Episode 4: New Orleans Part Two: Bugs?

Every morning of a New Orleans vacation is a hangover, and this one is no exception. You roll out of bed and into the shower, gargling the rest of your travel size mouthwash to get the taste of whatever that last drink was out of your mouth.

The shower's done, but you're never dry, not with humidity like this.

It's fine. You've got to get moving, then you'll feel a little more like a human.

Cheap sunglasses, shorts and the thinnest cotton t-shirt you can find, and you're out the door, on the lookout for something to put in your belly to quiet the beast inside.

Finally, you round the corner to the Audubon Insectarium and grab a seat at the lunch counter. You're in luck, there's perfect hangover food on the menu this morning: a big order of Chocolate Chirp Pancakes.

What now?

Chocolate Chirp: Standard pancake, but stuffed full of chocolate and farm-fresh crickets.

Okay, I know how it sounds, but there's actually something to this madness. I got a chance to interview the chef, a man with the unfortunate name of Artie Grossman. I asked Chef Grossman the only question that matters when you find yourself voluntarily knocking back a plastic shot glass full for cinnamon and sugar toasted insects: "Why bugs?"

The answer was surprisingly simple: Protein.

Chef Grossman explained with the air of a super-villain railing at the authorities that he was actually trying to save them: Bugs are pretty flavor-neutral. That mango and mealworm chutney (picture above) tastes like one thing: mango. The Chocolate Chirp pancakes taste like chocolate. So, why add the bugs? Insects contain a decent bit of protein for their size, and protein is (mostly) healthy. If a chef can pack a little protein into something that tastes like a kids snack, he's doing a little good in the world.

I get the concept. You see grams of protein advertised on everything from yogurt to cereal bars. But still, who wants to eat a bug?

That's the beautiful part, Grossman explains. At the Insectarium, they leave the bugs whole. They're catering to kids who really want the grossout factor. However, Chef Grossman throws a handful of the cinnamon and sugar insects in the food processor and taps the button for a few seconds. When he pops the top and holds it out, all I can smell is sweet cinnamon and it looks like a fine brown powder. The "bugs" he says--making finger quotes where appropriate--are gone, but the protein is all still there.