ORTOLAN

Today on the ISC I was playing someone who played really quickly. As soon as I played my word, BAM! it was there. It was like playing a computer player at times. So I put down what I thought was a lovely 2x2, TIMELINE, for 78, when BAM! like Emeril came the lovely bird bingo.

My opponent played ORTOLAN 9I for 62 points.

When I was learning some of my bird words, I had to look some of them up, especially if I hadn't heard of them before (ortolans aren't typically seen in North America). The ortolan has an interesting history. It's not a New World bird, but rather has a French legacy as a delicacy for the rich and decadent.

For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets has been the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God. —The Wine Spectator

It reminds me of foie gras, only with tinier birds, and even worse because of the crunching of the bones. My vegetarian sensibilities are offended.