The bush taxi driver pulls our white Peugeot 504 pickup truck to the side of Madagascar’s Route Nationale 6. We are a day north of Antananarivo, give or take a day or two. The driver unlatches the back lift-gate. He throws aside a black plastic tarpaulin fitted over metal scaffolding, stagecoach-like. Fifteen passengers peer wide-eyed from the darkness. We disembark, unaware of the strange roadside nosh in which we are about to participate.

At least 15 food vendors race towards us bearing grilled meats, bat soup, fried cassava and dried bush crickets. Road food is mostly prepared by women and children who, throughout the course of the dry season, will be awakened many times by the whir of the taxi engine. For the distance rider, these snacks pack a wallop of protein and nutrients and prepare a body for the unpredictability of travel on the Big Red Island. For locals, cool evenings are time for nitsangatsangana, a meandering walk through town with friends during which the day’s exploits are discussed. At roadside stalls, a substantial meal, capable of quieting even the hungriest of road-tripping appetites, costs about 25 cents.

Highlights from our impromptu smorgasbord include:

Fried cassava— Raw cassava, or mahogo, contains cyanide and must be dried, baked or soaked in water to leach the toxins. Boiled then dropped in sizzling oil, the fried chunks are sprinkled with salt before serving.

Zebu Brochettes and Grilled Chicken — Zebu meat is cut into chunks then skewered kabob-style before it’s smoldered to perfection on a grate atop hot coals. The brochettes and chicken are served on aluminum plates alongside a heaping scoop of lasary — crunchy grated mango, vinegar and a combination of spices. Each family has its own recipe!

Bat soup –While I couldn’t bring myself to sample this batty concoction, several of my fellow travelers gobbled it up. The soup is prepared with garlic, onion and salt. It reportedly tastes “like chicken.” While not common, bats can provide an important source of protein during lean times en brousse (in the bush).

Bush-crickets — Bush crickets are bright green. They camouflage well against tree leaves and tropical plants. They are harvested at sunset, dried, salted and placed onto a string tied around a vendor’s neck. The dry, desiccated bodies, about the size of a finger, slide down the gullet like a handful of potato chips. Keep a bottle of Eau Vive water or a Coca-Cola handy to wash them down.