Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Eating Out in Spain


The first restaurant we went into had pig legs hanging from the ceiling. Suspended by a hoof on a hook, the legs hung down over the bar and tables. No one was splattered by juicy pork drippings because each thigh had a snowcone like object piercing its end to catch rogue juice. Flies enjoyed the outer layer of leg and servers carved pieces for patrons with a special contraption designed to hold the hoof steady as the meat was sliced off.

Our eating experiences in Spain and a visit to an exhibit on the Spanish Inquisition led my husband to muse, "You can't be a protestant vegan in Spain." Pig legs on the ceiling were the norm throughout the north of spain and a vegetal sandwich consists of mayo, tuna, eggs and possibly a pepper. Seafood is delicious served with eyeballs, bones and the octipi have all eight legs. Sausages are unrivaled and cheeses are excellent. Vegetables are well disguised and visiting vegans would even have to pass up the delicious chocolates and croissants offered up from bakeries throughout the north of Spain.

Curiously we never saw a live pig on our journey throughout the country. We saw hundreds of their disembodied legs, but not a single grunting sow. And if you were wondering... chickens, ducks, horses, cows and sheep were plentiful.

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