The Omnivore's 100

I have a confession. I often while away hours of my life browsing through blogs (foodie and otherwise). During one such browsing session, I came across www.verygoodtaste.co.uk and this post. It's the 100 foods this particular blogger thinks every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

It's obviously a very subjective list but the competitive foodie in me was intrigued. Hmm, I wondered to myself, I wonder how many I've tried.

Here's his list. I've highlighted the foods that I've eaten in bold.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros - these sound delicious and I've been meaning to try them for absolutely ages. I might just make them this week.
4. Steak tartare - my boyfriend loves this. So much in fact that he once ate it three days running. But I'm sure that doesn't count.
5. Crocodile - I may be wrong but I imagine this to be horribly tough. Have any of you tried it?
6. Black pudding - raised in the southwest of Ireland, this was weekend morning breakfast food.
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht - our veggie delivery had a glut of beetroots for a while so I've experimented with several variations of this soup.
10. Baba ghanoush - yum!
11. Calamari - double yum!
12. Pho
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
14. Aloo gobi
15. A hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - is it bad that I've never heard of this, having lived in France?
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - elderflower wine is good but elderflower champagne is much, much better.
19. Steamed pork buns - I've heard about the Momofuku ones and will have to try them.
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 don't know if I would subject myself to this. It would depend on the company I was in and how susceptible I was to their (bad) influence!
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna Cauda - an Italian friend makes this and always makes extra for me to bring home. Bless!
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi - I had this in India. It made me sick for days. I don't blame it though. It was lovely. The ice wasn't.
34. Sauerkraut
35. A root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. A clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle that costs £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - I think I might be frightened to try this.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - what's the deal with these? Why do people like them so much? They are FAR too sweet for me.
50. Sea urchin - I've been meaning to try these. The opportunity has never arisen.
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - my boyfriend once did a macrobiotic cooking class to impress a girl (who wasn't me). As a result, he now makes a mean rice, umeboshi and tahini dish.
53. Abalone - I sampled this in the amazing Shangri La Hotel in Kuala Lumper. I didn't realise it was endangered then though.
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - as kaolin is earth or clay, I doubt I will ever eat it. Strange.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian - I once spent an afternoon in a market in Krabi trying to track one down. It was the end of the durian season and my Thai friend thought we might just get lucky and find one. We didn't.
66. Frog's legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plaintain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini - I only had this for the first time last year in London's wonderful Bob Bob Ricard.
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost - Norwegians love this so I'll have to try it.
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snails
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini - I've even had these in the infamous Harry's Bar in Venice
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. A tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - not yet but 'yet' is definitely the operative word!
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster thermidor - this ranks as one of my favourite dishes EVER.
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

55 out of 100.
Not a good score for the competitive spirit in me but a great one for the foodie. This list has made me realise that there is still so much left to try, a whole world of food to explore.

If I were writing this list, I'd definitely add spaghetti vongole because it's one of my favourite dishes of all time. What would you add?