Top 10 Strange and Traditional Food Found in the U.S.

Many Americans today consider the following list of weird foods repulsive. The fact is that many strange foods have been eaten in past eras simply to survive. Yesterday's necessity is today's fine cuisine. I listed the most unusual food found in America (and many other places around the world) first.

Insects: scorpions (Singapore-style - shrimp toast), crickets (Taiwanese stir-fried, raw garlic, chile pepper, Asian basil), ants (Chambi, potato string), and white sea worms (deep-fried Thai style, baby lettuce leaves, ginger, chile pepper, peanuts, lime, tamarind dipping sauce) are found on the menu at Typhoon's Restaurant in Santa Monica, CA, priced from $9 to $11. "The ancient Romans and Greeks dined on insects.Ten thousand years ago hunters and gatherers ate bugs to survive." Insects remain a traditional food in many cultures (Africa, Asia and Latin America).

Frog legs, deep-fried thai style with cilantro sauce for $11 and Chinese Crispy Duck (slow-cooked) for $19 are also on the menu at Typhoon's Restaurant in Santa Monica, CA. Both of these fine cuisine supposedly taste like chicken.

Buffalo burgers, aka bison burgers, can be found at Lake Tobias Wildlife Park's, near Harrisburg, PA. After taking a safari tour to see herds of wild and worldly exotic animals, stop at the refreshment stand for a fresh buffalo burger. It tastes like a cross between beef and deer meat. Try not to think about the fact that some of the buffalo you saw on your safari may be tomorrow's lunch. The buffalo burger 'lower in fat' can also be found at the Bear and Grill in Fairfield, OH and Orange, OH. North American plains were filled with bison when the Native American tribes ruled the open spaces. Both Indians and bison were driven to near extinction at the hands of settlers, explorers, cowboys and the Transcontinental Railroad. If you like beef jerky, try bison jerky, which can be found in various places from farmers and farmer's markets in PA.

Mini Mercado Oaxaca, an authentic restaurant in north-central Phoenix, AZ, serve chapulines, aka grasshoppers (apparently a good source of protein). A plate full sells for $7 and is enough to feed four people. A delicacy and traditional food in Mexico, some say they taste like grass, hay or shrimp. "Eating grasshoppers, crickets and worms dates to the time of Mesoamerica before Spanish colonization in the 15th and 16th centuries." In my 7^th grade history class, I was brave and tried this strange food, fried in seasoning. I thought I might puke and that's what I thought it tasted like.

Snapper soup is popular and available in many area diners in the Delaware Valley. A heavy, brown soup that tastes somewhat like thick gravy and has a rich herbal flavor, it is also likened to stew. The Old Original Bookbinder's Restaurant in Philadelphia, PA, is famous and is also known for their snapper soup. Creole restaurant's, such as Commander's Palace, Brennan's and Galatoire's, in New Orleans, LA, specialize in the popular and traditional food - turtle soup. Canned snapper soup is also available for purchase at certain supermarkets. U.S. President William Howard Taft had a special chef brought into the White House to prepare his favorite food - turtle soup. Abraham Lincoln served turtle soup at his 1861 inauguration.

Escargot, cooked land snails, another weird food, is normally served as an appetizer and has been eaten since prehistoric times. Escargot 41 in Naples, FL, offers 7 different les escargot menu choices. The thought of eating snail is not appealing to me but reading their menu could change my mind. Some of their different sauces include: champagne sauce, parsley-garlic butter, marsala brown sauce. Ranging in price from $10 to $17. Their escargots a la mode de l'abbaye is 'believed to have been created by monks, this original recipe was discovered in an ancient monastery during renovation. A perfect example of simple old cuisine at its best.'

Scrapple, aka panhas, is made of pork scraps and trimmings (to prevent waste), combined with cornmeal and flour (often buckwheat flour and spices) that is formed into a semi-solid loaf. Typically made of hog offal. Normally a breakfast food , the slices of scrapple are pan-fried., 'Scrapple is best known as a regional American food of the Mid-Atlantic States' (DW, PA, NJ, MD). Scrapple is a traditional food and commonly considered an ethnic food of the Mennonite and Amish, or Pennsylvania Dutch. Scrapple is found in fresh and frozen refrigerated cases at supermarkets. It can sometimes be found in cities as far away as Los Angeles. Vegetarian scrapple, made from soy protein or wheat gluten, is offered in some places. It is seasoned to be much sweeter than typical meat scrapple. A Pennsylvanian myself, I'd prefer the vegetarian scrapple. Most people like to cook it until the edges are crispy.

Pork brains is a very strange food that is canned in milk gravy and sold in many Southern grocery stores. Unlike many "specialty foods", you are more likely to find pork brains in a small-town grocery store. It can usually be found in the same vicinity of Spam or other canned meat/meat parts. On the front of the can, pork brains are being served atop scrambled eggs.

Rattlesnake meat is an unusual food found in America, that is very light and tender. Rattlesnake are known for their medicinal value and aphrodisiac properties, and like the alligator and crocodile, snakes are low in fat and calories. Popular in TX. 1-800-steaks.com sell rattle snake - deskinned, degutted, washed and immediately frozen - for a whopping $60 a pound. The average weight is 2 to 3 pounds.