Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Omnivore’s Hundred

The Omnivore's 100

Taken from Very Good Taste's Omnivore's 100

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare:
[best at Cafe de Paris, Luxembourg Ville]
5. Crocodile [down in Florida, like chicken]
6. Black pudding ["The Silent Man" in Madrid, Sunday brunch]
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush [Make my own]
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream [Make my own, using my company's co-op pistachios; touch of garam masala]
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar [John/Martin: have we done these before?!]
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects [dai pai dong in Hong Kong, Bangkok, etc.]
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more [Still have a few drops left from that 1975 Glen Morangie Betsy brought back from Europe.....]
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala [my favorite variation: king prawn tikka masala. YUM!]
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV [lovely Belgian trappist beers]
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads [in Luxembourg, with a nice mustard-cream sauce.....]
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian [hesitantly, in Pattaya, Thailand]
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain [... with the fried fish on Sosua beach...]
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. [in Luxembourg, St. Michel; in Dusseldorf, Im Schiffchen]
85. Kobe beef [Hans, remember that Hibachi Restaurant in Causeway Bay (HKG)?]
86. Hare [Russ, remember the rabbit head in the pot-- in Godbrange/Luxbg, that Martin/Paulette were cooking!!!]
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse [steak du cheval, in Luxembourg]
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake [over in Kowloon, at the snake restaurant, including the "freshly-harvested" (table-side, thanks!) spleen & rice wine as an appetizer. Lead in who's pencil?........]

# # #

92 of 100 ---- amazing!!! I've got to work on the other eight now. And I could add more to this strange list. I've been to Snake Alley in Taipei! Say no more......

Gary Van Cott
28AUG08