The Omnivore's Hundred
This delightful meme is the brainchild of Andrew Wheeler, who is co-author of a blog called Very Good Taste. Andrew made a list of 100 foods every omnivore should try, from the utterly mundane (s'mores) to the absolutely weird (roadkill).
Here are the rules:
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.
I've eaten a respectable 68 of the 100, and there were just a handful of things I don't think I'd be willing to try (whole insects...although I could be persuaded, roadkill and fugu).
Here goes...
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
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 [was the bowl actually sourdough? I don't freakin' know!]
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 [I've eaten goat, but it was roasted and in tacos]
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 [I prefer dirty vodka martinis]
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
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 [hate, hate, hate]
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. [The French Laundry. Yah, baby]
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare [if regular old rabbit counts, I'm in]
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam [huh, I think I must have tried it, but I can't remember a specific instance, so I'm not gonna mark it]
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
i can't believe you've never had carob chips when compared with some of the other exotic things you've eaten! i prefer them on green tea yogurt from pinkberry
Posted by: maria | August 20, 2008 at 12:15 AM
Hi Maria! I've got to admit that I've never been to Pinkberry, either! We don't have them in Vermont.
Although I'm far from a chocoholic, I think that given the choice, I've gone for chocolate over carob every time.
There's a possibility that I ate carob chips while growing up (my parents did shop at a co-op when I was a youngster, and I remember seeing carob there), and that I've eaten carp, spam and drank a salted lassi, but I couldn't remember specific instances of trying these foods, so I didn't check them off!
If I ever get to a Pinkberry, though, I'll make sure I try carob on my green tea yogurt!
Posted by: Suzanne Podhaizer | August 20, 2008 at 08:19 AM
Up it by 7 more locally - Euro Market in Winooski sells nettle tea bags. The asian shop(s) on North Street sell durian fruit. The Vermont Pub & Brewery serves haggis once a year for Burns Night. Asiana House and Trattoria Delia have, or at least had a while back, sea urchin. The lassi, cognac, and dirty gin martinis are readily available in town as well.
Posted by: Beth | August 20, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Well I have eaten 80 of the 100, I'm now on a mission to eat, or drink, smoke the other 20! I'm very impressed with the list, I think it is a good compilation.
Posted by: Sam Palmisano | August 22, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Thanks Beth -- That's very helpful! You sound like a pretty adventurous eater.
Now I just need to find a good source for absinthe, chitterlings and frog's legs.
Posted by: Suzanne Podhaizer | August 28, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Sam -- I like the list, too, although I'm working on my own version. There's definitely a British slant to this one (the guy who came up with it is from England).
Let me know if you successfully consume every item on the list...it's quite a feat!
Posted by: Suzanne Podhaizer | August 28, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Try out my "Chocolate Lovers 40" list!!
http://chocolateheaven-online.com/2008/10/21/the-chocolate-lovers-40-list/
Posted by: Chocolate Heaven | October 21, 2008 at 07:30 AM