The Omnivore 100

So there's this thing going around on the food blogs that I've become obsessed with about the top 100 things that every omnivore should eat (at least once). The ones in italics are ones that I've tried already. I'm at 67% - some are never going to happen (whole insects) and others are just waiting for the opportunity (3 course meal at 3 star Michelin restaurant).

1. Venison: prepared it for the first in college when my boyfriend bought me some venison that he had killed. Turned me vegetarian.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros: LOVE them from the Austin Grill in DC.
4. Steak tartare : the best steak tartare I had was in Brussels after a month in the Congo. We had it prepared in front of us by an old Belgian waiter and drank it with a bottle of Saint-Emilion.
5. Crocodile: First time I had it was in a fancy restaurant as carpaccio in a mall in Pretoria, South Africa. I ate Gator in South Carolina several times.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue: I even have my own fondue pot!
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush: but eggplant doesn't like me.
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich: strawberry jelly, por favor.
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart: the best ones are in Copenhagen.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (raspberries, cherries, crab apple)
19. Steamed pork buns : Dim Sum! Still looking for a good one though.
20. Pistachio ice cream : My favorite. I've always associated it with father's though as this was my father's favorite flavor in Belgium.
21. Heirloom tomatoes :and I've grown them!
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras :Oh god... what made me a omnivore again after 10 years vegetarianism.
24. Rice and beans :Best are blackeyed peas cooked with jalapenos, onions, tomatos, and butter and cajun seasoning with jasmine rice!
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters : Roasted, raw, fried. I love them! Bowen's Island, Felix's in New Orleans! Central Station Oyster Bar in NYC! Fried in a curry!
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl : had clam chosder in Boston but not in a sourdough bowl.
33. Salted lassi : but my favorite is Masala 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 : ate it in Port Antonio, Jamaica the first time.
42. Whole insects : that's never going to happen.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more: Not yet... give me some time.
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel : I'm in holland - its almost the national dish.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut : HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW!
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi : the best hangover cure!
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini : with blue cheese stuffed martinis at Le Bar in DC is good.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst: BERLIN, Salute!
65. Durian : in San Francisco with my friend Colin.
66. Frogs’ legs : in Haiti with Antoine!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake :elephant ears and funnel cake at the Sumter County Fair, Beignets in Cafe du MOnde in New Orleans and churros in Mexico City and Madrid!
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain : I prefer the soft plantains fried with fried eggs and black beans and sour cream... yum.
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 ecstasy!
82. Eggs Benedict: Corinne Risler makes some of the best of them! But I was introduced to them at Polly's Cafe and I like them better with smoked salmon to replace the canadian bacon.
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant : NOT YET!
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare: in a ragout in Rome.
87. Goulash: I even learned how to make it from a Hungarian woman in my kitchen!
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab: The first time I had one, I ate it fried in a croissant. I didn't bite hard enough and the crab dangled from my mouth like a bug in my cat's mouth.
93. Harissa
94. Catfish :I'm from South Carolina, bien sur!
95. Mole poblano :in Oaxaca!
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake :Boa constrictor in Central African Republic. Rattlesnake in South Carolina. In retrospect, they are very similar locales.

I'm thinking about starting a food blog but I need some help in learning how to photograph food to make it look as beautiful as some of the others. Maybe we could have a collaborative food blog where those of us who love to cook add new recipes that we've tried!