Gastropod gastronomy

Someone asked about the escargot I ate on Saturday, so I thought I'd print the response here for the edification of the masses :-)

They weren't your, ahem, garden variety snails. The shells were predominantly off-white with caramel stripes, while the molluscs inside were slate grey and slightly bubbly (boiling in your own juices will do that). Special tongs were used to hold the shell and a small fork to remove the ball of meat. It was chewy like octopus and earthy like mushroom; appetising without much danger of being habit-forming.