Regarding unfamiliar foodstuffs

I'm leaning toward restaurant, because it would most likely be properly prepared, and if I make a mess of it, I'd never have to go back there and face anyone who might possibly remember.

I have a habit of trying to make such things myself. I've had enough oddly prepared versions of obscure foods I was already familiar with in restaurants to make me think this isn't unreasonable.

Actually I guess it depends on whether it's the sort of thing I'm interested in learning how to make or not! If it's something I'd never really want to make, then a restaurant is perfect.

You're right, in that you'd know that it would have been properly prepared, cooked the right way, and in a way that makes the most of it. But I think I'd feel very annoyed if I paid a lot of money and then didn't like it, particularly if there was something else on the menu that I loved!

I think the ideal restaurant set up would be appetizer/small plate/tapas/dim sum so you could just get a taste and decide if the whole thing is for you. Or, convince a dining accomplice to order it and give you a bite!

i'll pretty much eat anything, anywhere.

Rrowr.

(Some thread just got deleted! I hope it was a good one.)

oh, jeez. i hope that didn't sound racy! but it's true - i've got like no filter or whatever you want to call it when it comes to food. if it's edible, i'll try it.

(Nah, it was about Explorer favorites or some such computer nonsense.)

I agree lauren, I'll try anything (uh - foodwise), and I'll order unusual stuff in restaurants if the description is appealing. The only thing that really puts me off some things is texture; there are few flavors I don't enjoy. But, if you wanted to try something you'd only heard or read about, would you seek it out to order in a restaurant or buy it at a shop and try it at home?

Yay Lauren! You want to come eat guinea pig in Brooklyn sometime?

As for the thread's question, I've seen enough dubious practices in restaurant kitchens that I'd be most comfortable at home if it's something like blowfish or raw pork where there's an actual physical risk; but apart from that small category, sure, anything anywhere, what are you serving?

if you wanted to try something you'd only heard or read about, would you seek it out to order in a restaurant or buy it at a shop and try it at home?

In practice I'm constantly ordering new or new-sounding things in restaurants, then occasionally trying to emulate them at home. I'm wary of the idea of "authenticity," but it makes sense to try something where it's a specialty first. Cooking it oneself, no matter how successfully, satisfies the curiosity but kind of removes the wonderment.

I think the best answer for me is in a restaurant with a knowledgable friend as a guide. That's how I finally gave sushi a shot — I wanted to try it but was a little wary until my sushi-chef friend George finally talked me into the restaurant where he works. I gave him free rein and he walked me through the sashimi, nigiri, rolls, pickled vegetables, etc. and I was converted in one night. The 2nd time I went he tested me a little: whole baby octopi.

I think that was also a big turnaround in my thinking about trying unfamiliar flavors, namely that nothing tastes so bad it will kill you, not even cilantro. I'd rather have something completely new in a restaurant, because of one potential downside (possibly not liking the essential flavor of the ingredient) vs. two potential downsides (not liking it PLUS possibly not even preparing it properly).

I really hated beef liver the times I tried it when I was a kid, so I'm still unlikely to order organ meats to this day, though if a dining companion ordered kidneys or sweetbreads or something, I'd like to snag a taste.

Hrm - a knowledgeable person is indeed an asset. The first time I had sushi, my knowledgeable person was away from the table when the edamame arrived. They looked like snap peas to me, so I proceeded to chew one up, whole. Which was a mistake.

i kind of wish someone else had prepared the pigs ears rather than me having to clean the wax out of them, all the while retching slightly. I may have enjoyed them more then

guinea pig! where do you get that?

We watched Bourdain eat them in Peru, in No Reservations. Not sure I could eat it, as we had them as pets, but Chris is game. Looked very easy to cook though - just roasted whole, I'm sure they sell them cheap enough at the local pet store! Listening to them being picked up though, made me realise how they got the name pigs, they were squealing away!

i'll be back in nyc soon so i might actually be up for that in the name of research, though i too had them as pets when younger so i'd no doubt feel a twinge of guilt. they're very smart and endearing little creatures (tasty, too, i guess).

There's at least one place in Park Slope that serves them. I have not tried it yet. Apparently the cheeks and the little paws, arguably the cutest parts, are also the tastiest. The Park Slope place charges $35/pig or so (they raise their own on the premises), so I wouldn't be surprised if some people go the thriftier Petco route. (I guess the thread topic rears its head again, try as I may to derail. I think "knowledgeable friend's house" might be my locale of choice for this one.)

If the preserved egg got gross-out comments, I won't post an image, but here's a link to some.

i'm not sure if i'd trust a petco specimen. kind of like eating farm-raised pigeons, but not one scooped up off of 14th street. and i'm not sure if i could deal with home preparation!

Awww. Those little guys should be covered up with napkins, like l'ortolan.

paul, lauren etc you guys have totally lost it. i know it's winter and all but sheeit! guinea pigs?!? with so many bones not to mention they are varmints we would be eating them just for novelty, would we not? and i don't even think it that cool. what about some of that tukka on fear factor? i saw a bit the other day where they had to chug spoiled milk with like worms and i-don't-know-what-all in it. as far as the thread goes i vote: restaurant > my place > friend's place.

You know, this talk of guinea pigs got me wondering about the nutria problem in the Louisiana wetlands. I'm sure Katrina dented the population more than the state's push to get chefs to cook it up.

boniness a totally valid point. i was thinking about that myself. rabbits, which are bigger, are full of bones so i can't imagine you'd actually get much out of a gp (except a lingering sense of guilty over consumption of childhood pets).

This weekend, dinner at friends' and we had this vegetarian "caviar" stuff, which was .... interesting. The experience got me rethinking the "friend's dinner table" concept. I am leaning more toward trying new unfamiliar foodstuffs at home, alone.

i'm more willingto try weird things if they are not animcal-derived - like this caviart stuff.