Bug Appétit Serves Up Spooky Halloween Dinner in Missoula

If you think the scariest part of Halloween is stumbling across a clown in pitch-blackness, try chowing down on a roasted cricket. The Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium is serving six legs and wings as a Halloween dinner this year with Bug Appétit. And no, this is not a rerun of Fear Factor.

A Menu That Creeps Off the Plate

This isn’t your average trick-or-treat. It is a four-course dinner with real bugs. We’re talking:

• Amuse Bouche: Chefs selection with crickets….yep, you read right....crickets.
• First course: Mini tostada of Mealworm and pork carnitas.
• Second Course: Smoked shrimp chowder with wild herb oil.
• Third Course: Gyuniku No Tataki steak with black ant ponzu sauce and fermented veggies.
• Fourth Course: Ice cream made from Chanterelle mushrooms and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and cotton candy topped with roasted crickets.

Yeah, they left dessert for the bugs as well.

Spooky Vibes, Six Legs Included

This takes place on Halloween night, and it is just the kind of odd Missoula night out that will have your friends’ jaws dropping: “You did what?” Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium. Tickets are $85 a piece, and they sell out, because for some reason a lot of people seem to want to brag about eating ants in a public setting.

It’s fancy, it’s freaky, and it may be the one time you ever see cotton candy and roasted crickets on the same plate.

So if you have the guts to trade a steak adorned with ants, this could be the tastiest Halloween challenge you’ll ever share.