# New/Exotic foods you thought would be bad, but were actually pretty good **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544 "2006-03-23T03:48:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/21 "2006-03-24T18:17:54Z")
Rattlesnake. It’s good. ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/22 "2006-03-25T00:41:28Z")
Fried dill pickles. The first time I ever tried them was at a new restaurant, and they gave us a small plate of them gratis. They served them with ranch dressing, and I liked them. Then I tried them at Mimi’s, where they serve them with ranch and with thousand island–the thousand island perfectly complements the flavor of the fried dill pickles. Just delicious. And crocodile. My husband still won’t eat it, but it tastes great. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/23 "2006-03-25T02:42:16Z")
After long experience, I’ve learned that I like the majority of foods, and tolerate well almost all of the rest of them. The only ones I don’t like are quite familiar and common. Therefore any time I have the chance to sample a new or exotic food, I do so with gusto, on the assumption that it will taste delicious. And it usually does. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/24 "2006-03-25T17:33:02Z")
While jellied pig’s head (headcheese?) ain’t exotic at all - it’s a standard Bavarian dish, actually - it grosses most people out. I love the stuff, especially with hot mustard. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/25 "2006-03-25T17:36:46Z")
… to stay on topic, I should add that I eschewed it for years before actually trying it. ---
**Author:** ![mojave66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mojave66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave66)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/26 "2006-03-26T00:18:11Z")
Uni, yum. Especially fresh uni. And I ended up LOVING haggis when I was in Scotland. It became my default pub grub. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/27 "2006-03-26T01:00:32Z")
Balut (unhatched duckling) is really, really, REALLY tasty. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/28 "2006-03-26T23:55:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Lutefisk. > > I’m actually a pretty unchoosy eater, as long as the big three of horrible flavors aren’t involved (beer, coconut, or coffee) 😛 Careful before you know it, you’ll be singing [the Lutefisk song](http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/3227/O_Lutefisk.htm)!! ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/29 "2006-03-27T05:01:28Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > I recommend you try a durian milkshake. It cuts some of the rankness, and tastes great. Everyone I’ve recommended it to has loved it. Where do you get them around here? I’ve tried May’s Ice Cream out on Ranchester and Bellaire in Diho Plaza, I love their stuff and I’ve had nearly everything on the menu except the durian. We went there with my brother-in-law and his Vietnamese friend once – he got the durian milkshake and we thought they had spilled industrial cleaner on the table. Only when we moved to another table did we realize it was the durian. He said the durian may have been a little past its prime, and got a jackfruit one instead. It is enough to scare me, though. I’ve had all of the milkshakes at Cali Sandwiches on Milam as well, except the durian. Or do you make them fresh? I know you can get durians (fresh, frozen apparently to cut down the smell) and that large Vietnamese supermarket on Beechnut and the Beltway. But I do want to have one before I leave for Baltimore this summer I only recently (within the past 5 years) started eating non-kosher meats. So I’ve had some catching up to do with shrimp, crab, lobster, pork, clams, oysters, mussels, squid, etc. I eat everything with glee, but I now can’t live without Vietnamese BBQ pork, squid and octopus (especially in tapas and sushi), crawfish boils, boudin, Texas BBQ pork ribs and sausage, and good pastor. The scariest ethnic food I eat on a regular basis is the house special Vietnamese sandwiches around here, which are (usually) slices of a pressed pork loaf (don’t even want to know what that’s all about, though), pate (ditto), homemade butter, cilantro, peppers, mint, lettuce, carrots, and I think basil on a fresh crusty baguette. Unbelieveably good. Barbacoa tacos are also incredibly good, even though lots of people are turned off by the fact that it is head muscle (masseter, I think). To these people, I’d remind them that even the tame fajita is made from the diaphragm of cows. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/30 "2006-03-27T11:17:36Z")
Yeah, those Vietnamese pork rolls are great but scary, **edwino**. They’re much safer here than they used to be - in the 90s, a single bakery here managed to make 500 people ill. And you eat priests? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/31 "2006-03-28T01:03:32Z")
% Priest and cannibals, prehistoric animals, Everybody happy as the dead come home % ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/32 "2006-03-28T11:17:10Z")
Kangaroo- I was a little short of cash, and it was the cheapest meat available in the supermarket in Broken Hill, so I bought it. Cooked to rare with balsamic vinegar and olive oil it was yummy- just like venison. Home-made biltong- I think it was Wildebeest or Eland, but it could have been any large african antelope that my uncle happened to have shot. I LOVE biltong, jerky isn’t anywhere near as nice. Was pleasantly surprised at fried chicken feet and chinese greens with blachan (I have Chinese Malaysian friends who make excellent Nasi Lemak and Dim Sum). ---
**Author:** ![hop\_along](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f08c70/32.png) [@hop\_along](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hop_along)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/33 "2006-03-29T00:55:32Z")
Its a long time ago now, but when I first tried Frogs legs and Snails, the thought was enough to make me vomit, but both were very tasty and have no problems eating them now. Anybody out there had the Witchity grubs (not sure about the spelling but you all know what I mean) ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/34 "2006-03-29T02:36:25Z")
I lived in France for a few years, and tried some things there that I thought would never pass my lips… My first trip was as an exchange student, and I spent about three weeks with a French family. One night, they had a huge feast in my honor, including boudin–aka, blood pudding or blood sausage. It looked just like a sausage in casing, and I probably would have eaten it without even realizing what it was, but the father of the family insisted on explaining exactly what it was in great detail. Because of the setting, I really did have to try it anyway, and I discovered that it was actually quite good. I had snails on another occasion, as well as foie gras. And I got to appreciate more cheeses than I ever would have even been exposed to in the US. Another funny-ish story, sort of related. My second trip to France was on a Junior Year Abroad program for a year. During our first break, between the French-for-foreigner training and the actual start of classes, I travelled to St Malo with another friend in the program. St Malo is on the English Channel, and seafood is a main food item there, but both of us were used the American styles of serving seafood, where the “undesirable” parts are removed prior to serving. My friend ordered a meal that included a seafood plate appetizer, since she liked seafood. The plate that she received included mussels, shrimps with heads intact, and whole sea snails–complete with a straight pin to pull the snail out of the itsy-bitsy shell. She was completely turned off by it all, so I traded my vegetable appetizer for her seafood appetizer, and loved it–even though I had never eaten sea snails or mussels before. ---
**Author:** ![stucco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@stucco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucco)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/35 "2006-03-29T04:44:35Z")
boba/bubble tea. At first, the idea of putting black chewy balls in a beverage seemed completely disgusting. However, it’s actually amazing and one of my first stops whenever I’m in LA is usually a boba cafe. ---
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/36 "2006-03-29T20:27:10Z")
[Pork Floss.](http://www.ebigchina.com/ebcps/4/pd/237993.html) Now, I’m a big fan of pig meat, but didn’t know what to expect out of something made out of pork that looks like cotton candy. Turns out it’s crunchy, light, and yummy, sort of like fried pork rinds. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/37 "2006-03-29T20:36:14Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Kangaroo- I was a little short of cash, and it was the cheapest meat available in the supermarket in Broken Hill, so I bought it. Cooked to rare with balsamic vinegar and olive oil it was yummy- just like venison. Bloody expensive in Sydney, and I’ve only had it a couple of times. I had a 'roo tail stew (with a kangaroo I’d shot myself) which my stepfather made, and it was one of the best stews I’ve ever eaten, and then I had a kangaroo burger once. It was gamey and gorrible, and about three hours later, I got ill and had to call ralph and Huey on the great white telephone. > [@](#): > > Was pleasantly surprised at fried chicken feet… Chooks’ feet are most, most excellent steamed too (though I do get sick of having to spit out the tiny bones). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544/38 "2006-03-29T21:16:01Z")
I’d been told before I went on vacation to Australia that Vegemite was [horrible](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6582081&postcount=36) and that I wouldn’t like it. But I tried it, and I did. Nori (the seaweed that sushi is wrapped in). I have a Japanese aunt, and she had some around once when I went to visit my cousins at her house. I loved it, and still like to eat nori straight. My mom and some other members of my family think it’s disgusting that I eat seaweed. I had to ease myself into eating sushi- started out with california rolls and cucumber rolls, ie rolls that don’t have raw fish. Finally I screwed up enough courage to try the tuna rolls, and I love them. Non-well-done meats- in my family, meat was cooked well-done or, if you were being super-adventurous, medium-well. It took me a while to try less-well-done meats, and more time to really like them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-exotic-foods-you-thought-would-be-bad-but-were-actually-pretty-good/349544.md?page=1)