In Indianna, the fear of mad cow disease hasn't kept Cecelia Coan from eating her beloved deep-fried cow brain sandwiches.

She's more concerned about what the cholesterol will do to her heart than suffering the brain-wasting disease found in a cow in Washington state.


"I think I'll have hardening of the arteries before I have mad cow disease," said Cecelia Coan, 40, picking up a brain sandwich to go at the Hilltop Inn during her lunch hour. "This is better than snail, better than sushi, better than a lot of different delicacies."

The brains, battered with egg, seasoning and flour, puff up when cooked. They are served hot, heaping outside the bun.

They are traced back to a time when southern Indiana newcomers from Germany and Holland wasted little. Some families have their own recipes passed down over the generations.

A little mad cow hysteria won't scare this crowd, said Coan, a bank teller who likes her brain sandwich served with mustard and pickled onions.

"You're going to die anyway. Either die happy or you die miserable. That's the German attitude, isn't it?" Coan said.