Food Tasting, Blogosphere Style

[pameladlloyd]

Here's a meme about food. I got it from cvillette, who got it from cristalia, who got it from Very Good Taste.

I'm cribbing Andrew's original introductory text on Very Good Taste and putting my own twist on it: "...Below is a list of 100 things that [Andrew] think[s] every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise[sic] everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers."

Note: The Very Good Taste blog has links to Wikipedia articles for many of the items.

Here are Andrew's original instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Note: As always with any list, I want to emphasize that I consider your response voluntary.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I'm with cvillette on this one. Does alligator count?)
6. Black pudding (Acording to Wikipedia, this is the more common term. So, how come I've heard the other term in NYC and England, and never this one?)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (I've had many different kinds of fish, but none to my knowledge was carp.)
9. Borscht (My husband made this for me, because he knows I love beets.)
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho (I'm not sure; I've tried several Vietnamese dishes, but I don't remember their names.)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (I've had pâtés of various kinds, but I don't think I've had this one. I probably won't either, due to the inhumane treatment required to produce it.)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Hmm. How does this compare to a jalapeño, I wonder?)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Ugh! No cigars, please.)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (I used to eat barbequed goat in a little place outside San Antonio that claimed Willie Nelson as a patron. Never saw him, though.)
42. Whole insects (Hmm. I honestly can't remember if I tried those chocolate covered ants, or not. I thought about it, but in general the idea of insect does not appeal.)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (As Kaopectate, in the original formulation.)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (I can't be entirely certain whether I've tried these, with my southern US anticedants, but I know I've tried menudo.)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (Just not together.)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum (But, I've had tom kha gai.)
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (Well, rabbit, anyway.)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

cvillette commented that he'd "failed Limberger." I didn't; I think it tastes better than it smells and it doesn't smell nearly as bad as I'd expected from its reputation.

I love food and I love to try new things. I'm pretty good about taking at least a taste of anything served as food. There are a few items on this list that I may not get to (especially the alcoholic beverages, as I don't drink much), and I really wish Andrew hadn't included the tasting menu at three-Michelin-star restaurants, as I don't think that's really fair on a list otherwise consisting of specific food and beverages, but I think I've put a fairly good dent in it.