My brain feels shriveled up today. In lieu of anything else, I’ll do an archive check.

Aw, man! A year ago today, the bosses at work bought everybody ice cream to congratulate us on getting through the tough time at the beginning of the semester. How come they didn’t do that today?

I guess they bought us pizza last Friday for the same reason. Still, ice cream sounds good.

There’s been a lot of talk in the food blogging community lately about “10 things to eat before you die.” I haven’t assembled such a list myself yet, but the “50 things to eat before you die” published by the BBC is dumb. There are all kinds of easy things on that. It’s hardly a challenge at all. I think that if I can buy it at a Hy-Vee any day of the year in Iowa, it’s not worthy of making that kind of list. It’s also strange that totally unusual stuff is just stuck in the list in between things that are very easy to acquire.
1. Fresh fish (duh)
2. Lobster (duh)
3. Steak (duh)
4. Thai food (duh)
5. Chinese food (duh)
6. Ice cream (super-duh)
7. Pizza (also super-duh)
8. Crab (duh)
9. Curry (duh)
10. Prawns (duh)
11. Moreton Bay bugs (what? It’s actually a crustacean)
12. Clam chowder (duh)
13. Barbecues (super-duh; they didn’t even approach regional stylings)
14. Pancakes (super-duh)
15. Pasta (super-duh)
16. Mussels (duh)
17. Cheesecake (super-duh)
18. Lamb (I won’t say duh here, because it’s really not all that popular, at least in the U.S.)
19. Cream tea (again, no duh required, but still not very exotic or challenging)
20. Alligator (on every kitschy menu in Florida)
21. Oysters
22. Kangaroo (I probably could have had this in Australia, but I never did)
23. Chocolate (never heard of it)
24. Sandwiches (??)
25. Greek food (I like how it’s all shrunken down into one item; see also Thai and Chinese foods)
26. Burgers
27. Mexican food (duh; see Greek food)
28. Squid
29. American diner breakfast
30. Salmon
31. Venison
32. Guinea pig (I’ve never eaten a hamster either)
33. Shark (I actually can’t remember if I’ve ever had this; I’m going to count it because I’ve had sharkfin soup)
34. Sushi
35. Paella
36. Barramundi (an Australian predatory game fish)
37. Reindeer (apparently they have it a lot in Norway, but I don’t think we ever got any)
38. Kebab
39. Scallops
40. Australian meat pie (is this the same as a British meat pie? I’ve had those.)
41. Mango
42. Durian fruit (I’ve seen it, but never eaten it. I’ve heard it’s kind of gross.)
43. Octopus
44. Ribs
45. Roast beef
46. Tapas
47. Jerk chicken/pork
48. Haggis (I think I could have gotten it in Ireland, but I never did)
49. Caviar
50. Cornish pasty

Here are some things that are candidates for my list:

1. Ferrán Adriá’s scientific creations at El Bulli:  Adriá is the godfather of the food-as-science-as-food trend.  I’ve eaten at the restaurants of some of his disciples (Berasategui, Achatz), but never at his home base near Barcelona.

2. Hot chocolate in the winter in the Swiss or Italian alps.  I bet that would be really freaking good.

3. Turducken.  It sounds gross, but I should probably try it before I pass judgment.

4. Tripe.  See above.