Halloween night, I attended a bash at Paxton Gate, where “Bug Chef” David George Gordon was cooking up scorpion scaloppine and other multi-legged delights.
A standing-room-only crowd of ghouls, 6-foot butterflies and mustached children were hungrily awaiting free samples.
Halloween aside, a visit to Paxton Gate on Mississippi Ave is definitely on my list of free fun things to do in Portland.
Paxton Gate looks like a natural history museum, but it’s actually your one-stop shop for Venus flytraps, bat and mouse skeletons, taxidermied piranhas, antique compasses, and many other items out of your wildest nightmares.
But what really made this Halloween party special were the treats! A tight pack of revelers watched in wonder as David George Gordon fondued chocolate-covered insects and passed them to the crowd. Then he instructed a band of 4-foot tall princesses and furry monsters on how to skewer their own grasshopper kabobs.
The capper of the evening was his recipe for scorpion scaloppini, which he seasoned, sautéed, and handed out to the crowd. Then he led a hungry group of scorpion-eaters in a lively cheer of “Eat it!” “Eat it!” “EAT IT!” which crescendoes in munching down on various scorpion parts and then spitting out fragments of exoskeleton.
There was also a treat table full of delicacies, including Wax Worm Cupcakes, Insect Kabobs and Chirpy Chex Party Mix (with an insect in every bite!) By the end of the evening, many guests had courageously sampled one kind of bug or another.
Gordon was also on hand to autograph copies of his famous “Eat-a-bug” cookbook, featuring recipes for Tantalizing Termites, Three-Bee Salad, Pest-O, using many critters you can find under your own refrigerator, or in your nearby park.
Next time you’re on Mississippi avenue, or want to take the kids (or yourself) on a museum-quality field trip, head on over to Paxton Gate, open 11 to 7 daily… and not just on Halloween.
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