Caveman cuisine

I had a great time yesterday, handing out candy (and scaring) the trick-or-treaters! My costume was inspired by one of the José Guadalupe Posada illustrations of skeletons cavorting on the Day of the Dead - and the mask was an authentic souvenir from my trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, with my sister and brother-in-law. Another of my favorite costumes was in 2007 when I transformed myself - complete with chest hair - into the Geico caveman. I mention that because I just learned in the weird news about a restaurant in Germany that caters to the Stone Age crowd...

Sauvage (photos here) is a self-described "biorestaurant" - possibly the 1st of its kind - that serves "caveman cookin'." Owners Boris and Rodrigo extend a welcome to their "primal kitchen" (3rd image): "With a lot of love and devotion we'd like to take you on a culinary time travel, a trip on our rollercoaster of taste explosions to a creative, saporous outburst for your senses." They offer not only sumptuous taste, but what they claim may be the world's most healthy diet. Sauvage doesn't mimic how prehistoric people ate, but what they ate. Only organic, unprocessed foods are used and no grains, starches, dairy products, or sugar are included in the recipes. The key ingredients of the paleolithic plate (2nd image) are vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, oils, nuts, seeds, and herbs. You might start your meal with a salad (tossed with olives, capers, and pine nuts) and finish it with a slice of spicy gluten- and sugar-free pumpkin pie, with a main course of smoked salmon, free-range chicken, or grass-fed beef. "Many people think the Paleolithic diet is just some hipster trend, but it's a worldwide phenomenon, with an online community that spans the globe," says co-owner Boris Leite-Poço.

The avoidance of dairy squares with what I recently learned on TV about Italy's 5,000-year-old iceman. A recent autopsy (1st image is part of his first aid kit, with full slideshow here) revealed that Ötzi - like most people of his time - was likely lactose-intolerant.