The Omnivore's 100

Remember that post where I bragged about my kids' great eating habits? About how we love trying new things and tasting a wide variety of cuisines? Ah, how pride cometh before a fall. Recently I've recently come across a list of dishes that shows the true meaning of adventurous palate and effectively puts me in my place. It's known as the Omnivore's 100 , and it's a fun meme to try out. Here's what you have to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (In my case, everything I've tried is in pink)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
(my comments are in italicized text)
(oh, and I just Wiki'd any of the foods I wasn't familiar with)

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (I'm allergic)
12. Pho
13.PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (allergic)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (allergic to the clams, and I hate sourdough anyway)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (oxtail stew or kare-kare is very popular in the Philippines)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (the non-poisonous kind, please)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (unagi is my favorite type of sushi!)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (sorry, I don't suffer from pica)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetostor brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail (as long as it isn't raw)
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a threeMichelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab (yes, I'm allergic to crab but soft-shell crab in sushi is worth the risk)
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor (allergic)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

My kids' score? 17. Well, they're young, so it's a start, at least -- their score is about twice what mine would have been at age 7. And it's not like I'm going to allow them to have coffee and gin at this point anyway. My score? 51 out of 100. Which puts me above "picky" and somewhere between "wimpy" and "adventurous".

Actually, only rule #3 really determines whether you are an omnivore or not. I'd certainly love to try almost all the foods on that list, I just haven't had the opportunity. There are 8 things on this list that I will absolutely NOT put in my mouth. Which might actually put me just below "adventurous", but definitely not an omnivore. And that's fine with me. Just reading them out makes me squeamish (I don't like anything cooked in blood, or any food made with internal organs). A true omnivore would be willing to try 100% of those foods. I wonder what Andrew Zimmern's score would be? What's your score?