn’t munch enough.
*
A decade later, at Xaco Taco, you finish your bowl. No one else tries it. No one even asks.
Es más para mí, you think.
More for me.
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