Hatrack River Forum: A question of some delicacies...

This is topic A question of some delicacies... in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

Why do all gourmet 'delicacies' sound disgusting?

Caviar

Foie gras

Truffles

Sushi

I've actually had sushi and foie gras; I didn't like the liver, but I've grown to like sushi.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Man. It's been like waiting for the other shoe to drop on this one.

Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :

Sushi does NOT get my stamp of approval, maybe I just need to have the right kind, so far all the fillings I've tried just do not do it for me.

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

I'm a tool of Hatrack's subconscious desires.

Stop looking at me like that...

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Of the dishes on that list, I've had sushi a number of times (and like it well enough, although it's not something that I crave very often), and caviar twice (which was plenty. Not a big fan of the caviar).

I'd like to try truffles, and have absolutely no interest in trying foie gras if I can possibly avoid it.

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

quote:
Sushi does NOT get my stamp of approval, maybe I just need to have the right kind, so far all the fillings I've tried just do not do it for me.

Here's the thing with sushi-- you have to get it made correctly. We used to go out weekly to a Chinese buffet near our office. That was my first real introduction to sushi. It was mediocre, but meh-- it's a buffet.

Then I had some sushi at a Japanese restaurant.

It was really, really wonderful. I don't know that I'd call it $4/piece wonderful, but it was good. The texture, the taste... just good stuff.

What are some other delicacies that you've tried? Did you like them enough to want them again?

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Scott R:
I'm a tool of Hatrack's subconscious desires.

Stop looking at me like that...

Hey, I'm just glad I was able to resist the urge long enough for someone else to post it.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

quote:
What are some other delicacies that you've tried? Did you like them enough to want them again?

What constitutes a delicacy, would you say?

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

The price tag, usually. [Smile]

Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :

I've had foie gras really enjoyed it, except for my moral values. It was part of a fixed price dinner that I attended, and I hadn't really realized it would be there. I considered just not eating it, but that wouldn't have brought the goose back or anything so I gave it a try. Unfortunately I found it delicious. [Wink]

Still have never had veal, though. Love sushi, have had truffle oil but not truffles, and can take or leave the caviar that I've tried, which was admittedly pretty low-rent.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

[Big Grin]

This is true.

That rules out most of the really amazing Thai dishes I've had.

In terms of pricy, I've had escargot. It was okay. I've also had raw oysters, which I wasn't really fond of.

I've passed up the opportunity to have a sticky rice dip of spiced pig's blood, as well as the opportunity to have little chicken fetuses still in their shells.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Yeah, the caviar I've had hasn't exactly been the top of the line, I have to admit.

What did foie gras taste like, Liza?

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

I like raw oysters. I don't know why. It's not so much the taste as the texture, I think. It's the experience of swallowing something whole without chewing.

I wonder if a lot of delicacies that we find we like turn out that way-- we're conditioned to like them because they're expensive, and the atmosphere in which we eat them is upscale and elite and special, and so by association...we like the food.

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

I LOVE good sushi. It is easily my favorite type of food to eat out for. It is impossible for me to make well myself. A good sushi restaurant is always my first choice. Add in a good ginger dressing on the salad and I'm in heaven.

I wish there was one near work. [Frown]

They are all far away.

Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :

I was sure -- sure as death and taxes, as certain as I get -- that I'd open this to find some of ScottR's links to pictures of babies. [Smile]

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

[ROFL]

That really would have been perfect, wouldn't it?

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

:dangit, dangit, dangit:

Missed opportunity.

Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :

I like raw oysters more than escargot, but it takes a special mood (and preferably a nice sauce) for me to be interested.

Do you like pate, Jake? I didn't used to, but then I had a couple of really good pates, and grew to love it. It has that slightly unappealing smell, but an incredibly rich, smooth texture. The fois gras had elements of that, but it was cooked in butter and I don't know what else, so the outside had almost a bit of a crispy shell and then just dissolved into smoothness that almost melted away on your tongue. The taste is similar to a good duck or goose pate, but it's just the element that gives it that weird is this gross or wonderful smell/taste, concentrated. But really, I think it's the texture you would eat it for.

Added: It was many years ago that I had it, too, so my memory could be quite faulty on the impressions that remain. [Smile]

Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :

Is it bad of me that I've had and enjoyed all of these things? But only when they're good?

(Of all of the things listed here, caviar is the one you really can't skimp on. Cheap sushi is edible, pate is generally pretty good no matter what you do to it, and cheap truffles simply don't exist -- while cheap caviar is ghastly.)

Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :

Pate and fois gras are not the same thing, although one can be made into the other. [Razz]

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

I've had pate, Liza, but not really good pate. I've had very expensive sushi, and fairly expensive escargot, but the rest of the "delicacies" I've had, of those listed so far, have been on the cheap side.

Maybe I should, in general, try the good stuff before passing judgement on a dish.

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Noemon:

quote:
Originally posted by Scott R:
I'm a tool of Hatrack's subconscious desires.

Stop looking at me like that...
Hey, I'm just glad I was able to resist the urge long enough for someone else to post it.

Ditto.

Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :

*grin* But for some things, the "good" stuff is SO expensive that you don't want to spring for it in order to find out if you like it!

The best pate I ever had came from a small hotel in Colorado. It was a seasonal duck pate, that my boyfriend of the time raved about. I found them on the internet and called and had a batch special made and shipped out packed in dry ice for his birthday. Can't remember the name of the place offhand, but man it was good.

Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :

I actually had cavier last night. My grandma turned me onto it, claims a baked potato should not be eaten without it. Morally, I try my hardest not to think about it because it tastes so good. It is expensive though and I'm sure I get the cheap stuff (is $5-7 for a 4oz. jar cheap, I have no clue about that sort of stuff).

I tried veal many years ago. It didn't make much of an impression on me. I had no idea what it was and was horrified when I found out. I haven't had any of the other stuff listed except for sushi which was okay, but I'm not a fan of fish. The whole restaurant stunk of it. It was a cute place that I wouldn't mind visiting again. I think every restaurant should require you to remove your shoes before eating.

Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :

Animals are so delicious, it's hard for me to have moral qualms about eating them. I wouldn't fist fight a chicken for fun (they peck hard), but I've got nothing against eating one.

I've found that many of the "cruelty" issues against animals are largely imagined. I've seen geese come running for their delicious food. It's not like they're being held down, crying little goose tears, while a large, hateful man shoves a loaf of bread into their tiny, sad mouth. They see the food-tube guy and waddle their little butts over and suck down that delicious nectar.

Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :

I love veal. I usualy eat it only in Europe, becouse E.U. regulations are stricter than U.S. ones.

Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :

When I was a kid, I loved escargots. I would not touch it/them with a ten foot pole, now.

I remember eating turtle in Florida, and thinking it was the best thing I had ever had.

I guess the only delicacy I really love and drool over is filet mignon. Basically, I am a creamed chicken and biscuits/Shepherd's pie gal.

Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Scott R:
I like raw oysters. I don't know why. It's not so much the taste as the texture, I think. It's the experience of swallowing something whole without chewing.

Ewww, ewww, nasty, yuck, ptuuiii!!! It's the slimy soft squishy texture that I can't get past. I'm sure the flavor was fine. I can swallow a raw clam without gagging, but the oyster . . . shudder. I gagged one down once and had no desire to ever try again.