San Sebastian, Spain - Percebes are the ugliest foods I have tried

percebes from Ganbara Jatetxea

I think if most people saw this item, they would not order it or eat it.  Here are some entertaining guesses from my photostream as to what the item was: geoduck, turtle feet, and mutant chicken claw.  The picture still looks disgusting to me even though I ate them yesterday and they were delicious.  Percebes are known as barnacles in English.  This item is ugly enough that I would not have tried it except I had seen it on some food shows and Rick Steves seems to like them.

I wasn't on a specific mission to try these out on my trip to Spain.  I had filed the picture of these away in my head and figured I would run into them one day.  Yesterday was that day.  When I saw the barnacles on the tapas(I guess the Basque word is pintxo) counter, I pointed at them asking for them as I did not know what they were called.  I just remembered they were some seafood or shellfish I was intending to try.

pintxo selection at  Ganbara Jatetxea

The bartender politely informed me that they were not 2 euro for a tapas portion like all other items on the counter.  He pointed at a menu that said they were 37 euro for a plate.  The little portion you see above is the full plate!

A different bartender was kind enough to show me how to eat them when he saw Laura and me struggling to figure it out.  The claw part is hard shell.  Don't eat that.  The black and tan membrane is thick and leatherlike.  Don't eat that.  You pierce the black and tan membrane.  Within it is a small piece of juicy and meaty flesh that tastes like a cross between clam and lobster.  I thought the sweet seafood flavor of the percebes was delicious.  Laura thought they were bitter and gross.  She had three pieces and gave up.  That left the rest of the plate for me!