Snakes or Snacks?

I was on a business trip to Amsterdam last week and a very funny thing happened.

It was a long working day and it was close to 9.30 pm when I returned to my hotel in Zevenbergen, a small town 90 km south of Amsterdam, totally exhausted. I was counting on stopping on the way for a nice supper on the water front but there was thunderstorm activity and the rain was falling hard, so I decided pedal to the metal was the best strategy.

As soon as I reached my hotel, I made a beeline for the pub and was promptly told that they were closing in fifteen minutes and I must hurry up with my order. I quickly scanned the menu to see if there was anything vegetarian. I then realized the menu was in Dutch and sought the help of the only waiter cleaning the tables nearby. I asked him if the restaurant had anything vegetarian to offer. He smiled and said ' Of course, do you eat chicken?" I plead guilty for not putting chicken in that category and urged him to try again. " How about shrimps?" he inquired. I said negative and launched in to a vegetarian 101 for him. He looked constipated for a moment then quickly recovered to ask me " can you eat 'snakes'?".

Ah, I forgot to mention that the gent in conversation with me was a man of Indian decent from Surinam. I have actually seen 'snake stalls' in Goa so it is nothing new to me. You know finger foods are affectionately called 'snakes' in northern India. I knew what he actually meant so I asked him what was available and he said he could make a plate of spring rolls. I joyfully agreed to the plan and proceeded to sip the divine wine he had just served. With the wine in hand, I was beginning to look like the cat that ate the canary. That is when things began to unravel a bit.

An elderly lady sitting close by was apparently watching the whole back and forth. The lady was probably in her eighties and had a gentle demeanor. She smiled at me and asked ' Do you mind if I asked you a question?".  Unable to contain my curiosity, I nodded my head affirmatively and urged her to go ahead.  Looking somewhat confused she said " You say you are a vegetarian. You do not eat chicken or shrimps but you can eat snakes?"

I had just taken a small sip of wine and was swirling it inside my mouth to get a good handle on the taste when I heard the lady pose that memorable question to me. I had to part with the wine in my mouth in a hurry for I guffawed so hard and ended up splattering the table that had just been cleaned.

A generous tip to the waiter became necessary.