What Do You Collect? For One, It’s Beetles and Enchiladas

Most people collect one thing or another – coins, stamps, or maybe something a little bit stranger. But Jellie Smith of Pennsylvania collects something, two somethings, that are much stranger than all the rest.

Smith was presenting her speech at a dance studio, where the parents of 7 year-old ballerinas were waiting for dance class to be over.

The otherwise-bored parents in the room were amazed by her speech, and also slightly disturbed. But they were even more amazed and disturbed to discover the other thing she collects – enchiladas.

“I love enchiladas,” Smith said. “I collect them and preserve them for at least 3 years each, and then I eat them. They’re best served with beetles on top!”

Smith’s restaurant, named, “Hopefully Edible Stuff” is known to serve just that. The health department has visited 53 times in the 3 years that the business has been open, each time giving it a worse health rating than before.

In fact, the health department had to make a whole new system for the restaurant. Melissa Martinez, a director at the health department, is here to explain.

“Typically in restaurants, you will see a sign with a letter on it, like A or B. And for a while, Hopefully Edible Stuff had one of those, too,” Martinez said. “But eventually, the restaurant became so bad – much worse than a Z rating – so we had to make up our own system for it.”

The rating is out of 10, 10 being the best possible, or like an “A” in the normal system. Hopefully Edible Stuff has a negative 78.

When asked about the terrible health rating, Smith said,

“I’m not bothered by the rating. I take it as a compliment!”

– Jellie Smith

“Beetles are the most majestic, important creatures everywhere, but if one of them opened a restaurant, it probably wouldn’t get a good rating either!” Smith said cheerfully.

For now, Hopefully Edible Stuff will remain open. So next time you’re craving aged enchiladas and beetles on top, you know just the place to go!