Upside Down but Rightside Up

Odd food combinations that could kill you, while tasting great.

1. Goat-cheese stuffed Corn Bread - 202
Who knew? Who knew? Such an awesome combination and yet this weekend was the first time I had ever come across it. Corn bread by itself is awesome and goat cheese...you know what I think about goat cheese. Put them together...mmm.

2. Bacon Chocolate Bars - Vosges
Don't gag. Don't vomit. Give it a chance. I read about it in a magazine and knew I had to try it. It's definitely different, but it works. Think salted caramel with chocolate with a little meat thrown in. Words can't describe it well, so go try it out.

3. Bagel Dogs - Auntie Anne's
Taking unhealthy things at a fast food joint and making them unhealthier usually ends in vomitous diaster (think deep fried cheesecake or mac n cheese bites), but Auntie Anne really did well here. The bread is soft and buttery and the hot dog is, well, a hot dog. A perfect snack to chomp on while you walk around a mall.

4. Deep fried Hollandaise with Eggs Benedict - WD~50
Yeah, I know it sounds terrible, but Wylie Dufresne is quite the magician. I'm not a fan of eggs benedict but I ordered these anyway and was converted immediately. The entire dish looked unlike anything I had ever eaten before and the combination of the eggs and the bacon and the deep fried hollaindaise was almost perfect.

5. Pickle Sandwiches - home (not the restaurant)
Note: Pickle here doesn't refer to the little cucumbers preserved in brine but rather, Indian pickle. I refuse to explain what it is, so if you are curious, google it.
Pickle sandwiches are the ultimate snack. So tasty, so easy to make and yet...so unhealthy. Take two slices of nutrition-less soft white bread with a generous layer of oil-laden mango pickle in between them and you have a cardiologist's nightmare. And a hungry man's wet dream.

6. Bagel Rolls - every sushi place in Atlanta
The South has its way of asserting its influence on anything and everything. The Japanese came with their healthy raw fish and rice and the South said "Nay, we must maintain our gigantum waistlines" and invented the Bagel Roll. Rice rolled around a big chunk of cream cheese, a small piece of salmon, dipped in batter and deep fried. Two small pieces are more than I can take at a given meal and although they aren't spectacular, they're pretty good.

7. Frito Pie - Sonic or other places in the Souf
Another Southern Star. There's chilli which is loaded with calories even without the cheese that's added on top, but clearly the Southerners weren't happy with just that. No no no no no. The calorific content was not nearly high enough so they threw in Frito's with chilli and cheese and rolled it up in a lardy tortilla and gave birth to the Frito Pie. I could feel it clogging my arteries right away, but knew that if I died right there, it wouldn't be such a sad demise.

8. Meat Chips - KaDeWe Food Hall
The Germans might not have too many superstars in the culinary world but the creator of this is definitely an unsung hero. I shall therefore sing his praise. He's a genius. Whoever it was, he/she took two of the greatest things - meat and chips - and morphed them into one and created the Meat Chip. The Ultimate Snack. Health Schmealth, meat chips are awesome.

9. Cheesecake Lollipop Tree - David Burke Townhouse
Technically, this isn't an odd food combination because it's just cheesecake, but it's in the presentation. Everyone loves lollipops and everyone loves cheesecake so when I saw these on the menu I knew I had to try them. It's great cheesecake but the fact that it's presented as a tree makes you want to eat more and more. 5 minutes later you chide yourself for being greedy and stupid but then stop and savour the taste that's still in your mouth and smile contently.