Since Psyop was over in the ZDC discussing how he had eaten crickets with his smothered pork chops, I figured "hey! Let's all discuss this!" So throw down a list of the most "interesting" foods you've had. I'll start 'er off:

- The exotics, like alligator, crocodile, gemsbuk, impala, ostrich, kangaroo (yeah, I know that's not exotic for our brethren down under), etc. but those don't really count <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

- Rocky Mountain Oysters. Yeah, I know I not alone in that, but it takes a brave man to eat the, ahem, masculine bits of another animal.

- Deep-fried scorpions. Watch out for the stingers. Taste like nuts.

- Oven roasted cicadas. SF45ACP roasted a bunch during a huge storm and we gave it a go. Also, tasted like nuts.

- Sauteed baby sparrows. Bones are rubbery and edible. Beak? Not so much.

- Dog. Tastes like....beef. Except the vacuum packed dog I bought of a train platform vendor somewhere in China in 1996. THAT tasted like wet dog smelled. Too much skin for my liking...Learned an important lesson about NOT buying questionable meat from street vendors in the middle of nowhere. Never a good idea. Trust me.

- Pidan. This is a Chinese delicacy also known as a 1000 Year Old Eggs. These are duck eggs soaked in ammonia, wrapped in clay, and then buried until the insides gel and turn bluish green. Used to be they soaked them in horse urine. Mmmmmmm....starvation food.... Tastes about as good as it sounds.

- Stinky Tofu. Tofu that has been soaked in a briny mixture that smells vaguely of fecal matter. "Vaguely" is too euphamistic. "Exactly" is probably better. The tofu is deep fried and served with garlic, kimchi, soy sauce and vinegar. First time I had it, it tasted like I was licking the floor of a horse stall (don't ask how I know that flavor). Second time, it grew on me. It's now one of my favorite Taiwanese dishes. It's easy to find--it's signature aroma drifts around the vendors' stalls in about a half-mile radius. Sometimes I get misled by open sewers though...

- Sea cucumbers. Rubbery black rings that taste like rubber.

- Birds nest soup. Nothing says "gourmet" like eating crystalized bird spit. Interesting factoid: once the nest is collected, the instinct is so strong that the sparrows will continue trying to build the nests in the same place (makes it easy to collect them) until they eventually start spitting blood and die. The higher quality nests have little to no blood in the spit. Thankfully, I've only had "quality" spit.

- Toad ovaries/toad skin fat. Served at official banquets in Hangzhou, the ovaries and or fatty layer under the skins of toads is served steamed with tapioca and coconut milk in half a papaya. This is one of the primary ways Chinese officials use to attempt to cow foreign diplomats into submission. Thankfully, I represented my country well every time.

Ok, your turn! Go!

Wow, well here goes, but I don't think anything to top DT.

Dog, stewed and deep fried. It wasn't bad and you would never know it unless someone told you.

Cat, pretty much the same as dog for me.

SUPPOSEDLY Monkey. Sliced thin about a quarter inch thick and cooked with a brown gravy.

Snails, (NO, not escargo, just plain ole snails)

Mussels

Frog

Don't know what it's called, but it is basically Rotten fish in rotten rice.

Rice Bugs (NOT by choice)

Balut ONCE!find it here, if you dare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29

Squid rings

Octopus

Blood sausage (won't do that again, hated it)

Assorted really bad tasting vegetable dishes

Pork liver and lungs finely chopped and boiled, served over steamed rice.

Squid cooked adobo with the ink and served over rice

Tofu of several different flavorings, deep fried and steamed. Interestingly tofu can be flavored with about anything.

Fugu. This is the poisonous puffer fish. It was (maybe always is) sliced so thin that you can actually see through it and served raw. IF it is done right (so it doesn't kill you) it (at leas what I had did) makes you lips and tongue tingle from the toxin.

Sushi, Raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed

Sashimi Just the raw fish sliced almost paper thin.

Snake

Alligator

Shark

Bar B Que'd Beaver

Crawdads (also called crayfish, mudbugs or fish bait).

Rocky Mountain Oysters (YUP, pig....)

Bull fries (YUP, them too)

Rooster Fries (YUP, Roosters have them also. How do you think they get baby chickens). Bread them up and deep fry them and dredge them in your ketchup.

Chocolate Covered ants and crickets along with fried meal worms.

That's all I can think of for now. Nothing like what DT has had, but more than a lot of folks.

-Live ants. Tasted of lemon. They are really chewey!

-Frogs. Tasted somewhat like frog...

-Sea-urchin. Tasted a lot like liver.

-Once a fly, but that was more of an accident on my bike.

i've had rattlesnake, way back when i was an omnivore. can't think of much else that was off the beaten path.

as far as veggies go, i agree with skunk. tofu is amazingly versatile when it comes to taste and texture. when someone says they don't like it, i tell them they just haven't had it cooked right yet.

i've had faux versions of most common meats, some of them very mediocre and others outstanding, better tasting than their animal counter part. but the one that takes the cake is faux duck that i had. it was anatomically correct with a crispy skin layer, a juicy fatty layer and then the meat layer. i had to ask the waiter if he was 100% sure it wasn't animal meat. the owner of the restaurant came strolling over to my table grinning because he was just as blown away by it as i was and proud to have it on his menu. i tried to get more info out of him but his lips were sealed. he said the recipe came from an old buddhist monk in china. pretty cool.

i use almond milk most of the time, some people think that is interesting.

also found a brand of faux hamburger mix that is made primarily from malted barley flower. if you press a spatula on the patty, the juices sizzle up like a real burger.

I have eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters and squid...both were <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbdn.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbdn.gif" alt="" />.

You just have no taste Tom. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I guess not; I just know what I like and what I DON'T like! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Come on, what happened to adapt and overcome? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Don't you remember Mikey? Tryyyyy it, You'll liiiiike it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oh, I could eat that stuff if it was all that was available; I just don't like it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Well Ive had:

Shark in South Carolina

Crawdads in Louisiana

Moths, they're actually vary in taste from a sweet taste to gross.(Drunken nights on the river) in Virginia

Alligator in Florida

Bison Patay in Colorado

Rattle Snake in West Virginia

Yak in Virginia

Squirrel (well city folk might find it interesting) in West Virginia

Bear in Virginia

Frog legs in South Carolina

Pig tongue in South Carolina

Beef tongue in Mexico

Green Egg salad ( avocado used instead of mayo) in California

Ok here my list. ?.
Blood sausage. made with pork blood. Love it!
Blood meat. Pork cooked in blood looks like chocolate covered meat. Excellent! Called Dinuanduran or something like that??? Philipino food.
Igado also philipino is made from Liver, intestines, stomach, heart, i think theres a bunch of other guts in there but it taste good! Mmmm. Really does!
Mountain oysters over an open fire. Pretty good with chili peper water! Deep fried was good to.
Sheep oysters adobo style and with gravy. Both good.
Ikura(salmon eggs) love it!
Sea urchin eggs. Rich but loved it.
Flying fish eggs. Pops in your mouth even hours after eating it. Lol. Good.
Goat is good.
Cow tongue, pretty darn good.
Ti-no-no is my favorite! Made from pig head! The ears are excellent in that!
Raw squid. Awesome.
Raw octopus even better with wasabi!
Raw crab tried many types. Any will do just fine for me.
River snails. Mmmmmm good!
Raw liver is actually great on hot rice.
Balote? I think I spelled it right? A baby almost formed duck in the egg. This Sucked @$$$. Tasted like guts to me. It cam out almost formed and had pinfeathers and beak/feet! Blaw!pew pew..
Cows milk gut over the fire until brown is awesome.
Raw tripe is great.
Raw sea cucumber was alright.
Eel actually is great with rice!
Limpets (opihi) scraped from the shoreline and eaten right away is great and is good cooked too.
Raw shrimp with sea urchin eggs, salt, rosted kukui nut, fresh sea weed (limu) is da bomb!
Raw Beef was alright.
Dove is good
Pigeon good
Sparrow was pretty chewy but alright.
Racoon was tough
Rabbit is excellent
Mongoose sucks!
Shark was alright.
Moonfish is pretty good but its ugly!
Dog is excellent. Very tender and the ribs are tiny!
Raw beef skin with vinegar was pretty good but chewy.
Goat skin was pretty strong tasting. Tasted like a goat smells like.
Beef bile (the little sack attached to the liver) in soup and strait in a shot of whiskey! Both sucked! Bad!
Fresh yellowfin tuna eggs deep fried. Now this should be sold in stores! Seriously. Its soooo gooood!
Mahi mahi eggs. Good.
Dried squid love it but dont eat it before talking to a lady. She will puke for sure!
Dried octopus great but stinks.
Squid cooked adobo with ink and raw with just the ink and salt. Both good. Little bitter raw.
Gecko for a dare. Cooked over a fire. Actually tasted alright.
Grasshopper
Gator
Snake tasted crappy!
Bear was alright.
Frogg leegs. Good
Talapia sashimi was good.
Chicken blood is good. Made with rice chilled like jello.
Chicken soup with bitter melon leaves and has chicken liver heart, and the egg tube with what looks like tiny eggs on it from tiny to medium size egg yoke marbles. Awesome stuff!
And as you guessed it by now. I will eat just about anything.
I am sure I missed a few.