The following list is of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his/her life.

Wheeler challenged bloggers to copy and paste the list into his or her blog and boldface every item they have eaten before. Then, we are supposed to put a line through what we refuse to ever eat. I italicized what I won’t even try.

I didn’t think I’d do very well, but I’m actually surprised by the number of bold words in my list! Although I’m not so sure that I should be proud to boldface “roadkill” and not “a tasting menu at a 3-Michelin-star restaurant.”

It was a deer that my dad hit, OK? It wasn’t a possum!

The Omnivore’s Hundred

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (does moonshine count?)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese

Read more »

If you’ve been reading Nona Nelson’s blog on Roanoke.com, the Happy Wag, you’ve already heard about “Putting on the Dog,” a fundraiser for the St. Francis of the Assisi service dog foundation.

But I’ve got something Nona doesn’t haaaaave: the menu!

That’s right, this is what happens when seven chefs, some from competing restaurants in Roanoke, team up to create one fabulous meal: blackened beef tenderloin with blue cheese mousse, a duck proscuitto and roasted corn relish salad, she crab bisque, fois gras brioche-stuffed quail and much more.

Putting on the Dog happens at the Roanoke Country Club on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are $150 per person or $1500 per table (seats 8) and includes the seven-course meal, complete with South African wine pairings.

Chef Brett McKee (pictured above) of the Oak Steakhouse in Charleston, S.C. is kind of the star of the culinary show. The Roanoke College graduate is fixing tournados of filet mignon with rosemary-Parmesan potato gratin, sweet corn custard and black truffle demi-glace as the main course.

But several very talented Virginia chefs will also be hard at work in the kitchen, including Tony Pope (who is making the quail), Brian Murtagh of the Roanoke Country Club (making apricot sorbet) and Chad Scott of 202 Market, who is planning to prepare a dessert of compressed apple with saffron air and smoked caramel.

Read more »