Expanding Culinary Horizons
 

I'm in Iceland now and on this trip I've eaten two things I haven't tried before...and feel slightly guilty about: minke whale and foal.

The minke whale was served as sushi in one of the courses of the chef's tasting menu at a restaurant in Reykjavik called The Fish Market. I would describe it as "steakfish". It had the texture of sushi but tasted kind of like steak. It's red meat; who knew? It doesn't bother me from a sustainability vantage - minke whale are plentiful - but from a I've-always-thought-of-cetaceans-as-sentient point of view.

The foal was two broiled medallions and a bit of tartare. It tasted good but I feel guilty about eating baby horse (though I think nothing of ordering lamb...). It tasted like beef, but gamier. I had it at our hotel (Hotel Buðir, on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula - really excellent country lodge-style hotel in the middle of nowhere).

What sorts of things have you tried that you hadn't had before? Did you feel any ethical queasiness about it?

Was the whale steak raw?

I've eaten Shark Fin soup.. and Pickeral out of season

The natural Pickeral fish is banned at certain times of the year, and if a restaurant serves it, they face a hefty $10K plus penalty..

I ate 'lamb jewels' from a street vendor in china after an error in translation.

They were actually wonderful. Well spiced.

Good to know - there's place a couple of blocks away from my apartment that has a soup called "Lamb Treasures" - same thing. Been wanting to try them.

The error in translation - did you know ahead of time what you were eating?

No, we learned about 3 minutes after when we used an app and drew the exact symbol on the phone.

We were told initially 'pieces', 'nuggets' cooked on a skewer with spice. They were nuggets, on a skewer, with spice....They were super cheap too, but so was the chicken and all very good.

So -- would you eaten them knowing what they were? It sound's like you'd try them again.

Pig tail and pig stomach is mmmm good..

I probably would have yes, but maybe not bought them.

I've tried many things and always try things once for the most part. I may draw the line on some very unsafe items (some brains, and some raw meats), and that living larvae cheese....

Molds, aging, fermenting, and such don't really bother me, not that I'd eat them thee things daily, but I give a shot.

Pickled pigs feet are YUCK! It is like eating the saltiest vinegar you can imagine with this fatty unchewable hunk....uhh don't remind me.

Well maybe the pickled.. but the pig hoofs are awesome..

Especially if you cook in Soya Sauce for about half an hour..

boiled in broth is pretty good.. speaking of which, I've had Pig snout.. very tender..^

not a big deal really, trompitas tacos are good good. I recommend them! Check your local AUTHENTIC taco truck!

If you're still in Iceland I would recommend trying two things - puffin and reindeer filets, both pretty tasty.

Yes, it was raw. It wasn't steak - it was nigiri sushi. A small piece served on a small bit of sushi rice.

I've been meaning to do so, but haven't seen either on the menu anywhere. Mostly lots and lots and lots of lamb and fish. We'll be back in Reykjavik tonight (fly home tomorrow) so I'll keep an eye out.

I think this is the place where we had the puffin, but it's been awhile.

http://www.randburg.is/is/laekjarbrekka/

good stuff.

only things i "couldnt" eat are dog and dolphin.

and im fine with raw, but not alive.

seriously. met a brit in europe recently who described them as crunchy and said you have to bite them to kill them.