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Sorry Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill is "his" take on the cuisine)but Mexican food is the worst. Been all over Mexico. Oaxaca has excellent fresh seafood and veg but cook it yourself. Some regional salsas are good. Give me Asian & South Asian hot sauces any day. At Thai places I ask for no cilantro or parsley instead. Like you, Dave Farris, cilantro tastes exactly like soap. You're the first person I've heard(so far) who also gets that gross, soapy aftertaste. A Lao cooking intructor said that about 3% of people eating cilantro hate it. Something about sensitive taste buds. Do you have a very sensitive nose, too???

I didn't mean anything derisive by it. I just wanted to point out (to myself, mostly) that it shouldn't be surprising to find a high proportion of people who are unable to enjoy cilantro (and apparently it's a really foul taste for them) converging in a thread about food aversions.

Ie., if you're genetically predisposed to have a strong distaste for a flavour, and have experienced that distaste featured prominently in popular cuisines (Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, etc), then sure, you may also have an interest in a thread on foods people dont like: you've had a real experience of it.

What's so wrong about that connection?

From what I've heard, this cilantro=soap thing is really strong. It was mystifying to me when I first met people who had this aversion (and I didn't know it had some physiological root). I can't think of another food/taste that, when disliked, is disliked with such intensity.

anything with monkey brain

Surprised no one has mentioned that the cilantro=soap thing is believed to be the result of an enzyme (not any supertasting abilities). I think it's more than 3%, of the population, but still a minority. I love the stuff.

Then again, shouldn't be surprised to find a lot of soap-tasters in a thread about hating food.

I have a tough time finding something I really want to eat on a German menu. The side dishes are good though.

I can't think of a single cuisine that I can't stand - I always manage to find something I like, no matter where I am, or what sort of restaurant it is. Then again, I'm also part of the cilantro lover's contingent. ;}

I would say, though, that I strongly object to a lot of the Americanization of cultural foods that are passed off as authentic here. It's difficult explaining to friends that Chinese food, or Italian food, or any number of other cuisines, taste completely different in the U.S. than they do in their country of origin.

The only food I don't like is the food I can't eat ;}

I have a tendency to dislike German food. The exception is their desserts!!! Just not a fan of all that sausage and potatoes and creamy stuff.