Relatively so. I rarely pick something out there off a menu but I like a tasting menu and will try anything. The only thing I didn’t eat was sheep brains at my favorite restaurant — I tried it on the tasting menu but it was gross.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
I’m not proud, but that’s a big reason I cannot do chef’s choice dinners or most tasting menus. I’ve expanded my palate some, but it’s still Midwest basic.
For the most part, yes. I’d rather not do any organ meat. And I dislike a lot of cheeses. But I’m usually willing to try almost anything. We had grasshoppers in Mexico a few times. And ant caviar on something else.
Post by sunnysally on Jul 29, 2023 22:09:21 GMT -5
I'll try almost anything. I've eaten several insects and don't mind them. I did try a mopane worm that I couldn't finish. It didn't taste bad but it was like chewing on a twig.
Oh, yes. I will gladly eat anything someone prepares with care. I’m not going to eat something deliberately wacky to test my limits, but anything the chef eats, I’ll eat.
And I really prefer dining companions who are equally enthusiastic, please. It’s not fun if someone is pointing and gagging.
Post by spinnaker5 on Jul 29, 2023 22:14:08 GMT -5
H and I build vacations around restaurants, so I guess yes, lol. My only caveat is that I don’t eat red meat (beef/lamb/pork/veal/etc) and also no organ meats. But I haven’t found that to be an obstacle to fantastic restaurants including tasting menus - wine pairings are always fun too because it seems like we always come away with ides about combinations we would never have thought of, or new vineyards to look for.
Post by goldengirlz on Jul 29, 2023 22:17:07 GMT -5
I’ve had grasshoppers before!
My H would say I’m not an adventurous eater because I’m a pescatarian. And I guess it’s true that often people use that word to mean a willingness to try uncommon (by local standards) meats or animal parts.
But beyond that, I’ll eat pretty much anything. I like lots of different flavors and cuisines. You’d probably call us foodies. We have, shall we say, discriminating tastes. Heh.
Yes. I was a super picky kid, but grew out of it. I love a prix fixe/pre planned dinner where someone else is picking the best dishes that go together well.
Yes. I was a super picky kid, but grew out of it. I love a prix fixe/pre planned dinner where someone else is picking the best dishes that go together well.
My H would say I’m not an adventurous eater because I’m a pescatarian. And I guess it’s true that often people use that word to mean a willingness to try uncommon (by local standards) meats or animal parts.
But beyond that, I’ll eat pretty much anything. I like lots of different flavors and cuisines. You’d probably call us foodies. We have, shall we say, discriminating tastes. Heh.
I'm like oh yeah I'm a foodie, BUT, I love Taco Bell and can't stomach grasshoppers or organ meat....
H is a true foodie.
I've been craving Taco Bell for days. Maybe weeks. DH just laughs at me...but sometimes the crappy stuff just tastes so good.
I could not bring myself to knowingly eat grasshoppers. I just can't.
My H would say I’m not an adventurous eater because I’m a pescatarian. And I guess it’s true that often people use that word to mean a willingness to try uncommon (by local standards) meats or animal parts.
But beyond that, I’ll eat pretty much anything. I like lots of different flavors and cuisines. You’d probably call us foodies. We have, shall we say, discriminating tastes. Heh.
I'm like oh yeah I'm a foodie, BUT, I love Taco Bell and can't stomach grasshoppers or organ meat....
H is a true foodie.
Being a foodie is overrated. It was a thing like 15 years ago, but now it basically means “shit rich people like.”
Post by UMaineTeach on Jul 29, 2023 23:10:05 GMT -5
I’m not at all.
Every time I see friends get in to The Lost Kitchen I think about how if I got picked of the 68,000 postcards it would be so wasted on me. And that place isn’t likely to serve insects or anything like that.
Absolutely, yes. And could not agree more about how irritating it is when people say something is gross/disgusting/gag-worthy. Just say you don't like it, no need to tell people their tastes are nasty.
I think on adventure scale from 1 being I only eat buttered pasta and 10 being being I'd be totally comfortable and unhesitating in eating casu martzu with a side of eyeballs, I'm probably around a 7. Jury is still out on the wiggly larvae cheese, but I'm never eating eyeballs, and I'm ok with that.
I'm a little unsure about that tostada. I've eaten sour cream and onion crickets (actual crickets, not cricket flour) and they really didn't taste like anything other than the seasoning powder, so I'm guessing however the grasshoppers are prepared in this case would be similar. But, we "eat with our eyes" and the presentation of that tostada doesn't look particularly appetizing to me. What else was in it?
Yes, I'll try just about anything once. There are certain foods that, no matter how they're prepared, I dislike. Offal is awful and tripe is terrible (to me), but I gamely tried several versions of both before realizing nothing would change my mind. The only thing I refused to try as an adult was silkworm larvae in Korea. I just couldn't get over the smell.
For how expensive this meal was, I am majorly side-eyeing the presentation of that plate. That is not the presentation I'd expect at a high-end restaurant.
Yes, I am a very adventurous eater and will eat pretty much anything, though I do not love bananas or bleu cheese. I will, however, eat both in a restaurant if they show up in front of me. I once ate a pig eyeball on a dare. That was absolutely revolting, by the way. The texture is awful.
I don't think being a foodie or an adventurous eater means only eating rich people food. I think there are tons of dishes from around the world that are eaten by typical people that lots of people won't touch.
Post by mcppalmbeach on Jul 30, 2023 2:30:57 GMT -5
Nope. I was super picky as a child and now I eat tons more, but I still am really picky about meat. I don’t like anything gamey or exotic, organ, dark meat, canned, raw, and fish that isn’t white or flakey. So No lamb, tuna fish, duck, octopus, dark meat chicken, tripe. I don’t really like ham or a lot of pork products beyond pork chops and bacon or any roast and beef cuts beyond steak, but I will eat if I have to. The others I can’t choke down even in the interest of being polite. I will eat or at least try anything vegetable or fruit. I don’t think that dish looks appetizing at all, but I might try a crispy insect…I think the meat thing is a lot of texture and appearance for me and I assume that it would just be crispy.
Post by basilosaurus on Jul 30, 2023 3:12:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I'll try just about anything. But I also have some foods in the firm no camp, but based on trying them or similar multiple times in the past. I don't like clams or oysters, so why would I think a cockle or pippie is any different?
Similarly, I don't like the teture of animal fat, although I have eaten what was apparantly straight chicken fat. It was unlabeled, meat on a stick thing in Japan. So if you give me a cut of meat full of fat and gristle, I'll pass. A friend of mine just eats the fat straight.
I've been pleasantly surprised more than once when being served something I didn't think I'd like and wouldn't have ordered. Uni come to mind. Delicious! I definitely ate things in Japan that I did not want to ask what they were. It tasted good, and that's all I need to know. I think one was a whelk egg case.
I don't think being a foodie or an adventurous eater means only eating rich people food. I think there are tons of dishes from around the world that are eaten by typical people that lots of people won't touch.
There's a lot of truth to both. I definitely don't think it's a rich thing that I'll go have a beer and buy some insect snacks from the kids selling them bar to bar. Dried lung snacks (not legal in the states, heh) being passed around is definitely not a rich person thing. It wasn't bad, ftr, but had a strange aftertaste.
But calling yourself a foodie in earnest is. Having a caviar (on pringles!) caterer is.
I'm still kicking myself I didn't have fugu in Japan. I meant to, and it was at my fish market inepensively, but I left before I got around to it. In Tokyo it's elite, but in the rural community where I lived it just was there. Unfortunately, they also had whale locally, but never on the English menu.
Post by mrsukyankee on Jul 30, 2023 3:29:21 GMT -5
I will try almost anything once and I have a wide array of foods I enjoy. I think I'd struggle with something like larvae due to texture, but I'd take one bite.
I have low spice tolerance. I've tried to raise it over the years, but anything "medium" spice level at a decent Indian or Thai place just tastes like pain to me. I also have lost my interest in some organ meats and won't eat any animal I've had as a pet/cared for (or their "relatives")
But other than that, I eat most things when offered. But I don't think those specific crickets would make the cut and I've never had a pet cricket so that isn't the issue.
Not really. I’ll eat more than DH or the kid, but I’m not into bugs.
I’m not one to spend $$$ on dinner out. We went to a nicer restaurant at the beach and $300 later for the five of us and we were still trying to figure out why my 2 crab cakes didn’t have a side. They were just on some cabbage. 🤷🏼♀️
Also, isn’t pork white meat? I’m confused by the reply above saying pork is red meat?
I like to think I am. I loved the Andrew Zimmern show and try to have that "if it looks good eat it" mindset... but I couldn't bring myself to try the spiders in Cambodia (they were SO BIG). And I have major issues with chewy/rubbery textures like tendons. I don't think I'd have an issue with crickets or ants, but I've never had the opportunity to try so who knows 🤷
I like organ meats if they're prepared well. Strong flavors are nbd. Textures are where I get stuck.