It’s fun, especially in a foodie paradise like Austin. I travel a lot nowdays and like to experiment. I think it’s fun to blindly order things from a foreign menu and just see what turns up. I’ve never gotten anything I didn’t like.
I can eat most anything, but like most people I have my favorites and tend to order those.
If I won’t eat something, it’s because it’s something in the preparation. This one time my then-fiancee took me to her home for spring break, telling her dad and stepmother “Oh, John loves chili. You ought to make him some of yours!”
So the stepmother did… by throwing raw hamburger meat in the chili. :barf: Could barely touch it, thinking of all the fat that didn’t get browned off. Yuck.
I was a fairly picky kid and have become a fairly adventurous adult. I’ll try anything, but over the years have made peace with the fact that some things just don’t sit well with me–truffles and liver are two of them.
It’s mostly just a lack of anxiety. There isn’t much to describe. There will always be something I’ll enjoy eating, so I don’t worry about which restaurant people want to go to. All food is intended to taste good, or at the very worst, be inoffensive. I trust the cook.
I find a certain kind of pleasure in disappointment. Like pressing on a bruise or wiggling a loose baby tooth. As for food, specifically, if I end up not liking it, I find time to diagnose and learn what’s wrong. Is it the texture? The spicing? Is there a particular ingredient I don’t enjoy? What about the sauce? The beginning taste is good but there’s a bitter note at the end. Why is that there and what can I do about it. I’ve ‘salvaged’ meals by learning that following up a bite of one thing with something else will override an unpleasant aftertaste or a swallow of water will help with an odd texture.
I also maintain a firm belief that it takes 7 bites to really decide if I don’t like something and that initial displeasure is often just surprise at a novel sensation.
Also, it comes in handy for those situations where you find yourself in one of those pesky air crashes in the Andes.
Here’s a picture of a a giant grill at a Mongolian barbecue place.
If it won’t kill me or bite me back, it will take at least one trip down the hatch.
It’s good when a group is trying to decide where to eat and I can truthfully say “I don’t care. Pick a place and I assure you I will find something I like.”
While I won’t eat absolutely anything (got my eye on you Gulf oysters, organ meats, and bitter melon) on the whole, it’s pretty good.
There’s no anxiety about being stranded, foodwise, when traveling or out with friends. You never have to worry about insulting someone’s grandma’s cooking when dining at their house. There’s always new and interesting things to stick in your mouth, or at least taste. It adds another dimension to travel.
On the other hand, it can lead to paralyzing indecision when trying to choose somewhere to go or what to pick from the menu. The worst arguments I have ever had with my wife have all revolved around where to eat, usually on vacation. Of course, omnivory can lead to a never-ending fight against overeating. When pretty much everything looks tasty, there are more opportunities to fail to control one’s impulses.
It helps if you enjoy food. I couldn’t imagine being super picky, while also really liking to eat. That would be strange. If food is merely fuel for your body, then it’s just as well if you only eat 4 things.
I kind of thought the opposite. If food is merely fuel, then why care what it is? All that matters is the calories and proportions of fat/carbohydrates/protein/vitamins/minerals/fiber.
I love eating and I love eating everything!
The only thing I really, really hate is blackcurrant rubbish (not the fruit itself, the sweets or the drinks). Eeeuch, tastes of cat pee. And a flavorist friend of mine says I’m right about that: it has cat pee taste molecules, or something. Obviously this is not a problem when going anywhere for food. It is only a problem when you are driving and you are just putting wine gums in your mouth without looking. :eek:
I’m allergic to some kinds of tomato paste or sauce. I’m not sure what it is, but it makes my mouth swell up a little and gives me a rash around my mouth. I can feel it happen and don’t care. It’s worth it every time! I wouldn’t avoid anything for it.
Yep, I’ll have anything. I might not love it, it might be too bitter or sweet or strong, but there is always something about it I can enjoy. Problems with mouth feel I just can’t understand (though I’ve never taken the cinnamon challenge). I like it all.
Absolutely. I expect the majority of “food is just fuel” people probably have a broad range of acceptable foods.
My point was: assuming pickiness and love of food are the X and Y axes, people who love food and eat everything (quadrant 1) have it pretty good, while the rare person who is indifferent to food and only eat a few things (quadrant 3) is not missing much.
I have no allergies or sensitivities that I’ve ever encountered. I also have no religious proscriptions against any foods, or combonations of foods.
I love it!
I would love to have Andrew Zimmern’s job. I think I could at least try 85% of the things I’ve seen him eat.
You know, if there was ever a thread which needed input from the member named Mangetout, surely this is it. 
Scooped 
Oh, man. My favorite Italian pasta dish. Very straight-forward. Just awesome. You forgot about the Pecorino Romano (and it has to be Pecorino Romano or some similar sheep’s milk cheese). Heaven.
The best thing about being able to eat anything is that it makes me the perfect dinner guest. I have my opinion about food, yes. But if you cook a meal for me, I don’t care if it’s fried cockroaches. I will enjoy it and thank you for it.
When I’m traveling, I tend to wander into restaurants with a menu that’s only in the local language. This means they cater to the locals, rather than tourists. So I peruse the menu and order something in my price range. I’ll ask the waiter what it is, only to avoid the handful of foods I won’t eat (like extremely hot peppers or something that’s still alive). I’m rarely disappointed.
My partner, on the other hand, needs to know practically every ingredient in a dish, and how it’s prepared. Then he asks for substitutions, especially in the seasoning.
A good, if seemingly obvious rule of thumb for eating while traveling is NOT to eat anywhere that has photos of the food, or that advertises “ENGLISH MENUS!” in big letters. Invariably these places will serve reheated frozen versions of the local specialties.
My wife and I try to eat at places off the beaten path, unless the place on the beaten path is the very reason that path is beaten in the first place, or it’s somewhere famous. I mean, having beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans is kind of a must-do, even if it’s highly touristy and crowded. On the other hand, when in Rome, don’t eat right on Piazza del Rotundo or right off Piazza Navona. Better to find any of the great little restaurants a few blocks off either one- in particular north of the Pantheon a little ways.
A good famine would clear up all these picky eaters.
I don’t like traveling but I like going to different places. I know, its weird.
But it allows me to sample cuisines from far away lands so that its almost like I’m there. Its fun, plus you know that you can learn a lot about cooking in general by seeing how other cultures do things with your same old ingredients.
I try to be adventurous even in my grocery shopping. I go about once a week, and maybe every other week, I’ll buy something I’ve never had but always wondered about, just to see how its likes. That’s how I found out I like certain foods and didn’t like others.