Langdon Flynn 365

People that really know me know that I have been, for the vast majority of my life, an extremely picky eater. As I am co-founder in a Public Relations firm that specializes in Food and Beverage PR, among other things, it has been a bit of source of frustration for those that work for me. It’s been a particular burr in the saddle of my partner Ken, who smells his food for about 34 minutes before even tasting it when it arrives at his table.  We have a running joke in the office by affectionately referring to Ken, Rosalind and Sara as “food nerds.” Actually, they may not know that. I guess they do now. Sorry guys.

Nevertheless, there has been a paradigm shift in my palate philosophy. For the past 64 days I have been on a mission to try new foods as often as I can. Hard to explain why this mission started, though I do know it began with Tartar Sauce on May 17. Before I decided to write about my food epiphany I wanted to get to 50 new items. Now, I will supply you with a list of things that I have tried for the very first time over the last two months. Before you read the list you need to understand a few things. Thing one…there are foods on this list that will amaze you that I have not tried before…deal with it. I can’t explain why I haven’t tried them to this point. Just be happy for me that I have found the right inspiration to try them now. Thing two…there are really only three things on this list that I didn’t care for (they have been annotated). I would totally eat all of these things again.

I have a brand new appreciation for what the F&B side of our company does. I understand that food, and the passion that people have for it, is about finding and experimenting with different combinations of tastes and textures. I used to roll my eyes watching Top Chef or any of those other cooking shows because they used to describe food in those terms. I would laugh at Ken when he would get into passionate discussions about food with any of our high profile chef clients. But it’s a brave new world. I know that combining tastes makes for such a much more pleasurable experience. Now I go into a restaurant and I don’t say “I would like to have this but I would like it without this or that.” Instead I say “I will try this” and leave it at that.

I would get into some long-winded rant about how you should never been afraid to try something new but that should be fairly obvious. Everybody should do that. Life is too short to not do that. And, really, if the worst thing that happens is that you need to drink water after to get rid of the taste, at least you tried.

New Foods

Pistachios

Tartar Sauce

Cucumber

Sushi

Mango Salsa

Tomato

Bearnaise Sauce

Scallions

Jicama Slaw

Grilled Ahi

Pineapple

Calamari

Baked Clam

Blueberries

Blackberry

Raspberry

Horseradish Sauce (blech)

Bean Sprouts

Pad Tai

Duck

Arugula

Baby Spinach

Sweet Peppers

Bell Peppers

Spinach

Vinegar

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Pesto Sauce

Honey Wasabi

Potato Salad (double blech)

Zucchini

Artichoke

Tomato Pesto

Eggplant

Peach

Caramelized Onions

Miso Goma Dressing

Yuzu Citrus Aioli

Truffle Parmesan Fries

Carpaccio

Bruschetta

Cream Cheese

Capers

Provolone

Sweet Potato Fries

Fried Pickles

Olives

Blue Cheese

Cous Cous

Baked Garlic (totally spit it out)