79
To me, alligator tastes like chewy chicken that lives in the ocean, if that makes sense.
Well for me, I grew up in very culturally stagnant parts of the US, for lack of better terms. It didn’t help that my parents are very much the ‘meat and potatoes’ sort and that’s what I was raised on. Outside of that, I’ve just never had the opportunity nor really desire, to try a lot of those things. Most of them made me think “sure sounds expensive”. Hell, I never even tried crab legs until I saw them at a buffet and thought “What the hell, why not.” For the record, I hated them XD
There’s some 20 things I’m not sure whether I’ve had or not because I’m not sure what they are or how narrow the definition is, such as “heirloom tomatoes”. I’ve had tomatoes that were “from the farmer’s own seeds”, but they may also not have been that particular variety.
I count 63 I’ve had for sure, but I have the advantages that several dishes are Typical Spanish and that I’ve lived in both the US and the UK. Having had churros, paella, octopus or gazpacho doesn’t exactly make you an adventurous Spaniard.
If you’re in the Chicago area, Hot Doug’s special for this week is rattlesnake sausage. That’s why I listed snake as “unsure” for me. I may have had it here.
When I lived further west there was a brand (can’t remember name but wish I could get it here) of cottage cheese that came in several flavors. With chives was one, with pineapple another and that rocked. Adding the pineapple doesn’t taste the same.
I had ‘gator at friends’ house - battered and deep fried in strips. Very delicate flavor and I liked it. They used to order all sorts of unusual meat; the strangest was lion (strong tasting) but I also had llama (smoked, good) and beaver tail (fatty and gross) and rattlesnake (like chicken, sort of, also deep fried strips) with them.
I’ve travelled a lot and will try most thing but would draw the line at insects, or domestic pet-type animals such as dogs and cats.
I’ll just list the ones I haven’t eaten, with a note as to which ones I will not eat:
- Absinthe
- Alligator – won’t eat
- Bird’s Nest Soup – won’t eat
- Chitlins
- Crickets
- Currywurst
- Dandelion Wine
- Durian
- Eggs Benedict
- Foie Gras – won’t eat
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Fugu – won’t eat
- Gazpacho
- Haggis
- Kobe Beef
- Lassi
- Nettle Tea
- Pavlova
- Phaal – won’t eat
- Pho
- Snake – won’t eat
- Som Tam
- Squirrel – won’t eat
- Steak Tartare
- Tom Yum
- Umeboshi
- Venison – won’t eat
Maybe that’s why I only got 40.
40 is just pathetic - high enough to mean I’m the right population but just way too low.
Cottage cheese and pineapple? It’ not exotic - you can get it by Hood in most supermarkets - it’s just very tasty and a nice textural contrast. Crisp light sweet and tart pineapple in smooth creamy rich just slightly salty cottage cheese. But it has to be full fat cottage cheese - you don’t get the right contrast and balance otherwise. A little pepper makes it even better. Just a nice little dish.
[Hood is a major milk company around here.]
Ah… now that you put it in the context of sausage, I think I may have tried that down South somewhere. Perhaps it was neither bad nor particularly good. I suspect that a lot of things on the list I’ve tried only once. And some I haven’t had in 30 years.
As for root beer, I dunno, as a kid I was never wild for the taste of it and as an adult I seldom drink any kind of soft drink. I’ve probably drunk root beer about five times in my life and it never occurred to me to augment it with ice cream, which I don’t even eat anyway.
I would be curious how many of the people who answered 80 or more to this question live in either Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, or New Orleans.
Curious - why are some of these things on your “won’t eat” list? Alligator and chitlins = yes, but venison or snake = no, for instance. Clearly you will eat unusual meats or parts (alligator and pig intestines) so why refuse snake, or something relatively benign and common in the U.S. like venison or squirrel?
Fuck yeah. Its literally intoxicating. I’m not sure if it has the same effect on me as it does on others, but I recall reading that there’s a pheromonal relationship there with the human brain WRT the aromatics and earthy, musky, heady flavors of truffles and I agree.
And who in their right mind doesn’t try foie gras…at least ONCE?
Really missing out!
61 for sure.
My cousin posted to facebook that she’s had 98. My father, who is very rarely scornful or sarcastic, said, “She can’t count that high.” 
Good point. I answered 93 and I used to be a chef in Beverly Hills.
Disappointed that bear wasn’t on the list.
I was sort of surprised to see this on the list - a Berlin specialty.
Basically, this a bockwurst (sausage with some nice spices) cooked regularly, then put onto a paper plate, literally smothered with ketchup, then add red paprika and then a healthy dose of yellow curry powder on top. The sausage is sliced into individual bite sized pieces and you eat with a tiny plastic fork/toothpick.
Quite tasty, cheap and can be found on pretty much every corner in Berlin and some other German cities. Hardly anything fancy or exotic.
I have had 50 things on the list - however, I have had the opportunity to eat many more from the list, but passed. I will try many things, but there are limits.
A little clarification: I haven’t had chitlins, but mean to get around to it someday. As for the others:
3. Alligator – their diet includes garbage and carrion. Ick!
34. Foie Gras – I don’t like the way it’s produced.
41. Fugu – I’m not suicidal.
70. Phaal – can’t eat ridiculously hot peppers.
87. Snake – I like snakes! I think they’re neat.
92. Squirrel – I don’t eat rodents.
98. Venison – I’ve seen a lot of (white-tail) deer up close. They look scruffy and often have fleas and ticks (which carry disease), so they squick me out.
I’ve never lived in any of those places. I lived relatively close to New Orleans when I was in college, but didn’t really have the time or money to eat out there very often.
I grew up in rural Louisiana, which can cover a surprisingly large subset of the list. I live in Dallas now, and the DFW metroplex has a rather remarkable number and variety of restaurants; I have heard that at one point, we had the most restaurants per capita of any city in the world.
- Several of which I eat a lot, several of which I will never eat again.
Actually, prickly pear refers to the fruit of the cactus. “Tuna” in Spanish, not “nopales” which are the cactus pads.
As for me, I only scored 59, which is highly disappointing compared to some of you folks. I consider myself to be a very adventurous eater. However, I think I should receive bonus points for having quite a few of these exotic foods in my kitchen right now. I am never without umeboshi, for instance.
I was at a sushi place the other day that had foie gras nigiri… I declined. I also had foie gras for my Xmas dinner but it was a pate that I suspect had been watered down with regular chicken pate. The real stuff, well prepared, is just… OMG.
Anyway I suspect that only a few people have the same reaction to the taste of truffle that I - and you, clearly - do. Perhaps as a result of being a ‘supertaster’ with a positive outcome? They’re like an obsession for me and if I see them on the menu I can’t but order whatever the dish is, regardless of price. Anyway this thread prompted me to trek into the city and seek out truffles. I eventually found some white-truffle infused oil and that will be pouring it all over everything for the next few weeks. 
Well, the list said “food,” not “bait.”