Friday Five: Let's Eat!

3dogmom over at RevGals offers this Friday Five meme:

1) Is there a food from a foreign land whose reputation led to trepidation when you had a chance to give it a try? Did you find the courage to sample it anyway? If so, were you pleasantly surprised or did you endorse the less than favorable reputation that preceded it? I have tried many foods over the years. I think caviar may be the one that most stands out for me. I haven't had it in years but it was one of the appetizers offered in the 1980's when I worked for the famous interior designer. I found caviar to be salty and squishy but otherwise not something I disliked nor something I'd go out of my way to eat. 

2) What food from your own country/culture gets a bad rap? I from a line of people whose origins are in Scotland and England. My mother use to say we were part Irish, but I have no evidence of that in our lineage. So, I guess that bad rap food would be haggis. I have never tried it. Probably never will since I seem to have digestive issues with lamb....

3) what food are you fond that others find distasteful? I am fond of baba ganoush and sushi and grilled beets....someone I know described beets as tasting like dirt. (that made me laugh, accurate description actually, but I love beets - grilled, blended in veggie smoothies, and harvard beets on salads).

4) Is there a country’s food, not native to you, that you go out of your way to eat? Living in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large population of Muslims, I eat a lot of Lebanese food. (It is delicious).

5) What is your guilty pleasure food? I am not really food motivated. I am however a beverage person (you know, coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, herbal tea at night, and a glass of wine with dinner...). However I suppose I could say that the made from scratch dark chocolate zucchini cake with cream cheese icing I made twice (recently) was certainly a guilty pleasure food!

Bonus: What was your most memorable meal (good or bad), either because of the menu, the occasion, the company, or some other circumstance that makes it stand out? My husband and I had many delicious meals at a small family owned restaurant in Arlington Heights, IL called Regina's. They've closed that location, but while it was open it was our GO-TO place for all events - birthday's, New Year's Eve, a night out. The food was always delicious and the atmosphere was beautiful and yet homey. It was a great Italian restaurant.