Hold your picket signs, people. The folks at Mesa's Il Vinaio are not serving lion meat again. After last year's uproar, when owner Cameron Selogie started serving lion burgers as a special for the World Cup (um, do they really even eat lion in South Africa?), the restaurant started getting protests and bomb threats. That was the end of that.
But now a Tucson restaurant, Boca Tacos y Tequila, is preparing to serve lion meat tacos in February, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
The eatery's served everything from rattlesnake to Rocky Mountain Oysters in a tortilla, for its Exotic Taco Wednesdays.
For its February 16th event, Boca will serve the king of the jungle in the form of street tacos, with a variety of toppings and housemade salsas. The FDA-approved meat is legal, and will be purchased from a farm in Southern California.
But you won't be able to just stop by for a ferocious snack to quell your taco cravings; pre-paid orders must be made by 3 p.m. on February 7.
By the way, one lion taco will set you back $8.75.
Owner Bryan Mazon, whose wife Maria Jose Mazon is the chef at Boca, told the Star that he's not expecting to profit from the stunt -- he's just looking for exposure.
"In all reality, what I want is just people to know that I'm here," he said. "That's the way to do it. You can't get these tacos anywhere else."
Indeed, he'll likely get attention in spades. The last time I chatted with Selogie, for comment on Caffe Boa chef Payton Curry's reindeer tasting menu, he said that he didn't actually get any boost in business.
"Other than taking up our time," he told me, "It was neutral."
