Deadly Delicatessen: Eating Scorpions!

Written by RENT-The Broadway Tour company members Greg Bober (Sound) and Tracy McDowell (Ms. Cohen)

Our second battle of the Deadly Delicatessen was an impromptu event on a rainy day off in Tokyo. We began our night with raw eggs and anchovies served over Caesar salads, and plenty of drinks with friends at the Mermaid bar in Akasaka. Then we moved back to the hotel for Mario Kart and Chu Hi, a delicious and potent blend of soju, soda water, and a citrus of your choice.
Late that night a group of us reconvened at our favorite sketchy soul nightclub near the hotel in Akasaka. It isn’t so much a nightclub as it is some Japanese guy’s living room. But there is a small bar, records on the walls and ceiling, low lights, and a great dj spinning records from the 70’s and 80’s. After a couple hours there, Joe Parker, Tracy McDowell, and myself left the club with the intention of going back to the hotel when the bright red lights of the underground, 24 hr Chinese restaurant down the street caught our eyes. We had heard from someone earlier in the week that you can order scorpions there, so down we went!
Once inside we sat down and ordered Asahi’s, Bok Choy, and a double order of scorpions. If we were gonna die from scorpions, at least we were going to get a healthy dose of vegetables and garlic first. First came the beers, followed by the garlic drenched Bok Choy, and finally an impressive serving of scorpions atop a mound of fried rice noodles. We are not sure why it is okay to eat these, the scorpion is completely intact from its legs to the little stinger on the tip of the tail. The beers were cold, the Bok Choy was delicious, and the scorpions were the saltiest thing on earth! Crunchy salt bombs! They literally had no other distinguishing flavors or textures. But none the less we ate them all, took plenty of pictures and drank lots of beer to get them down. Next!