I was not a big fan...
...of Mom's cooking when I was growing up -- lots of frozen and canned stuff. We lived in California, where you can get fresh fish and produce year-round, so why'd she bother with frozen veggies and canned salmon? And anything spicy was a big no-no.

"How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it before?" I'd hear all the time.

"I just KNOW," I'd reply. Needless to say, "Green Eggs and Ham" was not one of my favorite books.

Then I grew up and moved to San Francisco -- a city filled with countless exotic restaurants and ethnic markets. I sampled all the cuisines of the world and could always find *something* I liked on the menu. I ate raw spinach and fresh fish and now I can't have them any other way. (Forget Rice-a-Roni, Dungeness crab in season is the *real* San Francisco treat!)

Now when my parents come to visit and we go out to dinner, *I'm* the one asking them, "How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it before?" We usually end up at a steak or burger or other "American" sort of place. Everything else is "too spicy" for them despite my assurances that we can ask the chef to fix it mild. My parents will never experience the joy of curry or tandoori with a side of garlic naan.

But I still won't eat durian or kraut. I just can't get past the smell.
( cynfulcynner ...another American nutter, Sat 3 Mar 2007, 9:09, Reply)