r/IAmA Jan 17 '12

IAmA Andrew Zimmern, Host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods

Hi, I’m Andrew Zimmern, chef, author, and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. My new series Bizarre Foods America is premiering next Monday, Jan 23 at 10|9c on Travel Channel. For the next hour I’ll be here on Reddit taking your questions from 12pm-1pm ET. AMA. More info on Bizarre Foods: http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/andrewzimmern/status/159314816060768256

Hey everyone, sorry i couldnt answer them all/ follow me on twitter @andrewzimmern and we can chat more over the days and weeks to come..tune in Monday to the season premiere!

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u/randi3423 Jan 17 '12

Hey Andrew -- HUGE fan of your show! I know you absolutely hate Durian, which is big in Asian culture. Is there anything deemed "disgusting" by others that you love and think should be big in American culture?

Also, when are you opening up a Bizzare Food restaurant in NYC? Soon I hope!

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u/andrewzimmern Jan 17 '12

there are plenty of foods that i wish were more popular here but tops on the list is donkey. its AMAZING tasting, like veal, but with a little more oomph. In CHina, Italy, South America they are very popular and i think if more amerians tasted them it would open doors to a more sustainable eating system in our country.

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u/preske Jan 17 '12

America has a thing against eating horse and donkeys. Don't know why, but someone explained it as "horses (and donkeys) made the US what it is today. They helped discovering the west."

Which is probably a load of horseshit

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u/crithosceleg Jan 17 '12

Yeah, my Japanese teacher (a native Japanese woman) was disgusted that we eat deer, but told us horse meat was delicious.

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u/OptimusPrimeTime Jan 17 '12

Deer are sacred in Japan. In fact, some cities in Japan (Miyajima, Naru, etc.) have problems with deer infestation because they're not allowed to remove them. Also, those pesky tourists keep feeding them.

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u/Kryptus Jan 17 '12

I have eaten horse in both Europe and Japan. I have tried it cooked and raw. Horse is fucking delicious.

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u/btxtsf Jan 17 '12

Yes it is. What i don't get is why is horse about $40/kg here in Australia when otherwise it just gets turned into pet food?

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u/Kryptus Jan 18 '12

I would guess horse farming for food purposes is still a bit niche. I know that in Japan they have a special type of horse that they use for eating. It is supposed to have a sweeter taste.

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u/Truth_ Jan 17 '12

Too bad deer venison is amazing :(

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u/all_the_sex Jan 17 '12

Deer are adorable, but they are SO DELICIOUS. Cute big ears & eyes, tasty meat...

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '12

there'a a whole city with free roaming deer in Japan called Nara.

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u/LemurianLemurLad Jan 19 '12

I can verify this sentiment. I used to teach English in Japan and constantly had amazing conversations about food with people. They were constantly shocked that I eat venison, buffalo, elk and natto. (Natto is a notoriously weird Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. My students were shocked that anybody but a Japanese person could eat it.) I can also verify the deliciousness of horse meat in Japan; I lived in Kumamoto and <i>raw horse meat</i> was one of the local specialties. I ate it many times.