Andrew Zimmern Reveals His Favorite Foods and Weirdest Experiences

Bizarre Foods host and F&W contributing editor, Andrew Zimmern, stopped by our Facebook page to chat with fans about some of his best and worst eating trips.

Travel must-haves?
My phones, laptop, books, iPad.

Three things in your fridge?
Citrus fruit, mustard, iced tea.

Favorite candy?
Necco Wafers, Milky Ways, Swedish Fish.

I saw your video about Hot Tuna. Are you also a fan of Jefferson Airplane?
Huge, the orignal Jorma era especially. I love that kind of music and it inspires my passion for modern pyschedelic soul and other avant garde genres.

Do you have a favorite dish or cuisine?
I am a sucker for anything Chinese.

What’s your fave Jewish food?
Anything my wife makes. Love gefilte fish, falafel with schug, stuffed cabbage, smoked fish, the list goes on.

What is your favorite Greek dish?
Anything from a grill; anything Lefteris Lazarou makes; anything in a taverna on an island.

What is your favorite city to eat your way through while on vacation?
Whatever beach my wife, son and I are sitting on. We love the Caribbean. I travel and eat for a living so we don’t do it on vacation.

Favorite kind of Indian food?
Indian food is one of my faves, insanely complex and varied—picking a fave? Aaaarrrrggghhhh my least fave question. Simmered banana leaf in coconut and lime, chaat on the street, dals and salads—too many!!

After traveling around the world, what is the most memorable food?
Most memorable is still the family meal in Ecuador where the hungry kids offered me their worms. I will never forget it.

Which country do you think makes the best roasted whole pig?
I like Jamaican jerked whole pig, Samoan cooked in a rock pit, and Sardinian wood-roasted.

Has the political stability of any country been a factor in choosing which countries you go to?
We don’t care, I like the danger of some places.

What was one of the nicest places you have been to as far as being welcomed by the people?
Syria.

Hi Andrew! Some bonus material showed a woman in a clay hut, answering her cell. I did not think those areas were so into technology, is it common and will we be seeing jungle tribes walking around with them?
Happens all the time these days. Sad.

On Bizzare Foods, it seems like you often have issues with strange indigenous fruits. I’ve seen you spit some out more than once. ;-) Is that your worst battle?
It is, bad fruit is the worst of all to deal with.

Hello Andrew. My whole family loves your show, with the exception of my sister-in-law; she has a weak stomach. Is there anything you would not eat? Besides Durian.
Nope...and I keep trying durian!

Do any Jewish relatives have a problem with your eating habits?
No, but my rabbi does.

What do you think is the best style of blood sausage? I've been watching you and Anthony Bourdain eat it for years now and I wanna try some.
French boudin is the best starting point. I also love the Argentine version that has sweet spices and raisins, wow.

How long did it take you to get your Stomach of Iron?
Born with it.

Has anything been so tummy turning that it couldn’t make it to air?
I have never gotten sick or suffered a ”reversal“ on the road; if I did, for sure we would have shown it.

What is the worst thing you have ever eaten?
Worst tasting foods are the fermented spoiled ones: think Hakarl in Iceland.

Have you eaten anything strange in Jamaica?
Yes: ackee and land crab, lionfish and jerk pig head is indeed unique and hard to swallow, literally.

Andrew Zimmern. Photo © Ethan Hill.

View the original article here