Top 10 Foods I Hate That Other People Love

1. Sushi The ubiquitous sushi. It's not just at sushi bars and Japanese restaurants anymore. You can find it at Cajun seafood joints, at all-you-can-eat buffets, and at breakfast places in the form of "frooshi"--fresh fruit carved and shaped to look like sushi. Like most foods on this list, I don't necessarily hate it--it's just that it's been so overdone and I'm just bored of it. It's the last on my list of things to eat when dining out. Maybe I've just never had good sushi.

2. Goat Cheese Despite my affinity for goat (see #10 in my "Top 10 Foods I Love That Other People Hate" list), it does not extend to goat cheese. It's another ubiquitous ingredient, and has found its way from the cheese platter into too many dishes, from salads to savory tarts to pastas to pizza toppings. I simply just find it so gamey in flavor that it overpowers my palate and diminishes the flavor of everything else it is paired with.

3. Truffles Another ingredient that has become so popular and overused. I'm not talking chocolate truffles--those, I can eat all day long. I'm talking about the hyper-expensive white or black fungi that are the darling of the culinary world. I know they're a luxury and all the food fans love them, but I just think they taste like dirty feet. Or, what I imagine dirty feet to taste like. Even freshly-rooted truffles from Tuscany were totally lost on me, shaved paper-thin atop homemade pasta tossed with olive oil and garlic. I want to like them; I just don't. Same goes for truffle oils and all things truffle-infused. Bummer.

4. Pickles Okay, I don't hate pickles. I just don't like them very much. A couple of bites from an authentic delicatessen dill pickle is enough for me. I can't even eat a whole one. I think seeing a rack of vacuum-packed dill pickles in the candy aisle at Blockbuster Video put me over the edge. I must say, however, that I recently canned some dilly beans with my pal, Brooke, a couple of weeks ago, and I went through an entire jar the first day. They were good. Maybe it's a sign that my palate is maturing.

5. Cauliflower A white, cruciferous vegetable. What's the point? Bland and horribly dry, especially raw. However, I will admit that I quite enjoyed them in a gratin prepared by a friend, all creamy and topped with cheese. But, gratineed anything, all creamy and topped with cheese, is good. Unless it were topped with goat cheese (see #2, above).

6. Jello For some reason, my dad loves Jello. Strawberry Jello, to be specific. Sometimes, I'll look in my folks' refrigerator and find an entire tray of strawberry Jello chilling, just waiting for him to dig in. I can't say it's the fake fruit flavor, because I love fake fruit flavor in popsicles, Jolly Ranchers, and Kool Aid. I can't say it's the gelatinous texture, because I am not bothered by squirty, squishy food. Maybe it's the combination of the two? In any event, whenever I do eat it, it must be topped with whipped cream, in the proportion of 1:1. And it must be real whipped cream, not the junk from a can or Cool Whip from a tub. However, if anyone were ever to make one of those '80s-era poke cakes, made with boxed white cake and a layer of Jello oozed into little holes poked into the top of the cake by the end of a wooden spoon, I'd appreciate a slice. I'm strangely obsessed with the oddity of such a concoction.

7. Oysters Snot in a shell. Mussels, clams, scallops, they don't bother me. But, whenever I see those oyster-eating competitions on TV, I want to vomit. And then I imagine what that vomit would be like if I'd eaten oysters. And then I want to vomit again. It's a vicious circle.

8. Soft-shell Crabs See #7 above, regarding vomit. I've only tried soft-shell crabs once, but it was on the East Coast and I imagined they would be the freshest available. It was just weird eating an entire crab, knowing that there are parts of a normal crab that I would never otherwise eat, and wondering why I would eat them just because they were encased in a freshly-molted soft shell. That just doesn't make sense.

9. Okra I really want to like okra. I mean, she's like a multi-media goddess, what with her talk show, magazine, and Sirius-radio station. Alas, okra's just to slimy for me--while I'm pretty forgiving with texture, there must be an offsetting pleasance of flavor. Okra doesn't cut it.

10. Non-fat Food I once had a co-worker who was always trying to push her latest non-fat food find on me, whether it was salad dressing or cookies or whatever other nonsense. She was constantly trying to lose or maintain weight, but if she ever looked at the ingredients (the first of which was typically SUGAR to mask the chemical taste), she'd realize why it wasn't working. I recently bought a tub of non-fat vanilla yogurt to eat with my homemade granola because I didn't like any of the flavors of the non non-fat yogurts. Unfortunately, sugar was near the top of the ingredients list, presumably to hide the flavor of all the chemicals added to approximate the texture of a full-(or, at least, low-)fat yogurt. All things in moderation, darling. Just don't pour cups full of full-fat dressing on your salad or eat an entire dozen cookies. Enjoy your food, just don't eat so much of it. And if you do, just do what I do when I think of oysters. Just kidding.

Inyo, Ferndale, Michigan

When I first saw the signs heralding the arrival of Inyo, a new, Pan-Asian eatery along Ferndale's Woodward corridor, I asked myself if this city could sustain yet another Asian restaurant. With two Chinese takeouts, two Thai restaurants, two sushi bars, and one Indian restaurant, could this town really stand to have another join the plethora of Asian eateries near the intersection of 9 Mile and Woodward? If the food is good, I guess it doesn't hurt.

After a four-day weekend traveling along the northern Michigan coast, Todd and I decided to ease out of our holiday by having dinner at the latest addition to Ferndale's food scene. Inyo is primarily a sushi bar, but with a fair selection of salads, appetizers, and entrees for those who don't care to partake in the standard offering of sashimi, nigiri, and maki. In fact, with the actual sushi bar tucked into the back of the restaurant, you could almost forget that it's there.

The place is pretty stylish, compared to the rest of its counterparts in the neighborhood. Dark, tiled floors, stark-white light fixtures, and red, muralled walls create a modern feel that outdoes the other aforementioned establishments. The curved cocktail bar facing Woodward Avenue is set aflame at night, giving the place even more visual interest. It gets a minus point, however, for the blonde woman at the door wearing a kimono. A little over the top, and borderline tacky.

In addition to a wide selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, Inyo's menu features dishes primarily of the Japanese-Korean-Chinese variety. Not exactly the "Pan-Asian" seletion I was expecting, but acceptable. Soups include the standby Miso and Hot-and-Sour, while Appetizers run the gamut from panko-encrusted oysters to chicken lettuce wraps. The entree menu features a wide variety of seafood dishes (the evening's special was fresh grouper, prepared steamed, fried, or sauteed), as well as poultry and meat dishes, including Chicken Katsu (panko-encrusted chicken cutlet) and Beef Karubi (a.k.a. Kalbi, the Korean-style marinated short ribs).

Not feeling up for a full entree, I opted for a couple of appetizers as my dinner: Pan-fried Ebi (Shrimp) Gyoza and Panko-encrusted Calamari. Unfortunately, the kitchen was out of the gyoza, so our server suggested the Chicken Spring Roll in its place. Served with a cherry-dipping ginger sauce, the spring roll was light and crispy, and filled with shredded chicken instead of the typical ground chicken. The calamari were likewise crisp and tender, and served with a side of sweet chili condiment. In a rare move, Todd ordered two rolls: a Shrimp Tempura Roll and Spicy Scallop Roll. Each was full of flavor and, unlike the rolls across the street at Sakana, these were substantial in size. While I would never consider myself a sushi expert, these were satisfyingly tasty, if not necessarily authentic. Todd and I paired our dinners with glasses from the wine list, a petit Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, respectively.

At the end of our dinner, we were offered the option of two desserts, which we declined: Mango Custard and Tiramisu. Why an Asian restaurant would have Tiramisu on its menu, I can not understand, but along with the kimono lady garners the place another minus point. In the end, the bill came to $55 for two, inclusive of wine.

As Downtown Ferndale's newest restaurant, Inyo hardly fills a void as far as variety is concerned. I can't really fault the restaurant, as much as our city planners for allowing another Asian restaurant onto the scene. I should be grateful, I guess, that it occupies one of the handful of empty storefronts downtown. As far as the food goes, however, Inyo does a decent job--it's fresh, flavorful, and full of variety.