Hangzhou, China
Look, our reader’s co-worker brought something to the office for everyone to snack on: cicadas. Below the jump, a closer view:
She also sent a photo of her eating them. Says this bunch tasted overwhelmingly of garlic. Which is good to know, seeing as how I’M NEVER GOING TO FIND OUT ON MY OWN.
Roland de Chanson says: Come on, Rod. You the adventuresome Francophile gastronome? On m’a dit que les cigales vont très bien avec l’oeil de mouton kirghize.
Maybe we should call it Cricket à la Dreher? Julia would love it.
But wait, perhaps cigales au chocolat? Now there’s a desert for a gourmand.
Scusi, ma me ne vo per mangiare un’ altra fetta di pizza con asiago e rucola. My tongue may be French but my palate is Italian.
I think I will pass on the correct exegesis of that last statement. 
Rachel Dillard says: Actually, my dog swears by them!
Perhaps whoever prepared that goat head you displayed the other day might consider adding this to the menu.
Monterey says: That. Is. Disgusting!
Rjak says: In re: MH’s post and the other VFYT that featured eating an eye, as far as I can tell, the word “delicacy” refers exclusively to horrible foods that are eaten in other cultures. I usually take it as a good sign to stay well clear of the item in question.
MH - Secular Misanthropist says: Iceland will not be outdone in the gross food department. Their local delicacy is called Hákarl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl) and is pickled and fermented shark meat. While that sound bad, it’s worse than it sounds. The shark in question has a high ammonia in its flesh and smells so bad that most people become ill from that alone.
Consumption of insects is one of our few food taboos. Apparently it’s quite common in other cultures. In Mexico grasshoppers and a species of grub have been a delicacy since pre-Columbian times.
I’ve never eaten insects, but I would guess that they would taste a bit like crayfish due to their shared evolutionary history.