Girl Meets Food

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If you’ve lived in D.C. long enough, you’ve heard of the chapulines at Oyamel.  It’s an Oaxacan specialty–warm, soft corn tortillas filled with sautéed shallots, garlic, tequila and grasshoppers.

That’s right, grasshoppers.  Like the ones that chirp in your backyard at night.

Low in fat and with up to twice as much protein as beef, insects such as white worms, locusts, and caterpillars have been a part of the regular Oaxacan diet since Aztec times.

Roasted grasshoppers are a popular snack sold at baseball games, like kettle corn.

Did I also mention that I am deeply, irrationally afraid of insects? Ladybugs send me screaming in terror. If I found an ant in my kitchen, I would flee to a friend’s house.  For two days.

So what was I thinking as I headed over to Oyamel? Not much.  I was pretty petrified, but determined for the sake of my craft.

When the little buggers arrived, I have to admit I felt nauseous.  They weren’t gigantic as I expected.  Roasted to a dark brown, they looked little more than shredded meat. Sure they sat atop some tasty-looking guacamole, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that they were looking back at me with those beady little eyes.  All two-hundred of them.

I took a bite and chewed.  The taste was very salty, followed by the tang of tequila and vinegar, perhaps?  The texture was chewy and crunchy.  What I imagined an insect would feel like.  I bit into an upper thigh, and I could hear a pop, like biting into a fennel seed.  Very disturbing, indeed.

Despite the delicious guacamole, sauce, and everything else, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.  I’ll just stick to other dishes that don’t bug me.

Oyamel
Reserve now
401 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
202.628.1005

Open Sunday to Monday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday to Thursday 11:30 am – 11:30 pm
Friday and Saturday 11:30 am – midnight
Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11:30 am – 3:00 pm

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