# What Mainstream Food Item have You Never Tasted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463 "2018-08-29T12:53:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/121 "2018-08-31T14:54:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Anyone ever had sardines, _not_ out of a can? I’ve had them at tapas bars and loved them, so when I saw them on offer at the fish counter at Wegman’s I snapped them up. Charcoal grilled with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, absolutely delicious. When my wife told her co-workers we had sardines for dinner, the first question was, “On purpose?” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/122 "2018-08-31T16:06:01Z")
Grilled sardines are on the menu of every Greek restaurant in New York City, and every other cuisine where grilled fish figures large. You can also get them at the fishmonger. Nice easy dinner…zap for a couple minutes a side on a hot grill, and serve with lotsa lemon. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/123 "2018-08-31T22:11:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Anyone ever had sardines, _not_ out of a can? > > I was in a Moroccan restaurant in the Caribbean and saw “sardines” as an appetizer. I ordered them and was surprised. [Two whole (heads on) eight inch long grilled fish](https://goo.gl/images/r1qRUH) that were mild tasting. Identifiable as tasting “like sardines” but other than that, totally unlike what I was used to. With the smaller sardines I just dust them in seasoned flour, flash-fry them and you can eat them bones and all. The bigger ones I take the heads off and ‘butterfly’ the body, removing the skeleton completely. Delicious. ---
**Author:** ![ST879](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@ST879](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ST879)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/124 "2018-08-31T23:37:15Z")
I will try anything once but have never had a 5-hour energy drink if that counts. I’ve never had game meats like elk, deer either. Whole fish with the head included – steamed, grilled, fried - count me in! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/125 "2018-08-31T23:58:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Are you certain you had sole? Flounder and sole are difficult to tell apart. Yes, I am certain it was sole. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/126 "2018-09-01T00:46:36Z")
Blood pudding isn’t mainstream in the USA, but when I visit the UK, it’s the one item I won’t try in a full English breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/127 "2018-09-01T01:02:59Z")
I can’t think of a “mainstream” food I’ve never tasted, but all this talk of flounder and sole is reminding me of how my mother used to make fried flounder for dinner often. She just bought the filets at the supermarket, and to me it was like any other piece of fish. But if I’d known when I was a little kid how creepy a flatfish’s head looks, I don’t know whether I would have eaten it! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/128 "2018-09-01T01:22:34Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Blood pudding isn’t mainstream in the USA, but when I visit the UK, it’s the one item I won’t try in a full English breakfast. I’m with you. I’ve tasted it, but I don’t relish it. The white pudding is intense, but not alien if you like liver sausage. And with the rashers and pork sausage, egg and mushroom and tomato and toast, there’s more than enough to fill you up in a Full English without having to eat the black pudding. You can always ask the waiter to skip the black pudding and give you extra white, too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/129 "2018-09-01T01:39:55Z")
You forgot the beans. Proper [British beans](https://www.heinz.co.uk/products/beanz/ranges/beanz/heinz-baked-beanz), not the American ones. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/130 "2018-09-01T01:56:53Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > With the smaller sardines I just dust them in seasoned flour, flash-fry them and you can eat them bones and all. > > The bigger ones I take the heads off and ‘butterfly’ the body, removing the skeleton completely. > > Delicious. A local restaurant here in the PacNW has added “Smelt & Chips”. Whole battered & fried smelt instead of cod filets. Delicious & crunchy. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/131 "2018-09-01T04:25:57Z")
I’m British. I’ve travelled a bit, but I’ve never been to America, There are some American foods I’ve heard of. I’ve never seen them on the menu in my travels, but I’m curious to try them. If they are available over here, it’s under a different name. Offhand I can think of: - Graham crackers - Clam chowder - Biscuits and gravy. I’m sure there are others. I’ve never had borscht either. Wouldn’t mind trying it, I’ve just never seen it on offer. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/132 "2018-09-01T05:00:56Z")
Kale. I’ve tried about everything else except maybe not spam and didn’t have grits until a few years ago. But I am boycotting Kale. If I am going to have greens I’ll have some that don’t need to be massaged first to be edible. (What really killed me was seeing Kale Caesar Salad on a menu. Why replace perfectly good romaine which is actually more nutritionally dense than kale just because it’s trendy.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/133 "2018-09-01T05:03:04Z")
Graham crackers taste a lot like digestive biscuits; I assume you (Peter Morris) know what those are, being British. Digestive biscuits sound to most Americans like something people eat when they’re sick; I love them. Clam chowder is a milk- or cream-based soup or stew, red or white depending on where it’s made, with potatoes and clams. I’ve only had the canned variety, and Campbell’s Chunky is my favorite. (Sorry if anyone’s a chowder connoisseur and thinks that’s gauche.) Biscuits and gravy are baking powder biscuits (NOT what we Americans call cookies) served hot and topped with a white flour gravy fortified with sausage and black pepper. I’ve never seen borscht on a menu, although I can’t recall ever having patronized a Russian or Eastern European restaurant. It does look like it would be quite easy to make, and I have seen it in grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/134 "2018-09-01T05:06:37Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Kale. > > I’ve tried about everything else except maybe not spam and didn’t have grits until a few years ago. But I am boycotting Kale. If I am going to have greens I’ll have some that don’t need to be massaged first to be edible. (What really killed me was seeing Kale Caesar Salad on a menu. Why replace perfectly good romaine which is actually more nutritionally dense than kale just because it’s trendy.) I’ve always associated kale with the nasty-tasting stuff we used to decorate the buffet platters with when I worked as a hotel banquet server in college. It was a variety that really was not meant to be eaten. My SIL did make kale chips one time when I was at their house, and I will admit that they were good. I wouldn’t go to the trouble of doing it myself, however. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/135 "2018-09-01T05:29:42Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > If I am going to have greens I’ll have some that don’t need to be massaged first to be edible. What do you mean? 😕 > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Biscuits and gravy are baking powder biscuits They’re scones, Peter Morris. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/136 "2018-09-01T06:41:11Z")
There are many mainstream foods I’ve never tasted due to allergies. Peanut butter is the best example. The closest I came was when I was two and my parents gave some peanut butter on a cracker. I began to put it in my mouth but my lips immediately swelled up before I could ingest it. My parents rushed me to the doctor who gave me some Benedryl and diagnosed my peanut allergy. It’s a good thing I didn’t swallow it or else I would’ve needed an emergency tracheotomy. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2018, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/137 "2018-09-01T07:00:11Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Someone mentioned crawfish. Reminds me that I’ve got to get back to New Orleans someday, because even restaurants up my way that claim to be authentic New Orleans can’t cook a plate of crawfish étouffée that’s more than just passable. Forget about New Orleans. They can’t cook crawfish no. Try Cajun country. I recommend [Richards](https://www.facebook.com/Richards-Seafood-Patio-203085219715211/) in Abbeville, just down the road from Lafayette. About the best boiled crawfish I know of and when I went to school in Lafayette I got to go to some crawfish boils run by real Cajuns in the swamp. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2018, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/138 "2018-09-01T07:02:36Z")
I can think of only two mainstream ones - cranberry sauce and yams. Blech to both. There is a bunch of other stuff I’m not fond of, like beef liver, but I’ve had it Beef tongue, on the other hand, is delish. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2018, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/139 "2018-09-01T11:11:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Clam chowder is a milk- or cream-based soup or stew, red or white depending on where it’s made, with potatoes and clams. I’ve only had the canned variety, and Campbell’s Chunky is my favorite. (Sorry if anyone’s a chowder connoisseur and thinks that’s gauche.) Red chowder is tomato-, not cream-based. It comes from New York City (Manhattan): [https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/classic-manhattan-clam-chowder](https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/classic-manhattan-clam-chowder) > [@](#): > > Biscuits and gravy are baking powder biscuits (NOT what we Americans call cookies) served hot and topped with a white flour gravy fortified with sausage and black pepper. The sausage in question is American breakfast sausage: ground pork seasoned with sage, cloves, brown sugar, and sometimes red pepper flakes. The sausage is browned and crumbled up. As for biscuits vs scones, they’re both quickbreads, but biscuits are in my experience fluffier on the inside. > [@](#): > > I’ve never seen borscht on a menu, although I can’t recall ever having patronized a Russian or Eastern European restaurant. It does look like it would be quite easy to make, and I have seen it in grocery stores. Borscht can be served either hot or cold; you can get bowls of it in some delicatessens that have sit-down service. There’s one in Minneapolis (the Lincoln Del) that serves it cold, with lots of cabbage and a dollop of sour cream. The borscht I’ve had in the former USSR has always been hot, and the recipes vary a lot. F’rinstance, Moscow borscht has a lot of meat; Ukrainian borscht is mostly cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, along with the beets. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/140 "2018-09-01T12:49:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, I am certain it was sole. Viewing the intact fish, [I could tell them apart](https://sciencing.com/difference-between-sole-flounder-5841071.html), but in a [blind taste test](https://www.chowhound.com/post/flounder-9-sole-16-282291), or viewing a tray of fillets, I’d be lost. Your palate is more discerning than mine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463.md?page=8)