Gross-Out Orders

The most perfect first date meals.

Most of our Food Award coverage has been appetizing and delicious. Consider this your palate (and stomach) cleanser.

Silk Worm Larvae, Singapore-Style Scorpions, Taiwanese Crickets

Typhoon, Santa Monica, CA


Airport food is supposed to be gross, right? Well the folks at Santa Monica Airport are taking it up a notch by allowing Typhoon restaurant onsite. To be fair, most of the dishes on the Pan Asian menu sound awesome, but the insect section leaves a strange taste in our mouths…and possible baby insects.

Garlic Lollipops, Ice Cream and Soda

Gilroy Garlic Festival, held annually in Gilroy, CA


You know that you shouldn’t order anything with garlic on a date so it’d be best to avoid this festival entirely if you want to get a kiss, or even engage in conversation.

Beaver On A Stick

Jungle George’s Exotic Meats and Bugs (touring fairs and festivals nationwide)


Not sure what’s so exotic about road kill, particularly when it’s served straight-up corndog style. Still, when a menu questions our wildness, the only response is, “Shut up, menu!”

Fried Rabbit Liver

The Lazy Ox Canteen, Los Angeles, CA


Given that it’s fried and it probably actually tastes great, ust pretend it’s chicken.

Reindeer Hot Dogs

At M.A.’s Gourmet Hot Dogs, Anchorage, AK


We hear these are supposed to be awesome, but there’s still something slightly depressing about chomping on Rudolph. Mix this with the rabbit livers above and have a Mythical Christmas/Easter feast!

Turtle Soup

Salt Cellar Restaurant, Scottsdale, AZ


This dish may be viewed as a delicacy in some cultures, but the thought of slurping on broth filled with chunks of flesh from a wrinkly old turtle does not sound particularly appetizing

Tripe Soup

Karczma, Brooklyn, NY


Putting pieces of stomach into your own stomach sounds crazy. That’s why they call it tripe instead of “guts stew.” This soup is believed to be a hangover cure, but are you truly willing to find out?

Turkey Testicles

Parkside Pub’s annual Turkey Testicle Festival, Huntley, IL


‘Testicle’ may vaguely rhyme with ‘festival’ but that doesn’t necessarily make a testicle festival a good idea. Although there are probably plenty of people who beg to differ considering they go through 1000 pounds of turkey nuts that day.

Pig’s Blood Bloody Mary

Contigo, Austin, TX


You could make your own at home by combining Bloody Mary mix with real pig blood. But who has the time and the funnel? Sadly it doesn’t look like this adventurous cocktail is a permanent menu item, only popping up when Andrew Zimmern and the Bizarre Foods crew is in town. Mental note: do not go to Contigo when Zimmern is in town.  

Live Scallop

Sushi Zen, New York, NY


Any dish that contains the word ‘live’ is automatically terrifying. Although considering that this restaurant once served fugu- the sperm sac from poisonous blowfish- we can’t accuse them of try to make their menu more accessible.

Goose Intestine

Congee Bowery, NYC


This kitschy Chinese joint has close to a hundred menu items including the always-controversial shark fin soup, braised fish head, pig’s blood porridge and goose intestine prepared in a variety of ways. Bring on the soy sauce!

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