Meat market

I've had ample opportunity over the past month to accompany my friend’s parents as they purchase meat for the various family banquets. The meat section of the grocery stores here is not for the faint-hearted. This is not the deli section of your local Stop & Shop.

Let me set the scene. Heavy, black metal hooks hanging from the ceiling. Buckets of blood splashing around by your feet. Beaks. Snouts. Toenails. Trotters. There is an entire section devoted solely to internal organs. Whether mashed, chopped, or intact and hanging from hooks, everything from intestines to liver to kidneys can be found here, just waiting to be gently stir fried and eagerly consumed.

If you don’t feel like braving the crowds at the supermarket, you can head on down to the outdoor meat market. Here, you can find full pig carcasses hanging on meat hooks, right next to butchers chopping up their innards. Feel free to poke and prod at the meat to ascertain its quality. Just keep in mind that others have done the same.

In addition to this “hands on” inspection, you can observe others enjoying the meat you are thinking about purchasing. I’m referring of course to the many dogs and flies that are living the good life at the market here. Don’t worry about sanitation though. Shoppers and sellers alike make sure to aim their giant globules of mucus away from the food, as opposed to directly towards it.