Poll: When we go out to eat, I'd rather...

[mh]

I seldom eat out because I grow a lot of the food I eat, I'm a good cook and I'm frugal. I may eat Chinese or pizza once a month and that's a choice of one or the other not both. I've been a vegetarian for close to 30 years but I'm getting tired of cooking and often fantasize about eating out and not growing much more than some tomatoes, cukes and pole beans.

The problem is most places aren't geared to vegetarians though you can find non meat dishes in most places, the sodium and fat content is beyond your control, it would be a big increase in the amount of money I spend but on the plus side it'd free up a lot of time and be fun. I like unusual dishes so ethnic restaurants would be my choice.

I usually go for the vegetarian dishes when I'm at an Indian place. I actually prefer them over the meat dishes.

 

[MichaelB]

I agree. I'll try pretty much any ethnic food. My theory has always been that if someone else eats it and it doesn't kill them, then it probably won't kill me. I've tried some pretty surprising foods that I turned out to love. Of course, I've had a few that haven't killed me but were unbelivably disgusting. That guinea pig looks pretty yummy compared to some foods. One rule I've developed, never eat seafood in an ethnic restaurant of a landlocked country.

Good rule. I think we've followed it without even knowing...
What's the strangest food you've eaten? For me, I'd have to say fish gills.

 

[Nemo2]

What's the strangest food you've eaten?

Lived on wildebeest, every meal for a week, once in the Selous.......not strange, but pungent when sweating after ingesting that much.

Does Arby's count?

 

[mickeyd]

We eat at home most of the time because DW loves to cook and the results are usually superb.

We use Groupon or Groupon-like service that slaps emails on me daily for 50% off something. We eat out a few times a month and try to go to a different place even if it's not something that we are familiar with. You win some; you lose some.

 

[freebird5825]

My "fine dining" restaurant choices are pretty limited out here in East [-]of the middle of [/-] Nowhere.
I do most of the cooking, at home. Too much #!@* salt in restaurant food. And the prices...ridiculous.
About twice a month, Mr B will do an gentle arm twist to go to the Chinese buffet or Applebee's if we are out doing other things. Or he will grab a pizza or an 8 piece chicken dinner with 2 sides/biscuits/2L soda (for $9.99) if I feel lazy about cooking.

 

[harley]

Good rule. I think we've followed it without even knowing...
What's the strangest food you've eaten? For me, I'd have to say fish gills.

In college some of my fellow bio majors met at a professor's house where we tried a few of the delicacies he had had in his life. Chocolate covered ants, garlic butter fried grasshopper, mealworm party mix. Really not bad, although I'd probably not do it now that I'm older and more sober.

The hardest thing to eat I ever had was fish head soup at a Chinese New Years party at work. I had a whole group of Chinese coworkers watching me, so I ate it with a smile (or maybe a grimace). I had the honor of America to uphold.

The nastiest thing I ever ate was Nieuwe Herring in The Netherlands. It's a slimy salted raw fish that you hold by the tail and lower down your throat. At least on that one they cut the head off first.

I'm not sure I could eat gills. They're so tough and chewy looking.

 

[Nords]

And those great dinners where Cookie was down to just the cans that had lost their labels...

"Friday Night Surprise"!

Over 25 years later, I still have flashbacks about heading back inport (after 90 days underwater) to pick up the nuclear inspection team. We'd also pick up a load of fresh fruit & veggies, and even 200 feet away from the hatch you could smell fresh oranges coming aboard.

What's the strangest food you've eaten? For me, I'd have to say fish gills.

Sea cucumber.

Tastes like [-]chicken[/-] salty calamari. Come to think of it, we had calamari that night too.

The menu was prepped at a Chinese restaurant in Monterey, CA, about a mile away from the kelp beds where you could practically wade through the little suckers. Our party was a group of volunteer guides at the Aquarium, so that night just about everything on the menu could also be found in the Aquarium's tanks.

We had the Aquarium's only group of guides who were qualified to answer the smart-ass question "Hey, what does this taste like?"