What are some the strangest bar snacks you’ve tried, or seen but where to afraid to sample?
For me, it’s the Blind Robbin, which is basically fish-jerky. Or like salt-cod, but thin. Yeah, it’s salty. Haven’t seen them anywhere for many years.
This is what they look like:
http://www.oocities.org/soho/3666/blind1.jpg
Not so much strange as unusual (for me) – blisteringly hot som tam at a bar in Bangkok. Sadly, this was before I had any tolerance for spicy food.
Brilliant idea, tho… certainly kept the Singha’s coming 
A popular bar snack in Germany is Solei - salt-brined, hard-boiled egg. I don’t think I’ve actually ever tried it, but I certainly would.
And on a recent trip to SF, I had an absolutely amazing bar snack: beef tendon puffs. Like beef chicharrones. I could eat my weight in those.
I was in a bar mid 90’s when smoking was still allowed. I grabbed a seat, pulled over the basket of assorted “bar snacks” crackers, pretzels etc. grabbed a handful threw them into my mouth and waited for the bartender to come take my order. {{chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing}} long after the normal crunchiness of such snacks wore off, it was still very chewy, to the point I decided to spit out what I had been chewing to find, someone had emptied an ashtray in the snack basked and I was chewing the filter of a cigarette.
I never ate bar snacks out of a basket again. 
I can not fathom how disgusting that was. Blech.
I swear to God on my life, I gagged a little just recalling the story to type it here. It’s still that bad 20+ years later.
YUCK, even the thought of it was so disgusting! 
Well, on the bright side, at least it was low-calorie?
Hmm…I would probably like those, but I don’t drink. Fish jerky, or dried fish, is not uncommon as a Chinese snack (though not necessarily a bar snack). Like dried cuttlefish, but there are some that use dried fish instead. Usually not just a salty profile though; more fishy and a mild sweet/salty taste…kind of umami-ish.
I’ve had the dried cuttlefish, and liked them. The Blind Robbin does not have any sweetness. They have a similar texture, not really “jerky”, just not raw., but the salt factor is much greater. Alas, I do not believe they still being made.
I’ve had the crickets, grasshoppers, and silk worm pupa in Thailand. They were pretty decent, pretty much like any other fried crisp salty snack.
I did not eat the large scorpion or the tarantula. Have to draw the line somewhere.
I had a tarantula appetizer at a restaurant in Siem Reap. You chose a good place to draw the line.
A restaurant called Markt in Manhattan’s meat packing district used to serve live periwinkles at the bar. Those were pretty good, but a little creepy, because as you tried to pry them out of their shells with a toothpick, they shrank back. And in Capetown, South Africa, you can get antelope jerky at the Cableway Cocktail Bar on Table Mountain. I did not indulge.
Antelope jerky is something I would consume without second thought. I’ve had several “wild game” jerky’s, and frankly they all tasted pretty much the same, like the jerky seasoning.
On a more tame note, I used to see jars of pickled red beet eggs and pickled hot bologna on bars. I think those were Easter PA specific items.
There’s nothing inherently gross about it. I just don’t eat meat.
I would be all over those. Love eggs, love beets, love pickled anything.
Ah, ok, didn’t pick up the vegetarian aspect.
The eggs are super easy to make at home. Just mix white vinegar and sugar to taste, dilute a little bit with water, add cooked beets and eggs. Wait two weeks.
There was a bar in the meatpacking district across the street from the Gansevoort Hotel/Rooftop Bar & One Lounge (now closed), the bar I’m mentioning use to serve hard boiled (and pickled) eggs as a bar snack. Do you remember the name of the place?
I use to spend a lot of time in the meat packing district about 10 years ago, great vibe to that area especially in the spring / early summer.
I had an outdoor exotic grill at my wedding, they had grilled scorpian, as well as rattle snake and many other “exotic” meats.
Hogs & Heifers BBQ was around there, I think, and might have offered pickled eggs. But the only place I know for definite sure had them was Riverrun in Tribeca.
I ate a tarantula from a roadside stall in Cambodia. Like a small hairy crab that’s been dipped in oil and left in the sun for a week. But when in Cambodia…
Two pictures from my trip - fancy bugs (ate), casual bugs (did not eat).
No that wasn’t it, thanks for responding.
Stay the hell away from roadside stand selling tarantula!! That’s what I do when I’m in Cambodia!!
