YoYoPedro wrote:I remember as a teenager in Wisconsin, there'd be an annual Pony Roast put on by a local biker club. Very tasty, done as a 1/2 pony on a spit in a huge roaster made from an old metal tank (like fuel oil is stored in for heating). Required to be washed down with PBR out of the keg.

So THAT's what you pair with Pabst Blue Ribbon! *slaps forehead*

Other than bad pizza and a mean hangover, I never knew anything actually "went with" PBR.

P.S. Was that perchance a "pony keg" of PBR?

So THAT's what you pair with Pabst Blue Ribbon! *slaps forehead*

Other than bad pizza and a mean hangover, I never knew anything actually "went with" PBR.

Actually, I think that at that point in my development, I was quite certain that fast driving on country roads in cars with bald tires and worn brakes was what went with PBR!

I was pleased to see that someone else (LAZ) has had kangaroo, yabbies, and Moreton Bay Bugs (yum), though I would add to that list Balmain Bugs and barramundi.

I've eaten seal flipper pie, caribou, and moose in Newfoundland, along with odd parts, such as cod tongues.

I've eaten yak in Tibet, and have drunk yak milk. (I haven't eaten horse or camel, but I've drunk their milk.)

I've dined on eels in China and England.

And I've munched barbecued crickets in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Other than that, I've consumed most of the stuff on the other lists, including bear and alligator, but haven't eaten snakes and have missed a few of the lesser-known fish -- but then, I don't go out of my way to find new kinds of fish.

There are also things I've eaten that have never actually been identified.

I can check off most of the animals on these lists that can be found without looking too hard.

I've had true wild elk and venison, and would definitely go back for more. I need more hunter friends.

I've eaten a couple of cicadas on a dare, and with a little batter, a quick deep-fry and a dipping sauce I'd do more.

I ordered 'slimy dick' from a fish 'n chip stand in New Zealand, which was just another name for a fairly common fish, although I've forgotten which - something like roughy.

Also in NZ I was subjected to a horrible seaweed and paua stew (paua is a type of abalone) and 'titi' or muttonbird. Muttonbird is a Shooty Shearwater, a type of sea bird. Imagine eating a sea gull. It's exactly how you imagine it - fishy and tougher than a wild duck.

Except for alligator, shark and a tiny bit of rattlesnake once, I can't think of any carnivores I've eaten. (I've had plenty of predator fish, but they're not carnivores, just fish-eating vegetarians).

Cynthia wrote:I was pleased to see that someone else (LAZ) has had kangaroo, yabbies, and Moreton Bay Bugs (yum), though I would add to that list Balmain Bugs and barramundi.

I've eaten seal flipper pie, caribou, and moose in Newfoundland, along with odd parts, such as cod tongues.

I've eaten yak in Tibet, and have drunk yak milk. (I haven't eaten horse or camel, but I've drunk their milk.)

I've dined on eels in China and England.

And I've munched barbecued crickets in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Other than that, I've consumed most of the stuff on the other lists, including bear and alligator, but haven't eaten snakes and have missed a few of the lesser-known fish -- but then, I don't go out of my way to find new kinds of fish.

There are also things I've eaten that have never actually been identified.

This thread is a couple of years old, but I thought I'd update it, because I just returned from the annual game buffet at Don Quijote in Valparaiso. (Every year, they have a buffet of exotica. Go early and eat slowly, as new things keep coming out.)

Most of the things I'd already had, but they were offered in new preparations. A few things were completely new. Almost everything was very tasty.

Tonight, I had both large octopus (cut up in a wonderful mixed seafood salad) and baby octopus (whole and spicy); venison summer sausage and venison salami, frogs legs (yum), mountain goat (fabulous), zebra with pasta, alligator, venison meatballs, wild boar (yum), ostrich, bear, bison tongue, bison ribs, quail, wild duck (delightful), turtle (who knew turtles had so many bones?!), rabbit, smelt, and crab. They also had a raccoon stew and kangaroo chili, but I figured no one could top Cathy2's raccoon, and I've had enough kangaroo in Australia, so I saved the room for either things that I hadn't had before or things that were so good that I went back for seconds. (For the less adventurous, they had turkey, chicken livers, fried catfish, and wild rice -- so you don't have to go down with someone who wants to eat bison tongue and ostrich.)

A couple of bottles of red wine cut the richness, and flan and café con leche nicely polished off the meal.

So if you want to get a real blast of game in one shot, Don Quijote next spring is the place to be.

Don Quijote in Valparaiso

I've mentioned this here before, but I've never wanted to try Don Quijote because their billboards state "The Only Spanish Restaurant in Indiana."

Not "the best," "voted the best," "the top," "the premier."

The. Only.

I don't know if this says more about Don Quijote, or about Indiana. Never have seen zebra in Madrid, but then, I just had alligator paired with Bananas Foster on West Cermak, so quien sabe.

Santander wrote:Not "the best," "voted the best," "the top," "the premier."

The. Only.

Well, we weren't there to sample the Spanish cuisine, but everything was well prepared, and some dishes were excellent (best frogs legs I've ever eaten). The only Spanish items we did have were the cebiche-like seafood salad and the flan, but both were excellent. We chatted with the owner's wife, and she said they used to have a place in Chicago, though they've been in Valpo for 22 years now (and both the owner and his wife are delightfully friendly -- and actually Spanish). None of that proves that it's great, but it certainly suggests that, if you're in the area, it might be worth trying.

And with them being Spanish, and not raised with the American advertising paradigm, they might think "only" is as good as "best."

I might not drive all the way back just to eat there, but next time I head for the dunes, I'd certainly consider stopping in to see if the regular food is decent.

Santander wrote:

Don Quijote in Valparaiso

I've mentioned this here before, but I've never wanted to try Don Quijote because their billboards state "The Only Spanish Restaurant in Indiana."

Not "the best," "voted the best," "the top," "the premier."

The. Only.

I don't understand why this bothers you. If a Portugese opened in our environs (please!!!), they could very likely be 'The only.' It is certainly more truthful than a self-declared, 'Best in town' or other transparently false statements.

I am more turned off by those who claim an unknown source 'voted the best.' I saw a UK Kitchen Nightmares episode where the chef-owner did own up to lying in their advertising they were, 'voted the best.' As you can imagine, it was mediocre food they were offering.

Regards,

I'll take Cynthia's good word over any slogan! I'm with you, C2, in hating "voted the best" even more than the others. I'm more amused than disturbed by "the only"; I'm not the only one on 80/90 to laugh at this everytime we go past the billboard.

I wouldn't expect "the only Mexican restaurant in Osaka" to be at the pinnacle of its represented cuisine, but finding out that even with no competition, such a place excels, speaks all the better for it.

And you never know. As a student living in England back in the '70s, I ate at the only Mexican restaurant in London, and it was great. (And I had been living in Southern California, so had had the opportunity to develop a real appreciation for decent Mexican food.)

And when I ate at the only Korean restaurant in Ulaanbaatur, Mongolia, it turned out to be pretty good.

And Channai, the only (I believe) Usbekistani restaurant in the Chicago area, is quite good.

So I think some folks just slide by on being the "only," whereas some people probably view themselves as ambassadors for their entire culture and take it really seriously. Or else they're just better cooks.

Yeah, there are a lot cuisines I could wish we had an "only" of: Portuguese, Burmese, Swiss, Indonesian....

Two things I didn't see mentioned in this thread:
Antelope, which many people have had at Schwa recently. The first time I had it, it was given to me by a friend who had recently been hunting. I really enjoy antelope and wish that it was more readily available.

Camel hump, which was quite tender and quite good.

Antonius wrote:
Hippophagy is dying out quickly in northern Europe, as elsewhere.

Antonius

Horse is also a specialty in Kyoto - Ba-Sushi in fact which is thinly sliced raw horse meat. Didn't quite live up the the billing.

To add to the list though:

Sea Tortise

Eaten in Zanzibar.

Very tough. Should have been braised.

You can buy horse in any good supermarket in Montreal. And just about any cloven-hooved beastie at Marché Jean-Talon.

I had some strange things when I lived in China. Including, at least once, dog. It didn't taste like chicken.

Geo