Insects, often referred to as the food of the future, are slowly crawling their way into American restaurants. Crickets, often the gateway bug for newbies, can be found in exotic or high end big city restaurants such as in New York, Los Angeles, and DC. Other insects are also being served, but I’m going to focus on the crickets.
In the culinary world, crickets can be found from main dishes and even in desserts. I was beyond ecstatic when I found out that a Fast Food Restaurant Chain called Wayback Burgers served up an Oreo Mud Pie shake with Peruvian chocolate-flavored cricket powder. From positive customer feedback, what started as an April Fools joke in 2015 turned into an actual limited time menu item. The shake sounds delicious, but adding cricket powder for that protein boost is such a great idea! I contacted the chain though there Facebook page and was informed that it “was a very popular shake.” Sadly, it was a limited time special. Let’s hope they bring back this awesome ground breaking shake back for good. Below is a picture of the shake from Wayback Burgers.
A quick google search will give you multiple options for restaurants serving up bugs in big cities. However, it is nearly impossible to find smaller cities serving up bugs. This could be in part to the media focusing their attention on bigger cities and completely missing small town restaurants or that these restaurants simply haven’t experience how great and versatile cricket powder is. My results for restaurants in Montana serving up crickets was exactly, wait for it … ZERO. To say I was disappointed is an understatement; I was seriously ready to jump in the car for a bug adventure. The only thing remotely close to bugs and food in Montana is the Bug Buffet held in the spring by Montana State University. This year marked the “28th annual Bug Buffet.” Though this Bug Buffet promotes eating bugs Montana in general seems to be lacking the bugs in culinary cuisine. So here are my questions for Montana - When are we going to have these options available locally? Who’s going to be the first to roll out a bug inspired menu item?
Luckily, while we are waiting for smaller cities to catch up to the wonderful benefits that eating insects provide, we can enjoy and experiment in our own homes. You can make your own awesome shakes, like the Oreo Mud Pie Shake, with cricket powder. Cricket powder can be purchased online if you live in an area that’s not up with the current trends. Yes, I’m talking to you, Montana. Below is a recipe for an Oreo Mud Pie Shake with cricket powder recipe adapted from a recipe found from Food.com
Ingredients:
8 Oreo cookies
1 cup chocolate or vanilla ice cream
2 tsp hot coco powder or chocolate powdered milk
1 tsp cricket powder
¼ cup milk
a few mint leaves for garnish
Directions:
Place all ingredients (except garnish) into a blender and blend into smooth.
1. Billis, Arina. “MSU Bug Buffet pitches insects to help resolve world hunger problems.” 27 Feb. 2016. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/montana_state_university/msu-bug-buffet-pitches-insects-to-help-resolve-world-hunger/article_e44aa380-70d4-5d8d-83bb-3b30dc5a415e.html. Accessed 16 Oct. 2016
2. Cookookay. “Chocolate Oreo Mud Shake.” http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-oreo-mud-shake-380736. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016
3. Prisco, Joanna. “Wayback Burgers Chain Introduces Cricket-Laced Shake.” 29 Jun. 2015. http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wayback-burgers-chain-introduces-cricket-laced-shake/story?id=32103566. Accessed 16 Oct. 2016
4. Wayback Burger. Facebook messenger communication. 18 Oct. 2016.