# Meat Carnival **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 16, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384 "2025-02-16T17:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/1 "2025-02-16T17:39:19Z")
My wife took me to the (M)eat Carnival on Mare Island for my birthday last night. It’s pretty much what you would imagine from the name. One price gets you into a massive smoke-filled hanger repurposed from the old navy shipyard. 3 hours of cooking demos at about a dozen different booths. All the meat and wine you can consume. Not for those who don’t like eating with their hands. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/2 "2025-02-16T17:58:46Z")
Interesting name, since “carnival” derives from Latin _carnem levare_, “the removing of meat”. It originally referred to the start of Lent, during which meat was not eaten, and later referred to the period just prior to Lent, when lavish feasts were held in anticipation of the deprivations of Lent. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/3 "2025-02-16T18:08:54Z")
The “carnival” part was part theatrics by the chefs and part the presence of a couple acrobat/fire dancers. Lots of flames and dinner bells involved, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/4 "2025-02-16T19:09:54Z")
Huh, I’d always heard it as “farewell to meat”. As in, tomorrow, you’re not going to be eating meat any more, so eat a bunch of it today while you can. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/5 "2025-02-16T19:15:04Z")
That’s just folk etymology. The OED says > A folk-etymological interpretation of the second element of the Italian etymon as reflecting classical Latin vale farewell (see [vale _int._](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/vale_int?tab=meaning_and_use#16105218)) goes back to at least the early 17th cent. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/6 "2025-02-16T19:16:50Z")
[Sounds like fun](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-meat-carnival-19871495.php), except for the sloppy bare-hands-grabbing part of it. That may be partly due to my microbiology background. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/7 "2025-02-16T19:39:21Z")
In the words of Ron Swanson ‘You had me at “Meat Tornado”’ ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meat-carnival/1014384/8 "2025-02-16T21:31:32Z")
There were hand washing stations everywhere and a mandatory lecture upon entering. Everyone was pretty conscientious as far as I could tell. Lots of raw meat and fish consumed that might put off a germophobe. I felt fine this morning.