First time eating crocodile tongue and kangaroo meat / 初めての鰐タンとカンガルー肉 (English & Japanese)

（日本語は後半にあります）

【English】

Hello, this is my first post to the Eating Out community. Thanks to @shawnnft, the administrator here.

A few days ago, my family and I went to eat at a restaurant near the train station. It is called "Osteria SANZOKU" and there are two branches in my area. I sometimes go there because the food is all delicious and the waiters are polite and friendly. I think it is a restaurant inspired by the image of a "hideout" where bandits eat and drink with gusto, but the atmosphere is neither too cheap nor too pretentious, which is just right for me.

Now, our goal for the day was to eat "crocodile tongue". By crocodile, of course, I mean the reptilian alligator. Going back to my memory, I don't think I have ever eaten a crocodile in my life. From its appearance, I can imagine the texture of a crocodile, like a hard squid or octopus... Is it really tasty?

A few moments later, a plate was brought to our table with some elegant skewers on it. It was hard to believe that this was a crocodile. I had imagined it to be a darker color, almost green or brown, but it was white like chicken. And when I tried it, I was surprised. There was no crocodile smell at all (although I don't know what crocodile smell is like) and the texture was soft, just like chicken. If I had not been told it was crocodile meat, I would have thought it was chicken.

In addition, my husband ordered a dish of kangaroo meat. I don't remember which part of the kangaroo it was, but it was quite dry...it took a long time to chew and swallow (My second son had not spoken for a long time, because he was chewing the kangaroo meat all the time). To be honest, I didn't think it tasted that good, but it was nice to enjoy a rare dish that I don't usually get to taste.

We also ordered French fries, assorted cheeses, peperoncino with leeks and sausage, aqua pazza, and some dessert.

The aqua pazza was served with the leftover broth at the end to make risotto, but I forgot to take a picture of that.

I was very satisfied with the food. However, the guests at the table next to us were very loud and irritating. Next to us were three women who looked like lounge girls and one uncle who looked like the president of a town factory. One of the women laughed in a voice that sounded like a Laughing Kookaburra, and it was very loud. It's a casual restaurant, so we can't complain about a certain amount of noise....

....Well, it was exactly like a hideout of bandits😅

---

【Japanese】

こんばんは！初めてEating Outコミュニティに投稿します。管理者の@shawnnftさんに感謝です。

数日前、家族で最寄り駅付近の居酒屋に食事に行きました。「Osteria SANZOKU」というお店で、私が住んでいるエリアには2店舗あります。料理がどれもおいしく、店員さんも丁寧で感じが良いので気に入っていて時々行きます。山賊たちが豪快に飲み食いする「隠れ家」をイメージしたお店だと思いますが、安すぎず、気取り過ぎてもいない雰囲気が、私にはちょうど良かったり。

さて、この日の目的は「鰐タン」でした。鰐・・・というのはもちろん、あのワニです。爬虫類の。記憶を遡ってみても、これまでの人生で鰐を食べたことはなかったと思います。鰐のあの見た目からは、ギョリギョリした、固いイカかタコみたいな食感が想像されますが・・・果たして美味しいのでしょうか？！

しばらくしてテーブルに運ばれてきたお皿には、何やら上品な串焼きが。これが鰐とは、ちょっと信じられません。色も、もっと緑とか、茶色に近い濃い色を想像していたのですが、まるで鶏肉のような白でした。そして食べてみてビックリ。鰐臭さも全くなく（もっとも、鰐の臭いがどんなものか知らないのですが・・・）食感は柔らかく、それこそ鶏肉のようでした。鰐肉と知らされずに食べたら、鶏肉だと勘違いしたことでしょう。

さらに夫が注文したのが、カンガルーの肉。こちらはどこの部位かは忘れてしまいましたが、結構パサパサしていて・・・噛んで吞み込むまでにかなりの時間が掛かりました（次男が随分長いこと何も喋らないなと思ったら、ずっとカンガルー肉を噛んでいた）。美味しかったかと訊かれると微妙なところですが、普段口にすることのない珍しい料理を楽しめたのは良かったです。

その他に、フライドポテト、チーズの盛り合わせ、ネギとソーセージのペペロンチーノ、アクアパッツァ、デザートなどを注文。

アクアパッツァは最後に残ったスープでリゾットを作ってもらったのですが、その写真は撮り忘れてしまいました。

料理には満足でしたが、隣のテーブルが騒がしくて参りました・・・。ラウンジ嬢？らしき女性3人と、町工場の社長さん、といった風貌の男性一人のテーブルだったのですが、そのうちの一人の女性がまるでワライカワセミのような声で笑うのです。居酒屋なので、ある程度騒がしいのは仕方ないとはいえ…

まあ、山賊っぽいといえば山賊っぽかったかもしれません。。😅