It started with Haggis

Last night I ate a mussel. No big deal right?

Wrong.

I thought it looked slimy, squishy and absolutely revolting.

But here's the thing, I promised myself years ago that I would try just about ANYTHING,

at least once.

Now before I made this promise to myself I was, what you might call a finicky eater. Actually that is putting it pretty mildly. I would often fish out the little fleck of parsley in my Ramen noodles. I wouldn't touch anything with onions in with a 10 ft pole.

I pretty much lived on the following:

grilled cheese

quesadillas

Ramen noodles

pizza

ice cream

bean burritos

peanut butter sandwiches

rice a roni

I didn't eat any vegetables other than iceberg lettuce and avocados (in the form of guacamole). As for fruits, I would only eat apples and oranges.

Occasionally.

Like twice a year.

So how did I come to being able to eat mussels?

Well, it started in a little pub in Inverness Scotland.

My best friend was giving me a hard time about coming all the way to Europe and then eating like an American. This was true, I pretty much only ever ordered fish 'n chips...without the fish.

She ordered something different at every restaurant we went to. She wanted to try everything that she knew she wouldn't be able to get back at home. On this particular day she was ordering Haggis.

Do you know what Haggis is?

It is basically sheep innards ground up and then stuffed into a sheep's stomach and baked.

It is considered to be a Scottish delicacy.

And I'm a descendant of these brilliant people.

Lucky me.

Anyway, her Haggis came and she dug into it with gusto like she always did. But what was surprising is that she actually seemed to be enjoying it. And then she turned to me and said

"You HAVE to try a bite. It tastes good, really. And if you don't like it you don't ever have to try it again but you can always say that you tried."

She had a point. Eating just one bite of the Haggis would give me bragging rights for life.

I mean, how often can someone say: "I ate freaking sheep innards!"

So,

I took three deep breaths and took a tiny bite.

It wasn't bad.

I took another bite, this time a normal sized bite, to get a better taste.

It was actually pretty good.

I tried to go for a third bite but my friend cut me off and told me to get my own if I

liked it that much.

Anyway, after that experience I decided that I would try everything at least once.

And let me tell you, I've come to realize that I like a LOT of things that I never would have tried if it weren't for my friend and that darn Haggis.

Some of the things that I've tried so far and liked:

Calamari

Asparagus

Artichokes

Berries

Asiago cheese

Green peppers

Rye bread

Hummus

Cilantro

Ostrich

Garlic

Crab

Brie

Duck

Camembert cheese

Pomegranates

Onions

Collard Greens

Pesto

Fish

However there are still some things I don't like:

Olives

Sushi

Bananas

Pears

Lobster

Broccoli

Shrimp

Brussel sprouts

Oh, and

Mussels

So how about you?

What is the craziest thing that you've ever eaten?