I've noticed more and more restaurants leaving the tails on shrimp when serving the meal. This causes me to have to dig into my meal to remove the tails before eating! It's not as bad when the shrimp is a side item, but when it is ingrained in the meal (for example, a vindaloo or a stew), it's a real pain I the ass.


Anyone else notice this?
Does anyone actually eat the shrimp tails? I've known only one person in my entire life to do this.

12/15/2013 6:56:29 PM

I ate them once when I was a kid not knowing. My stomach was very pissed at me!

12/15/2013 6:58:13 PM

Yeah if it's in stew or pasta this is just horrible.

12/15/2013 6:59:21 PM

I hear ya. I'm more of a shrimp breasts guy myself.

12/15/2013 7:01:05 PM

sometimes I like to chew them (or did when I was younger and didn't know any better)

I haven't done this in like 18 years, though, I guess

still, I agree that tails should be removed whenever the shrimp are served over pasta or some shit

12/15/2013 7:07:53 PM

My mom likes to eat shrimp tails.

I do not.

I like to eat eel.

She does not.

12/15/2013 7:07:59 PM

Every time this happens to me, I feel like the cook is saying "fuck you"

12/15/2013 7:30:45 PM

There is a lot of flavor in there. As in flavor that cooks out into a sauce or whatever, not flavor when you eat them, because that's gross. I agree that they should be taken off.

12/15/2013 7:42:27 PM

I never get shrimp tails in my food. Must be because you're black.

12/15/2013 7:48:56 PM

Are you ever funny? Like, ever?

12/15/2013 8:01:35 PM

Sorry bro. The truth is rarely funny.

12/15/2013 8:06:53 PM

Not a big deal in shrimp cocktail or some type of...um..."alone" dish where you just pick them up and eat them...but yeah, in stew or fried rice or something it's unacceptable

But not nearly as bad as having to remove the entire shells...although that's obviously expected as something to do if you order "peel and eat" shrimp

12/15/2013 8:11:17 PM

have you ever had shrimp with the heads still on?

12/15/2013 9:39:42 PM

No way

12/15/2013 10:29:46 PM

i've always wondered this as well. shrimp and grits with the damn tails on the shrimp. wtf, mate?

12/15/2013 11:24:03 PM

I eat the whole thing, in these forms:

12/15/2013 11:34:23 PM

shrimp should not be served with tails. the worst example I have ever seen was when my wife ordered shrimp and grits at a restaurant in Wilmington and they still had the tails on. This was not even the cold grits/polenta style- it was hot grits with cream sauce and shrimp with tails floating in it. For 25 dollars they could have gone to the trouble to remove the tails.

12/15/2013 11:53:11 PM

I feel like the next time you get a tail on your shrimp you should ask the waiter to come over, throw your plate on the floor, scatter the food around, and make THEM eat it.

12/16/2013 7:33:07 AM

^^^ That. Man, love me some pan fried salt and pepper shrimp.

In regards to the actual topic. I do find it slightly annoying as it disrupts the flow of the meal especially if it's pasta or similar dish.

12/16/2013 8:25:43 AM

Yeah I think it's annoying as hell as well. If the tails are on I usually proceed to remove all of them at once and then just get on with the meal.

I have one friend that does enjoy eating the tails. Freaking gross if you ask me though.

12/16/2013 9:07:00 AM

Are you guys all 11 year old girls?

Christ.

Just pick up the fucking shrimp and eat it. The tail has a lot of flavor which adds to the cooking process.

You could always order the chicken fingers. Those take less brain power to eat.

12/16/2013 9:53:48 AM

This drives me crazy in shrimp n grits and pad thai. Just cut the tails off. I always forget to ask.

12/16/2013 10:00:29 AM

It's pretty easy to pick up the shrimp by the tail, and squeeze it, and the shirmp pops out and the tail stays in your hand. you don't have to actually "peel" it.

12/16/2013 10:03:20 AM

If it's a bunch of puny shrimp, then it's a problem. But, yeah^, you can pin the shrimp down with the back of your fork and pull the tails off pretty quick. Then lick your thumb and pointer and get down to eatin.

I don't know what the polite version of this is though. Are you supposed to cut the tails off and then lift them out with a utensil or leave them in? One shrimp at a time as you eat or all at once?

[Edited on December 16, 2013 at 10:27 AM. Reason : ?]

12/16/2013 10:21:06 AM

When the shrimp is cooked into my meal, the last thing I want to do is dig my fingers in. How about not making your customers fondle their food instead?

12/16/2013 10:23:43 AM

Take your index finger and thumb. Grab the shrimp tail. Squeeze the tail. Eat the shrimp.

12/16/2013 10:25:15 AM

I could google it, but somebody tell me the difference between a shrimp and a prawn

12/16/2013 10:31:23 AM

I think prawn have longer legs and larger body structure.

[Edited on December 16, 2013 at 10:39 AM. Reason : Hhhhh]

12/16/2013 10:39:09 AM

prawn is just what they call shrimp in Australia and other weird places

12/16/2013 12:01:40 PM

i thought that too, but i went to an indian restraunt this weekend and they had shrimp dishes, and they had some prawn dishes

alright, here's what wiki says

Quote :

"Prawn is a common name for large swimming crustaceans, particularly in Britain and Commonwealth nations, and are also called shrimp. Significant commercial species valued for food tend to be large, and thus tend to be called prawns. Shrimp that fall in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. The term is used less frequently in North America, and typically for freshwater shrimp. In the United Kingdom prawn is more common on menus than shrimp, while the opposite is the case in the United States. The term prawn also loosely describes any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as king prawns or jumbo shrimp"

[Edited on December 16, 2013 at 12:14 PM. Reason : ]

12/16/2013 12:09:35 PM

They're different species.

12/16/2013 12:12:48 PM