I Live to Eat

There are a few different lists floating around the internet about the Top 100 Foods you must eat in your lifetime. The most well-known is the Omnivore's 100 (there's a different list for vegetarians). There's also a list based on American foods, and even a list for sweets. I like to think I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to food, so I'm going to post them here and see how I do.

Here are the instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Here's my list, with comments in parentheses.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (I'm open minded, but this just sounds disgusting.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - I haven't just bitten into one, but I've eaten them with other things
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - I've never heard of this before, but after looking it up, I want to try it!
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I've had both, but not together)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (this is on the list? really?)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (I accidentally ate this in India. It wasn't bad.)
42. Whole insects (I have a severe insect phobia. There is no way I'd voluntarily eat them.)
43. Phaal (I'm not sure if I've eaten this, so I'm not bolding it.)
44. Goat’s milk (I've had cheese made from goat's milk... does that count?)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (mmm heaven)
50. Sea urchin (didn't like it much, but I ate it)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (didn't like it, but I've tried it)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (I googled this, and it seems to be the drug found in Kaopectate. Huh?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Haggis (no innards, please)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (I've had plenty of absinthe... not sure about the type though) 74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (I saw some in an Asian market and decided to try it. Didn't like it.)
84. Tasting menu at a Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef (shockingly, I don't think I've had this)
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (that's just wrong)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor (I've had lots of lobster, but not thermidor.)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Eaten - 79
Don't want to eat - 8
Need to try - 14

100 American Foods

This is a similar list, but it's specific to American foods. If a geographic location is named, I'm going to count it if I've eaten food in that style (even if I didn't necessarily eat it in that exact city or state).

1. New York pizza (I've eaten the real thing in NY, and Oh My God it can't compare to pizza anywhere else.)
2. Hoppin’ John (We make this for New Year's every year.)
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso (I love this with some shrimp and grits.)
6. Whole Maine lobster (Eaten at a lobster pound in Maine.)
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs (I've never been to KC, but I've had bbq in this style.)
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme (First eaten when I was in high school in Florida.)
10. San Diego fish tacos (Love them with some fresh lime juice squeezed on top.)
11. Cheese curds
12. Key lime pie (Hello, I'm from Florida. I have Key lime pie running through my veins.)
13. Philly cheese steak (I prefer Geno's over Pat's.)
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie (I've eaten huckleberries, but I don't think I've ever had them in a pie.)
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts (Tried them once, and that was enough.)
19. Buffalo burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye (one of my favorite sandwiches)
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
25. Thin Mints (preferably frozen) (I prefer Tagalongs)
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
30. Fresh-picked blueberries (I love wild Maine blueberries in the summer.)
31. Sourwood honey - never had it, but now I want to try it
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes (I live in Maryland. Enough said.)
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing (except I call it "stuffing")
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed morels
39. Persimmon pudding - I've never heard of this, but I'm going to look it up, because I actually have some persimmon at home right now.
40. General Tso’s Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dog
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
45. Spam musubi - I saw this in Hawaii and I was horrified.
46. Saltwater taffy
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
48. Black and white cookie
49. Frybread (I still have dreams about the frybread I ate on a Native American reservation in Arizona.)
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash
57. Shrimp and grits (One of my favorite foods of all time.)
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck (Apparently this is a type of clam?)
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell
65. Pecan pie
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station (I haven't eaten it in those locations.)
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce
69. Pimiento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola (Moonpie, yes. RC Cola, no.)
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po’Boy
77. Green bean casserole with French’s fried onions
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken (I've never had it, but my dog eats a food called "turnducken.")
80. Shad roe on toast (and I never want to eat it again)
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin’
87. California rolls
88. Burgoo
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
91. Scrapple or livermush (kind of disgusting)
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction (I actually ate Elk somewhere out West)
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar (I use Tillamook cheddar when I make mac and cheese at home. It's truly the best!)
100. Root beer float

Eaten - 91
Don't want to eat - 0
Need to try - 9

I still have a lot of eating to do! How many have you eaten?