Adventurous Dining Options

What are your go-to spots for exotic eats?

I'll say that Jasmine Chinese has some of the best offal dishes I've ever tasted. If you haven't tried their hot and spicy duck tongues, you're missing out!

[Robin Garr]

Chicken feet at Jade Palace dim sum. Sweetbreads at Palermo Viejo and (sometimes, at least) Le Relais and Equus. Fried gizzards at some urban KFCs (I wonder if they still offer them?) Uni at any sushi bar, but I'd advice being wary unless you're absolutely sure they're responsible about serving it fresh or throwing it out. Monkfish liver (sometimes), aka "foie gras of the sea" at Tokyo sushi on Lime Kiln. Goat cheese ice cream as an occasional special at many local eateries. (Some love its dairy tang; others are reminded of baby vomit.)

Hiko a Mon
Ankimo Ponzu - Monkfish Liver with Ponzu sauce
Tan-shio - Grilled beef tongue
hamachi-kama - Yellow tail collar

Eiderdown
Maultaschen - Beef Cheek Dumplings, English Peas, Romesco, Demi
Viking's Wurst - Nate "The Viking"'s sausages
Little Big Chef - Sweetbreads, bacon, endive, red onion, sun-dried tomato jam, mustard on a hoagie bun.

Seviche
Veal Calves Liver - KY Bleu, Caramelized Onions, Lima Beans
Pulpo Gallega - grilled octopus, parsley citrus butter, ink, potato
And usually some awesome specials like whole fried fish

Rye
Menu changes often, but I've had tongue, sweetbreads, monkfish liver, urchin, etc.

La Coop
Escargot
Rabbit Terrine
Oyster Gratin - Which is amazing, I could eat that all day.

Oriental House
Chicken Feet
Duck Feet
Duck Wings
Tripe

Queen of Sheba
Kitfo - Get it really rare, it's great.

Also enjoy
Al Watan - Middle Eastern
Pho Bihn Mihn - Vietnamese - Maybe new owners, but the food was still very good
Dakshin - Indian
Mr. Lee's - Korean
La Sierra Tarasca - Mexican - Great Skin, Head, and Tongue Tacos.

Wow, thanks for the awesome suggestions! I've been meaning to try HIko's omakase - I bet it's great.

All the above, but Dak Shin has three different goat options . . .

Also, check out the Chinese restaurants with "authentic" menus, and order anything unfamiliar! (that's how I first tried beef tendon, fish maw, the ever popular "sea delicacy", and many other items)

The sweetbreads at Eiderdown are great. I also love escargot, and my two favorite are the spicy escargot tapas at La Bodega, and the escargot pizza at Blue Dog (had it for lunch today actually).

Miyoshi is one of my favorite sushi places, and they also have some very authentic/exotic dishes. It is in Florence, KY and I definitely make a stop whenever I travel up 71 to Cincy or beyond. Their beef tongue is one of my faves. Has anyone else ever been there? Robin?
Here is their website: http://www.miyoshirestaurant.com/

Ned, I've not been there, but it's been on my wishlist for quite some time. There's also Jo An Japanese in Erlanger, which is in the same area.

Good job, everyone!

I am keying up a 'snakewine' option- just for the initiated- I can't prominently display anything of this variety in my bar...

I was thinking balsamic-seared fois gras in Ron Zacapa 23. It would get all dirty and nasty, but taste like none other- besides we have fine sieves to help along the process (if we should care for this drink.)

The funny thing is that, when the mood strikes us, we can take the whole bit, puree it and then turn it into an exceptional terrine (place it all on a sheet pan and allow the alcohol to evaporate, overnight.) Tada! Wash, Rinse, Repeat..

I think every place should have that challenging dish that simply begs exploring- kind of a culinary speakeasy.

We currently have this infusion of Dandicut Peppers (Pakistan) and Sichuan Pepper Blossoms that are no joke. Not from a scoville perspective, but from an assault-on-the-senses perspective. Two of these, raw- your face goes numb. In a Bloody Mary, sublime. The 'Salt-and-Pepper' Dirty Martini is the next level for proponents of the cocktail. By itself = 'Devil on a Stick.'

Now, four of us sat down and drank half of the litre to check for gastronomic intrusions. We were good- otherwise we wouldn't have moved on with this project. You'll get sick of this kind of thing before you get get sick from it, promise)

Fried gizzards at some urban KFCs (I wonder if they still offer them?).

Wish my grandma was still alive. She'd be tickled to hear city slickers now consider this adventurous or exotic!

Eiderdown
Maultaschen - Beef Cheek Dumplings, English Peas, Romesco, Demi

Okay, in case you haven't been looking at the "What's Cooking?" thread in the kitchen forum, my favorite place for adventurous dining is my own kitchen. But I can't get beef cheeks to save my life. In Chicago, I'd ask farmer after farmer at the markets and all of them came back with the same response, post Mad Cow scare it is now illegal for slaughterhouses to process then offer for consumption any piece of the cow's head. A couple of weeks ago Adam Barr told me he was taking a steer to slaughter and asked if I wanted anything special. At the top of my list was the cheeks. He got the same response from Boone's. He was even present for the slaughter and butchering of the steer and said that though they more or less dissect the head, it all ended up in the trash. So where can I get some beef cheek? Should I just ask Mike Best's or Kingsley? Whole Foods meat counter?

[Robin Garr]

So where can I get some beef cheek? Should I just ask Mike Best's or Kingsley? Whole Foods meat counter?

Decca has a beef cheek dish on the menu. Maybe ask them where they get it?

Or contact Stan or Lelia Gentle at Dreamcatcher Farm and see if they can special-order you some?

Revisiting this old thread since I'm about to embark on such an adventure...

Does Rye have a lot of rotating specials? Also looking a place that is solo diner friendly...as I am forever alone!

Since I have a penchant for resurrecting old threads, I thought I'd chime in again.

I ended up doing the NYE tasting at Rye and it was spectacular. Among the standouts: shaved foie gras torchon with pear mostarda, bitter greens & candied walnuts; shrimp laska with coconut & kabocha squash soup; roasted duck breast with golden raisin, saffron couscous, yogurt, sumac.

I felt like the dessert was forgettable but the savories were great. Rye is putting out some of the most exciting food in the city and the staff couldn't have been nicer.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the testimony, Corey. I checked out Rye at lunchtime and found it very lackluster, which dampened my enthusiasm about going back evenings for a more full review. I guess I'd better give them another look.

It looks like they're no longer doing lunch so maybe you caught them at a weird time in their development. Glad to hear you're willing to give them another shot!