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Yuck!
Off the Wall
Jan. 24, 2008
Often when we visit our son in Aspinwall,
just outside of Pittsburgh, he takes us to one of his favorite
restaurants when we have a very nice informal get together with
him and his friend.
The first restaurant to which we feasted was in
Oakmont. My wife fell in love with the place after trying various
entrées and loving each one of them. For a period of time
we always found ourselves going back there.
Now, I have to admit, I liked the choices on the
menu as well. I found selections that were unknown to my taste
buds. So, not knowing if I would like them or not, I found myself
picking food that I hoped I would savor.
While everyone else was choosing everyday preferences,
I decided to try the largemouth bass sautéed in yogurt.
That wasn't only good. It was simply great.
I also saw that fluke was on the menu. I said to
my wife, "The next time we come back here, that will be
my pick." But in the meantime, we decided to go elsewhere
just for a change of scenery.
Since a Chinese restaurant was nearby my son's apartment,
we decided to give that place a go. So, recently I tried eel
don, a combination of eel, ginger, seaweed salad and rice. Most
excellent, to say the least.
I was talking to a friend lately, telling her about
my wonderful get-togethers with my son and that we ate at this
restaurant, and I had eel. With that she belched out a guttural
putrid sound and gave me a very horrid expression. I asked, "Have
you ever eaten eel before?" with which she replied, "No!"
How can someone comment to the negative about something
if he (in this case, she) has never eaten a substance before?
But she wasn't the first person who has exclaimed
similar outbursts.
A friend calls me nightly and we do bring up the
subject of food often, particularly around Lent. He has emphatically
told me how much he hates eating fish, and makes no bones about
letting me know this annually.
Lately I asked him about eating tongue, liver, whale,
or brain. He told me he hates them all. I then had to ask about
each item individually.
"Have you ever eaten tongue?" I stated.
"Yuck" he shouted back to me which vibrated through
the telephone's receiver. "That doesn't even sound good."
Now, when is the sense of taste found in one's ear
as well? I've heard of one "taking it in the ear,"
but never tasting it in the ear.
So, as is my habit of interrogating people, I had
to continue. "How can food sound good?" I asked him.
His comeback was, "You know what I mean." I guess he
didn't like that question. I asked this middle-aged man to explain
his comments.
In so many words and more, he suggested that anytime
one brings up a body part of an animal that is not on a usual
menu such as those mentioned above, they don't sound good to
eat at all. Of consequence, even though he has never tried them,
and in all likelihood, won't, he concludes that they all must
taste pretty horrible.
It's too bad, you know. I was raised on some foods
that I thought were exotic. Each year, my father would get a
big wooden container of oysters sent to him as a Christmas present
from an associate. The whole family delighted in eating them.
My mother served us cow's tongue regularly as well. We all developed
a taste for it as well. One outing to Pittsburgh, the wife and
I visited a restaurant where I ordered whale. Tasted just like
beef. I was given a whale of a portion to boot!
If given a chance to try a food you've never eaten,
go for it. You just may love it!
Paul J. Volkmann
12/06
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