s/o festival food - first time favorites stories!

[Softly Spoken]

So does anyone have a neat story or good memory around one of their favorite foods? Do you remember the first time you tried an unusual dish and fell in love with it? Or who you would credit with fostering your love for something?

Me first:
1) I was late to the party when it comes to Indian food. I was at the Bite of Seattle a few years ago. As many of you may know, one of the best parts of going to any fair/festival/etc. that involves food and walking around is when you see someone carrying something that looks good and you get to ask them where they got it.  So I was starving and craving some cooked protein of some kind. I see a woman with what looked like chicken in a colorful red-orange sauce - Butter Chicken! I found my way to the booth she pointed towards and the rest is history. Give me a bowl of it with rice and naan bread (which is like crack I swear) and I can die happy.

2) I have a kind of unusual food love: chipped beef on toast. My Dad got me into it. He grew up on a farm during the Depression, so he was raised on meat and potatoes (literally and figuratively). His family owned a dairy farm so cooking was all about whatever protein was in the pan along with fresh butter, biscuits made with lard, eggs from the hens, the whole nine yards. Then he went into the military and got to experience such awesome culinary delights as... baked beans on toast. So between his farm breakfasts and his serviceman's meals, he got used to routinely eating a) some kind of protein, with b) some kind of sauce on/next to c) some kind of bread. This meant as his daughter I became well acquainted with sausage and cornbread, biscuits and gravy, chicken a la king and chipped beef on toast. I still find them all to be very stick-to-your-ribs comfort food.

So what about you guys? How did you find the foods you treasure?

[readingchick]

Baklava. I had taken a course in mythology, and the professor had brought in some baklava for the students to eat while taking our final exam. I fell. in. love. with it.

[afbluebelle]

Beongdegi. The owner/manager of the social club bar we liked to hang out in brought a giant bowl of these in to share one night. It immediately led to the masses daring each other to eat some... they were awesome!

Beongdegi- marinated silkworm larvae. Yummy, yummy bug babies!

[Softly Spoken]

Baklava. I had taken a course in mythology, and the professor had brought in some baklava for the students to eat while taking our final exam. I fell. in. love. with it.

Neat. I first tried baklava at a Greek festival.

Was it connected to the culture whose myths you were studying or was it just lucky that the prof chose it as the random end-of-class treat?

Have you tried making it yourself or did you just find a really good supplier?

[Acadianna]

I first tried escargots at a sidewalk café in Paris.  I've loved escargots ever since.

[readingchick]

Baklava. I had taken a course in mythology, and the professor had brought in some baklava for the students to eat while taking our final exam. I fell. in. love. with it.

Neat. I first tried baklava at a Greek festival.

Was it connected to the culture whose myths you were studying or was it just lucky that the prof chose it as the random end-of-class treat?

Have you tried making it yourself or did you just find a really good supplier?

We focused on Greek and Roman mythology, which was interesting. It was actually the prof's wife who made the dessert....I haven't made it as I'm not sure where you could even find phyllo dough plus I'm not sure if anyone in my family likes baklava.

[Hmmmmm]

Gyro at a Greek festival when visiting Seattle about 30 years ago and I'm still trying to find one as good as that first one.

[readingchick]

Gyro at a Greek festival when visiting Seattle about 30 years ago and I'm still trying to find one as good as that first one.

There's a Greek food vendor that comes to the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth and they have some darn good chicken gyros.

[Library Dragon]

I had had no interest in ever trying sushi.  The idea wasn't appealing.

One new year's we were at our favorite restaurant.  One of the options for an appetizer was tuna tartar.  We didn't order it.  The executive chef brought us one because he had extra.  It was love at first bite. 

I've been a shashimi fan since.

[MissNomer]

In high school I was lucky enough to go to London. Our tour guide took great delight in giving us Americans Marmite and then watching our faces. I think most of my classmates were pretty amusing to watch but much to his surprise I loved the stuff. I think I might have polished off half a jar by myself during the trip.

[Liliane]

Calamari. My sister had a friend who treated her and I to dinner one night, and they convinced me to try it. Now I absolutely love it. The tentacles are the best part!

I also like Marmite, it's so good on buttered toast. *sigh* Now I want some.

[Library Dragon]

Calamari. My sister had a friend who treated her and I to dinner one night, and they convinced me to try it. Now I absolutely love it. The tentacles are the best part!

I also like Marmite, it's so good on buttered toast. *sigh* Now I want some.

They are indeed! 

[cwm]

Mmmm...butter chicken with rice on naan. Had it once at an Indian restaurant when a friend was in town, never looked back. Even if the owners tease me because I get it mild. I'm over it.

Also, sushi. And other people who like calamari! (Sis and I call it skiddies, for some weird reason we can't remember.)

I'm tentative trying new things. I have a very sensitive mouth and can't handle spicy foods at all. But I had a friend take me for pho and it was delicious.

Also, the first time I ate barbecue in a gas station...it blew my mind. There's this local barbecue place, the original is located in a gas station. I thought my parents were joking with me, but in we went, the line was pretty long, and the food was definitely worth it. I actually live near that gas station now and if I had more money, I'd spend a lot more of it there. Some of the best BBQ I've ever had. (And anyone in Kansas City probably knows exactly where I'm talking about, too.)

[Harriet Jones]

We focused on Greek and Roman mythology, which was interesting. It was actually the prof's wife who made the dessert....I haven't made it as I'm not sure where you could even find phyllo dough plus I'm not sure if anyone in my family likes baklava.

Check the frozen food section of your grocery store.

[readingchick]

We focused on Greek and Roman mythology, which was interesting. It was actually the prof's wife who made the dessert....I haven't made it as I'm not sure where you could even find phyllo dough plus I'm not sure if anyone in my family likes baklava.

Check the frozen food section of your grocery store.

Thanks for the heads-up! I found several recipes on Pinterest; might try one of them eventually