You had to be (born) there

[BigboyDan]

"Loose meat" hamburgers, very well loved in Iowa and South Dakota, oddest thing; here. Cincinnati chili, with spaghetti as an ingredient; here. Yeeeeech! Horchata, a milky, sweet rice drink origionally from Spain, Mexican's love it. Nasty; here.

Edited July 7, 2006 by BigboyDan (log)

[Milagai]

Of course, most desi kids love okra, and carry that

through life, me among them.

Root beer - well, those of you who love it can have

my share.

I love the gooey greasy Chicago pizza but ALSO

love the thin crust kind... basically all pizza is my friend....

Thanks for the update on North Asia.....(new term for me,

but sounds very useful).

Milagai

[CaliPoutine]

I wonder whether there are many non-Jews who like gefilte fish. Sure, they like quenelles and other stuff that's similar, but what about gefilte fish? For the record, I think it can be pretty nice when home made.

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I think there are many jew's that can't stand the stuff either. Count me as one of them. I ran far away when that came out at passover.

[MissAmy]

"Loose meat" hamburgers, very well loved in Iowa and South Dakota, oddest thing.here Cincinnati chili, with spaghetti as an ingredient. Yeeeeech! Horchata, a milky, sweet rice drink from Mexico, nasty.

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What are "loose meat" hamburgers?

Oh, and I'll take your share of the horchata. Nectar of the gods, that is! YUM!

[mrbigjas]

Moxie.  If you're a northern New Englander, especially Mainiac, it's the soda equivalent of Campari.  Otherwise, it would taste like something you'd use to take the rust out of your car radiator. Mmmm....

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that was my impression when i was a kid and tried it. and i never had another bottle until about three weeks ago, when i saw it in a drugstore down the shore in jersey. and you know, it's fantastic. now that i know what gentian tastes like and enjoy it, i immediately recognized the flavor of the soda--cola with gentian--and now i... well, i need some more.

[Dorine]

As far as I'm concerned, Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

I don't like, I'm tired of trying to like it, and I wish they wouldn't call it pizza.

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I so agree! The stuff is nasty! I once ate one as an experiment at a vile chain called Pizzeria Uno. I got violent food poisoning. Never again.

[Dorine]

I'm kind of new to eGullet and just realized the 'here' is a link. I saw the pictureof loose hamburger. It isn't sloppy joe because it has nos sauce. But I ask, why would I want a messy loose hambuger that is likely to scatter all over the place? What a dumb concept. Furthermore, I like my hamburgers hand patted then cooked Pittsburgh style-- charred on the thinnest outside layer and raw inside. The loose thing wouldn't work that way.

I think pre-formed patties are beyond disgusting. They inevetably taste like shoe leather. I refuse to cook or eat them. I get good ground meat and pat my own patties just before cooking them. At restaurants I ask if they are hand patted before ordering and reject them if not. Goes without saying I don't go anywhere near fast "food" joints.

[CaliPoutine]

and whats with Head Cheese?

It's not even cheese. It's vile looking.

[rooftop1000]

and whats with Head Cheese?

It's not even cheese.  It's vile looking.

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you really dont want to delve too deeply into what is in alot of lunch meat...

but yes what is up with calling meat and pot liqour Cheese????

tracey

[Pam R]

Jachnun - a Yemenite bread (lots of people love it here; I think it is a big roll of greasy dough)

Phew. I was afraid it was only me (or I was afraid that I wasn't preparing it properly).

I really had no idea there was such a hatred of kugles out there. I do prefer savoury to sweet - but a good sweet one, is good.

[H. du Bois]

Haggis was always at the top of my list of things I thought I would never try, but then I ate it, and damned if it wasn't good. Of course, it was made for me by a Frenchman - perhaps I should defer judgment until it has been cooked for me by a Scot. Marmite, Vegemite & Bovril are items I truly believe you have to have been raised upon in order to tolerate them, much less like them. I have tried.

Rochester's garbage plate and Canada's poutine are not foods that you have to be born there to enjoy. They simply require a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, at which point they become a stupefyingly good idea.

[FistFullaRoux]

I guess I'm lucky. Cajun has caught on so much in the last couple of decades, that the gross-out factor has all but gone away. Crawfish and boudin may be the two biggest "offenders" left, unless you count some of the game (nutria, squirrel) or trash fish (Gaspergou, bream, croaker) many Cajuns still cook.

I'm a fairly adventerous eater, but I've never gotten into uni. I've had it a time or two, I know it is well loved, but still... shudder. I guess you could lump sushi and sashimi into the category, since the vast majority of Americans haven't had good or even decent sushi in the states. I like the stuff, but many don't.

[Dorine]

Jachnun - a Yemenite bread (lots of people love it here; I think it is a big roll of greasy dough)

Phew. I was afraid it was only me (or I was afraid that I wasn't preparing it properly).

I really had no idea there was such a hatred of kugles out there. I do prefer savoury to sweet - but a good sweet one, is good.

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I've enjoyed the occasional sweet kugel made by this or that Jewish friend, and even made one once, but have never encountered a savory one. Can you offer a recipe for one? Thanks!

[Dorine]

Haggis was always at the top of my list of things I thought I would never try, but then I ate it, and damned if it wasn't good.  Of course, it was made for me by a Frenchman - perhaps I should defer judgment until it has been cooked for me by a Scot.  Marmite, Vegemite & Bovril are items I truly believe you have to have been raised upon in order to tolerate them, much less like them.  I have tried.

Rochester's garbage plate and Canada's poutine are not foods that you have to be born there to enjoy.  They simply require a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, at which point they become a stupefyingly good idea. 

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Noooo... As I mentioned before, I first tasted both Marmite nd Bovril at age 23--and loved them immediately. Still do all these years later.

[Dorine]

I guess I'm lucky. Cajun has caught on so much in the last couple of decades, that the gross-out factor has all but gone away. Crawfish and boudin may be the two biggest "offenders" left, unless you count some of the game (nutria, squirrel) or trash fish (Gaspergou, bream, croaker) many Cajuns still cook.

I'm a fairly adventerous eater, but I've never gotten into uni. I've had it a time or two, I know it is well loved, but still... shudder. I guess you could lump sushi and sashimi into the category, since the vast majority of Americans haven't had good or even decent sushi in the states. I like the stuff, but many don't.

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You consider bream to be trash fish? Sea bream? I first encountred sea bream when I lived in Spain, where it is a very popular fish prepared in the best homes and offered in very good restaurants. You pay a pretty penny for it compared to the less expensive fishes such as the ever-popular and budget-minded hake.

[My Confusing Horoscope]

Couche couche, the Cajun breakfast of champions!

If you're not from there and you like it, I have to ask "who's your daddy?"

[Dorine]

<grin> My daddy was born in Bayonne, NJ and raised in NYC. His daddy came from Scotland.

Croaker is sold all the time in Philadelphia, PA fish markets. I've never thought of it as trash fish, either.

[Gruzia]

How about Ukrainian salo?  Ukrainians believe nobody who is not Ukrainian can lilke it.  Salo is like bacon, but not smoked.  it is sliced thicker and not cooked before eating.  I first visited Ukraine and tasted salo after age 50.  Ukrainians were surprised and pleased that I liked it.

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i can't believe someone beat me to the punch! that was the first thing that came to mind when i read the title of the thread. Salo is not smoked but it is cured in some way and is basically just the fatty part of bacon...sliced thicker and very delicious with some fresh bread, salt, and green onion!

[Dorine]

How about Ukrainian salo?  Ukrainians believe nobody who is not Ukrainian can like it.  Salo is like bacon, but not smoked.  it is sliced thicker and not cooked before eating.  I first visited Ukraine and tasted salo after age 50.  Ukrainians were surprised and pleased that I liked it.

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i can't believe someone beat me to the punch! that was the first thing that came to mind when i read the title of the thread. Salo is not smoked but it is cured in some way and is basically just the fatty part of bacon...sliced thicker and very delicious with some fresh bread, salt, and green onion!

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Yes! A kind of buterbrot. Are you Ukrainian and a lifelong eater of salo or a later-in-life fan like me?

[crinoidgirl]

I'm a fairly adventerous eater, but I've never gotten into uni. I've had it a time or two, I know it is well loved, but still... shudder. I guess you could lump sushi and sashimi into the category, since the vast majority of Americans haven't had good or even decent sushi in the states. I like the stuff, but many don't.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE all kinds of sushi AND sashimi. But cannot eat uni. I was just describing it to my FIL the other day as rancid pudding.

[dockhl]

I'm a fairly adventerous eater, but I've never gotten into uni. I've had it a time or two, I know it is well loved, but still... shudder. I guess you could lump sushi and sashimi into the category, since the vast majority of Americans haven't had good or even decent sushi in the states. I like the stuff, but many don't.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE all kinds of sushi AND sashimi. But cannot eat uni. I was just describing it to my FIL the other day as rancid pudding.

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What SHE said !

[Luckylies]

How about Ukrainian salo?  Ukrainians believe nobody who is not Ukrainian can like it.  Salo is like bacon, but not smoked.  it is sliced thicker and not cooked before eating.  I first visited Ukraine and tasted salo after age 50.  Ukrainians were surprised and pleased that I liked it.

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i can't believe someone beat me to the punch! that was the first thing that came to mind when i read the title of the thread. Salo is not smoked but it is cured in some way and is basically just the fatty part of bacon...sliced thicker and very delicious with some fresh bread, salt, and green onion!

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Yes! A kind of buterbrot. Are you Ukrainian and a lifelong eater of salo or a later-in-life fan like me?

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Like Italian lardo?

[Sneakeater]

Yeah. I mean, I'm probably part Ukranian or something, but who wouldn't like what salo sounds like.

[FistFullaRoux]

I guess I'm lucky. Cajun has caught on so much in the last couple of decades, that the gross-out factor has all but gone away. Crawfish and boudin may be the two biggest "offenders" left, unless you count some of the game (nutria, squirrel) or trash fish (Gaspergou, bream, croaker) many Cajuns still cook.

I'm a fairly adventerous eater, but I've never gotten into uni. I've had it a time or two, I know it is well loved, but still... shudder. I guess you could lump sushi and sashimi into the category, since the vast majority of Americans haven't had good or even decent sushi in the states. I like the stuff, but many don't.

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You consider bream to be trash fish? Sea bream? I first encountred sea bream when I lived in Spain, where it is a very popular fish prepared in the best homes and offered in very good restaurants. You pay a pretty penny for it compared to the less expensive fishes such as the ever-popular and budget-minded hake.

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I'm referring to a fresh water fish, sometimes also called crappie or perch locally. Little bitty fish, mostly inedible bone. Maybe the size of your hand at the largest, and about 2 bites of meat per fish. And so everyone knows what I'm talking about, trash fish is the term Cajuns used to call those species that would not sell at market, so the fishermen took them home to feed the family.

I forgot garfish as part of that list too. The garfish has to be broken up so much because it is so bony, it's easier to scrape all the meat from the bone you can before cooking, mix it with potato and flour, and make a kind of meatball. Tasty if done right, but a royal pain in the ass to prepare. Most people wouldn't think it was worth the effort, since flash frozen fillets of whatever you want are only a couple of dollars at the megamart. Spending 30 minutes preparing a fish for one serving is a lot of work for a fish that needs so much help. But it's a cultural touchstone.

[ldenney]

Some of things others have described on this thread I cannot imagine any human consuming. But to "eat his own" i guess. For instance, what was the first person who ate a raw oyster thinking? But I am glad they took the plunge.

The one that makes my stomach churn is pork brains and scrabbled eggs, considered to be a delicacy by some in the Evansville, Indiana, area. That city has a strong German influence. I don't know if that is where it comes from or not.

I agree with someone early in the thread who mentioned baked beans. I have never understood the attraction of that dish. Much too sweet for my taste.

Others chimed in with okra. If it is not prepared correctly, it is a slimmy, pardon the expression..snotty..mess. If done well, quite tasty.

There is no rhyme or reason for some people's tastes, including mine. For instance I cannot get any organ meats to stay down. That is also true of Thumper or Bambi meat.

But on the other hand, I love Bolongna. I just want to be ignorant of what's in it.