# Something you never tried, and were pleasantly surprised when you finally did **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522 "2025-12-08T17:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/41 "2025-12-11T23:38:03Z")
True. Unpleasant for me. But posted in this thread in direct response to the other Raclette triers just above. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/42 "2025-12-12T00:19:59Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I loved the stuff. There were beach vacations where I know my wife and I drank cases of it while on the beach. I went into mourning in 2008 when they finally discontinued it. I still had a couple six-packs in my pantry when my adult step-daughter came to visit. As soon as she saw it, she exclaimed, “Oh, my God! Zima! Please, please, please can I drink a couple?” thx for triggering a good memory … The softdrink that outsold Coke and Pepsi in Perú is called Inca Cola, is vitamin-piss colored and tastes like crappy kids chewing gum (when mixing all flavors together)… **yet there is something to it … 😉** [![](https://d1ioghyrwc6upe.cloudfront.net/cdn/ff/aIO8gAv3REWTGAAMSRI2cwzRWbAhylZdZELzXgiSh6k/1702884444/public/2023-12/inca-kolaa.jpg) ](https://d1ioghyrwc6upe.cloudfront.net/cdn/ff/aIO8gAv3REWTGAAMSRI2cwzRWbAhylZdZELzXgiSh6k/1702884444/public/2023-12/inca-kolaa.jpg) (The CC company did the CC thing and bought the Inca C. company some years ago and now it is more widely available in LatAm …) … paging @Frodo: is I.C. also a thing in argentina? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/43 "2025-12-12T00:55:20Z")
IC is available at ordinary grocery stores here in Miami Florida USA. It was reasonably popular in Panamá a couple decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/44 "2025-12-12T12:43:00Z")
cool, for a splitsecond, I thought of you (you being: Florida Man / MIA, etc… 😉 - but ultimately forgot and while at it: expanding to the other hispano-philes: @Pardel-Lux (and a couple of others I keep forgetting) … is it known in spain or through travels? … so thx anyway for the answer … and interesting to see it creep north … ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/45 "2025-12-12T12:56:02Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > paging @Frodo: is I.C. also a thing in argentina? Nope, we know about it but is not sold anywhere (I go to a Peruvian restaurant occasionally (I love Peruvian food), next time I’ll ask if may be they have some) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/46 "2025-12-12T13:16:38Z")
I never saw this before. Looking around it seems they have no production sites in Europe, I guess importing a limo is not economically viable. They would need a plant to dilute the sirup, like Coca Cola does, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/47 "2025-12-12T13:25:16Z")
Update: a quick googling shows that you can buy it in selected places, or order it via our Amazon equivalent. So is not generally available but you can get it if you put some effort on it. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/48 "2025-12-12T13:35:13Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > tastes like crappy kids chewing gum I sampled it when we visited my daughter while she was in the Peace Corps in Peru. I thought it tasted like bubble gum. It was quite popular everywhere that we visited. I have had no desire to try it again. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/49 "2025-12-12T13:54:51Z")
I enjoy an Inca Kola but only partake in the Peruvian restaurants. I don’t see it in the large grocers here (SW Chicago suburbs) but am confident I could find out if I looked. Probably more available on the north side where more Peruvians live. In the NoVA/DC area where my wife’s Peruvian family lives, it’s more readily available as there’s a larger population. Anyway, it’s good but it’s good as a sometimes flavor, not something I need a case of. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/50 "2025-12-12T14:52:37Z")
I should have said something similar in my post upthread. Namely that the availability of Inca Kola in Greater Miami mainstream name-brand grocery stores pretty well follows the ethnic mix of the neighborhoods. Not necessarily just Peruvians. But if half the patrons grew up speaking Spanish in their home, wherever it is/was, there’ll be Inca Kola on the shelves. And other non-US beverages too. The same brand stores in lily-white neighborhoods loaded with immigrants from NY/NJ instead? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/51 "2025-12-12T14:59:48Z")
I was in college before I tried a bagel. Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/52 "2025-12-12T15:11:49Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t see it in the large grocers here (SW Chicago suburbs) but am confident I could find out if I looked. They do have it at the big grocers like Kroger/Mariano’s and Walmart but it’s near the regional foods and easy to overlook. I work with a Peruvian fellow and see him drinking it at the office but I don’t think I’ve tried it. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/53 "2025-12-12T15:17:33Z")
Could be, I probably only looked by the specialty sodas out of curiosity if it was available. Didn’t think to look in the ethnic foods aisles. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/54 "2025-12-12T15:35:48Z")
I think they’re usually loose cans like some other import soft drinks like Irn-Bru & Irish Moss. I went on the hunt for Schweppes Bitter Lemon over the summer and found it in single talls like Red Bull in some import aisles. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2025, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/55 "2025-12-14T01:14:35Z")
you know In n out has now expanded way beyond California, including Texas and Tennessee, so I wonder if the quality will go down (and their reputation). I also wonder why White Castle basically has not expanded beyond the Mississippi, except Las Vegas ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/56 "2025-12-14T12:03:21Z")
Yep. But their store count is ~250 in SoCal, 100 in NorCal, and exactly 3 in TN, all in Nashville. TX has ~25 in Dallas, & ~10 each in San Antonio and Austin for a total of ~45. They’re also in Denver, Salt Lake City, several cities in Arizona and finally Las Vegas Nevada. So yes, they are trying to expand. And may well succeed. But beyond CA & the adjacent desert states it’s early days yet. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/57 "2025-12-16T19:12:24Z")
I remember trying asparagus and sweet pickles (separately) for the first time when I was 11, while flying on an Allegheny Airlines DC-3 in the spring of 1966. I fell in love with both of them immediately. I think I had lobster too for the first time that summer in the restaurant at a Holiday Inn. Drenched in butter, I thought it was the best thing ever. I really miss the deep-fried breaded clams I had at a Howard Johnson’s ca. 1968. Their Welsh rarebit with bacon and lots of gooey cheese was good too. 🥰 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/58 "2025-12-16T20:04:45Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > That said, a few years ago my wife and I went to Amsterdam. There are two things from that trip that surprised me with how much I enjoyed them: Fascinating. The very city I was thinking of. Over 30 years ago I went to the Netherlands for work, and all the Dutch engineers hated Amsterdam. We went anyhow, it was good but it was almost impossible to find Dutch food, and they rolled up the sidewalks at 9 pm. (We had come from Madrid, where dinner started at 9 pm.) My wife and I stayed there a few days before a cruise and I liked it much better. But the think I didn’t know I liked before I tried was octopus, which I had at a restaurant near the university recommended to us by the concierge at the hotel. Delicious. Though I read about octopus later, and now I feel like a cannibal. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/59 "2025-12-16T20:08:35Z")
I had octopus cooked in tomato sauce at a Greek restaurant when I was living in England many years ago. Delicious, but a bit rubbery too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522/60 "2025-12-21T15:04:43Z")
while I grew to like octopuss in culinary form along my life, I cannot really fathom ordering it now … feels as wrong as ordering dolphin steaks … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-never-tried-and-were-pleasantly-surprised-when-you-finally-did/1025522.md?page=4)