Many years ago, a New York literary agent who I can only describe as hostile to my work said that my willingness to eat even the most uncommon foods in Mexico was "just short of posturing." If you are out there, dear one, it will be better for both of us if you don't read the following post.

In many cantinas in Mexico City, in the late afternoon or early evening, guys come around with baskets of snacks with which drinkers can accompany their beverages. The most popular items are hard-boiled eggs, peanuts sprinkled with chile powder, and sunflower seeds, but they also sell a kind of dried jerky that some of my friends swear is fashioned from human flesh. On a recent afternoon at Tio Pepe on Calle Independencia, a man came through wielding such a basket, and among the offerings were boiled chicken gizzards. Sprinkled with salt, lime juice and hot sauce, they were irresistible.