The Omnivore's List
Food blogs have been abuzz about Very Good Taste's List of 100 Things "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life." I was intrigued to take this test, because I've written before about how many Koreans think of themselves as omnivores, myself included. I scored a 86.5/100, and the half is because I wasn't sure if silkworm larvae (bondaegi) counts as "whole insects" (#42 on the list).
I was able to check off all but 1 of the top 20, and I do want to be able to check off Époisses in the near future. The ones in bold are the things that I have tried. Take the test yourself and let me know your scores!
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
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
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
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
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
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
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
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
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
Roadkill?
Really?
Like with lists of the 100 greatest books and whatnot, this list just reminds me how unsophisticated my tastes are. But, hey, it’s a good way to know all the possibilities that are out there. (I scored in the low-terribles.)
While I have not eaten many of the items on this list, have not even heard of others, and some I would not even consider if I was a contestant on Fear Factor, I was very, very happy to see my favorite food on the list – chocolate.
And here I thought I was this great foodie and I only scored a 64! I will never score a perfect 100 — roadkill and horse are deal breakers for me (as are many others!).
Some of these are awesome though, my mouth is watering!
My score was only 37. I grew up in a small Southern town where we didn’t have ethnic foods other than Mexican. There wasn’t even a pizza restaurant in my town until I was in high school. I still live in the area, but we do have more variety today. By the way, I’ve never tried crocodile, but alligator is on lots of menus in my area. In fact, in my county alligators outnumber people three to one.
When I was in college I bought meat from a little butcher shop just off campus. There was this nice looking dark red ground meat that the butcher told me was horse meat. He said people got it for their pets but it was fresh and fine, and cheap. He mixed it half and half with ground beef and I made meatloaf out of it for my roommate. He raved about it but I never told him what it until about 20 years later when we were eating dinner with our wives. He was surprised but still recalled it as being tasty.
Later when I was in the army I shared a duplex with a young couple from Hungary. One evening they invited me over for Hasenpfeffer. It was a rich delicious rabbit stew heavy with spices and paprika. It was meaty and delicious and I asked about the source of the rabbit and he told me it was a jackrabbit. I asked him where he found a jackrabbit and he told me “on the road!” When I looked horrified he assured me, “no, it was ok – the car ahead of me hit it, it was really fresh.” What could I say, it was delicious.
Well, I haven’t been an omnivore since I was about 10 years old, so no surprise I only got 27. I’m somewhat embarrassed (proud?) to admit that the only meat item on the list I’ve ever had is #91. I’ve had vegetarian Pho in Vietnam, but didn’t find it all that tasty.
Mmmm…..poutine…..mmmmm……