Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
The 10 Weirdest Foods Let's Try
Has anyone ever asked you to try a type of food, and after you found out what it was, you thought, “Yeah, mmh…maybe not.” Well, if you have never been in that situation, I’ve been there enough times for the both of us. Here are the ten weirdest foods I have ever come across.
1. Grasshopper Flakes from Morelia, Mexico ($2).
I’m not sure how common grasshopper flakes are, but when my hostess in Mexico asked me if I’d like to taste some grasshopper flakes, truthfully, there is really no polite way to say ‘no.’ Plus, I thought, putting out of my mind that I could get some horrible, brain-eating amoeba from having eaten contaminated grasshopper flakes–I sucked up my fears and decided to live boldly. They were a little salty, but tastefully baked flakes–highly recommended!
2. Calamari from the Bay of Biscay ($5).
Calamari is pretty good already, but imagine it being fried right after being caught out of the Bay of Biscay in the cool yet temperate climate of Bilbao, Spain–a quaint city in the north where you can lunch on calamari all day long, if you wish. For an evening stroll, you might want to cleanse the palate by picking up some black olives and eating them out of a bag–which you can buy fresh at a small local grocery shop.
3.Cow Stomach Soup from Costa Rica ($5)
Tripe–cow stomach–is put in soup with vegetables. It sounds gross, but it’s yummy.
4. Chocolate-Covered Bacon (USA) ($5).
.jpg "The 10 Weirdest Foods Let's Try")
So, yeah–you would most likely probably think that this is pretty nasty, but chocolate-covered bacon is pretty fantastic stuff. It’s tasty, but I’d recommend eating this in moderation or else it would probably be contraindicated for anyone who wants to avoid having a heart attack before age 50.
5. Deep-Fried Kool-Aid (USA) ($3).
Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous–I know, you’re thinking, “Ha, only in America!”–but deep-fried Kool-Aid is actually pretty awesome. Its taste is very difficult to describe, so you’ll just have to try it for yourself or take my word for it.
6. Insects on a Stick from Southeast Asia ($2).
I know you might think them pretty disgusting, but bugs on a stick are delicacies for some people who would love to eat this stuff every day if they could. Try it. You just might like it!
7. Stinky Tofu from China ($5).
This tofu is really not only stinky, it’s also old. Does that sound appetizing? Yeah, it’s probably not. This stuff smells awful, but apparently it’s a local favorite.
8.Stinky Cabbage from Korea ($2)
Korean stinky cabbage is one of my favorite foods. You can get it spicy if you like. Called “kimchi,” it is very popular–and tasty!
9. Fugu Fish from Japan ($120).
Your tongue might get just a little numb eating this. If it’s been prepared correctly, however, you shouldn’t die of asphyxiation from the tetrodotoxin (the poison that is contained in the most dangerous part of the fish).
10. Caviar and Lobster on Pizza from Italy ($1000).
Well, if you thought you had heard of it all, here is the one you most likely haven’t yet. Caviar tends to be pretty pricey already anyway as it stands. Taste this delicious Tuscan pizza sprinkled with caviar and finely sliced pieces of lobster, however, and your taste buds will thank you later. Unfortunately, though, your wallet may be found weeping in a corner later on in the day.
Halal Guys food open restaurant in East Village
The famed Halal Guys are bringing their ‘magic’ white sauce and fiery red chili sauce to 14th Street and 2nd Ave. The general manager promises more vegetarian options and, perhaps, a juice bar.
It’s official! In November, The Halal Guys will be opening up a new restaurant on 14th St.
The Halal Guys are heading downtown.
The famed food cart, known for the long late-night lines it draws on 53rd St. and 6th Ave., is opening a restaurant in the East Village this November.
The new location on 14th St. and 2nd Ave. will feature shish kebabs, more vegetarian options, and a juice bar, according to general manager Hesham Hegazy.
The food stand started out as a hot dog cart in 1990, according to general manager Hesham Hegazy.
“We’re working with the interior designer now,” Hegazy confirmed to The News, adding that The Guys are planning to add some sparse indoor seating to the venue.
The team scouted out the area by opening up a cart on that corner two weeks ago. They chose the East Village for its club scene and NYU’s nearby 14th street dorm, Hegazy said.
The cart is currently open from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., and Hegazy plans to make sure the restaurant stays open for just as long.
The stand is popular destination in the tri-state area, especially among Desis—people of South Asian descent.
“It’s ambitious, yes,” Hegazy said. “But our customers have been asking about this for years.”
The news comes as both surprise and relief to many waiting it out on The Halal Guys line this Monday.
“Finally,” said Minsu No, a 22-year-old who traveled by car to the city from Palisades Park, N.J., just for the cart’s chicken and lamb combo. He couldn’t find parking, so he said a friend was driving around while he waited in line.
The Halal Guys are known for their gyros and rice platters, which have stayed around $6 for the past 23 years.
“I’ve been eating here for nine years,” No told The News. “I’d be at that store every day.”
The Halal Guys started out as just another hot dog cart in 1990. The company’s founders then realized there was money to be made by selling Halal food to the Muslim cabbies who drove through Midtown.
Since then, the company has grown to operate five food stands — including two stands on 6th Ave. another one on 7th Ave. and a lonely outpost at Queens’ LaGuardia Community College.
What’s so great about the food? Several people on line this Monday said that it was the white sauce. “What do they put in there? Magic, maybe?” asked Minsu No, from N.J.
Hegazy said he’s even fielded franchise requests from people in Europe and South Asia.
Still, the lines are the longest at the cart’s original location on the southwest corner of 53rd and 6th. Even though the cart on the southeast corner is selling the same food, there are rarely any lines on that side of the street.
Part of the The Halal Guys draw seems to be linked to the word-of-mouth marketing that built its fame in the first place. It’s the story people tell their friends, that there’s this one food cart on this one random corner in the city that sells this one amazing dish — but woe to the foodie who orders from the wrong guys.
“It’s psychological,” Hegazy explains. “Our name is a brand.”
It remains to be seen whether tying that brand to an actual New York address will hold the same mythical power over its fan base.
24-year-old Richard Park, from Palisades Park, N.J., has been eating The Halal Guys’ food for nearly a decade and he had no idea that there was more than one location. He’s a bit more hesitant about the move downtown.
“I’ll definitely go, but I don’t think there would be as much of a scene,” Park told The News. “I like this atmosphere, being outside. And at 4 a.m., watching all the drunk people from the clubs standing on line.”
