Learning to eat everything
 

Fish (cooked)
Sushi
Spinach
Tomatoes
Blue Cheese
Broccoli
Squash
Tea
Coffee
Whiskey

Those are some of a number of things that I did not like to eat/drink when I was younger. Some of these things I started to like in college, others much later.

I can give suggestions to anyone interested in giving those things a shot.

Every now and then, I'll try some things that I haven't liked in the past. Sometimes I still feel the same way. Other times I find myself enjoying stuff that I haven't tried in many years. Sometimes it's just a matter of time and changing tastes. Other times it's a new preparation or fresher or higher quality variety of something I've had before.

I feel like being able to eat and enjoy as wide an array of things as possible lets me take full advantage of different eating/drinking options I'm presented with. Being able to eat and enjoy the speciality of the house or region is great. So I'm trying to branch out and attack some of the last remaining things that I'm not a big fan of.

Shellfish is a big category. I don't really like the texture and often the flavor doesn't blow me away.

Oysters - I've given them a couple of chances. I don't really get it. Sorta slimy and not much taste besides saltiness. What should I try?

Lobster - I used to dislike it, but have gotten over that. I still don't get blown away by lobster. I'm gonna try lobster at the next really nice place I go to. How about trying this at a steak place? Is surf and turf at a nice steakhouse generally a really good version of lobster? Or should I go with a seafood place to get a really great lobster experience? How about the type of place? Do I need to go to a really expensive place to get a really tasty lobster?

Crab - Similar feelings to lobster. I have had crab meat in various stuff and it's fine, I just don't love it as much as others. Also seems like a lot of effort when you're working with whole crabs. I think I'm gonna try the classic San Francisco vietnamese garlic crab. Also during Dungeness crab season, tons of nice restaurants feature it, so I'll give that a try too. Any other crab stuff I should try?

Shrimp - Occassionally I'll have some shrimp in a spring roll, or in dim sum, or the sweet shrimp at a sushi place. I'm still not really into it, but don't totally hate it like I did.

Mussels - Have had like two and was not into it. A few french bistros around here have mussels/frites that people rave over. Not that expensive either. Maybe I'll give that a choice. Some of these places have various options of mussel preparation I guess w/ different sauces - any recommendations?

Clams - I guess I'm ok w/ clam chowder. Hmmm... Not even sure where you eat clams otherwise.

Cajun food is another category I'm not very into. Gumbo, jambalaya, all that sort of stuff, not really into it. Crawfish/crayfish, that grosses me out.

Pickles - I don't like dill pickles. But I do like bread and butter pickles a lot. And various other pickled foods. Maybe I'll give traditional dill pickles another shot.

Tomato juice - yuck!

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure there's more.

I'm hoping that other folks will post in this thread with things they don't like but are interested in giving another chance, so those of us who have gotten to like those things can give you some recommendations on what to try.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I'm not really sure how to go about liking foods that you've already tired and disliked, but I've recently (in the past few years) discovered what a bad idea it is to discriminate against foods based upon basically anything but taste or, to a lesser extent, smell.

For the longest time I, like many other people, was appalled by the basic concept of sushi. Then I actually tried it and I love it. The same thing occurred with guacamole, which I thought looked gross, and cheesecake, which I didn't like because of the name.

This is probably a problem that mainly afflicts children and adolescents, but I know there are at least a few people out there that are quick to state: "Ewwwww! Raw fish!" So don't be such a beezy and just try it.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Lobster and shrimp - either you like their texture/taste or you don't.

Oysters, I don't really see the point either. I like them with good cocktail sauce, but only because it reminds me of shrimp. I'd rather eat shrimp.

For crab, try a really good crab cake (from a top notch restaurant.) It will either be expensive, or filled with lots of bread and crap. If you don't like a really good crab cake (which is basically crab shaped like a hamburger), then no need to bother with crab shells etc.

Tuna - this can be grilled and can practically eat like a steak. Try a light red wine. I think a good quality Moulin a Vent goes great with tuna, and they are not very expensive.

Vegetables, fresh and steamed is the way to go. Maybe a little lemon butter. Broccoli, green beans, etc.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Hmm, don't like shellfish much? Honestly, it seems unlikely to me that you're going to all of a sudden love shellfish when you seem to have an issue with the taste/texture in general. Can't really think of a good way to learn - for crab I would eat black pepper crab or chili crab, which is easy to find. . .if you are in Singapore. SO good though.

I am also a lot less picky than I was - foods I have learned to love include mushrooms, salsa, vegetables (kind of in general, I guess), spicy foods, onions, garlic, sushi, tofu, beer, wine, and I'm sure a bunch of other things. For me a lot of it was not appreciating my native cuisine (Chinese) when I was younger and then realizing when I grew up a little that it was awesome and Western food sucks. (Well, mainstream American food sucks, at least.) Is there much shellfish in Indian food? I don't think so (at least as far as I know) so it may be more difficult for you. Easy for me, since Chinese people eat anything and everyything, right? Mmm, dog. . .(I have never eaten dog. Have eaten pigeon stomachs (pretty good), scorpions (meh), pig blood rice things (meh), and snake (yum))

Foods I still don't like:

Eggplant - slightly bitter, nasty texture
Uni (sea urchin) - slimy
Olives - not horrible, but so salty
Sea cucumber - slimy, really bad texture to me
Cartilage/tendon - same texture problem
Tomato juice - I agree, yuck.
Scotch/Whiskey - just never acquired the taste, I guess.

Of the above, the foods I would most like to learn to appreciate would be olives and scotch, so all advice is welcome. My advice to people trying new things would be to find dishes in which the food in question is mixed among others you like or is used as a vehicle for a strong sauce/flavor. Once you get acclimated you can move closer to the unadulterated flavor.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

OK here's something I really can't eat. Spicy food. Some guys say they had to build up their "tolerance". But I really don't see the point. It's simply painful.

However I will eat some horseradish, hot mustard, or ginger. Those things have a different "heat" than jalapeno or tabasco. They don't cause me pain, and don't cause my face to sweat. Is there anything that might change my mind? Not that I feel like I'm missing something, but hot buffalo wings sure do seem to be popular.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Tripe/gristle, weird organs such as tongue/liver
Lobster
Crab
Mussels
Clams
Oysters
Some fishy tasting cooked fish (e.g. mackerel)

These are the foods I've never liked as a child and still d on't.

I've realized really fishy-tasting fish taste good if they are very very fresh.

I've liked commonly disliked foods such as brussel sprouts, sushi, raw beef, etc. throughout my childhood. I don't find that my tastes have changed much.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

All,

Steak Tartare is something I recently finally decided to try (about a year ago, actually). Previously, the idea of it just sorta grossed me out. It was delicious! I first had it at a late-night french bistro in NYC then had it at Delmonico Steakhouse in Vegas. Now it's a standard thing for me to order. Also, around the same time, I decided to give carpaccio a chance and love that too.

As for sushi, I used to not like unagi (yeah, weird, I know many people get started with that as the only thing they like) because of the texture. I gave it another shot a while back and really liked it. I've given uni a couple of tries but still don't like it. I'm going to give it another shot the next time I'm at a really nice sushi place.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Wow, olives are so good. I understand the point about salt. Can't think of any solution. Do you like olive oil? Try dipping bread in it, for starters. Try a good "extra virgin" olive oil.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

For people who ever never had raw beef before and would like to get acclimated to it, I would start with heavily seasoned (but fresh) meats such as uncooked bulgogi. Sesame oil, pepper, sugar, and garlic are all tastes that complement raw beef well.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Diablo:

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I think I'm gonna try the classic San Francisco vietnamese garlic crab.

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Is Thanh Long still around? Love the drunken crab there (and of course the garlic noodles), if you haven't been. Same people who do Crustacean.

Crab >>> Lobster, imo. Crab itself is much tastier than lobster... which doesn't taste like much to me. Then again I never really look to order lobster or cook it (to me the perfect lobster is eaten in a lobster roll), so any suggestions would be cool.

Shrimp - hm, you know I never really started enjoying shrimp til I got more into Chinese food (specifically Shanghai-nese).

One way I've found myself enjoying things I never liked before is eating them in interesting preparations / presentations.

Actually for shrimp, I just had an interesting "live, sweet shrimp" dish at a Korean place. Basically they kill the shrimp right before serving it (severing the head). Presentation is heads sticking up in the middle, bodies in a circle around the heads. Eat the bodies. For a second course they deep fry the heads and then you eat that. Really good.

-Al

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Tripe/gristle, weird organs such as tongue/liver

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Co-sign. I never order Pho, for example, with tripe. There is some offal I enjoy (oxtail I really like alot) but tripe, gristle, and tongue I am not into.

-Al

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

f,

"Tripe/gristle, weird organs such as tongue/liver"

I just recently had tripe at a nice Italian place (http://www.zuppa-sf.com/) where they had it as an app special. It was pretty tasty.

For liver, of course you can go with foie gras, which is just delicious. But also try out a basic pate on some crackers. I was very put off by the very strong liver taste from having it as a kid, but there are definitely some very tasty things with a liver base.

Most of the other stuff, you're in the same boat as me!

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Every few years I'll be somewhere serving shrimp and I'll think to myself, "hmmm, it's been a while, and it smells really good... I bet I'll like it this time." Every single time I eat it though, I immediately feel like I need to puke. Same thing for lobster.

For many other foods, though, the above line of thinking helps me to like something that I didn't previously.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

7,

"For me a lot of it was not appreciating my native cuisine (Chinese) when I was younger"

Yes, I was this way with Indian food when younger. Now I love it.

"Eggplant - slightly bitter, nasty texture" - I don't like eggplant either. However, I do really like some greek dishes like moussakka that feature eggplant. I think I'm going to try out some eggplant parmesan and see how I like that. But just plain eggplant is still not something I'm into.

"Uni (sea urchin) - slimy" - Me too. Gonna give this another go at a nice sushi place.

"Olives - not horrible, but so salty" - I used to not like olives at all for the longest time. Get some really big green olives stuffed with blue cheese or jalapeno or something you like. That's how I got into liking olives.

"Cartilage/tendon - same texture problem" - Don't like.

"Scotch/Whiskey - just never acquired the taste, I guess." - See the scotch thread in this forum. I suggest trying out the Balvenie 12 doublewood or any other port/sherry wood scotch that is going to be a little sweeter and smoother than your average scotch.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Diablo, you should try crab cakes.

As for me, I'm willing to eat a lot of stuff, but the main thing that I've gotten into recently (within the last year) and never liked before was fish. I tried it on a whim at a nice place and it RULED. If anyone knows of good rundowns on different types of fish or fish meals I'd love to see them as I've only ordered fish at a restaurant 3 or 4 times in my life. I love salmon and hated macadamia crusted ahi [could have been that the prep was bad, but I thought it was flavorless, boring, and annoying. And it cost a lot too!

edit: one thing I always do when I have the chance is try something I've never had before. In one of my recent expensive restaurant outings this was ox tail at an italian place. In spain I had octopus. The ox tail was phenomenal and the octopus was very well prepared but just weird tasting. It was alright but I wouldn't get it again.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Lobster - I used to dislike it, but have gotten over that. I still don't get blown away by lobster. I'm gonna try lobster at the next really nice place I go to. How about trying this at a steak place? Is surf and turf at a nice steakhouse generally a really good version of lobster? Or should I go with a seafood place to get a really great lobster experience? How about the type of place? Do I need to go to a really expensive place to get a really tasty lobster?

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My girlfriend is a lobster fanatic and she says that one of her more memorable lobsters was eaten at Smith & Wollensky in NYC. So yeah, some steakhouses can do lobster right. She says that the key is that it's not overcooked, or the meat becomes tough and rubbery.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

jeff,

There's spice and there's heat. I don't think there's much to get out of just adding pure heat. But a lot of the spicy foods also have some pretty unique and delcious flavor profiles, so being able to handle a bit of the heat lets you enjoy some tasty flavors. I've found that as I grow older, I lean towards preferring spicier sauces, opting for something like sriracha sauce where I might have previously gone with ketchup (which I still love).

I think the best way to get into good spicier foods is to experiment with ordering various stuff at ethnic restaurants.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Diablo,

I think my favorite lobster foods I've eaten have starred lobster that had been hacked in to bits: Lobster risotto, and a baked lobster & pineapple dish I had at some random seafood place in Mexico. I can understand not being in to it, as many people believe (understandably) that they are just conduits for whatever citrusy/buttery sauce you feel like putting around. But hey, I've never discriminated against anything else on the basis of being nothing but a good sauce transporter. I'm not really a fan of dismantling the damn things myself, and I've never really found a huge lump of lobster to be the most efficient presentation. Thus, steakhouse can't be my favorite places to do a lobster.

Mussels I really like. Mussels with marinara is good, but kind of boring and mostly relies on the marinara for taste. Mussels that have been steamed with beer, onions, and garlic - now that's a keeper. One of my favorite dishes in Chicago is a fire roasted mussels served with a butter sauce and sort of coated with a hot spice mixture. But like lobster, a lot of the time when you're eating mussels, it's really for the other stuff, and depending on the presentation and preparation it's often more work than it's worth... I guess shellfish just seem to have less individual taste and edibility than "fish fish," and become butter transporters more than anything else. I do agree on crabcakes though, they are almost always good if you get them anywhere decent.

jeffnc,

Whatever dude, you're totally in the right here. There's hots that have flavors (and jalepenos and even jabaneros have flavor that is not just heat) and then there's just hot for pain sake. There's no great reason to "up your tolerance" in order to be able to suffer just a bit less when you are suffering. There's ways of prepping jalapenos that involve less heat. If you want to prep something at home that will accomplish this to see if you actually like jalapeno flavor, try making a guacamole, and putting in a couple jalapenos. When prepping them before chopping, halve them lengthwise (or even quarter) and remove all seeds and as much of the white connective tissue as you can. The pepper will still have some heat, but you'll get much less, and much more of the "fruit" flavor. All you're really missing out on is: pain, buying more beers, machismo, and the endorphine rush. (Not to say there's anything wrong with any of those things.)

7on,

Wtf, who is serving you cartilage and tendon and telling you you're supposed to like it?

All,

Tomato juice, yuck.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Ja,

I'm a big fan of doing that (ordering something new) and typically try to do that for one item I'm getting at a new place, especially if it's a house special.

I posted about this place in the SF thread (http://www.hayesstreetgrill.com/index.html). It's a great way to try out various types of fish at a nice restaurant without breaking the bank. Of the current stuff, I'd highly recommend you try the seabass and the steelhead. I just had steelhead for the first time recently (see my Coco500 review in high-end dining) and it was great.

Black cod, sea bass, salmon, and ahi tuna are four fish you'll often see on menus in the bay area. I like tuna, but think it can often be sorta blah and boring. Oh, I'm not a huge swordfish fan either. Salmon when good is great, but often can be sorta blah. Good cod is tender, flaky, and delicious.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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"Eggplant - slightly bitter, nasty texture" - I don't like eggplant either. However, I do really like some greek dishes like moussakka that feature eggplant. I think I'm going to try out some eggplant parmesan and see how I like that. But just plain eggplant is still not something I'm into.

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With eggplant, it's really important to pick one that's not too ripe (then it gets really mushy and gross), or too unripe (then it's hard and bitter). A lot of places, I feel don't use proper eggplant selection (I almost said table selection haha) and end up using eggplants that are too ripe or not ripe enough, ending in a dish that's not very good, not because of the eggplant, but because of eggplant selection/preparation.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

All,

BTW, I've had crab cakes and like them just fine. I'm actually looking to graduate beyond the crab cakes / crab rangoon / crab dip / spider roll into more "pure" crab dishes, hence the garlic crab plan. Al - yeah, both of those places still are here and very popular.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

El Diablo and citanul, I understand your point - I look forward to trying some of that!

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

[ QUOTE ]
7on,

Wtf, who is serving you cartilage and tendon and telling you you're supposed to like it?

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Tendon is fairly standard offal (especially beef tendon) and is on alot of cuisines' menus (usually braised). I like Beef Tendon Soup alot, the Shanghain-ese preparation.

If it's too tough yeah it is pretty unpleasant.

-Al

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

[ QUOTE ]
Lobster - I used to dislike it, but have gotten over that. I still don't get blown away by lobster.

Crab - Similar feelings to lobster. I have had crab meat in various stuff and it's fine, I just don't love it as much as others.

Shrimp - Occassionally I'll have some shrimp in a spring roll, or in dim sum, or the sweet shrimp at a sushi place. I'm still not really into it, but don't totally hate it like I did.

Mussels - Have had like two and was not into it.

Clams - I guess I'm ok w/ clam chowder. Hmmm... Not even sure where you eat clams otherwise.

Cajun food is another category I'm not very into. Gumbo, jambalaya, all that sort of stuff, not really into it. Crawfish/crayfish, that grosses me out.

Tomato juice - yuck!



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With lobster and crab, I have the exact same feelings as you. Being from New England makes that tougher though; I can't tell you how many times I've told people I don't really care for lobster and they tell me to leave and make room for someone who does. But I've been enjoying so many different seafoods lately that I never thought I would like, I think it may be time to give lobster another chance. Calamari is the biggest one for me - when I was younger I couldn't imagine eating those things, now they are like friggin crack to me, I cannot possibly get enough of them. P.F. Chang's has a great calamari appetizer, I just learned that on Saturday.

Shrimp - never used to like it, now I really enjoy good (not rubbery) shrimp cocktail and I also really like the way Japanese steak houses cook them in garlic butter - very tasty.

As for clams...clam chowder barely counts. Steamed clams (steamers) or mussels are the standby around here, you just rinse them off, dip them in butter and pop them down. They're not really my thing, the texture of the bellies turn me off. The other common way to eat clams is fried clams, which you can get with or without bellies. The ones without bellies are great, but again that mushiness doesn't do it for me.

Cajun food I just never tried much of, but my buddy has a New Orleans buffet at his wedding where I got to sample crawfish cakes and fried alligator, among other things. Everything was great. Also, jambalaya is one of my favorite meals to make on Sunday for football.

Tomato juice and V-8 are both disgusting. They really seem like something I should try to appreciate, and every once in a while I give them a shot, but they're just gross. Bloody Marys are therefore disgusting by association.

One more I can think of off the top of my head is olives - I used to think they were the grossest little things. Now I could rip through a whole can of black olives and the olive bar at the grocery store is like heaven. I'm still up in the air about the jarred green olives w/ pimentos though; they're just not the same.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I've never been able to stomach Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage or Cauliflower--the smells alone make me ill. Not sure there's any way I'll be able to eat these. I also can't eat onions except as part of a soup or sauce where the taste/texture aren't so strong. I can't eat mayonnaise or gaucamole either because I ate them when I was a kid and got sick.

I'm surprised at how many people dislike clams, mussels, etc and shrimp in particular.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Uni (sea urchin) - slimy

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My entire family loves this stuff and my girlfriend does as well, and I just can't stomach it. Something about the texture and smell. I often try it when my girlfriend and I go out to eat sushi, but I just can't do it.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

People can dislike Cajun food, really? That just seems crazy to me.

Crawfish are good, but they are sorta gross in a way and they're more trouble to eat than they are worth sometimes, so you're not missing a ton there. Do you dislike them when they're prepared in food (e.g. crawfish bisque or etoufee), do you just not like the eyes staring at you?

Also, you're from Texas right? Did you ever eat at Pappadeaux? Because I consider that pretty solid Cajun food.

As far as oysters go, if you've had raw oysters and didn't like them, there's really not a ton you can do except learn to like them. The taste isn't going to differ a whole lot from restaurant to restaurant (since there's no preparation involved obv), though better restaurants tend to have bigger oysters, which is always nice.

I don't tend to dislike too many foods. I can pretty much eat anything that is prepared well and enjoy it at least somewhat. I guess it's due to eating out a lot growing up and getting used to all different kinds of tastes.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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7on,

Wtf, who is serving you cartilage and tendon and telling you you're supposed to like it?

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Hey, don't talk about my mom that way! Seriously though, like Al said it's pretty common in Asian cuisines - usually as a stew/soup. Even then I just can't get into that rubbery, gelatinous mouth feel.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I really like the flavor combos of Cajun food, so am also a bit surprised for the lack of love. Is it because it's usually so seafood heavy?

Also for those who don't like jambalaya - I guess it is the Cajun spice components, or do you also not like paella and risotto?

-Al

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Vegetables, fresh and steamed is the way to go. Maybe a little lemon butter. Broccoli, green beans, etc.

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I disagree about the vegetable preparation - there are lots of dishes in non-Western cuisines with vegetables as the main ingredient but also have strong, spicy sauces or flavors. I think that would actually be a better way to enjoy vegetables for someone who doesn't like them. There's a great Szechuan green bean dish that is friggin' awesome. Don't know the name in English, unfortunately. Maybe tempura for some other veggies? Gotta love anything deep fried. . . Also, Thai eggplants in curries are great.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

Lightly blanched/sauteed and tossed with liberal amounts of sesame oil and garlic is the way to go for a lot of veggies IMO

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Steak Tartare...
carpaccio

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Oh, yes!

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I grew up eating pretty much everything and being exposed to a lot of different foods. The one thing I really couldn't stand, to the point of gagging, was, oddly enough, sweet potatoes. Now, I love them; especially garnet yams--just baked in the oven for an hour, they are like candy.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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I grew up eating pretty much everything and being exposed to a lot of different foods.

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Same here. My mom has always been into cooking so we just got used to trying everything.

I will say I do not like pickles. Bleh. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

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Lobster - I used to dislike it, but have gotten over that. I still don't get blown away by lobster. I'm gonna try lobster at the next really nice place I go to. How about trying this at a steak place? Is surf and turf at a nice steakhouse generally a really good version of lobster? Or should I go with a seafood place to get a really great lobster experience? How about the type of place? Do I need to go to a really expensive place to get a really tasty lobster?

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no, in fact you should do exactly the opposite. or even, just cook the lobster yourself, it's as easy as making pasta. you're baller, just pay to have some shipped to you.

now, that is for a basic boiled (or grilled) lobster. lobsters cost around $10/lb in Boston retail shops , maybe 3 times that in restaurants. it's never worth it.

in fact if I get a lobster at a restaurant, it's a lobster roll, b/c that is tasty and easy and it comes in a hot dog roll which rules.

lobster does taste great as an ingredient, such as lobster risotto or lobster fra diavlo

wrt to crab, eh, I don't love it. the one great crab experience I had was in Bethesda, where we went to some picnicky crab shack where they gave us hammers and 30 crabs and pitchers of beer and we proceeded to bash away for 2 hours. that was a great experience.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I'm 41 and I would like to be able to eat "everything." But there are some things I just can't stand:

Eggs- the smell of scrambled eggs makes me wretch
Bananas- texture
mushrooms -- texture and concept
cucumbers- repeat on me-- nasty


my wife and brother in law can't stand onions. I love em.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

All,

If you have a chance, try dog meat (with the accommodated veggies) and its broth. Hands down the best (and addicted) dish ever.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

I grew eating nothing but the meat portion of the meal, junk food, and my lone veggie was cucumber. I've learned to like lots of things over the years.

I'm drawing a blank on things I currently won't eat (I guess clams, mussels, etc.. but I've really got no interest. If growing up on the beach in Mass didn't get it through me, nothing will!), but for now I'll mention a food I just recently started to like.

Beets! Beets were easily one of my least favorite foods growing up. I wouldn't touch them. A few months ago I saw them in the salad bar, and I'd put just a couple on because I knew they were good for you, and I could mix them in with a forkful of broccoli and not notice them.

Now I load those suckers on. I think just by slowly ramping on them you learn to appreciate the taste and the texture won't kill you. I don't really eat them with anything but salad, and they're always on the top of mine, so I eat those first. If anyone has some interesting way of preparing them, I'd be interested.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

The thing about oysters and stuff related to that, imo, its ALL about the atmosphere you are in, and the weather. i can see how a lot of people dont get oysters, but as an appetizer, cold as ice oysters with cocktail sauce and horseradish, in a swanky steakhouse, there is nothing better. Clam bakes, outside on a nice breezy day is also when I like them, for some reason, eating them by myself in my apartment, its just not as good as when you are sitting with a chick and make an experience of it. i think a lot fo foods are this way.



Edit:

My drinking habits are really really closely related to the weather, the best thing in the world is a nice bourbon on a cold-ass winter night, but I coulnt imagine swilling the stuff when its 90 and humid, that is reserved for something like a rum and coke, or a vodka tonic.

Re: Learning to eat everything
 

two vegetables I never liked as a kid and basically forced myself to like a few years ago are asparagus and cauliflower. I eased into both of them, having them with other veggies that I liked and gradually getting used to the flavor. now I like them both plain, although cauliflower is still not my favorite.