Learning to eat everything

[El Diablo]

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.

[jeffnc]

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

[Aloysius]

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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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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

[Slow Play Ray]

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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.

[Jeff W]

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.

[TiK]

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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.

[Claunchy]

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.

[7ontheline]

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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.

[Aloysius]

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

[7ontheline]

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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.