{"id":673,"date":"2008-08-20T14:21:39","date_gmt":"2008-08-20T14:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scientopia.org\/blogs\/goodmath\/2008\/08\/20\/the-food-experience-meme\/"},"modified":"2008-08-20T14:21:39","modified_gmt":"2008-08-20T14:21:39","slug":"the-food-experience-meme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/2008\/08\/20\/the-food-experience-meme\/","title":{"rendered":"The Food Experience Meme"},"content":{"rendered":"

I found a fun meme via Rev. BigDumbChimp, involving food<\/a>. I’m a sucker for anything involving eating.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Venison: Nope.<\/li>\n
  2. Nettle tea: yes. Didn’t like it.<\/li>\n
  3. Huevos rancheros: Yes, yummy.<\/li>\n
  4. Steak tartare: nope. <\/li>\n
  5. Crocodile: Yup. Mediocre. Not a bad flavor, but it had a nasty texture.<\/li>\n
  6. Black pudding: Gads, no.<\/li>\n
  7. Cheese fondue: Yup.<\/li>\n
  8. Carp: Yup.<\/li>\n
  9. Borscht: I’m an Ashkenazi Jew, of course I’ve had borscht. Out of a jar, it’s absolutely, mind-bogglingly horrible. Cooked fresh, it’s at best mediocre.<\/li>\n
  10. Baba ghanoush: Yum!<\/li>\n
  11. Calamari: Tried it once. Turned out that I’m violently allergic
    \nto it. Not one of my more pleasant food experiences.<\/li>\n
  12. Pho: Nope, but I’ve had the chinese version (Nu Rou Mien).<\/li>\n
  13. PB&J sandwich: of course.<\/li>\n
  14. Aloo gobi: Yup; in fact, I make it myself. Great stuff – one of the
    \nvery best things you can do with a cauliflower.<\/li>\n
  15. Hot dog from a street cart: of course. I’m a NYer.<\/li>\n
  16. Epoisses: One of my favorite cheeses! Nothing compares
    \nto Epoisses washed in Sauvingon blanc. Yum.<\/li>\n
  17. Black truffle: yup. Overrated. They’re very<\/em> good, but
    \nconsidering what they cost, they need to be *better* than just very good.<\/li>\n
  18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes: I’ve had hungarian
    \nbrandies made from peaches, but that’s not wine. I’ve had something
    \nthat’s called blackberry wine, but it’s really blackberry juice mixed
    \nwith neutral brandy and sugar, so I assume that doesn’t count. So I guess
    \nthat’s a no.<\/li>\n
  19. Steamed pork buns: Nope. I don’t like pork.<\/li>\n
  20. Pistachio ice cream: yes.<\/li>\n
  21. Heirloom tomatoes: Oh, yes. Really good, fresh, vine-grown
    \ntomatoes – not the commercially bred shippable kind, but the kind
    \nthat you get from the farmer, and have to carry carefully because
    \nthey’ll bruise – are one of the greatest culinary treasures of the
    \nworld. The things you buy in the store simply are not<\/em>
    \ntomatoes. <\/li>\n
  22. Fresh wild berries: Yup. As a kid, I lived in a house on a wooded lot,
    \nand there were wild raspberries. The wild ones really do taste better.<\/li>\n
  23. Foie gras: Yes. Another favorite. Yeah, it’s not particularly nice for
    \nthe duck. I don’t care; it’s too damned good. Not something I’d
    \neat every day, but it’s a treat when I can get it.<\/li>\n
  24. Rice and beans: Yes.<\/li>\n
  25. Brawn, or head cheese: No. And I hopefully never will!<\/li>\n
  26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper: Yes, accidentally. My grad-school roommate
    \nbought some, not knowing what they were. And then he made me taste one.
    \nThe heat was mind-boggling, and my eyes starting burning, so I rubbed
    \nthem. Wound up spending the next half-hour or so in the the bathroom soaking my eye in cold water.<\/li>\n
  27. Dulce de leche: Yes.<\/li>\n
  28. Oysters: Yes. I love<\/em> oysters.<\/li>\n
  29. Baklava: Yes.<\/li>\n
  30. Bagna cauda: Yes, I’ve made it.<\/li>\n
  31. Wasabi peas: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl: a favorite of mine.<\/li>\n
  33. Salted lassi: nope.<\/li>\n
  34. Sauerkraut: NY Jew – of course!<\/li>\n
  35. Root beer float: yup.<\/li>\n
  36. Cognac with a fat cigar: I don’t do the smoking thing. Cognac, yes;
    \nbut it’s not my favorite. I prefer the subtler Armagnac in the french
    \ngrape brandies, or Calvados if I can get away from the grapes.<\/li>\n
  37. Clotted cream tea: Yes.<\/li>\n
  38. Vodka jelly\/Jell-O: No.<\/li>\n
  39. Gumbo: Yes.<\/li>\n
  40. Oxtail: No.<\/li>\n
  41. Curried goat: Yes. I worked for a computer store owned by an
    \nIndian family during college. They had a party that they invited
    \nall of the employees too. The only thing that wasn’t too hot for us
    \nto eat was goat. Not thrilling, but not bad.<\/li>\n
  42. Whole insects: Nope.<\/li>\n
  43. Phaal: looked it up to see what it was. I’m honestly not sure.
    \nSee my story two up – I tried nibbles of a few things there, which were
    \nconsiderably spicier than goat vindaloo. So maybe. But since I don’t
    \nknow, I’ll count this as a “no”.<\/li>\n
  44. Goat’s milk: Nope. Lots of goat’s milk cheeses, but not the milk itself.<\/li>\n
  45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth \u00a360\/$130 or more: Once. Didn’t
    \nmuch like it.<\/li>\n
  46. Fugu: Nope.<\/li>\n
  47. Chicken tikka masala: Who hasn’t had this?<\/li>\n
  48. Eel: One of the most wonderful tasting fish in the world. I adore
    \neel.<\/li>\n
  49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut: Yes. Not impressed. <\/li>\n
  50. Sea urchin: No.<\/li>\n
  51. Prickly pear: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  52. Umeboshi: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  53. Abalone: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  54. Paneer: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal: Yes. Ick.<\/li>\n
  56. Spaetzle: I’ve never had German spaetzle; I have had the hungarian
    \ngalushka, which are supposedly pretty much the same. It’s wonderful.
    \nI’ve also had Da Sha Mien, which is sort of the chinese equivalent, also
    \nwonderful. There’s nothing quite like the texture of a fresh dough
    \ndumpling.<\/li>\n
  57. Dirty gin martini: Nope. I’m not a huge martini fan, and a martini
    \nwith the olive juice mixed in just sounds awful.<\/li>\n
  58. Beer above 8% ABV: Oh, yes. In my opinion, most of the beers worth drinking are up there. I tend to like Belgian bottle-fermented ales,
    \nand they can get up to 12-14% ABV. I also once had a fantastic
    \nbarley wine, which is basically a strongly hopped beer coming in at 18% ABV!<\/li>\n
  59. Poutine: Yum! My wife is Canadian, and she introduced me to it. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s french fries with fresh cheese curds
    \nand brown gravy. It’s really, really fantastic stuff. We mail order
    \ncheese curds from Wisconsin so that we can make it at home!<\/li>\n
  60. Carob chips: Yes. It’s no substitute for chocolate.<\/li>\n
  61. S’mores: of course.<\/li>\n
  62. Sweetbreads: Nope. Very few organ meats appeal to me.<\/li>\n
  63. Kaolin: Not sure what this is… A quick search suggests one of the
    \ningredients of kaopectate – a horrific substance with which I have
    \nhad entirely too much experience. (I’ve got some really awful stomach
    \nproblems.)<\/li>\n
  64. Currywurst: Like I said, I’m not a fan of pork. If you could make this with some other meat, it sounds yummy.<\/li>\n
  65. Durian: Nope. I’d love to try it. Another grad school roommate of mine
    \nwas from Bangladesh, and raved about how good it was despite the smell.
    \nSince when it comes to cheese, the stinkier it is, the more I like it,
    \nI suspect that I’d really enjoy it.<\/li>\n
  66. Frogs’ legs: Yes. Greasy, bland. Not thrilling.<\/li>\n
  67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake: all of the above.<\/li>\n
  68. Haggis: What am I, crazy? Hell no!<\/li>\n
  69. Fried plantain: Yes. Ech.<\/li>\n
  70. Chitterlings, or andouillette: Nope.<\/li>\n
  71. Gazpacho: Yes! Love it when it’s a bit chunky and nice and spicy!<\/li>\n
  72. Caviar and blini: Yes. Overrated.<\/li>\n
  73. Louche absinthe: Nope. Definitely want to.<\/li>\n
  74. Gjetost, or brunost: Yes. Some friends are big fans of it, and they’ve
    \ngotten me to try it. It’s very peculiar. <\/li>\n
  75. Roadkill: No.<\/li>\n
  76. Baijiu: I think so. When I went to Taiwan to meet my in-laws, we went out to dinner with some of their friends, and we had some kind of very
    \nstrong, warm stuff. I think it was Baijiu, but I’m not sure. I definitely
    \ndid not<\/em> like whatever it was.<\/li>\n
  77. Hostess Fruit Pie: Yes.<\/li>\n
  78. Snail: Yum!<\/li>\n
  79. Lapsang souchong: never tasted it. Smelled it, because of another
    \nguy I knew who drank the stuff constantly, but every time he brewed
    \na cup, the entire room would stink like stale cigar smoke. Ech.<\/li>\n
  80. Bellini: Yup, at one of Mario Batalli’s restaurants. My wife ordered
    \nit, and I had a taste. Very nice, refreshing. <\/li>\n
  81. Tom yum: Oh, yes. One of my favorite soups! <\/li>\n
  82. Eggs Benedict: Yes. As I keep saying, I’m not a big pork fan, so
    \nI prefer many of the numerous variants better than the traditional.
    \nBenedict with fresh cold-smoked pacific salmon is my favorite.<\/li>\n
  83. Pocky: Yes. Eh.<\/li>\n
  84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant: Nope. Until
    \nvery recently, I was a non-meat-eater, and I still can’t stand most
    \nPork or most organ meats. So there’s not much point in the great
    \nFrench restaurants. I have done chefs tasting menu at Nobu, which
    \ndeserves<\/em> to be a three-star. <\/li>\n
  85. Kobe beef: Nope.<\/li>\n
  86. Hare: Nope.<\/li>\n
  87. Goulash: Yes! I really like Hungarian food. Goulash, paprikash,
    \nroast goose with red cabbage, etc. Hungarian food isn’t fancy, but
    \nit’s really wonderful. <\/li>\n
  88. Flowers: Yes, in many forms. I’ve had candied flowers, flowers in
    \nsalads, flowers in cookies, stuffed zucchini flowers, etc. <\/li>\n
  89. Horse: Nope.<\/li>\n
  90. Criollo chocolate: I’m not sure. I’ve had a lot of very fine chocolates,
    \nbut I’m not sure if any of it was Criollo. Probably not – the makers
    \ngenerally flaunt it if they use it, so I’d probably know.<\/li>\n
  91. Spam: Nope.<\/li>\n
  92. Soft shell crab: One of my favorite foods in the entire world. There is
    \nabsolutely nothing<\/em> as wonderful as a Maryland Blue softshell.<\/li>\n
  93. Rose harissa: no. I’ve had harissa, but never rose. It sounds wonderful!<\/li>\n
  94. Catfish: Yes. I love farmed catfish; wild is a bit overwhelming.<\/li>\n
  95. Mole poblano: Yes, yummy.<\/li>\n
  96. Bagel and lox: New York Jew. Of course! <\/li>\n
  97. Lobster Thermidor: no. I’m not a huge lobster fan. It’s good, but
    \nnot my favorite thing. Every time I’ve had a chance to order it,
    \nthere’s been something I’d rather have.<\/li>\n
  98. Polenta: Yes. Ick. I hate polenta.<\/li>\n
  99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee: Yes. Overrated. I think that many
    \nof the really top-quality Indonesian coffees are better.<\/li>\n
  100. Snake: Nope.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Rev also added a few extras.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Elk: No.<\/li>\n
    2. Ostrich: Yes. Several times. I really don’t like it. I keep trying it
      \ncooked different ways, because people who’s taste I trust keep
      \ntelling me that it’s something I should really love. But every time
      \nI’ve tried it, I’ve been disappointed.<\/li>\n
    3. Moose: No.<\/li>\n
    4. Whole hog BBQ. I’ve been to BBQs where they did it, but since I don’t
      \nlike pork, I didn’t have any. (Just the smell of it cooking was
      \nunpleasant to me; there’s just something about pork that I can’t stand.
      \nIt’s not a kosher thing, because there’s plenty of non-kosher stuff that
      \nI eat all the time.)<\/li>\n
    5. Wine @ >$400\/bottle.: Nope. I’d like to, but I can’t afford it.<\/li>\n
    6. Home made bacon\/sausage: again, no pork. <\/li>\n
    7. Chocolate and chilis: an amazing combination. I found a south american chocolate bar with chilis in it. Strange from an american perspective – they didn’t do the kind of very smooth chocolate that we tend to like. This was brittle, with hard crystals of sugar in it, and visible flecks of chili pepper. It was fantastic.\n
    8. \n
    9. Chittlins: Nope.<\/li>\n
    10. Moonshine: Nope.<\/li>\n
    11. Quail eggs: Yup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      And I’ll add a few of my own that I’ve tried:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Monkfish liver: nice, but not exceptional.<\/li>\n
      2. Live scallop: amazing!<\/li>\n
      3. Fried chicken giblets.<\/li>\n
      4. Duck cracklings. Yummy! This is what you get when you take duck skin,
        \nand render it for duck fat. You cook it very slowly to get out the fat
        \nwithout getting any burned skin flavor in it. When you’re done, you’ve got
        \nthese crispy little bits of duck skin fried in duck fat. A sprinkle of
        \nsalt, and you’ve got something amazing.<\/li>\n
      5. Grappa: amazingly wonderful.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I found a fun meme via Rev. BigDumbChimp, involving food. I’m a sucker for anything involving eating. Venison: Nope. Nettle tea: yes. Didn’t like it. Huevos rancheros: Yes, yummy. Steak tartare: nope. Crocodile: Yup. Mediocre. Not a bad flavor, but it had a nasty texture. Black pudding: Gads, no. Cheese fondue: Yup. Carp: Yup. Borscht: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chatter"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4lzZS-aR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goodmath.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}