Having coffee in my local bistro this morning and overheard the chef discussing the plat du jour.

In English: "Mouse in a red wine sauce"

What is he actually preparing if not mice?

mousse?

if they can eat little purdy songbirds and purdy little frogs' legs, then why not little purdy meece?

LOL - the French expression for lamb shank is "souris d'agneau", which translates literally to "lamb mouse".

Sorry to disappoint you ;-)

Was it sourd(e) (pigeon)?

Do you remember that video of Americans who brought their own food because the British eat chipmunks and "squirls"?
Perhaps they had a point
http://tinyurl.com/ypjg2z

The Romans did the same:

musculus (engl. mousie), because it resembles a mouse

Very good and tender!

It is indeed a shank of lamb.

I am currently trying to con someone into buying me lunch

http://scrooge.site.voila.fr/we0605.jpg
http://www.jecuisinechezvous.com/uploads/24.jpg
http://papilles-en-delire.blogspot.c...iel-et-au.html

Bones are very small. It's very easy to get hurt.

In my neighborhood, there is a season when there are dozens of African women -- one or two on every street corner. They have big burlap bags, and they chant "Mice mice mice!"

At least that's what it sounds like with their African accents because they are actually saying "Maïs maïs maïs" and selling grilled corn on the cob.