Here’s a list of foods off Ray’s list, along with a few he missed, that I have tried.
Warm Beer - I don’t think this is weird, some beers aren’t made to be consumed cold.
Fried Bread - AKA French Toast, another that doesn’t seem to belong on the list.
Crisps with Flavors - In the U.S. there is also a wide variety of interesting-flavored potato chips. I like Cajun Crawtators myself.
Escargot - Very good, but the restaurant I ate it at served it cooked in a little pastry, I don’t know how I would feel about it served in the shell.
Squid - I like fried calamari, though I don’t eat the tentacles in places that serve it that way too.
Frogs Legs - I had them once, quite good, like a very tender chicken with a slight fishy taste to them.
Bleu Cheese - Still eating it even after discovering it is infested with mites.
Campari - Good stuff, why on the list?
Fish Sauce - I’ve only eaten it in one dish, the Fish-Flavored Pork at BoBo China. It doesn’t even taste like fish.
Alligator - I had this at Pappadeaux’s. Kinda like frogs legs in flavor, only more fishy.
Sushi - Once I got the nerve to try it, I liked it - well, some of it at least.
Okra - I like it both pickled and fried.
Spam - Not a big fan of it, but it’s OK fried.
Chewing Gum - I know it’s weird to cultures that don’t chew it, but sometimes I like a piece.
Blood-rare steak - The only way to enjoy a good cut of beef!
Jell-O Salad - I prefer my Jell-O without stuff in it. Really don’t like the variety made with mayonaisse, green jello with carrots in it is better than it sounds, though.
Fruitcake - I worked for Mary of Puddin’ Hill, they made some damn good fruitcake, not as good as their competitor that made the Texas-shaped ones with chocolate chips in it, though.
Velveeta - Only good in a grilled-cheese sandwich in my opinion.
Grits - Sometimes I will order it with breakfast. For a while when I was 13 or 14 I went through a grits-eating phase, would go through several boxes of the individual serving flavored kind a month.
Crawfish - Popeye’s Chicken sometimes serves an excellent fried crawfish basket.
Neckbones - Soul food! Tried them once, not bad, but when you consider how little meat there is on them and how much work it is to get it all, the fact that they were dirt-cheap doesn’t make them a bargain.
Chicken-fried Steak - One of my Mom’s favorite foods.
Deep-Fried Turkey - This is the best way to prepare a turkey in my opinion. Very tender, flavorful, and not greasy at all like you would expect.
Wild Onions - When I was a kid I used to pick them and eat them in the yard.
Collard Greens - Bitter, didn’t really care for them much.
Pumpkin Pie - Not one of my favorites, but not bad.
Lobster - Don’t care for it that much, but then I don’t see what the big deal over shrimp is either.
Ostrich - Had some Slim-Jim-like meat sticks made from ostrich once. Tasted just like the beef kind.
Tequila worms - I’ve swallowed the worm in mezcal and had one of the lollipops with the worm in it as well. The worm has no flavor of it’s own.
Habanero & Jalapeno peppers - Friend introduced me to jalapenos sliced lengthwise with peanut butter in them, like celery sticks. Very good snack, and the oil in the peanut butter covers the heat of the pepper. Also like eating pickled jalapenos, but other than with peanut butter I don’t like them fresh. I ate a habanero pepper once on a dare and will never do it again - but I like a few salsas with habanero in them, and I also enjoy the five-pepper stuffed olives, which include some olives stuffed with habanero.
Mole - A lot better than it sounds. Chicken cooked for a long time in mole is excellent.
Fried Pig Skins - A common snack down here in Texas. Don’t eat them as much as I used to, though.
Fried Plantains - Had it at as a side dish at a churrascaria. OK, nothing to write home about.
Fried Yucca - Also served at a churrascaria, very bland, maybe it would be good with some kind of sauce.