Out of curiosity, WHY did it take you so long? And what made you finally give in?
For me, it was sushi. Took me almost 30 years to try it.
I wasn’t fond of salads (too many vegetables) for the first 25 years of my life, either.
I’m fully in support of you Eve, I wish I’d never tried them.
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how is it that they can get away with calling it a big mac when in reality it is quite small?
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Cuz when they came out, they were bigger than anything else McDonald’s had…
I dunno…when I was little I was really picky…and I thought they had mayo later on, so I never tried one…then, I finally did.
Tomatoes, for the longest time, I’d pick them out of anything I ate. Then, when I was about 20 and visiting some friends at another college, I had a strange craving for a tuna fish sandwich on white bread with lettuce and tomato. I can’t explain it, but I swear, I thought about getting that sandwich for hours and hours. Having finally broken the ice, tomatoes are now a regular part of my sandwich menu.
Mushrooms, OTOH, I continue to avoid like the plague…
OMG :eek: I almost forgot!
I was 28 when I first tried an honest to god Philly Cheesesteak! Sure, I had eaten ‘cheesesteaks’ before, but those were phony, pale, almost insulting, bastardizations of a true classic.
What drove me to get it in the first place was the ‘Best of’ show on Food TV, they had a piece on Pat’s King of Steaks in Philly, and it sounded so good, I just had to make the 2.5hr drive down there to get one. Now, I’ll take a day trip there just for a sandwich, 2.5hrs there, eat, 2.5hrs back.
My next food related adventure will be an authentic soft shell crab sandwich, I’ll take a trip to Baltimore for that one, if you’re gonna do it, do it right.
[sub]My friends all make fun of me[/sub] 
I never had coleslaw until I was about 24. It always looked and smelled icky. Now I can’t get enough of it.
Oh, and I’ve still never seen “Jaws”. I’m not quite sure how that’s possible, but it’s true. I must fix that someday.
As one who made that mistake last year: just get the crabcakes. You’ll thank me.
I’m 39, and I’ve never had sushi. I was 31 before I tasted calamari (didn’t care for it) and I was probably 36 or 37 before I tasted lobster (I still don’t see what all the fuss is about.)
Yeesh, some of you people were deprived early!!!
I was lucky to find out my likes and dislikes at a young kid.
Fish, bad – makes my stomach to flip flops thanks to my mom’s salmon casserole at about age nine – I was violently ill and smelling fishy things make me sick.
Meat, good.
McDonald’s, only when all the food in your fridge is moldy but does satisfy the hunger. (homemade burgers are the way to go.)
I can say that I have tried most all cuisine in my life. Certain veggies I have tried and can’t stand (like asparagus and squash among a couple more) but I love more veggies than I dislike.
Ah but the love of food. I love to cook, experiment and try new dishes. Food gives us life, energy and in some cases a few extra pounds we wish weren’t there. However, in my life cooking food is theraputic (sp) and eating the rewards of my cooking makes me happier even still.
On the never will eat list though:
Oysters
Squid
Snails
Dog
Horse
Monkey Brains
Cream of Wheat (icky)
On the fun side, recommendation list for you needing to experience more:
Ostrich – very hearty bird. Texture similar to beef but lighter in taste.
Buffalo – much more flavorful than beef and with less fat. Since most buffalo is on a ranch with full rights to roam it also has a better diet and that’s why it’s more flavorful – I guess.
Elk – cooked correctly, slow and easy, a very flavorful meat. Be sure to have it cooked correctly though.
Deer – very good as well but like Elk, needs to be cooked correctly or it’s pretty gamey.
Goose – as listed with Deer and Elk, it needs tender care while cooking or it can be the worst thing you ever tasted.
Rainbow Trout – One of the few fish and seafood things I can handle. It’s a very light fish.
Pheasant – similar to a cornish game hen. Good as an herby dish.
I didn’t drink alcohol until I was 23. Boy, no wonder I never had as much fun at parties as my friends. Of course, I was thrown off track early in my life by my absolute repugnance to beer. I thought it was alcohol I didn’t like, and never drank. Until one night my friend stopped by with a bottle of Bacardi and two litres of Coke. Yum. I’m glad I can now carry on my proud family tradition of Irish drunks.
Last summer, for the first time ever, I tried Indian food. I was in London (another first for me) and hadn’t had a good meal in three days. Even the Burger King I went into was bad, even for a Burger King. Since it seemed every other building I passed was an Indian take-out, I figured “What the hell.” Man! How the hell did I miss this stuff for a quarter of a century? Fantastic! No wonder the Brits took over India.
My parents made us eat everything. The idea was to make us adventerous about food. And it worked on the younger two. I OTOH became exceptionally picky. But I have tried and eaten full servings of the foods I don’t like, and am somewhat willing to try again - I just don’t expect much.
But I can’t think of anything that I tried for the first time as an adult.
Oh my goodness, you mean it’s possible to live without guacamole? Isn’t it one of the food groups?
That reminds me, my dear, dear, intelligent friend - who happens to be from Ohio - and I were making guacamole in Jerusalem. She’s a much better cook than I am, generally, but she tried peeling the avocado. She seemed affronted that I, who rank highly on the list of the World’s Worst Chefs, was laughing at her.
As for me, I am not a coffee drinker. I have never had a latte, a capuccino, an espresso, or even a plain cup of coffee. I have had a couple mochas, which made me extremely ill, hence my lack of enthusiasm about the stuff.
I have never tried a Big Mac being that the two quarter pounders with cheese I have eaten in my life have come straight back up. Since I eat hamburgers I am thinking it has something to do with the processed cheese.
I have never declined trying a new food (except Big Macs), working in the restaurant business might have had something to do with it. Those Greeks don’t waste any part of the lamb, I can tell you that much. Nothing quite like a plate of steaming intestines to get the appetite going huh?
If bugs were on the menu I’d try them, who knows when you might find a new favourite food.
I would draw the line at eating endangered species, dogs or horse meat. I don’t think I’d ever be that hungry.