Extreme Choicelunch Eaters
March is coming to a close, and with it, our contest for adventurous eaters. We have received some crazy submissions. Some of the stories are so crazy, in fact, we wonder if we would be so eager to try such exotic ‘foods!’ The idea, of course, is that if you are willing to try escargot, you probably will enjoy chowing down on some tasty rutabaga or mustard greens.
Teens from a school in Southern California inspired us with some fabulous stories about their adventurous eating (typos included). These are super tasters, for sure!
Madi M: I am twelve years old and I have a 16 year old vegan sister. One day, my friend came over. We went out and when we came back, there was a giant bowl of marshmallows. They tasted really good! Later, we found out that my sister had made them and that they were completely vegan and gluten-free. I guess that explains the gooey texture!
Grace P: I have lived and traveled to many different places all over the world, but strangely
the most adventurous thing I have eaten was not too far from home. I was on a trip with my family om Arizona, when we went to a little restaurant that the people in our hotel had recommended to us. We got there and the waiters asked us what we would like to eat. We asked what the most popular dish was and they told us rattlesnake was in season! Eating the rattlesnake was exciting and exhilarating. I felt very brave after eating the snake.Katharina S: The most adventurous food I have ever eaten in my life is German meat salad called fleischsalat. My dad ate it when he was a boy. His mom, my oma, has eaten it her whole life. Fleischsalat is made from the ends of different meats, like salami, bologna, and headcheese. Headceese is meat jelly made from the head of a calf or pig. There are also pickles, sour cream, onions, mayonnaise, and vinegar. I have been eating Fleischsalat so long that I do not know how old I was when I first tried it. I will probably eat this meat salad my whole life!
Chris G: The real way to eat is an adventurous way. The most adventurous food I’ve eaten was a friendly cricket. I ate a cheesy cricket at the San Diego Zoo. I was at a sleepover program at the zoo when the staff members gave the campers cheesy crickets for fun! They told everyone that they tasted like Dorito chips, and I was one of the five people to try it. They did taste like Doritos, but I still will not try them again.
Michael O: I usually am never a dangerous eating person, but one day I went to Mexico, I are a rice paper with lemon juice, tabatillo, and insect guts. They literally squirted the guts onto the rice paper! They got different types of insects and squeezed the life out of them. It was so disgusting and I will never eat it again.
Matthew B: I am a person who is open to suggestions and when it comes to food, I follow Andrew Zimmerman’s saying ‘If it looks good, eat it.’ THe most adventurous food I have ever eaten was probably fried alligator. The first time I popped a nuggest in my mouth, I knew it was love at first bite. Just the thought of the sweet, fatty taste and texture makes my mouth salivate. The smell was like southern fried heaven. AFter eating alligator, I have been opened to any kind of new culinary cultural delight.
Nicole T: The most adventurous food I’ve ever eaten is jellyfish. The strange thiung about this unusual Chinese dish is that no matter how many times you chew it, it never fails to make a crunching sound. Also, the texture is very slippery. It is almost impossible to eat it without it slipping off the utensil you use. Even though this sounds unusual and gross, it makes a delicious, juicy meal.
Kayla F:Food is normally good, at least the kinds I like. When I was on my way to Italy, we were on the plane for 11 hours. Let me tell you-the food was bad! I had a hamburger. WHen I got it, it looked horrible. The meat looked fake and same with the cheese. I took a bite, and spit it out right away. I could tell it was not a real burger. It was made out of things I probably didn’t want to know. THis was the last time I would eat airplane food.
Liam G: The most adventurous food I have ever eaten is deep-friend cactus and rattlesnake. I had it at a small Mexican restaurant while traveling in Arizona. The cactus had a sour, almost spicy, taste to it. The rattlesnake was chewy and did not “taste like chicken.” I really like it, with the deep-fried crunch, and the smoky barbecue dipping sauce that came with it. It was truly interesting and very delicious!
Katie K: There are many different cultures all around the world, along with many different kinds of foods. The most exotic food I have ever eaten is raw tuna. I have been eating raw tuna for a few years because it is a part of my culture. I am Japanese and sushi is my favorite! At first, I though the raw tuna was disgusting, but after I had it a few times, I actually grew to like it. I have had a lot of types of food, but this is the most interesting.
Trevor H: Food itself is an adventure, but when you don’t know what you are eating, the fun keeps coming. I was twelve at my grandfather’s birthday where there were very exotic foods. I didn’t know what anything was, so I had someone make me a plate. On this plate was some white gooey stuff, something called diagle and what looked like pig’s tail. I ate it. The diagle was some kind of spicy pickled vegetable, the tail was a crunchy, chewy tail, and the goopâI actually still do not know what it is- tasted like spicy water.
Danielle T: One of the most adventurous foods I have ever eaten was quail eggs. They are like tiny chicken eggs, but they come from a quail! I ate them in northern California at my uncle’s property, where there are deer, quail, and rattlesnake! My brother found a nest of twenty eggs one day. I was upset at first that they were going to kill the eggs, and I was weary that I had to eat them for breakfast. We made scrambled eggs and chorizo and it was delicious! I am glad I tried it!
Liam G: The most adventurous food I have ever eaten were brussel sprouts. Three weeks ago, my mom came home with a bag of disgusting looking green balls (brussel sprouts). She cooked them and it was the only thing we had to eat because my mom said we would love them! The first bite I had turned my face yellow and I spit them back on the plate. I didn’t eat dinner that night and I know I will never eat brussel sprouts again.
Matt F: The most adventurous food I have ever eaten is beef tongue. I ate it at a surprise party or a friend. The tongue was cooked in a Mexican chili pepper sauce, which made it real spicy. The tongue meat was really tender and tasted a bit like a spicy pot roast. The tongue was cut into big slices and they looked like tiny circular steaks. The tongue tasted really good, but it was kind of psychologically hard to eat the exotic food.
Shaughn R: In my life, I have eaten many weird dishes. However, escargot has been the most exciting, nasty, and interesting thing I have eaten. When I was presented with the escargot, I boasted that I would be the first to eat it, but when I actually saw it, I froze. I finally powered through it and it seemed like a really tough mushroom. By far, escargot has been the most adventurous food I have eaten. I pray that the phrase “You are what you eat” doesn’t apply here.
Keep sending us your entries for our March adventurous eating contest⦠the month is ending, but there is still time!
