Feast of Camel!

Two days ago I went on a dangerous journey. about a week ago I received an email from a dear friend and fellow student at the Jerusalem Center inviting me to go get camel meat with a group for lunch in a few days. This was the PS of the email:

P.S.
I did a brief search on Wikipedia and discovered that one danger of improperly inspected camel meat (specifically the uncooked liver) is the bubonic plaque. Therefore, as a courtesy to the rest of us, please refrain from ordering uncooked liver. Other possible diseases are as follows. Camel is also unclean under Mosaic law and will render the consumer unclean upon consumption. Purification rituals will be held upon return to the center on an individual basis.

OIE List A Diseases
Foot and mouth disease
Vesicular stomatitis
Rinderpest
Rift Valley fever
Bluetongue

OIE List B Diseases
Anthrax
Aujeszky’s disease
Echinococcosis/hydatidosis
Heartwater
Leptospirosis
Q fever
Rabies
Paratuberculosis
Screw-worm
Bovine anaplasmosis
Bovine babesiosis
Brucella abortus infection
Tuberculosis (M. bovis)
Dermatophilosis
Haemorrhagic septicaemia
Theileriosis
Brucella melitensis infection
Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
Equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern and Western)
Trypanosomosis including Trypanosoma evansi

Other Diseases of Concern
Epizootic haemorrhagic disease
Borna disease
Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)
Salmonella Enteritidis
Salmonella Typhimurium DT 

No big deal right? I instantly saw this as a challenge to not get sick so I added my name to the group. The next thing I know I get an email from the Director the of the Center send an email saying that they didn't want it to be a center planned activity to go eat this dangerous meat and that they did not support us going.... so being obedient we called off the trip.

The plot thickens... our dear Student Body Pres, Nate, decided to get a few of us who really wanted to go to take the daring trip down to the little cave where they serve camel. I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to be infected, so I enlisted in the secret camel lunch. 

There were 13 of us who went, (an unlucky number to begin with...) the restaurant looked like a hole in the wall but once you went inside it opened up to a cave like room with the table about a foot off the ground and couches all around. Im not going to lie I was a little bit of a lot excited nervous. The first course was petas with humus and some yummy yogurt that looked like sour cream or sour cream that tasted like yogurt.. we couldn't figure out what it was.... Anyways after we wiped them out the first of three rounds of camel was served! They cooked it 3 different ways so the first was brought out in a clay pot, it was super hot, and poured into a big dish. It was like a roast with the meat, potatoes, and carrots. it was so tender and delicious! Round 2 was ground up like meat balls with some intense spices on a skewer. It was good but not my favorite... and round 3 was supreme! It was cut into pieces and put on a skewer and grilled. It tasted like Tuchano's! 

I am happy to report that I am still alive and if given the chance I would eat camel again.