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Tell us about the popular foods you’ve never tried


liuzhou

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17 hours ago, gfweb said:

My 30 y/o daughter has never had a McD's hamburger

I am considerably older than your daughter but have only once tasted McDonalds food, a lunch choice of a colleague when I was living in France.  We had a luncheon allowance and most restaurants offered a prix fixe menu that matched the standard allowance, so starter, plat de resistance and pudding.  One rather meagre burger in a sweet (tasting) “bread bun” and a small handful of “fries” cost around the same as the prix fixe menu.  
 

Foods that I have never tried include some favourites of my mother: lambs brain sandwiches come to mind.  I have eaten tongue but not heart, I have never tried thyroid whether referred to as “sweet breads” or not.  I have never had bull testicles or similar parts of other animals.  I have never eaten a song bird and have no regrets about that.  Most of this list is filled with things one wouldn’t find easily in a UK or French retailer.

 

Amongst fruits and vegetables that I have never tried are Jerusalem artichokes, plantain, goji berries and cranberries.  No particular reasons for these omissions, there are so many great fruit and veg that I just haven’t got round to them all.  We tend to eat what we grow in this category for much of the year so food is somewhat predictable.

 

What about things you would love to try but can’t because such foods are not available in your location, or the expense just can’t be justified?  

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11 minutes ago, C. sapidus said:

 

Plenty of Mexican food has neither. A comparison would be Chinese food in China vs. Chinese restaurant food elsewhere.

 

I know. But I've never eaten real or unreal Mexican which is the point of the topic.

 

I don't remember any Mexican restaurants in London before I left. I'm told Taco Bell has some in Shanghai but that is very far away and would be my last choice.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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5 minutes ago, DianaB said:

 

 

What about things you would love to try but can’t because such foods are not available in your location, or the expense just can’t be justified?  

Caviar.The really good and prohibitively expensive stuff.

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"A fool", he said, "would have swallowed it". Samuel Johnson

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1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

I know. But I've never eaten real or unreal Mexican which is the point of the topic.

 

I don't remember any Mexican restaurants in London before I left. I'm told Taco Bell has some in Shanghai but that is very far away and would be my last choice.

 

Understood. We ate in a "Mexican" restaurant in Siberia. The menu included tacos, pizza, and borscht. :laugh:

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16 hours ago, gilbertlevine said:

I think that it’s a gowing up in nyc in a certain time period thing

Maybe. I don't remember any McD or taco bell for that matter when I was growing up on the upper west side. When we went out for a relatively inexpensive bite it would be to a soda fountain, deli or pizza or Chinese. For take-out it was usually Williams BBQ for roast chicken and mushroom and barley casserole. Strangely, my family rarely ate burgers.  

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11 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Maybe. I don't remember any McD or taco bell for that matter when I was growing up on the upper west side. When we went out for a relatively inexpensive bite it would be to a soda fountain, deli or pizza or Chinese. For take-out it was usually Williams BBQ for roast chicken and mushroom and barley casserole. Strangely, my family rarely ate burgers.  

 

Some of it might simply be availability. It took McD a long time to get places in NYC and other city downtowns.  The airspace above a 1 floor establishment is too valuable to miss out on for a landlord.  Right now, in Philly, the last few center city single floor fast food joints are being torn-down.

 

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It really got me thinking …

 

Probably the only food I have not eaten (yet) is what I don’t know yet. If I encounter something new, I feel compelled to try it. Of course I haven’t had every sandwich in every fast food chain, but in terms of available proteins (to me) or fruits or vegetables, I got my fill. I could argue I haven’t had for example Ethiopean food in Ethiopea, but that’s more for lack of travel than for an aversion to try. So all in all … got it covered 🤗

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10 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

Poutine.  I did watch mi esposo eat some in Montreal.  I couldn't get past the look of it.  

 

Have i lived in a bubble for 75 years? I've lived in NY, New Mexico and California. I never even heard of poutine for most of those years.. But I admit that first time I found out what it was  I didn't exactly jump on a plane to Montreal. In all honesty it doesn't sound very appetizing. But to be fair, I wouldn't call it "popular" here in the states.

 

One thing that seems to be traditional in the US is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. That combination sounds just horrid to me, so I've never eaten one. Another thing I've always avoided without ever tasting is a banana split.And I've never had a smoothie that included bananas; they just ruin every other flavor.  I do eat bananas plain once in a while, but I only because I'm told they are good for you. Plantains is another story. I adore ripe plantains fried in a pan until golden and sprinkled with salt

 

Oh, also I've never eaten celery with peanut butter. That just sounds awful.

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7 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

You aren't missing anything. 

 

 

 

Just the look of it turns me off.  I like fries and I like gravy, but separately.  I look at a plate of poutine and the first thought that pops into my mind is soggy fries.  Not a fan of cheese curds either so I am inno danger of even trying the dish.

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2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Maybe. I don't remember any McD or taco bell for that matter when I was growing up on the upper west side. When we went out for a relatively inexpensive bite it would be to a soda fountain, deli or pizza or Chinese. For take-out it was usually Williams BBQ for roast chicken and mushroom and barley casserole. Strangely, my family rarely ate burgers.  

The only burger ‘fast food’ place I remember was White Castle 

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2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Have i lived in a bubble for 75 years? I've lived in NY, New Mexico and California. I never even heard of poutine for most of those years..

 

It's not like it's a venerable tradition up here, either. I'd never heard of it until the early 90s (when I moved back from BC to NS), and IIRC its invention only dates to the late 1950s in Quebec. I'm not sure how long it took to catch on anywhere else, but presumably it crossed the border first into Ontario. I'd certainly never seen it in BC before moving home, and I think it was still fairly new in NS at the time.

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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2 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

Ramps.

 

LOL. Ramps. Beloved of bored chefs. Little bitty hyperlocal and seasonal alliums. In season right now.

 

They are fine, but really add nothing unique. I cook with them when I have them.

 

You are missing nothing.

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8 hours ago, gfweb said:

You are missing nothing.

 

Except, of course, a harbinger of spring, and a whole new set of produce to work with. (Also, the have a unique flavor, not quite onion, not quite leek, not quite garlic).

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