If music soothes the savage breast, does the right food wake it up and make it growl? (Even if pizza is not involved?)

​Have you ever had one of those visceral experiences with food? You know, the kind where some part of you that you don’t often experience wakes up, and you’re consumed by beastial lust?
 
Yes, it’s almost embarrassing.
 
Even if it is a kind of compliment to the chef.
 
Animal lust unhinged by food well cooked is something that was well contained when we were children in my native New England.
 
But it was always there, percolating just below the surface. Things like fresh lobster or meats well grilled seemed to bring a glint in peoples’ eyes.

But sometimes, it can bubble over.
 
This happened to me a little over a week ago. And I admit, it was not with pizza. It has happened with pizza, whether my own homemade product or that of other, extraordinary pizza joints.
 
But it’s never before happened to this degree.
 
Here’s how it went down, and how it was shared on Facebook…

​THIS HAPPENED. And the photo sucks. I wasn’t going to post it. I was just trying to get dinner on the table, really.
 
But then we began eating. Holy mother of pearl.
 
You start with a fork, a knife and good intentions. That all very quickly flies out the window on fierce, tiny wings.
 
This is quail. Specifically, this is mojo-marinated quail. There is something about quail that speaks to a primal part of your being.
 
It doesn’t taste like chicken. More like duck. And more tantalizing with the mojo marinade, which is a Cuban-style citrus and garlic concoction that has cumin and salt involved. When partnered with roasted animal flesh, it dances the rumba on your palate like the Mambo Kings playing songs of lust.
 
In every case where I’ve had quail, there’s a kind of beastly behavior that bubbles to the surface. Soon, the flatware is set aside and you’re tearing the bird apart with your bare hands and scarfing it down with abandon.
 
Quail. It could be what's for dinner. Look for it in your supermarket’s frozen poultry section. If it’s not there, assail your butcher. Marinate it. Roast it. Eat it lustily.
 
(Served here alongside smashed new potatoes and grilled asparagus.)
 
 
So that was what went down.
 
As mentioned, that quail thing was posted on Facebook.
 
There were two surprising and overarching reactions. Besides hilarity at my expense, that is.
 
One was concurrence on a love for quail. Several other people shared their own photos of quail.
 
The other was a professed empathy for the animalistic reaction—and the latter mainly from women.
 
How about you?
 
Have you had this experience, either with pizza or with some other food?
 
Has any dining experience delivered an inexplicable primal wake-up call to your animal brain, causing you to fling aside the tools and fall upon the meal with troubling gusto?
 
If so, let’s hear about it—especially if pizza was involved. Maybe we can have another column about your lusty food experiences. Want to play? Click here and fill out the form…

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Want to make pizza at home that inspires lust in your friends, family and maybe even you? One good place to start is inside Free The Pizza. Really, it’s A Simple System For Making Great Pizza Whenever You Want With The Oven You Already Have. It’s a manual that takes you from zero to pizza with a few laughs along the way. Also, if you buy a hard copy, I'll send you an autographed book plate if you contact me here. If you buy the Kindle edition, know that there are printable cheat sheets on this website so you can take them into the kitchen and spill red sauce all over them.