100 must-eat American foods

Here’s a list of 100 must-eat American foods, which I mentioned the other day when I revisited my Omnivore’s 100 list. This list of 100 American foods one should try before they die was created by Slashfood. All the ones I have eaten before have been made bold.

  1. New York pizza
  2. Hoppin’ John
  3. New Mexico green chile
  4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
  5. Tasso
  6. Whole Maine lobster (can anyone actually eat a whole Maine lobster? Those things are huge.)
  7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
  8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
  9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme (my sister and I got them for free when we bought coffee! That was a happy moment).
  10. San Diego fish tacos
  11. Cheese curds
  12. Key lime pie
  13. Philly cheese steak
  14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich (Does this mean Memphis style or in Memphis? For all the ones that include a place name, I’m going to assume they mean the style, not that it had to be consumed in said place)
  15. Lowcountry boil
  16. Huckleberry pie
  17. New England clam chowder
  18. Boiled peanuts
  19. Buffalo burger
  20. Eggs Benedict
  21. Pastrami on rye
  22. Corned beef and cabbage (does a Reuben count?)
  23. Pancakes with maple syrup
  24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
  25. Thin Mints (preferably frozen)
  26. Frito pie
  27. Potato knish with mustard
  28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
  29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
  30. Fresh-picked blueberries
  31. Sourwood honey
  32. State fair funnel cake
  33. Chesapeake crab cakes :-)
  34. Candied yams
  35. Oyster dressing
  36. Snow cone or snowball
  37. Wild Alaskan salmon (not absolutely sure I’ve eaten this one)
  38. Sautéed morels
  39. Persimmon pudding
  40. General Tso’s Chicken
  41. Frozen custard
  42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
  43. Chili dog
  44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
  45. Spam musubi
  46. Saltwater taffy
  47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
  48. Black and white cookie
  49. Frybread
  50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
  51. Baked beans
  52. Pumpkin pie
  53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
  54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
  55. Fried green tomatoes
  56. Succotash
  57. Shrimp and grits
  58. Hot water cornbread
  59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
  60. Chicken fried steak
  61. Carnitas burrito
  62. Apple butter
  63. Geoduck
  64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell (especially Dairy Queen)
  65. Pecan pie
  66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
  67. Oysters Rockefeller
  68. Homemade cranberry sauce
  69. Pimiento cheese
  70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola (I don’t know if I’d even want to eat this)
  71. Pickled watermelon rind
  72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
  73. Smithfield ham
  74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
  75. Chicken and waffles
  76. Po’Boy
  77. Green bean casserole with French’s fried onions
  78. Stuffed sopaipillas
  79. Turducken
  80. Shad roe on toast
  81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
  82. Cioppino
  83. New York cheesecake
  84. Pan-fried river trout
  85. Jambalaya
  86. North Carolina pig pickin’
  87. California rolls
  88. Burgoo
  89. Penuche fudge
  90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
  91. Scrapple or livermush
  92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
  93. Muscadine grapes
  94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
  95. Open-face turkey sandwich
  96. Chicago deep dish pizza
  97. Cobb salad
  98. Peach pie a la mode
  99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar
  100. Root beer float

My grand total is 47, which is only slightly better than my tally for the Omnivore’s 100. A lot of the names were unfamiliar to me and I had to look them up to know what they even were. It seems to me that a large number if items on the list originate in Southern or Midwestern states, most of which I haven’t visited (I am from Maryland, which I don’t really consider the South). That seems a little unfair, but the author readily admits that it’s a very subjective list. Perhaps she herself is from the South?

I’m surprised about a few things that aren’t on here. What about a Philly cheese steak? Or scrapple? (Oops– just looked back and realized that scrapple actually IS on the list). And what about Hershey’s chocolate? Was there any candy on the list at all? There are plenty of unique regional candies. (There are two on the list– saltwater taffy and penuche fudge). Once again, a fun list but rather uneven (and lacking in my #1 American food, chocolate chip cookies :-D ).

I wonder if there’s a list like this about Estonia. If there’s not, we should make one, something like “50 Foods You Must Eat Before You Can Understand Estonians”. The first three items should be dark rye bread, sült, and  boiled Estonian potatoes with dill. What else?

Tuesday, 10 November, 2009. Tags: , . Blog Stuff, Expat. 4 comments.

The Omnivore’s 100 revisited

It’s been over a year since I dedicated a post to the Omnivore’s 100, a list that a blogger compiled of “100 things… every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life”. At that time, I had tried 43 of the things on the list. As of right now, I’m not doing a whole lot better. I can check off spaetzle (#56), which I had at a restaurant in Tallinn this past year, and louche absinthe (#73), which I’ve actually had earlier but I didn’t check off initially because I thought it was some special kind of absinthe (when actually it’s the traditional method of preparing absinthe). And that’s it. Kinda sad. I blame it on the fact that a lot of the ethnic foods on the list aren’t available in Estonia, but there are also some things on the list, like nettle tea (#2) and blini and caviar (#72), that are readily available here, so I could seek those out at some point. I also didn’t make much of an effort to try any of the things on the list while we were in London in May– I’m sure I could’ve very easily found stuff like pho (#12) and steamed pork buns (#19) there. Oh well.

P2120355I think the list should include “an amazing chocolate chip cookie”… maybe I’ll add that to mine :-)

I’m not taking the list too seriously– I think I’ll be OK with never eating a Hostess Fruit Pie– but it is a fun source of ideas for foods I’d like to try someday. Somebody also made a version of this list made up entirely of American foods– I’ll see how I do with that one another day.

 

Friday, 6 November, 2009. Tags: , , . Something to Eat. Leave a comment.

The Omnivore’s 100

So the food blog Very Good Taste compiled this list, called The Omnivore’s 100, with the following explanation: Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all.

The directions are as follows:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

I didn’t fare too well… only 43 out of the 100, and I crossed off 3 or 4 that I would not eat. I may have eaten more– there are several types of fish on the list, and I honestly can’t remember which of them I’ve eaten. Same with venison. But I have time– I’ll be sure to get to them :-) .

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (yay verivorst!)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (for example)
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
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 think the pain would be too much)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (why does it have to be in sourdough? Of course I’ve eaten regular clam chowder…)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (perhaps my mother can teach me to appreciate cognac eventually)
37. Clotted cream tea (in London)
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 worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (it could kill me…)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I’ve had the Big Mac, but never a whole meal…)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV (Brussels was good for this :-) )
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (umm, I seriously considered crossing this off, but I guess I’d try a bite…)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (does rabbit count?)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab (mmm… see previous post)
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (I think I saw this at Wawa, but that probably wasn’t very authentic :-P )
100. Snake

Tuesday, 2 September, 2008. Tags: . Blog Stuff. Leave a comment.