How does it smell? The ones I recall from France smell literally like ****. It’s one of the few things I can’t eat.

agreed but I still think it sounds like a weird (weird isn't always bad) concoction but I'll try just about anything once

curious to try, I love crispy food

it actually does, I wasn't expecting that, I want some now

Lol at services where the same person both picks and delivers the order.
If you order through a service like instacart you're probably doing it wrong. 2nd party grocery delivery services are all trash.

If you order directly through the store's own app you'll get way better service and you'll actually get the correct items the because the store employees pick the order and they actually know what the products are. And then a different set of people handle the actual delivery (or you can obv pick it up). Instcart shoppers have no ****ing clue what they're looking for. Store employees also have access to items in the warehouse that are often "out of stock" on the shelf, that instacart shoppers can't/won't get for you. The majority of instacart workers are idiots and/or *******s.

Seems more psychological than real. But obviously smell is strong and knowing what is inside I understand how it can be difficult to try

Not phycological the ones I had in France if you blindfolded and didn’t tell me what it is I’d assume it was ****.

Agreed, I made the mistake of asking the server at a place in paris for the house specialty and got andouillette. It looked fine on the outside because it looks like a crispy sausage but I cut into it and it sprang open like an accordion. Smelled not great and tasted like a hot gym sock.

My wife on the other hand ordered basically 3 massive slabs of bacon for dinner.

They must constantly laugh at Americans ordering that. Ze American pig wants ze house special lelololol."

iirc there's actually a this american life episode about americans living abroad and the story for "i know just enough to make bad decisions" was girl proudly understanding the menu and being able to able in french and ordering a sausage in andouillette as it was the one thing she was sure of on the menu and then being horrified at what arrived after she cut it open

Isn't asking for the "house specialty" as an American in Europe asking to be ****ed with? Seems like an incredibly dumb move.

That's too bad
Any random euro could walk into a diner across America and ask for the house specialty and not get ****ed with most if the time I would wager.

House or the special of day, “Le menu du jour”? The menu or special of the day is quite common, usually on a chalk board and no one is going to mess with you for asking for that.

What on earth do you mean "get ****ed with?" What do you think we're doing to the food here?

I assume getting served traditional cuisine. I'm from the UK and often see videos of Americans freaking out over black pudding, or haggis, yet will happy chow down on eyelids and arseholes at cheap fast food places. Guess it what you're raised on...

That said, Iceland's Hákarl (fermented shark) is 100% to mess with tourists!

I have had excellent results all over Europe asking for the specialty and have had some incredible meals that I would have never ordered myself (e.g. pork knuckle in Germany). In general, I have felt incredibly welcomed everywhere I've visited - the only time I experienced the typical 'parisian rudeness' was when I was with a coworker who didn't attempt to speak any French and thought the language barrier could be solved by speaking english, just louder and slower.

This was a pork / sausage restaurant and I don't think I was ****ed with. The waiter came back about 5 minutes in and noticed I wasn't eating and offered to bring me something else and take it off my bill. I insisted that I pay for it as it was my mistake (but didn't order anything else as I had lost my appetite), but when the bill came it had been removed anyway.

I should have qualified my comment with the average American whose palate is very tame by traditional European standards and the waiter would read that and pick the dish that would be most shocking to said American. In no way would I imply that the restaurant would do anything to the food.

This is what I think of, even though the situation wasn't exactly the same:

i've had a ton of fun asking for local specialties despite rarely enoying it as there's usually a good reason why stuff stays local and can't be found elsewhere

acquired taste:
reindeer - finland
pepper vodka - ukraine

great:
octopus - spain
forget name but it's a tyrolean/bavarian version of pizza, looks kinda like bruschetta - alps
white sausage - germany
wild boar - estonia

bad:
razor clams - spain
swabian pasta - germany

terrible:
sardine bread (every bit is literally 80% sardine) - finland
real thai curry - so spicy even spice lords like me can't manage it
fermented fish paste based food - vietnam

what i have found to be indisputable is if it's something you genuinely like, getting the authentic version is usually the nuts

i could retire a very happy man in the alps drinking fresh milk and just living off nothing but breads/sausages/cheeses/yogurt for food

Never had reindeer, does it taste particularly different to venison?

Also thai red curry is elite.

As an acquired taste, I would add the Dutch eating raw herring. It just comes on its own (deboned), sometimes with raw onion and pickles, and it's very slimy and squishy. It's really nice after you've got used to it though.

Definitely would avoid scandi fermented fish though. They basically give it just enough salt to not like it rot and allow it to ferment. It is literally one of the worst smells in the world.

Spice lord affraid of thai curry

guys i'm not talking the tourist curry, i'm talking eat what the staff eats

it's like putting fiery death in your mouth

sûre

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