I suppose I always knew it would happen eventually. It was just a matter of when.
I mean, D’s been raving about the rabbit paella in Barcelona for practically as long as I’ve known him. “I’m taking you there someday, and you’re going to share it with me.”
I can’t though. Even though I have a pretty open mind about trying new foods while traveling (though I’m pretty sure there’s no way I’m going to eat bugs), I absolutely refuse to eat bunny.
can you eat something that looks like this?
For the past 6+ years, I’ve cared for and loved 2 little bunnies that I adopted. Most people don’t see rabbits as real pets (and don’t even get me started on how much it pisses me off when kids get baby bunnies for Easter, only to discard them weeks later). But I’ve come to understand how loving they are, and I loved them unconditionally in return (even through the mornings I woke up in pee and the hundreds of dollars they destroyed with their chewing). They always made me laugh with their silly antics and constant enthusiasm for food. On days when I felt depressed, there’s no better cure than warm little bunny kisses. Nor is there a better morning alarm than tiny bunny feet trampling all over me.
I consider re-homing them to be the single biggest sacrifice I made for traveling. More than quitting my job and pension plan (there will be more). More than falling out with my family (we’ll all get over it someday). But I loved Sam and Stella with all my heart, and I will never have them back.
Don’t worry. They went to a really good home, which is the only reason why I’m not wrecked with guilt, crying in fetal position on a daily basis.
I mean, seriously! Look at them!
Anyway, we discovered a new favorite restaurant in Montevideo, or maybe even in the world – Foc. Anything touched by the chef, who previously owned one of Spain’s best restaurants, is pure magic. A spoonful of his simple mushroom risotto is an explosion of flavor and complexity. A chocolate cake becomes liquid sin… oozing melty lava and swimming in an caramel ocean.
The menu is intentionally simple, consisting only of a few items. But the thing to get is his dish of the day, ever-changing daily, written on the chalkboard in colorful script. We look forward to be surprised whenever we go.
One day as we walk in, we see it. Written on that chalkboard is conejo. Or rabbit.
Or to be more precise: it’s rabbit confit, over sweet potato puree with a chocolate reduction sauce.
“I really recommend it,” our waiter tells us. “It’s really good.”
I don’t doubt him. I forgot to mention that Foc is a Catalan restaurant, and the chef was trained in Spain, where eating rabbit is as normal as eating chicken feet in China. It’s bound to be delicious.
“That’s what I want.” D says right away.
“Great! Two?” The waiter looks at me. I’m dumbstruck as I try to sort out my inner conflict between eating my precious pets and trying really good food.
“She can’t,” D helps out, sensing my discomfort. “She had pet rabbits, so she can’t.”
So I end up ordering pasta off the regular menu.
Our dishes arrive. My shrimp pesto pasta looks amazing, the best I’ve ever had. But it’s clear that the star of the day is the rabbit dish. A big meaty breast chunk and half a hind quarter over mashed sweet potatoes, and all drizzled with a thick chocolate sauce. So rich that the heavenly smell wafts over to my side of the table as D cuts into the meat.
the best shrimp pesto pasta I’ve ever had
…. and the rabbit
I’m horrified as he tears into the meat, but I also can’t help asking how it tastes.
“It’s actually really good. Just try a bit.” D says as he dangles his fork in front of me, a little biteful of meat speared on the end.
“I can’t. Put it here for now.” I point to the bread plate.
As much as I want to stick to my guns and not eat bunny, I remember that travel is all about opening yourself to new experiences. Letting go of old prejudices. Tearing down old boundaries and discovering new horizons. Testing limits and trying new things. Even things you never thought you would do.
And I tell myself that my bunnies are happily frolicking in the grass and being spoiled rotten by their new mama… and NOT drizzled in chocolate sauce on a dish in front of me.
And quite honestly, the delicious smell and tender meat are really taunting me to just take a bite too. So finally, when I feel ready, I pick up the little piece off of the bread plate and plop it into my mouth. Chew and swallow.
And you know what? It tastes just like chicken. :)
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want more. Who knows, maybe by the time we make it to Spain, I’ll have mustered up the courage to share that rabbit paella with him.
But judging on how guilty I felt, probably not.
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Big thanks to my friend Ron for spending a day shooting pictures of Sam and Stella (the 1st picture), so that I would have gorgeous pictures to remember them by!
This post is part of the #sundaytraveler series with Pack Me To, and don’t forget to support all the other participating blogs (links at the bottom of post)!
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Anna, I feel your pain! I had one rabbit for a pet…too cute! I took her to my school classroom for all the children. She was such a calming presence! Saying that, I have eaten rabbit and I can honestly say it’s not my favorite, so I don’t have to deal with that again! Good luck!
Aren’t bunnies just the cutest and sweetest?! I’m so glad to hear that you had one too! I admit that the little piece I ate was pretty damn good, but that’s because everything the chef makes is amazing!
Having never had pet rabbits myself, I have no qualms about eating, and even killing in order to eat, wild rabbits. But then I don’t tend to associate wild rabbits with the cute fluffy adorable pet rabbits, even though wild bunnies are also pretty cute.
P.S. Rabbit casserole with a red wine sauce is divine…
Whoa! Killing wild rabbits to eat? You sound like you’re quite familiar with that, hehe. Somehow I see wild rabbits as separate from house bunnies too. Wild rabbits are made just for food for other predators :P.
Eh. I find it kind of hard to distinguish between eating pets and other animals. (Full disclosure: I don’t eat either.) Though those bunnies are outrageously cute! How could you eat a face like that?! ;)
I know, right? House bunnies are just so cute! But then again, I do eat other animals that are cute (like lamb)… but I wouldn’t eat cat or dog because they’re pet animals… so it’s a weird line to define!
I used to have a pet bunny and I loved her so much! Her name was Lily. She was a huge floppy eared rabbit, such a cutie…she was as big as my cat and used to try to play with my pet dogs (yes, we had a lot of pets growing up!). Obviously I wouldn’t eat a rabbit…or any other animal for that matter…but I don’t really see the difference in eating a rabbit vs a cow vs a pig vs a cat as they’re all animals. I guess since you had a personal attachment to that kind of animal, I can see how it would be more difficult to eat it! Pass the tofu, please ;)
Lauren, I love that you had a pet bunny too!! The floppy eared ones are so cute! I think I draw the line at anything considered a pet, because I definitely wouldn’t eat cat or dog! But in so many cultures, they don’t consider rabbit pets and just food. So that blurs the line, and having a personal attachment definitely makes it hard! Sometimes, I think it’s easier just going vegetarian too, but I like beef too much, hehe.
Some food just grosses you out. For me it’s intestants, I will not for the life of me eat liver or kidneys. It makes me feel like Hannibal Lecter (“I ate his liver with some beans and a nice chianti”). But when it comes to eating meat I am all about ‘as long as the animal involved has had a good life’ I am pretty much okay. Here in NL and Belgium it’s pretty common to eat hare when it’s game season. I really like it. A friend of mine just ate her first guinea pig in Peru. It makes me laugh really as it seems like such a fuss to prepare and cook such a tiny animal! She tried it and said it wasn’t even that special.
I try to eat free range chickens and grass fed cows too, because I love meat too much to give it up, but I feel less bad if the animal had a good life, like you said :). Haha, the guinea pig is hilarious… I heard that it doesn’t even have a lot of meat! But that makes me sad too because I used to have guinea pigs too.
Oh my goodness, this melted my heart. It would be the same for me if I ate cat.
On a holiday to Malta years ago I had actually ordered rabbit, and remembered it tasted kinda gamey. I thought, maybe it’s hare, and didn’t think much of it until I took the wrong turn for the bathroom and ended up in a yard totally FULL of cats, some alive some not. I realised what I had just eaten and felt bad for ages. Well done for trying rabbit though, I would never try cat knowingly.
OMG that would TRAUMATIZE me!!! That’s a horrible story!! Are you sure it was cat they served, and they don’t just have a yard full of stray cats?! Either way, I’m SO sorry you had to experience that!
I may not have had a pet rabbit but I can totally relate to this! My new foods rule is “I’ll try anything once so long as I haven’t had it as a pet.” I can also understand how giving up your bunnies was your biggest sacrifice. My cat that I’d had for 12 years had to be put down a month before my trip and I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have booked this ticket if that hadn’t happened. Pets are family, and you can’t eat your family! :)
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat!! Giving up my bunnies was SO hard and I cried a lot, but to be completely honest, I’m a little relieved too because now I don’t have to deal with them dying… because I honestly don’t know how I would handle that!! :( :(
I was really touched by this post. It is such a struggle to think about the exploration of the new when it comes to travel while also being torn by the “eating of a pet.” Especially when your pets are as adorable as your bunnies! Congrats on taking the leap and having a small taste. I’m sure your bunnies would totally understand :)
Thanks so much Marissa! I’m not sure if there will be a next time, but a part of me just want to just be fearless and try everything that comes my way. We’ll see!
It’s interesting the moral lines we draw when eating meat. As an omnivore myself and married to a man who has a life goal to “eat all the animals” we’ve had lengthy discussions on what animals are not on his list for moral reasons.
I’m interested to know what your husband says about eating animals!! But it is a debate that I don’t even fully understand myself, because I eat lamb, and they’re SO cute (and delicious, haha)… so why don’t I want to eat rabbit?!
I never understood how some people can eat rabbits or dogs for this matter. I agree with you, it’s so sad when you think about it. But then it’s equally sad if you think about the cows, or the calves being slaughtered.
Exactly…I feel sad too when I think about other meat animals, and the horrific conditions they live in only to be slaughtered for eating. So I try to conscious and only eat open pasture, grass fed cows :(.
I have yet to eat bunny and I would most likely feel just like you did. I’m glad you gave it a go though, and I too would probably try it in that situation :D
Hehe well I can’t condone anyone eating bunny, but if you do happen to try it someday in the future, then I hope it’s a good experience! :)
Ah I always feel really struck in these situations as well. I constantly have a battle with myself about how it can be okay for me to eat a cow, but not to eat a rabbit. I grew up with two rabbits, but as you said travelling leads you to new experiences and sometimes it’s just best to go with it!
Awww I’m glad you had bunnies too. They’re such good pets. I struggle with eating meat myself too, so I compromise with eating meat where the animal had a good life :). But sometimes, you still can’t help it because you don’t know where a restaurant gets its meat :/
I’ve never had a bunny, but my university had an infestation of them. Usually former pets left on the campus grounds where they mated… like bunnies (ha sorry! it was too easy). I don’t think I’ve ever had rabbit, but I think I’d be willing to try it. Though, I wouldn’t eat cat or dog. Strange how we draw the lines. I had a friend who owned a guinea pig and was served one in Ecuador at a family home. I think she ate it, otherwise it would have been perceived rude. What an awkward situation to be in!
It makes me mad that people discard bunnies in parks, and yep that’s what happens, lol. Oh gosh, that’s so awkward… I hope she liked it at least a little! I would eat it too in that situation.
I tasted rabbit during my time in Spain and it really tastes like chicken. It is not very common in most of the countries and people will see you weirdly if you ask for it.
Really! I really thought it was more common. Maybe it’s just Barcelona (Catalans). But yes, tastes just like chicken, hehe.
Since you have your own darling pet bunnies, I can see your conundrum. I personally have no qualms about eating rabbit as I am horribly allergic to their fur so have no affection for them. I draw the line at dog, though.
It’s so funny where we draw the line. I think it all must be based on our own personal attachment. I’m curious though, what about cats?? :)
It must feel weird to eat a rabbit meat, considering you used to keep rabbits as pets. For the rest of us :), that meat dish looks really delicious. But so does your pasta dish. So I would also go with pasta regardless of the chef’s suggestion.
It was a sad day :(. But I gotta say it was pretty tasty. And mmmmmm I’m drooling just thinking about that pasta!!