We asked our staff, “What’s the most unusual food you have ever eaten?” Find out which foods made us say “Oh ghee!” in this month’s Staff Sound-Off.

I ordered black squid ink pasta in Nice, France, and it was awful.

— Mac Lacy, Publisher

Alligator — I don’t go too far off the beaten path.

— Telisa Rech, Advertising Sales Manager

Real Mexican food in Mexico — it’s not like Kentucky Mexican restaurants.

— Sarah Sechrist, Controller

While it’s not that unusual to me, I think tofurky [a tofu turkey substitute] would probably weird other people out the most.

— Rachel Crick, Associate Editor & Project Manager

Elk heart. My dad’s a hunter, and we ate elk heart for dinner one night. It was not my favorite.

— Donia Simmons, Creative Director

I’m a pretty adventurous eater, so most of what I eat would probably qualify as “unusual” to most people. I’d wager the most unusual — and not part of my regular menu choices — would probably be black bear sausages or marinated silkworms.

— Ashley Ricks, Print & Digital Publishing Manager

I sampled a strange meat off a family-style dinner plate in China. It wasn’t until after I had swallowed it that my hosts told me it was ox heart. I didn’t have another piece.

— Brian Jewell, VP & Executive Editor

While visiting a gracious host in Vietnam, I was served a traditional soup featuring congealed cow’s blood. I smiled, nodded, and sipped.… while my inner voice screamed, “You are going to regret this!” Surprisingly, it was rich, earthy, and humbling — a reminder that true hospitality often begins where your comfort zone ends.

— Ashley DeLucia, Advertising Sales Manager

The most unusual food I have ever eaten is alligator tail. While on an Everglades tour in southern Florida, we were served alligator tail, and it was tremendous.

— Brady Wine, Sales Coordinator