One Hundred Things to Eat (If You Dare!)

Adventurous eating is something that I don't do much of these days. I have found myself getting into a fairly comfortable rut when it comes to trying new things. Below are my answers for a list of one hundred food items that I have or have not tried. Some of them are pretty exotic; I had to Google many of the items. Others are not so rare to some of us, as this list has been distributed internationally. The items with an asterik are some of my favorites; those that are crossed out are items that I would never eat. Which of these have you tried? How was it? What would you never eat?

Y 1. Venison

N 2. Nettle tea
N 3. Huevos rancheros (would like to try)
N 4. Steak Tartar
Y5. Crocodile (have eaten alligator)

Y 6. Black pudding
Y 7. Cheese fondue*
Y 8. Carp
N 9. Borscht
Y 10. Baba ghanoush*
Y11. Calamari
Y12. Phở
N 13. PB&J sandwich

Y 14. Aloo gobi

Y15. Hot dog from a street cart (I guess I have)

N16. Epoisses (not sure)
Y 17. Black truffle*
Y 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Pear wine*, cherry wine, blueberry wine, peach wine)
N 19 Steamed pork buns
Y 20. Pistachio ice cream
Y 21. Heirloom tomatoes
Y 22. Fresh wild berries*

N 23. Foie gras
Y 24. Rice and beans
N 25. Brawn, or head cheese
N 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
Y 27. Dulce de leche

N 28. Oysters ( I am assuming they mean on the half-shell)
Y 29. Baklava*
N 30. Bagna cauda (anchovy and garlic dip--this might be ok)
Y 31. Wasabi peas
Y 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (if you had it at Panera, does this still count?)

N 33. Salted lassi
Y 34. Sauerkraut
Y 35. Root beer float*

N 36. Cognac with a fat cigar ( I haven't had these two things together)
Y 37. Clotted cream tea*
Y 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
N 39. Gumbo

N 40. Oxtail
N 41. Curried goat
N 42. Whole insects (It goes without saying that I would not eat this)

Y 43. Phaal (I’m not really sure what Indian dishes I’ve had or haven’t)
Y 44. Goat’s milk
N 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more

N 46. Fugu (Japanese Pufferfish)
Y47. Chicken tikka masala
Y 48. Eel
Y 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

Y50. Sea urchin (sushi)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (Japanese pickled Ume fruit)

N53. Abalone
Y 54. Paneer
Y 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
Y 56. Spaetzle*
N 57. Dirty gin martini (never the gin kind)
Y 58. Beer above 8% ABV
N 59. Poutine (French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy!)
N 60. Carob chips
Y 61. S’mores*
N 62. Sweetbreads
N 63. Kaolin This is clay. I’d have to be pretty hungry to eat this.)
N 64. Currywurst (might be good)
Y 65. Durian (nauseating!)
N 66. Frogs’ legs (I want to try these)
Y 67. Beignets*, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
N 68. Haggis
Y 69. Fried plantains (even though I hate bananas!)
N70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (There is no way I would eat pig butt)
Y 71. Gazpacho
Y 72. Caviar and blini
Y 73. Louche absinthe
Y74. Gjetost, or brunost
N 75. Roadkill
N 76. Baijiu
Y77. Hostess Fruit Pie
Y 78. Snail*
Y 79. Lapsang souchong
Y Bellini
N 81. Tom yum (sounds pretty good)
Y 82. Eggs Benedict*

Y 83. Pocky
N 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
Y 85. Kobe beef (or so the menu said)
N 86. Hare (I have always been curious)
Y87. Goulash
N 88. Flowers
N 89. Horse
N 90. Criollo chocolate
N 91. Spam
Y 92. Soft shell crab*
N 93. Rose harissa
Y 94. Catfish
Y 95. Mole poblano*
Y 96. Bagel and lox*
N 97. Lobster Thermidor
Y 98. Polenta

N 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

Y 100. Snake (Rattlesnake-Cactus Pierogi—It was ok)

That's a total of 56 for me. I would love to try some of these items, and some of them I wonder why I haven't tried yet! As a result of this exercise, I am going to set a new goal to try new things--in both cooking and eating. I'll be sure to report here when I get the opportunity.