Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I second the list of fast food establishments by DaveFaris above.

I eat most anything (insects, organs, etc) as long as it's fresh or prepared well, with the exception of the sadly long list of animals that are endangered - pandas, tigers, elephants, snow leopards, bears, etc. Those I would have to refuse.

Taking your time and making things with love. A sharp knife. A chance to improvise on recipes. Having your ingredients prepped so you can enjoy some wine and time with your guests. Also, I try to introduce something new like a special cocktail or ingredient.

umeboshi paste. maybe one day....

Icing with way too much sugar. I'm usually the one scraping icing off of cake at parties.
Banana bread or cooked bananas (plantains don't count). I love bananas though.
Most corporate baked goods; you can taste the lack of love and care in them, and I can't remember ever reaching for carrageenan or sodium benzoate when baking.
Sugar-free anything. Sugar substitutes taste nasty.
Most fruitcakes. I'm bored with them.
Adult-sized slices of chocolate cake. I usually find it too rich to eat in large quantities. I love chocolate, I just prefer it in small doses.
Most donuts, except for cake donuts.
Crunchy cookies. Just not a fan of the texture.

Desserts that make me go meh:
Red velvet cake? I mean, it usually tastes OK (vaguely reminiscent of malted milk, like Wendy's frosties), but I always feel odd eating so much food coloring.
Sock-it-to-me/7-up/insert soda here cake. Common in Southern cooking, and almost always too sweet.

Re: buttercream icing: unless you had it on a homemade cake or cake from a wedding party, it probably wasn't made with real butter. 'Buttercream' icing made from vegetable shortening is pretty disgusting.

I'm surprised so many people here don't like tiramisu, but I've had my share of bad tiramisu. I'll second the cannoli though. Highly overrated and just not that tasty.

Any flavor of chiffon anything.

The sound of the dishwasher, followed by the pop of a wine bottle opening. That means the kitchen is clean and we're ready to go outside and relax on the deck by the lake.

thanks to PETA, i can now hear live crawfish screaming as they are dropped into boiling seasoned water. when the potatoes, corn and mushrooms join in, it is a wonderful sound.

Onions sizzling in a pan. The sound as they first hit the hot oil--wow! Of course, it could be the smell that aids the sense of hearing. ANything sizzling sounds good to me--such a great onomatopoetic word!