Jump to content

'Way OT: Unusual food you've eaten/seen while on the road


DeepEnd

Recommended Posts

  • Members

We just got back from vacation and made some discoveries along the way:

 

  • A "Reuben" with slaw instead of sauerkraut at a truck stop in Gary, IN. (My wife ordered a turkey "Reuben" so I don't know what comes on the traditional kind. Big Boy [we stopped at one in Gaylord, MI] makes something identical including slaw on top but they call it a "Turkey Melt," not a "Reuben." Their "Reuben" is traditional with corned beef and kraut.)
  • Cherries on pizza at the Cherry Bowl Drive In Theater in Honor, MI (they grow cherries in the area and apparently it's common).
  • "Hay Stacks" (essentially baklava made with shredded wheat) at Pete's Pancake House in Morris, IL. What are some of your discoveries?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The last one is actually a normal middle eastern dessert I've had many times. It's alfalfa, honey, dates and minced nuts ingredients and all very good.

 

McDonalds does well internationally for a reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I traveled the road for 30 years (on business not gigs) and I experienced food poisoning three times. Two of the three were from chicken in reputable establishments. The first, and worst, was when I ordered Colorado Catfish in a Kentucky diner. No stomach pumping, I chose to curl up on the floor and the end of the bed for the night. To make matters worse I had arrived in town late and had to pay a motel fee a great deal over what I would normally spend because everything else was booked. If my stupidity offers any humor or a negative head shake then I have accomplished what I wanted by exposing my brain dead decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
The last one is actually a normal middle eastern dessert I've had many times. It's alfalfa' date=' honey, dates and minced nuts ingredients and all very good. . . .[/quote']

I think we may be talking about two different things. This was shredded wheat biscuits made into something like baklava. Sorry I don't have pics but imagine these with honey, chopped nuts, etc.:

fetch?filedataid=101730

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Oh. I think it might be the one with honey and pistachio nuts layered into a sort of fibrous bar. I didn't know it was wheat, though. I thought they used mostly dried alfalfa. Kinda stringy texture. I can snort a line of those middle eastern desserts. A friend of mine would order a sampler box for me from some shop in Dearborn, MI, where there's a large Muslim population. I love dried dates desserts, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Oh. I think it might be the one with honey and pistachio nuts layered into a sort of fibrous bar. I didn't know it was wheat' date=' though. I thought they used mostly dried alfalfa. Kinda stringy texture. . . .[/quote']

This was made from actual shredded wheat biscuits with stuff on the inside. It's probably a variation from what you're used to. Very tasty whatever you call it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

We took a family trip to China a couple years ago. My wife and I went for a walk off the beaten path in a working class neighborhood. We saw a sign (in Chinese of course ) and an old barrel standing in a small garage. This was my wife's hometown so she knew what everything was and told me I had to try this. The barrel was lined with some kind of clay or something and had a fire burning in the bottom. They took a blob of dough dipped it in grease then slapped it on the inside of the barrel to cook. As bad as this sounds it was actually really good.

 

IMG_1162.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
. . . They took a blob of dough dipped it in grease then slapped it on the inside of the barrel to cook. As bad as this sounds it was actually really good. . . .

Sounds interesting. I've probably eaten worse. Do you have any idea what it was called?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My wife said it doesn't really have a name they just call it barrel roasted onion bread..Street food in China is a whole new experience. My daughter ate a little roasted octopus on a stick and it gets stranger but not for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
We took a family trip to China a couple years ago. My wife and I went for a walk off the beaten path in a working class neighborhood. We saw a sign (in Chinese of course ) and an old barrel standing in a small garage. This was my wife's hometown so she knew what everything was and told me I had to try this. The barrel was lined with some kind of clay or something and had a fire burning in the bottom. They took a blob of dough dipped it in grease then slapped it on the inside of the barrel to cook. As bad as this sounds it was actually really good. Photo is of Thai insect snacks. Taste pretty good, esp the grubs. Like Cheetos with some sort of Frito barbecue powder on.

 

IMG_1162.JPG

 

Looks like variation on Tandoor oven used in Indian cooking. Yum yum. Photo of Thai bug snacks. Grubs pretty tasty, like Cheetos w/barbecue seasoning.fetch?filedataid=101865

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Looks like variation on Tandoor oven used in Indian cooking. Yum yum. Photo of Thai bug snacks. Grubs pretty tasty, like Cheetos w/barbecue seasoning . . .

I was thinking the same thing about the Tandoor pot. As for grubs, I'll pass. Tried roasted grasshoppers once that a missionary had brought back to the US but that's as far as I'll go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Durian, in Malaysia. A gigantic slimy fruit that you eat communally around a table or sitting on a floor, grabbing slimy chunks with your right hand (no left-handed eating in Malaysia).

 

As they say of durian over there: "smells like hell, tastes like heaven". Well, the first part of that is true anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I ate Cobra once in a soup, bony, not much taste. But it made me horny as hell. It's used as an aphrodisiac. And it works.

 

Durian, in Malaysia. A gigantic slimy fruit that you eat communally around a table or sitting on a floor, grabbing slimy chunks with your right hand (no left-handed eating in Malaysia).

 

As they say of durian over there: "smells like hell, tastes like heaven". Well, the first part of that is true anyway.

 

The smell of durian makes me gag. Where I live, hotels have signs that read: "No durian in rooms".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Durian' date=' in Malaysia. A gigantic slimy fruit that you eat communally around a table or sitting on a floor, grabbing slimy chunks with your right hand (no left-handed eating in Malaysia). . . .[/quote']

In a lot of countries, you wipe yourself with your left hand and that's all it's used for. I'm guessing you knew that.

The "slimy" durian reminded me of eating at a local Ethiopian place years ago. You scoop up food with this "bread" sorta like a tortilla that feels like dead flesh. That was an experience and my wife and I haven't been back since.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The left hand is not the best hand, which is probably the case here.

 

In many countries of Arab culture you always use the right side of the body socially, so to speak. You enter a man's home with your best foot first (right), you shake (grasp) hands with the right hand, etc, etc, per the customs and courtesies and protocol I had to learn before going over there. Sitting meant both feet on the floor. Crossing your legs raised the dirty sole of one foot to someone in the room and that was considered insulting. Never inquire of the health or well being of a man's wife or suffer the accusation of improper inquisitiveness. Never compliment a man on his personal property or he will be obligated to your for it, etc. Basically, be gracious, give thanks and otherwise remain quiet until spoken to. That is their true culture and hospitality. Me thinks they ought to take observance of it with a little more effort towards unifying it these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

In a lot of countries, you wipe yourself with your left hand and that's all it's used for. I'm guessing you knew that.

The "slimy" durian reminded me of eating at a local Ethiopian place years ago. You scoop up food with this "bread" sorta like a tortilla that feels like dead flesh. That was an experience and my wife and I haven't been back since.

 

Yeah I knew about the reason for the left-hand problem. Fortunately I have a good friend who's Malaysian and he explained all this before I ever went over there.

 

Also, back in my Atlanta days there was an Ethiopian restaurant called The Blue Nile that had that bread-scooping thing. I thought it was strange, but very interesting. It didn't last long however.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

I was in Cambodia last week. On the bus bus back to Saigon, the bus-driver had a small, clear plastic bag full of cicadas. He was eating them whole. A friend of mine from UK says he's eaten them too. Not much taste he says. You have to flavor them when you fry them.

 

Yum.

 

CAM-meb-7-xxs.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
I was in Cambodia last week. On the bus bus back to Saigon, the bus-driver had a small, clear plastic bag full of cicadas. He was eating them whole. A friend of mine from UK says he's eaten them too. Not much taste he says. You have to flavor them when you fry them.

 

Yum.

 

CAM-meb-7-xxs.jpg

 

 

Those are giant water beetles, aka Baht Bugs, IIRC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It's odd but now that I think about it the oddest foods I've eaten (alligator tacos, for example) have been right here in St. Louis and not on the road. I tried chile rellenos for the first time in Dallas and fell in love with them but after that I found out lots of local places serve them, I'd just never tried them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...