Cozumel Culinary Scavenger Hunt

[cvchief]

I'll go in, but I have a question. I'll be in Cozumel from December 3-10. Will you still be on your quest, and if so, can I join you for a night (or afternoon)? FYI, I'm a very adventurous eater - I've eaten and enjoyed

*gripping table* I might be there. I would try to keep up.

raw Sea Urchin (scooped out right on the boat),

Row, right? I would try that.

roasted grasshoppers,

Sure

chocolate covered ants,

Anything in chocolate is probably ok.

frog legs,

Tastes like chicken?

snapping turtle,

Must be like chicken?

and rattle snake.

I think I had that at a steak house. Chicken....

Smoked Cow Tongue,

Seems ok. It was kind of old and nasty at Fogo though.

fish cheeks a few times.

Doesn't sound adventurous. My capi likes to suck out the eyeballs. He says they are wonderful. Of course he won't share so I don't know. He made me save him the head and spine from a 25# mahi from the Rodeo. He took it to the Fish and had them cook the head so he could eat the brain and eyes. THATS adventurous.

fugu, even at a great Tokyo sushi bar).

Oh my gosh. I had to Google it. That made me cry softly to myself. That's not adventurous, that's mean! Poor lil guy.....

Cow testicles (Swingin' Sirloin - pounded flat, breaded and fried, they are delicious),

Seriously? Scares me a tad, but I like virility theme. And I would give you adventurous marks for the last two. But the wife makes me watch Zimmern, so my shock level is high.

pig testicles (Rocky Mountain Oysters),

I thought bulls were RMO. I think I would have to go cow first, maybe? I do love bacon though. I know, it smack of cannibalism.....

What did you eat you DIDN'T enjoy?

What about brains and eyes? That is like readily available and adventurous.

 

[El Graduado]

I'll go in, but I have a question. I'll be in Cozumel from December 3-10. Will you still be on your quest, and if so, can I join you?.

Thanks for your support! However, I plan on getting all the meals done before the end of November. I will keep my backers informed of the progress and gastrointestinal events by email as I munch through the chosen eateries and then I will begin posting the final reports to my blog beginning in late December. I imagine by the first of December I won't be able to look a marinated eye-stalk in the eye for a while, and will be looking forward to some home cooking (my wife's home cooking, that is!). We could still get together for a beer or something when you get in; maybe we could have it where the botanas will be something like cocks-comb, which they used to serve with beers years ago. That was part of a chicken that didn't taste like chicken.

 

[DjDiverDan]

What did you eat you DIDN'T enjoy?

What about brains and eyes? That is like readily available and adventurous.

The absolute nastiest stuff I ever tried was Lutefisk, in Minnesota. I do not think that I am willing to try Hakarl, the traditional Icelandic rotten shark meat that is cured in something akin to urine. Makes me want to hurl just reading about it. There is also a fruit in Southeast Asia that is supposed to be very tasty, with the consistency of custard, but it has such a rotten stench that many places make it illegal to eat in public; not sure I could get it past my nose.

 

[ccannon707]

Me 5- I'm in for the map ... Lengua, sesos & mollejas are at the edge of my food adventures, though I did enjoy grasshoppers in Oaxaca. Looking forward to this... I appreciate your adventurous bravery.

ps: my friend just returned from Iceland and spoke of the rotten shark meat "delicacy". She declined. BTW, Anthony Bourdain says one of the worst tasting things he ever ate was... iguana.

 

[El Graduado]

The absolute nastiest stuff I ever tried was .

I would have to say the worst tasting/smelling stuff I had to choke down was the gallons of masato I had to quaff when I was trading with the Jivaro on the upper Napo. Those are the guys at the border of Peru and Ecuador who used to make the little shrunken heads. When I would pull my canoe up to a village, the first thing I had to do was introduce myself to the village leader and drink a large gourd-full of this fly-studded, milky-colored, fermented drink that smelled EXACTLY like fresh vomit. Next, I would walk from hut to hut, trading and drinking the obligatory masato libation at each household. They made it by chewing chunks of boiled manioc and spitting the mush into a big clay pot, where it bubbled away for a few days. The real problem to getting it down without heaving was that I knew that tuberculosis was raging through the villages and the chances were about 80% in favor that the cassava chewer who made my brew was positive for TB. Out-of-date pulque is a fine wine compared to masato!

---------- Post added August 2nd, 2014 at 04:10 PM ----------

Me 5- I'm in for the map ... Lengua, sesos & mollejas are at the edge of my food adventures, though I did enjoy grasshoppers in Oaxaca. Looking forward to this... I appreciate your adventurous bravery.

Thanks for your support! I'll do my best to survive the experience long enough to write the blog!

 

[mstevens]

I CAN'T BELIEVE you are opting for the map and not the copy of my stool sample's lab results!

Eh... If you've seen one parasitology report, you've seen 'em all.

At least I'm not doing them myself any more.

 

[MMM]

The absolute nastiest stuff I ever tried was Lutefisk, in Minnesota.

I should be able to fit in nicely then. I like the stuff.

 

[mstevens]

I like the stuff.

So, you're probably familiar with the saying, "You can always tell a Norwegian... but you can't tell him much."

 

[El Graduado]

Me 5- I'm in for the map ... BTW, Anthony Bourdain says one of the worst tasting things he ever ate was... iguana.

Thanks for backing the project! However, I have to disagree with Bourdain. Maybe he just didn't have a cook who could fix lizard the right way. I ate many an iguana in Panama, usually guisado with culantro. Culantro is a ground-covering weed that holds it's cilantro-like flavor very well during the cooking process. I'm salivating just thinking about it!

 

[mstevens]

My teenager desperately wants to try iguana. He's already learned he likes chapulines, tacos do ojos, sesos, etc. He is also looking forward to finding out where he can get the marinated eye-stalks.