Wednesday, April 11, 2012

100 Foods to Eat Before You Die

This list of 100 foods to eat before you die comes from a Facebook app, where the creators claim that most people have only tried about 20 of these foods. Challenge accepted!

#35. Fresh spring rolls
(at Pho Colonial in downtown Dallas, TX)

The list seemed random at first, but it covers a lot of cultures' speciality foods. One nice thing about living in Texas is that 14 of our most popular regional foods made the list, so Texans should be off to a good start. I noted these foods as "(Texas!)"

#18. Chicken & Waffles
(at Dream Cafe in uptown Dallas, TX)

I had a lot of fun looking up the foods I didn't know in Wikipedia. I was surprised to realize that I've tasted some of them without knowing what they were originally called. You might also notice a trend for yourself to avoid certain cuisines; for example, I haven't had many specialty Asian and Indian foods. I'm also not very interested in trying some of these foods, like crickets. I grew up being a picky eater—and some people would say I still am—but I think having tried 65 out of 100 foods to eat before you die is pretty good. Although that doesn't mean I like them all!

For more fun, I made up this totally unscientific ranking chart:

What Type of Eater Are You?

1–10 Picky Eater
11–25 Average American
26–50 Traveler Who Tries Local Foods
51–70 Foodie
71–90 Executive Chef
91–100 Professional Food Critic

Give the list a try and see where you rank. You can print the blank list at the end of this page, check off (X) the ones you've tried, and star (*) the ones that you'd like to try. Let me know what your number is in the comments section. It'd also be fun to hear what is everyone's favorite and most disgusting food they've tried from this list.

#49. Head Cheese
I didn't realize I had tried this until I was looking for
photos and read my own caption!
(at Salt & Time in Austin, TX)

My 100 List, with Commentary

___ 1. Abalone
X__ 2. Absinthe
X__ 3. Alligator
X__ 4. Baba Ghanoush
___ 5. Bagel & Lox
X__ 6. Baklava
X__ 7. BBQ Ribs (Texas!)
X__ 8. Bellini
*__ 9. Birds Nest Soup
X__ 10. Biscuits & Gravy (Texas!)
___ 11. Black Pudding
X__ 12. Black Truffle
___ 13. Borscht
X__ 14. Calamari
___ 15. Carp
X__ 16. Caviar
X__ 17. Cheese Fondue
X__ 18. Chicken & Waffles (Texas!)
X__ 19. Chicken Tikka Masala
X__ 20. Chile Relleno (Texas!)
___ 21. Chitlins
X__ 22. Churros
X__ 23. Clam Chowder
X__ 24. Cognac
X__ 25. Crab Cakes
___ 26. Crickets
___ 27. Currywurst
*__ 28. Dandelion Wine
X__ 29. Dulce De Leche
___ 30. Durian (fun to learn it smells so bad it is banned in some Asian hotels)
X__ 31. Eel
X__ 32. Eggs Benedict
X__ 33. Fish Tacos (Texas!)
X__ 34. Foie Gras
X__ 35. Fresh Spring Rolls
X__ 36. Fried Catfish (Texas!)
X__ 37. Fried Green Tomatoes (Texas!)
X__ 38. Fried Plantain
X__ 39. Frito Pie (Texas!)
___ 40. Frogs' Legs
___ 41. Fugu
X__ 42. Funnel Cake (Texas!)
X__ 43. Gazpacho
___ 44. Goat
___ 45. Goat's Milk
X__ 46. Goulash
X__ 47. Gumbo
___ 48. Haggis
X__ 49. Head Cheese
X__ 50. Heirloom Tomatoes (Texas!)
X__ 51. Honeycomb
X__ 52. Hostess Fruit Pie
X__ 53. Huevos Rancheros (Texas!)
X__ 54. Jerk Chicken
X__ 55. Kangaroo
X__ 56. Key Lime Pie
X__ 57. Kobe Beef
___ 58. Lassi
X__ 59. Lobster
X__ 60. Mimosa (Texas!)
X__ 61. Moon Pie (Texas!)
X__ 62. Morel Mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms, except for this species and chanterelles)
*__ 63. Nettle Tea
___ 64. Octopus
*__ 65. Oxtail Soup (does braised count?!)
X__ 66. Paella
*__ 67. Paneer (I think I have, but can't be sure)
X__ 68. Pastrami on Rye
*__ 69. Pavlova (most want to try)
___ 70. Phaal
X__ 71. Philly Cheese Steak
X__ 72. Pho
___ 73. Pineapple & Cottage Cheese
___ 74. Pistachio Ice Cream (no nuts for me)
X__ 75. Po' Boy
*__ 76. Pocky
X__ 77. Polenta
X__ 78. Prickly Pear (Texas!)
*__ 79. Rabbit Stew
X__ 80. Raw Oysters
X__ 81. Root Beer Float
X__ 82. S'mores
X__ 83. Sauerkraut
___ 84. Sea Urchin
___ 85. Shark
X__ 86. Snail
___ 87. Snake
X__ 88. Soft Shell Crab
___ 89. Som Tam
X__ 90. Spaetzle
X__ 91. Spam
___ 92. Squirrel
X__ 93. Steak Tartare
X__ 94. Sweet Potato Fries
X__ 95. Sweetbreads
X__ 96. Tom Yum
___ 97. Umeboshi
X__ 98. Venison
___ 99. Wasabi Peas (too spicy for me)
*___ 100. Zucchini Flowers

Score: 65 foods eaten
Eater Type: "Foodie"

Favorite Food Tried from the List: Pho
Most Disgusting Food Tried from the List: Foie Gras

#72. Pho
My favorite food tried from the list
(at Pho Colonial in downtown Dallas, TX)

-----------------------------------------------------------
Blank List to Print:

100 Foods to Eat Before You Die

___ 1. Abalone
___ 2. Absinthe
___ 3. Alligator
___ 4. Baba Ghanoush
___ 5. Bagel & Lox
___ 6. Baklava
___ 7. BBQ Ribs
___ 8. Bellini
___ 9. Birds Nest Soup
___ 10. Biscuits & Gravy
___ 11. Black Pudding
___ 12. Black Truffle
___ 13. Borscht
___ 14. Calamari
___ 15. Carp
___ 16. Caviar
___ 17. Cheese Fondue
___ 18. Chicken & Waffles
___ 19. Chicken Tikka Masala
___ 20. Chile Relleno
___ 21. Chitlins
___ 22. Churros
___ 23. Clam Chowder
___ 24. Cognac
___ 25. Crab Cakes
___ 26. Crickets
___ 27. Currywurst
___ 28. Dandelion Wine
___ 29. Dulce De Leche
___ 30. Durian
___ 31. Eel
___ 32. Eggs Benedict
___ 33. Fish Tacos
___ 34. Foie Gras
___ 35. Fresh Spring Rolls
___ 36. Fried Catfish
___ 37. Fried Green Tomatoes
___ 38. Fried Plantain
___ 39. Frito Pie
___ 40. Frogs' Legs
___ 41. Fugu
___ 42. Funnel Cake
___ 43. Gazpacho
___ 44. Goat
___ 45. Goat's Milk
___ 46. Goulash
___ 47. Gumbo
___ 48. Haggis
___ 49. Head Cheese
___ 50. Heirloom Tomatoes
___ 51. Honeycomb
___ 52. Hostess Fruit Pie
___ 53. Huevos Rancheros
___ 54. Jerk Chicken
___ 55. Kangaroo
___ 56. Key Lime Pie
___ 57. Kobe Beef
___ 58. Lassi
___ 59. Lobster
___ 60. Mimosa
___ 61. Moon Pie
___ 62. Morel Mushrooms
___ 63. Nettle Tea
___ 64. Octopus
___ 65. Oxtail Soup
___ 66. Paella
___ 67. Paneer
___ 68. Pastrami on Rye
___ 69. Pavlova
___ 70. Phaal
___ 71. Philly Cheese Steak
___ 72. Pho
___ 73. Pineapple & Cottage Cheese
___ 74. Pistachio Ice Cream
___ 75. Po' Boy
___ 76. Pocky
___ 77. Polenta
___ 78. Prickly Pear
___ 79. Rabbit Stew
___ 80. Raw Oysters
___ 81. Root Beer Float
___ 82. S'mores
___ 83. Sauerkraut
___ 84. Sea Urchin
___ 85. Shark
___ 86. Snail
___ 87. Snake
___ 88. Soft Shell Crab
___ 89. Som Tam
___ 90. Spaetzle
___ 91. Spam
___ 92. Squirrel
___ 93. Steak Tartare
___ 94. Sweet Potato Fries
___ 95. Sweetbreads
___ 96. Tom Yum
___ 97. Umeboshi
___ 98. Venison
___ 99. Wasabi Peas
___ 100. Zucchini Flowers

Score: _____
Eater Type: __________

Favorite Food Tried from the List: ________________________
Most Disgusting Food Tried from the List: _____________________

7 comments:

  1. The paneer taco from velvet taco is really good! I got 72... whoop!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, the paneer taco at Velvet Taco is where I ate it! Congrats on being chef level! haha

    ReplyDelete
  3. Not a huge fan of Pho Colonial honestly. Think there are much better places around here for Pho or anything Vietnamese.

    Love the chicken and waffles though at Dream Cafe. They also have an incredible breakfast line up too! Ever try their "ham steak" which is really just smoked Virginia ham? Holy crap it's great!

    I would also add Kuby's Sausage House to that list. If you live here, love food and don't go there for some great things, you're missing out! They do lunch everyday and brunch on Sunday's but Dinner only Friday & Saturday.

    Dare To Eat

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the comments, Dare to Eat. I haven't tried Pho anywhere else yet, but I have heard there are better places. It's still a great food, though!

    I have tried a fair amount of things at Dream Cafe, but I don't recall a ham steak on the menu. Maybe because I usually don't seek out ham, but I'll look for it next time.

    Kuby's is a good place too, one of the few places to get good sausage in Dallas.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 68 - Not Bad :) Blue Cheese Burger at Square Burger in downtown McKinney - Best flippin burger I've ever had. Love your blog by the way :) Trying to get mine going - http://dallasepicurious.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the feedback and tips! I have heard nothing but good things about Square Burger, I just haven't been to McKinney in years.

    ReplyDelete