The only thing out of those listed I would be interested in (ok - I would love to have) was the Garbage Plate. The rest was repulsive, to put it mildly.
Kaplods: although I am Canadian, I have never had poutine and I am not interested having it. But then again, I have never been an example of the mainstream. :-)
My husband has wanted to take a trip to Montreal ever since he saw Anthony Bourdain eating and reviewing poutine at the Au Pied du Cochon restaurant. My husband is already a cheese curd, cheese, and potato addict (and he likes gravy too), so poutine has a magical allure for him. I told him we could go when he's reduced his risk of heart attack enough through weight loss and getting his blood sugar and cholesterol under control to a point that I'm not afraid he'll pass out after one bite.
He's doing fairly well, so I imagine one day a trip to Montreal, and even poutine may be in our future (but it will never be on the regular menu).
I can't belive Poutine isn't on the list. Or the "horseshoe" sandwhich.
Poutine is canadian (Quebec, I think) a huge plate of french fries, cheese curd, and gravy (and sometimes other additions like the famous canadian chef who adds foie gras).
Yup, Poutine is "normal" here. Every restaurant has it, including fast food (McDondalds, Burger King, Wendy's etc) On combo's it cost like $1 more to upgrade your regular fries to poutine! Evil
Most of those OMG. Some of them are clearly trying to get into the Guinness book rather than on somebody's table (the mega-Oreo and the 7# burrito). I wouldn't mind a modest portion of the garbage plate though. And I've had Welsh rarebit (that's a traditional dish, not something somebody just made up as part of the never-ending quest to make the fattiest new state-fair/pub grub: how did that get in there?)
although I am Canadian, I have never had poutine and I am not interested having it. But then again, I have never been an example of the mainstream. :-)
I am Canadian too, and finally tried it this year. Man it was good. It's a good, good thing :-)
Denver can claim the burrito. Ever since DH saw the Man vs. Food episode that featured the joint that has that burrito, he threatens to go there one of these Sundays.
Kaplods: haha, horseshoes! Those originated in my hometown of Springfield, IL, and every time I go back home for Thanksgiving--I have to have one. I don't care how fattening it is... I love it! Once a year shouldn't be bad, huh?
Wow, finally a site with foods that seem too rich for me! I'd probably take a bite out of any one of them, but seriously, I don't think adding seventeen different kinds of animal products and then boiling it in oil is all that enticing.
I don't think eating anything once a year is a problem for any of us (unless we have scores of once a year treats, which means we're having something crazy almost every week).
If only my problem was eating "crazy stuff," it would be a lot easier to lose weight. I remember a doctor telling me I could lose a lot of weight, just by cutting out candy, cake, ice cream and other desserts (which I hardly ever eat). It's definitely "meal food," that's always been my problem, so the deep fried candy bars don't look all that tempting to me (that doesn't mean that if I was forced to take a bite, I wouldn't enjoy it - but my problem is portion control wit meal food like shepherd's pie, roast beef with carrots and potatoes, spaghetti in meatsauce and almost any ethnic food - especially chinese, indian, southeast asian.
I've had a couple of run-ins with some of the food there:
Garbage plate: My ex-roomie is from Utica, NY. We had it after a case of the worst Central NY beer that I can think of.
Poutine: In a bar next to McGill in Montreal. How are all of the women there so skinny when they are surrounded by one of the most fattening foods? I tried to give my leftover box to a street punk and he told me it was disgusting.
Horseshoe: I work in Central Il. Ugh.
What's interesting (or disturbing) is that I also made some weird concoctions as a way to get more calories into me. A limited sample:
-Nuke a quarter block of Monterey Jack cheese to eat with saltines.
-Eat an entire box of mac and cheese, with 3 hot dogs. You know, for protein.
-Dump more cookie dough into the cookie dough ice cream and slather it with chocolate syrup.
-Three-tiered grilled cheese sandwiches.
-Make a pie crust just to eat it. Why didn't I just grab the tub of crisco and go for it?
I remember a doctor telling me I could lose a lot of weight, just by cutting out candy, cake, ice cream and other desserts (which I hardly ever eat).
I had an little bitty 2lb. bag of sugar that I bought when I moved here 5 yrs ago. I threw away the 1.5 lb that was still left over last year. Even honey goes bad in my house.
I'm Canadian too, but I'm on the west coast, poutine is predominantly an east coast thing, it's not served anywhere here, well that I know of anyway... I lived on the east coast for a few years and I remember thinking poutine was the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen, fries with cheese curds? Who eats this? My boyfriend at the time loved it and even topped the gravy with ketchup, I thought he was out of his mind. Another big east coast fave is donairs, which is a heap of some kind of greasy meat cooked on a stick and then covered in a sweet sauce and served on a pita. That should probably make the list too! I have to admit though, I'd love a bite of that snickers pie!
-Eat an entire box of mac and cheese, with 3 hot dogs. You know, for protein.
I have to laugh because about once a year, DH and I will look at eachother and go, "you know what sounds good right now? Shells and cheese with hot dogs." And we have it. Sometimes it's fun to eat like a 4 year old
Anything desserty, I'd probably want to try. Anything meaty I'd like to sit out for.
I showed my boyfriend and he pretty much said he wanted everything.
We were watching the Travel Channel and I guess the official food of Uruguay is the chivito:
Guess who decided he wants to visit Uruguay!
I like how he looks now but I sometimes wish his eat-anything diet would backfire and put on a few lbs. He likes how he looks now too and I know he'd shape up his diet fast if he started gaining weight. Me, it takes many many lbs gained before I turn that horse around.
Those originated in my hometown of Springfield, IL, and every time I go back home for Thanksgiving--I have to have one. I don't care how fattening it is... I love it! Once a year shouldn't be bad, huh? 
