Wankles? What the.....?

[lilley]

My father-in-law says he had some revolting sea critter in the south of France called wankles which sounds dirty to me and simulaneously reminds me of Monty Python's wankle rotary engine. I can't imagine that's the name but if he hates it, my husband and I want to try it. We diverge from his family tree foodwise. Any ideas what it could be?

[CheddarCheese]

I think your father-in-law may actually be describing winkles. It is also called periwinkles which is an aquatic snail and the french love to steam than dip in butter. The chinese also are known to wok fry them with different sauces such as Black bean.
And as for places around town that serve them, I recall seeing them @ Rodney's Oyster Bar and King Seafood on Spadina (which was previously Happy Seven).

[lilley]

AH! PERIWINKLES! We should have guessed. And sure enough, F-I-L doesn't like them; my husband and I love them and have cooked 'em on occasion. Our first night in Paris last year was spent with my uncle and aunt and platter of periwinkles, oysters and bulots....and maybe a salad. I can't remember what they were called at that restaurant but it wasn't winkle. Thank you CC and thanks to dimbulb too. VEry nice of you both to clear that up for us.

[lilley]

My husband just told me bulot WAS the name for periwinkles and what I thought were bulot were those tiny clams - cant remember their name.

[Tom from Raleigh]

Bulot are larger sea snails called whelks in English.
Periwinkles are smaller, not sure what the French called them but the word is Caricole in Flemish.

A plate of bulot with garlic mayo rocks.

[Dimbulb]

Winkles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_periwinkle

And the Wankel engine isn't a joke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_r...

Anything else?

[lilley]

Thank you twice, dim bulb. As a teen, I used to wonder about Wankel Rotary Engines but never enough to merit a trip to the reference library. I didn't have Professor google in highschool. Ahhh...the eighties! And re. winkles see my reply to Cheddar Cheese below.