Horse meat gained widespread acceptance in French cuisine during the later years of the Second French Empire. The high cost of living in Paris prevented many working-class citizens from buying meat such as pork or beef, so in 1866, the French government legalized the eating of horse meat, and the first butcher's shop specializing in horse meat opened in eastern Paris, providing quality meat at lower prices. During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), horse meat, along with the meat from donkeys and mules, was eaten by anyone who could afford it, partly because of a shortage of fresh meat in the blockaded
Meat on the bone while larger ones can be broken or gnawed. Some meat on the bone is most commonly eaten by picking it up, notably ribs and chicken (wings, drumstick, sometimes thigh). Others are primarily eaten by cutting off the meat, such as steaks, but possibly picking up and gnawing the bone when otherwise finished. Smaller fish are often eaten whole, with the bones. Examples include whitebait of all sorts, anchovies, and smelt. In some cases the bone marrow may also be eaten, notably for beef or poultry (especially chicken), in the later case by the eater breaking or chewing off the end