Several months ago, Andrew from Very Good Taste posted a list of 100 things that every good omnivore should try in their lifetime. The list is nothing if not random – he makes no claims that the separate items are particularly good tasting, let alone transformative experiences, yet there is quite a diversity here, which I can respect. I have followed his instructions (posted below) and found my own results pretty revealing. Basically, I can consider myself an omnivore. I will try almost anything once, with the exception of some live foods (oysters are okay, insects are not) and really spicy foods, because I am deathly afraid my palate will never recover.
Speaking of never recovering, I am on the fence about #46, Fugu. There is a chance of death with every bite, a chance which I would consider not worth taking. However, if I actually were to find myself in a very well-known and respected Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, with my honor at stake, I might just dig in. In fact, whenever I came to a point of uncertainty on the list, I often decided that if I were presented with this item while in its country or province of origin, I would indeed try a bite. Brown cheese, snake, and pig intestines all sound pretty grotesque to me, but I would give it a go – if only for the right to tell the tale. Please let me know if you have some tales to tell about any of the below! And who can guess which of the 100 is pictured above?
Andrew’s Directions:
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.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
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
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
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
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
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 *the link on this is bad, and a google search of Kaolin turned up a lot of results with the word diarrhea in them – here, I draw the line.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
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
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
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
From My Table...to Yours 
You DO pick interesting things to write about! What’s the difference between the orange and bold types? I get that the non-bold type items are things you haven’t eaten yet. You’ve eaten a few things I haven’t and there’s a couple I have that you should try: frogs legs, for one.
The orange items have a link to the wikipedia entry, just in case you don’t know what they are. And I have eaten frog’s legs – they are bolded but not orange, since they are pretty self-explanatory! Any guesses as to the picture?
That’s a durian right?
About fugu: fugu gets its toxicity from an organism it eats in the wild. They have begun to raise fugu in areas where that food isn’t available to them, thus creating perfectly safe fugu. Thing is, the fish is actually pretty bland, so most people shelling out a lot of money for it usually opt for the more dangerous stuff anyway.
You are correct! When I am a rich and famous foodie I will give out prizes – for now, you have my congratulations. 😉
I can’t beleive I forgot that I had access to a Japanese food expert – thanks for the info. Have you eaten fugu?
I have. In fact, living in Japan let me cross a number of the stranger foods off that list – carp, abalone, plum wine, umeboshi and basashi.
They also sell dried durian over there. It has the muted taste of dehydrated produce but is totally (and thankfully) stench-free. It’s pretty good actually.
I’d never heard of lobster thermidor before this list and now I really want to try it!