Eating Babbouche

I have been going around the medina of Fès for the better part of the day. I have seen various places and understood how significant Fès actually is. By this time, I was already tired from all of that walking. I just wanted to sit down and chill. I found myself in a square known as Place Rcif. And it seems to be another one of the major entry points into the city. The square has an open air market which brings people from the area here for some shopping. I don’t really need the stuff they sell here since they are primarily stuff you use at home. Fortunately, there are nearby snack stalls where I can cool my heels.

What caught my eye here was a mountain of boiled snails called Babbouche and I saw people lining up to eat. I was imagining it to be something similar to escargot because of the French influence here. My mind ran through the dangers of eating something like this on a trip, like how long have the snails been there? What if I get a stomach ache? Despite that, I decided to give it a try. The people here seem to be used to tourists and they don’t really mind. I got a seat inside the tiny stall and I was served a bowl of the snails. I was seated with a very friendly family who was also having snail. I immediately thought that this doesn’t look like escargot at all but reserve judgement until I try it. Looking at them, they don’t give you a very appetizing picture. The snails used here seem like smaller ones you might be able to find in your garden. You can even see the actual snails as part of them are sticking out the shells. You have to use a toothpick to pull them out. If you look closer the snails look uncomfortably raw. The foot and even the antennae can still be seen. The meat itself isn’t much but with a bowlful of it, you probably have more snail than you might want.

As for the taste? The snails are boiled in some sort of herbal soup. I have had herbal soup in Asia before but this is probably the first time I have tried it here. The taste isn’t to my liking though. I would probably think that it is an acquired taste. I still finished my bowl. As for the family, they seem to enjoy their bowl. We exchanged a few greetings and a few laughs as I try to communicate with their young daughter. The stall owner did try to charge me double for the bowl which is ten dirhams. But the family told me that it only costs five dirhams. It wasn’t a massive difference financially but I was still glad to pay what I’m supposed to pay. In a way, it confirmed my suspicions that tourists pay more here. As for the snails, I was half expecting my stomach would hurt but nothing really happened. You mileage may vary though.