Years ago I noticed a universal human trait: we all love to put stuff on sticks, grill/roast/boil/steam it and eat it. Typically this involves meat of all types but is also extended to tofu, vegetables, marshmallows, fruit and chocolate. From Boy Scouts in Indiana making ‘Smores over a campfire to chicken intestines delicately folded and piercing a skewer at a street market in the Philippines, you will find some variation of Stuff On Skewers no matter where you go in this world.

Chocolate bacon from 675 Bar, NYC

Insects anyone?

I originally called it shit on a stick for two reasons:

1. Because it sounds funny and is a great way to describe it when you’re not exactly sure what it is.

2. Because I was just amazed at the vast variety I found.

Variety is what makes Asia the skewer capital of the world!

I was living in South East Asia when I first came to this realization, and to this day, in my experience the people of SE Asia offer the greatest variety. But it is Brazil where they do it most impressively (or intimidatingly); they have the same custom, but instead of skewers they use swords, and instead of merely stuff on a stick, they use large slabs of some of the tastiest meat you will ever have! Don’t believe me? Fine, meet me in Brazil then and I will show you. Or just go to a Brazilian restaurant, called a churrascaria, they are all over the world.

Now that is some serious S.O.S.!!!

And this reminds me of an idea my friend Marcus and I had (free idea to inspiring documentary makers). It was just around the time when ‘Super Size Me‘ was released. Our ambition was to document our experience as we would only eat shit on a stick for 30 days and see what would happen to us. Would have been a do-able challenge as we were both roaming tour leaders in SE Asia at the time. Great idea, though we never got around to it.