March 24, 2005

Smoked eel tastes like a big ole Slim Jim

according to the official website
Slim Jim is the unconventional snack with an exciting, distinctive
beefy taste teens love. Slim Jim's irreverent "in your face" attitude is
captured in its advertising, sponsorships and promotions. Slim Jim is available
in various flavors of meat sticks, beef jerky, beef steak and beef 'n
cheese.

Everyone loves a Slim Jim. But let me tell you something: a Slim Jim tastes just like smoked eel.

I was in a restaurant near the "red light" district in Hamburg, Germany. Lets just say it was a sales meeting, OK? We went to this wonderful place. We were seated and the host brought a bottle of cold vodka. We also ordered beer. The next thing you know the waiter brought this huge platter. He set it right in front of me. Curled up on this platter was what appeared to be a snake. It looked to be about a foot and a half long and about one inch thick. It was sliced into about three inch long sections. "WTF" I asked. I was informed it was smoked eel from the Elbe river.

We were given a little knife to cut out the backbone. I speared a piece, drank about 1/2 of my beer and took a bite. I could not believe it -- it tasted just like a giant Slim Jim. All I needed t eat it was a shot of the Vodka, a large drink of beer and a big bite!

All went well until I was urged by my colleagues to try another piece. I stuck my fork into the coils of eel and captured another section. I looked down and realized I had speared the head! That was just too much. Luckily, I slipped it back when the waiter brought more beer.

We had some great adventures that night in Hamburg. Those tales are for another time.

Have you ever eaten something unexpected?

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