Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Extreme cuisine
Today, a patient recommended Lengthwise Brewing Company here in Bako. I asked him, “Where’s your favorite place to eat in town?” and that’s what he came up with.
Interesting place. From the dessert menu,
Crude Beer Float
A pint of Kern County Crude Porter sharing space with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Sorry kids, adults only!) $5.95Deep Fried Twinkies with Ice Cream
We had to do it! Three Twinkies lightly fried and topped with our maple and cinnamon syrup, served with a cold scoop of vanilla. $7.95
I’m not sure which is more extreme. Perhaps the deep fried Twinkies? Right up there with Deep Fried Snickers Bars. Of course, we could all visit Thailand and eat bugs.
The most extreme thing I thought I had eaten: jook, which turns out to be rice porridge and not fish stomach, which is what my old gf’s mom told me it was when she served it to me. Witch. Ignoring jook, I guess it would be a tie among jellyfish, blood sausage, and snails, all of which I still eat when the occasion arises.
What’s the most extreme thing you’ve ever eaten?
D.
I’ll try most anything. Blood sausage is lovely sliced thin and fried to a crisp. Haggis of course, battered and deep fried from the chip shop. Duck tongue. Cow tongue. I know now I don’t like tongue so I gave up trying. Ostrich steaks, kangaroo, alligator and all manner of seafood raw and cooked. No Fugu but I wouldn’t say no.I have not eaten snails or frogs or anything else similar. Well, unless you count eels.
I did draw the line at the deep fried snickers bar.
I’ve had alligator and frog legs . . . forgot about those. Eel, cow tongue — those are common items for me. Eel is delicious. Cow tongue used to be delicious before I developed a beef allergy. The trick to cow tongue is cooking it long enough to break down the connective tissue. Too short a cooking time and you get the usual Jewish deli tongue, which has that unpleasant fibrous toughness. Don’t know why they can’t make a good tongue.
I guess what I’m saying, Lyvvie, is don’t knock tongue until you’ve had my tongue 😛
The most extreme thing I’ve ever eaten? Her name was…
OK I KID.
The most extreme thing I think I’ve ever eaten is sea urchin roe.
I guess what I’m saying, Lyvvie, is don’t knock tongue until you’ve had my tongue 😛
Yeah, but Doug, we don’t know where your tongue has been!
*infantile snicker*
And no extreme food for me. I’m too big of a wimp for that.
BBQ snake is pretty tasty, sea cucumber not so much.
Imperial Stout makes a good base for a vanilla float, too. Yum.
I didn’t think it was that extreme, but Doc did… grilled baby tako. (Photo from ficklefoodie.blogspot.com…)
Dean: reminds me of a bit from William Vollman’s Butterfly Stories, wherein the narrator has oral sex with a Cambodian prostitute and says, “I knew immediately I had made a profound mistake,” or words to that effect.
Kris, my wife will have to field that one for you 😉
Chris, I’ve never had sea cucumber. Or snake. Unless you count eel, which despite being a fish sure as hell looks like a snake.
ps: Ooooh! Poor baby tako!
Snake tastes more or less like chicken, although the texture is closer to crab or lobster – long muscle fibres. Sea cucumber tastes like whatever you cook it in (garlic butter, in my case).
I guess Haggis for me too, but I enjoyed it. I’ve also had squid in a Japanese restaurant…compared to everyone else, I guess this is pretty calm stuff.
I met my first husband when I lived in France. When he took me to dinner to meet his parents, my mother-in-law-to-be served lamb’s brains. I knew she did it to gross me out and scare me off, but since she was an excellent cook, they were truly delicious and I even asked for seconds. I refused to even taste boudin (blood sausage) which looks like you know what to me. I have not only eaten snails, but have cooked them as well. I do not like kidneys – they always taste like urine to me. The worst thing I ever saw in France was a a cheese from Corsica (which is part of France)that has maggots. The maggots are part of the delicacy since they have dined on the cheese.
Chris: Hmm, makes me wonder if the snake keepers have been feeding their snakes chicken. You are what you eat.
Sis: Yes, I’m afraid calamari is pretty tame 🙂
Lucie: you reminded me, I’ve had sweetbreads. Don’t think I could bring myself to eat brains, though. And maggots? I’ve heard of this cheese and, well, I think it’s like the maggot in the tequila raised to the nth power. Someone’s idea of a macho stunt.
Wow, I guess I’m pretty tame. But, Alligator is pretty good fried up. My dad used to make is own “caviar” when he went fishing, but I didn’t want to taste it. Oh, and my father insisted that his fish stew include the head of the fish. He really liked fish cheeks and I swear he would eat the eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch!
The best was pickled pigs feet. I loved to enjoy this with my grandmother. Probably haven’t had it since she passed. Hard to find now, but not back then.
MMmmm, trotters! No, I’ve never had them. Nor pig snouts. I have had fish cheeks and I’ve tried fish eyes (chewy, not very interesting). Caviar is one of the good things in life, but fortunately you can get your caviar fix at a sushi bar much more cheaply than you can at a pricey restaurant. Red instead of black, but the flavor is better, IMO.
ugh, just reading what you people have eaten makes me nauseous! i’d never touch any of those things with a ten-foot pole. i can’t even think of anything strange i’ve eaten. and i’m happy that way!