okay, I've not had anything special! :ashamed001 Just venison, turtle and I did have mud bugs when I went to New Orleans - years ago, but I made my husband do all the nasty work, I won't touch them until the head and feet and anything else yucky looking was gone. I didn't suck the brains out - no way! He also had to do the big peel and eat shrimp.
racoon cat armadiller 'coon in addition to all the other things listed.. the world is broken down into eaters and eatees....I will stay in the eater catagory, thank you...
Crawdads/mudbugs, do you suck the heads? Last year I had kangaroo in Kilarney, Eire. It is very lean, dark in colour and tastes very good.
I often find that the preparation is what makes food unusual. Any animal killed and cooked seems to be edible. (fish and plant eating land animals get most people's seal of approval) Northern Thailand has some interesting specialties. I have eaten the jumping prawns as a gent above stated. Covered in chili and lime, almost anything would taste good washed down with a few bottles of chang! The fried crickets were not half bad, deep fried with fish sauce. Again, the flavors of a deep fried anything in my mind tend to be similar. Sprinkle with fish sauce and you could be eating almost anything and would believe it if you didn't know before hand. Raw minced pork with herbs and spices is another. Here in the Philippines, there are all kinds of unusual things as well. Balut is the national "I dare ya" favorite. A fertilized egg (yes, you get the texture of beak/bones and feathers in there sometimes). First timers are advised to have it with the lights out. They also have "day old" chicks to be eaten whole. Here in Baguio, local (and vanishing) custom is to consume dog meat for the "warming effect".. In fact, all Philippine "unusual" foods I have run across seem to be "drinking foods" and are not "widely enjoyed". I haven't tried dog (I believe it is forbidden by law at the moment, thus, hard to come by) but the others were decent enough, if not unremarkable.
I've got an upcoming trip to Japan, I will certainly be seeking Fugu, ond Kobe beef. I'm told properly prepared Fugu leaves just enough toxin to make your tongue numb.
Ya, but look what they charge for it. You good buy a set of extra nice sharp steak knives for what you pay for a 12 oz. Kobe beef steak.