 5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. We all remember that first sip. It was probably Chardonnay and probably from your mother’s glass, and you probably gagged on the fermented wine and clamored back toward your juice box. “It’s an acquired taste," said mommy dearest. Well we hate to say it, but our parents were right - and we’ve acquired that taste quite well, thankyouverymuch. It should come to no surprise that your sense of taste changes as you get older. (Yup, we're looking at you neon hair scrunchies.) And for LeNell Smothers, what better time to reflect on such changes as your fortieth birthday? LeNell Smothers is a bona fide cocktail icon. She owned the liquor store, appropriately called LeNell’s, in Brooklyn, New York for over five years where it was recognized by GQ magazine as one of the "Best 50 Stores in America," by Whisky magazine as "US Retailer of the Year" and by New York magazine as "Best Liquor Store.” Unfortunately, she had to close shop in February 2009 after a landlord-lease kerfuffle. From there, she did what any tequila-toting girl should do: pack her bags and head to La Paz, Mexico - where she now runs the libation refuge, Casa Cóctel, with her fiancé, Demián Camacho Santa Ana. Ch-ch-ch-changes. They are a-coming. Five Things I Love at 40 That I Hated at 14: LeNell Smothers 2. Onions 3. Anise/licorice 4. Spinach 5. Booze and boys Did your taste preferences change as you got older? Love a food that you thought you hated? Share your mealtime metamorphoses in the comments. Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down. |
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I've also had the privilege of spending alittle time with LeNell back in redhook. She is a fun and honest person who might just send a well deserved little dose of truth about yourself your way. She looks great and knows how to channel her energy to make her day and your day worth living. I wish her the best in La Paz and hope to visit one day.
Didn't like mixed veggies at 14 and still don't like them now. But got a nice acquired taste for steak, wine and cigar.
All, if you're thinking the booze and boys bit is gross, you've never met the amazing LeNell. She likes to get a rise out of people This woman is an honest, straight shootin', fire(or rye rather) fueled, beautiful blessing. As someone who was a regular at her shop I must say "40 or not, it doesn't matter." I can certainly think of a more than a few times I'd wished to be stuck in an elevator with her.
Things I hated at 14 but like now: bell peppers, spinnach, mushrooms, zucchini/squash, diet drinks. Other tastes have changed as well... I used to only eat steak that was well done. And I mean ZERO pink. Now I'd prefer it rare to medium-rare, which completely grosses my parents out when I go visit them. Broccoli still makes me gag though. Some things never change.
Things I love at 50 that I hated at 15. Hmm, let's see... Forward, insinuating 30 year-old women. The smell of a good cigar. (I'm sure Bill Clinton would agree with me on the first two). Loitering on a lonely tropical beach with a bag full of sandwiches and nothing to do. Salsa and Mambo music. Old German cars previously owned by neat freaks or little old ladies. Bouncy little kids and dogs that howl. Cutting grass on a warm day. Mint Julep. Getting my cheeks squeezed by my aunts. Riding a bicycle in the rain. Being told by my elders to behave...
Hated all vegetables as a kid now I'm a vegetarian and LOVE all my vegees.
Loved boys and booze as a kid don't have any interest in either now.
Loved ice cream as a kid now it upsets my stomach
Loved sour candy (sweet and sour) as a kid don't like it now
eggplant
Couldn't stand Chesnuts, bluecheese and mustard. Love them now. On the other hand I used to like bologna. Hate it now with a passion.
When I first started drinking I only liked sweet drinks. Now the dryer the better.
Tastes do change.
I hated blue cheese growing up, but now I love it! Same with candied ginger.
Oh, and my mom used to bake slices of eggplant in a buttered casserole dish and broil sharp chedder cheese on top. I hated that mess and can't believe she ever cooked it. Today I love chedder cheese, the sharper the better, but I still hate an eggplant.
Hated mushrooms, cooked or fresh when I was a kid. Love 'em all now.
I still hate licorice, always have. Can't stand mustard, pickles, sauerkraut, never could, will never change.
Only thing i can think of that I didn't like at 14 but love at 58 is cheese! For some reason I couldn't stand it as a child and young teenager. Discovered pizza when I was 16 and that changed.
I love BBQ sauce enough that I dip a lot of foods in it, but when I was a kid, my mother made BBQ chicken, and I didn't like the sauce to the point my mother literally washed it off my piece, dried it off, and gave it back. For many a BBQ chicken dinner, I had the rogue non-BBQ chicken leg. I think it was when I dipped Chicken McNuggets into BBQ sauce for the first time, ate it...and actually liked it did I begin my about face towards being a BBQ fanatic.
I like my men bi and my drinks stiff
Wow. You can actually get paid for writing drivel like this? Amazing.
40? Yeah, right! She looks like one of those women who stops counting at 40 and starts celebrating the "anniversary" of her 40th birthday. I'm guessing she's on her 10th or 11th "anniversary" by now.
'5 things I loved at 14 but (would) hate at age 39':
1. Drinking
2. Coke
3. not knowing the name of the guy next to me upon waking up
3.Blackouts
5. Food
That slab of marbleized dead bovine on the 'eatocracy' banner is pretty offensive, and unbecoming of a lady.
That's not marbelized bovine in the Eatocracy banner... it's chocolate cake frosting!
Booze and boys count as one thing?
Wondered about that one myself...
I'm with her except for black jelly beans. I couldn't eat peas or onions as a child and now can imagine a meal without onions. As a kid spinach was the worst and I would cry and stay in that chair rather than choke down that heinous slop. As a parent I feel pretty successful with my kids taste buds. My oldest is vegetarian (making my life a challenge by having to cook two meals nightly) but all my kids were introduced to interesting foods at a young age so to this day they love chinese, indian and thai food. They will also eat brussel sprouts, beets, kohlrabi and sweet potatoes. On a regular basis this gives me pleasure that my family loves to eat good food.
Well, it's been about 30 years...maybe I should give liver another try?
As a child, I utterly *hated* squash. Now as an adult I love it.
Then, this past Thanksgiving, I went home to visit the parents... and my mother made squash. *blech!* It turns out it was my mothers recipe I had hated...
I never went near salad until recently–now it's growing on me.
You should have that looked at...
by who? A gardener or a doctor......?
Things I hated as a kid but love now: liver, chili, mushrooms, most veggies. I was a very picky eater. But then I grew up and started cooking for myself. Now I love most everything. I have to say, I prefer steaming fresh vegetables and I don't like it when I have to resort to canned or frozen. I hate Lima beans, but will eat them in company if I must. For all of you Brussel sprout haters, there was a good recipe shared earlier, but it's really very simple. Take about a dozen small to medium sprouts, cut off the ends, let the tough outer leaves fall away, cut in half, place in microwave dish, add about 1/4 inch water, steam for 6 minutes. NO MORE. They will come out fresh and green and crispy and will be a revelation. A little dab of real butter makes them irresistible. But! I have to cook them while my husband is at work...he hates them and won't even give them a try. LOL
"I was a good girl, believe it or not, and didn't dabble in the double devilish combo of booze and boys as a teen."
Pah...liar!
There are only few things I have hated since childhood and probabaly always will:
licorice (It used to be only black but now it is all. The smell of Twizzler's makes me want to vomit)
olives
mushrooms (I try to like them, but I just can't)
When I was younger, I did like cinnamon, but after an unfortunate Cinabon/air sickness experience I now despise cinnamon. The smell, the taste; everything. It makes me shudder. It is only tolerable when mixed/masked with a lot of sugar- like on a churro. I have hated it for over 10 years now, and I think I always will. I also, weirdly enough, like meat less and less as I get older. I was a huge carnivore as a kid.
I still don't like raw tomatoes(unless they're in salsa/pico/pasta sauce/bruschetta), and I can only just tolerate bananas, sliced bread(any kind), and lima beans
Black olives.....hated them as a kid, hate them now, will always hate them.
Here's one for the "I still hate" category for a lot of people. Ask 100 people if they like anchovies. 95 will say " I hate them"... Then ask the 95 if they have ever tried them.. 90 will say " no, but they are really salty, right?".. All I can say is if you like fish you will like them, and if you order your half of the pizza with anchovies, you don't have to worry about anyone horning in on your share!
Am I the only one who was bored to death with this article?
Apparently.....
I think at 40 you could have left out the last part....
But since you brought it up...you are looking a little rough for 40 – a little botox should be added to your diet since you skipped the skin saving veggies.
True...guess she's a nightclubbin' cougar. The lines don't show in the dark but turn on the lights and I would have guessed at least 50.
Aaaaand who asked you, exactly, to play arbiter of feminine beauty? If you are suggesting that a truly gorgeous woman like LeNell should shoot her lovely face full of botulism to look what you think 40 ought to look like, you clearly haven't seen an actual flesh and blood woman in a long time. Stick to your online and magazine fantasies – she looks like the real, super-hottie deal.
Yes, we are suggesting actually -though never thought she was that bad – but she definately asks for it by going from veggies to "booz and boys" – kind of gross in this article – and the botulism would definately help her lifestyle. And she definatley does not fit the new 40 outside of the magazine – and ohh, this is an online magazine so she probably already had a little photoshop added.
for those of you who hate brussel sprouts,steam or roast in oven with olive oil,fry few slices of bacon till crisp,crumble and drain on paper towel,in bacon grease saute 2-3 shallots,drain on paper towel also. toss together,enjoy.
And please buy the small ones if possible. The big ones take too long to cook and they're awkward to eat.
"Absinthe is a regular part of our lives." made me bust up laughing. Ooooh, wow.
i hated bleu or Roquefort cheese with a passion. Thought it was disgusting. Now love it!
Hated as a child and still hate today (but can choose not to eat): Liver, peppers, beets, brussel sprouts, blueberrys, coffee
Hated as a child and love today: Sour Cream, Horseradish, Cooked Onions
Not that anyone cares.....
I have never been able to enjoy fresh blueberries straight like other berries, but I like them cooked in cobblers and muffins.
food tastes better with your legs shut.
no one wants to hear about your sexual habits.
I don't know...pretty much all the things I truly "hated" at 14 (anchovies, prune juice, mean people, crude jerks, teasers/harassers, war, wanton violence, getting pricked by rose bushes or bitten by animals, snow over my ankles, icy roads, fish flies, black flies,enemas, cigarette/cigar smoke, angry people, road rage–scary!, and horshradish) I still hate. Guess I was either mature at a young age, or rigid in older years.
I am the complete opposite. I loved EVERYTHING when I was a child which explains why I was such a fat, I mean big-boned girl. I especially loved sour cream and would eat sour cream potato chips almost every day. Now, I can't stand sour cream whatsoever. I've actually become a very picky eater which has helped me go from big-boned to healthy. Then again I always seem to do everything backwards-lol.
How about pecan pie? Hated it as a kid but its now one of my favorites. Anyone remeber space sticks? Loved them as a kid and wish they still made them.
At age 9 I hated girls. At age 10 I was indifferent. Now I can't get enough of them :P
I have always loved tomatos and licorice. I still hate Onions and Spinach. One thing i used to love but cant stand now is Beats. For some reason they taste like dirt to me. ONe food I now enjoy that I used to hate is Brussel Sprouts Thats probably because my mom would always over cook them when I was a kid. Now I steam them in their own juces in a solar oven. add alittle crushed garlic and light drizzle of real unsalted butter and I could eat them three meals a day.
Things I use to hate and now love: onions peppers, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, grapes, certain cheeses, brisket, clams & mussels, scallops, sushi, dark meat chicken, beer. While I don't love shrimp, I can now tolerate it. I loved hamburgers as a kid, then through my teen years and college I lost a taste for them. Now I love hamburgers again.
Things I used to love an now hate: Milk, chocolate ice cream, white bread, bologna
Things I used to hate, still hate, and will always hate: peanut butter
Luckily, I grew up with large gardens, so most veggies were and still are favorites. Things that grossed me out as a kid but have definite allure to my adult taste buds: swiss cheese, mushrooms, avocados and whipped cream. Still can't stand canned tuna or fresh trout.
I hated pretty much any kind of seafood: shrimp, lobster, crab, etc. Now, I can't get enough. Long live Red Lobster Endless Shrimp!!
Also, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and dark chocolate.
Hated then, but love now: Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach (or any other dark leafy green), squash, beets.
Hated then, hated now: Liver, kidneys, any other offal. Also, didn't like asparagus then and still don't care for it but will eat it.
She is 40 and she likes boys ? a little creepy if you ask me..
I still don't like chardonnay. It tastes like vomit to me. I've had good ones, but I just don't like the taste. Same goes for a lot of liquor and beer, really. They just taste awful. I'm perfectly happy to DD.
Love tomatoes, dislike anise (the seeds in sausage annoy me) and licorice, and I can't stand the texture of raw or semi-raw onions. Spinach can be OK, I try to mix it in things because it's good for me.
My father was extremely coddled as a child and not forced to try anything. He didn't try his first strawberry til I was 12. My mother sort of had to cook towards what he would eat, so while she tried to expand our palates, her efforts were limited. "Daddy doesn't like it" was a good excuse for not trying new things, although occasionally we were blackmailed into it. ("You can't keep taking lessons unless you try liver and onions!" I vomited it on the table.)
Oddly, my mother hates the smell of garlic, and barely tolerates the smell of cooking onions. I use those in a lot of foods, so I have to swap it up when she comes over. Or, if she's been annoying me, I suggest she goes to the mall and throw some garlic in olive oil for motivation. ;)
She looks closer to 50 than 40. Bad photo I guess but why would they use it?
I've seen hotter 60-somethings. She shoulda eaten all her beans, Huh-Huh.
There were a lot of things I didn't like as a kid. Hated a lot of veggies, and refused to eat mushrooms. Rawarrots were ok, as were carmelized onions. Today I eat tons of vegetables, and I can't get enough mushrooms! Tomatoes, spinach, peppers, just about anything you put in front of me. Dislikes I've not grown out of include peas, cherries and strawberries. I've still not acquired a taste for wines or beers, although I've been using alcoholic ingredients in cooking since I was 12 (rum, kaluha, white wine, etc) and like it when it's part of a recipe for a dessert or sauce.
Now when I go out, I get just about every vegetable available on my orders... pile 'em on!
I liked all that stuff as a kid except Anise/Licorice, and Booze, and I still hate both! Blech!
My tastes have 100% changed.. I would NEVER eat seafood, spinich, brousal sprouts, onions or peppers... I could never get enough of pickles or black olives... and I too hated black licorice..
Now, I eat seafood for 30-40% of my food, devour all the above veggies, but I loathe pickles and olives now! AND i LOVE LOVE LOVE Ouso!
Ah yes... you've managed to name a couple I still don't like... Burssels Sprouts and pickles.
things I loved at 14 but find disgusting now: hamburgers, pizza pockets, corn dogs, cookie dough, and kent 100's ciggarettes
When I was a kid I put food into strict categories. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, those were only to be eaten in the morning. My parents would fix "breakfast" foods at night and I thought it was child abuse. It's been forty-six years since I graduated from high school and since I passed thirty I've loved having things like waffles for supper.
Three things I still don't like - bananas, okra and eggplant. I guess I was lucky that I had a mom who is a great cook and introduced me to a variety of food, including fresh fruits and veggies.
and the opposite happens to... loved tuna as a kid, can't even stand the smell of it now. Loved sweets as a kid, hate them now.
Heck yeah you need booze now. You need something to warp the judgement of those boys who wouldn't touch you if they were sober.
Onions. Spinach. Lettuce. Garlic. HATED them as a kid, hated them until I was 32, and in the middle of my third pregnancy. For some reason, CRAVED sauteed onions. Now, I put onions in everything, and have learned how to make everything better with Garlic.
No I have discovered it wasn't really lettuce that I hated, just Iceberg. Give me a leafy, green, weedy looking thing and I am happy. Especially if fresh spinach, onions, and garlic are thrown in!!
I've always loved oysters....but hated them cooked in oyster stew...I would rather eat them raw! I absolutely love fried okra, but gag at the thought of stewed okra!!! The smell of a rutabaga used to turn my stomach, but now I love that sweet turnip. Always hated licorice and I still do, along with winter mint gum or mints. yuk Give me spearmint any day!!! Also used to love my steaks well done, now Iove a filet med/rare!!! I'm hungry now....going to the kitchen!
Im 20, and I can already see a lot of this happening to me as well. I DESPISED tomatoes, but now I'm phasing them in, and find them quite delicious in salad or in the right recipe. Same goes for a lot of other veggies. Unfortunately, I still hate all seafood and peppers. I hope I can learn to love fish because it is so good for you.
Stuff ive always loved that has intentified- mushrooms!
I used to love boogers, but now I at age 40 I only partake on a freezing cold day when they run into my tongue.
lol!!!
OK, you win the gross-out prize.....(hate to think what it ought to be...)
I can't say spinach because I've always loved that. (Popeye was my role-model in pre-school) but asparagus went from the loathe to love category. I'm afraid to say no amount of age will improve Brussels Sprouts
Yeah, I've really, really tried to love Brussells, but can't seem to find the right recipe. I keep expecting them to taste like cabbage, but they are just too bitter.
well steamed and DRENCHED in butter they can be fabulous.......(trust me on this one!)
I still hate licorice and anise.
Hated olives, all beans, artichokes, bread stuffing, and most pie. Now, I love them all.
I hated cheese as a kid except on pizza lol.. Didnt like beer either.. Or Mexican food other than plain soft tacos from taco bell ha. Besides that, I was never a picky eater.. I looove all my veggie. Now, Mexican food (the real stuff my novio cooks) is my fav & I love a good cold beer & cheease!
What is fasolia?
I didn't like olives, now I do. I also wouldn't eat cooked carrots simply because my older sister hated them. Now I like them, usually mixed with other veggies.
I also didn't like tomato sauce for some reason, which is odd because I'm Italian. Now I love it, and get rave reviews on the various versions I concoct.
Strangely, I liked canned spinach! Especially with canned mushrooms.
I strongly prefer making a saute with the fresh stuff, but keep cans on hand for when I'm in a pinch or get a craving for the stuff!
Fasolia is a Greek giant lima bean stew with onions & mystery meat. It's a winter staple & you get sick of it really fast. As good as summer food is there, this is the balancing side. Mealy beans not well spiced. They eat by what is fresh and in season. When nothing is, you get fasolia. Replace "Peas porridge hot . . . " with fasolia.
Greek summer tomatoes are to die for as are kalamta olives and barbounia (small red mullet saute'd in olive oil).
corduroy pants !
They're not bad with enough pepper.
touche
I still won't eat lima beans or fasolia. I hated eggplant but love it now. I like bacon then but crave it now. I loved tomatoes (home grown), then hated them (shippers) and now love them again (heritage). I liked wine & girls at 14 (I'm a guy) & still do but now I've added good beer & Jack (neat). Jack with Coke is a waste of good liquor.
I was a very picky eater when I was a kid. But being a bachelor changed that rather quickly. Now I'll eat (or at least try) almost anything. I just found out two days ago that I hate Valdeon cheese – it was the first time in years I threw something away because I couldn't stand the taste of it.
As I've grown as a home chef, I've realized that it was not necessarily the foods that my mom cooked that I did not like. It was more likely the bland, boring ways in which she cooked those foods! I used to think I hated mushrooms, but as a child a mushroom was a rubber thing that came from a jar. As an adult, mushrooms are fresh, delicious ingredients – and each type of mushroom has its own flavors and textures that actually taste really good! But I still don't like beets, brussel sprouts, and lima beans! Although I've heard roasting beets and brussel sprouts brings out a natural sweetness that I will eventually try for myself.
Same! I gave up red meat as a kid because it was the only way to get out of eating my mom's meatloaf. I only recently realize that I love green beans, carrots, and broccoli when they don't go from the freezer to a bowl full of butter. I love her, but cooking is not her strong point. Unfortunately, I inherited her cooking skills.
I hated anything my mother cooked, and I use that term loosely. Peas, olives, cooked green beans, brocolli (sp), spicy stuff, now love them all. never got used to coliflower (sp), asparagus, and other funky southern greens. I used to love sweets, but not so much anymore. Love martinis, way too much.
Asparagus & cauliflower (and the beloved artichoke) are Western veggies. Black eye peas, okra & collards are Southern.
I LOVED the taste of mint as a kid. I hate it now. Other than that, my tastes have not changed. I didn't like beer or wine then and still don't.
I hated lima beans as a kid. Always picked them out of my Campbell's vegetable soup. Now the only veggie I cannot abide is okra. I would rather starve than eat okra.
At the age of 24 I only enjoy Onions and the occasional tomato. I despise Anise and spinach. Not a fan of booze, my 21st birthday was a dry one. By choice at that too. I discovered boys in high school. Fun times in the locker room, it was a rush to get out before my eyes wandered. I was a bit of a closet case and viewed the locker room as hostile territory.
I'm trying to figure out whether you are male or female...
either way, over sharing
I don't see how that's an overshare. Adolescence is awkward. That's all I got from that. Nothing gross about that story unless you're a homophobe.
Gently steam fresh spinach & sprinkle on just a tad of raspberry vinegar & sea salt (my kids' favorite) or saute' it in a bit of bacon drippings (mine).
I like her style!
I would not eat licorice as a child. As an adult I will not eat licorice, anise, fennel, or drink ouzo. Some tastes stay the same and even intensify!
But I now like breakfast sausage, brussels sprouts and beets.
I'm the opposite. I like licorice now, and still hate brussel sprouts and beets.
I agree with the author, although I enjoy fresh or even fresh steamed spinach, I will not eat the canned. I simply cannot see how any adult would not like onions. My husband still won't eat them unless they are chopped very small.
A boarding house I lived in in my late teens served "vegetable plate' on Fridays in the summer. Overcooked broccoli and spinach around a runny poached egg. Couldn't eat any of hte three for a long time. Love the veggies now (properly cooked) but still struggle with the egg. Thank God for Hollandaise sauce!!!
I loved licorice flavors as a child. I still like them, but in moderation: they're a bit overpowering in large amounts now.
Why is anyone moving TO Mexico these days? Crazy!
It was for love. Can't think of a better reason than that.
Mexico rocks, love it every time I am there.
I knew somebody who moved to Mexico. They returned his body two weeks later.
I *heart* LeNell. Miss her in this town, can't wait to go visit her in Mexico.
I'd have to agree with tomatoes, which I still only like roma from the store, but anything from a farmer's market. And I totally agree with #5.
Mushroooms...I used to hate them as a child. Now I love them.
Loved them as a teenager but just lost interest by @ age 25.
Gotta be fresh mushrooms not the little rubbery ones in jars....detested the rubber ones as a kid and still do. Can eat the biggish fresh ones like an apple nowadays.
#5 for me too, except my Dad always let us have a sip of his beer and I rather enjoyed it, even if it was PBR. I like the finer beers now. If I'm going to drink, I want it to have some good flavor.
p.s. I still won't eat winter squash.
I would like to hit that.
Your a little late. Got beat by a GIRL! I hang my head in shame and despair. I need a supercomputer.
Welcome to my world when on the train.
Nice job Tazer.
I'll pass on that
Yup... bet it was nice at 21...
THAT'S my girl! Miss you, hon!
i'd hit that
YEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
only after ive been hammered w/ a full gallon of w/e hard stuff shes got lying around
???? oh well...onward with the topic. '5 things I loved at 14 but (would) hate at age 39':
1. Drinking
2. Coke
3. not knowing the name of the guy next to me upon waking up
3.Blackouts
5. Food
I believe I have been snookered!
Well played even for West Coast time.
I play to win, what can I say.
I believe I can't be the only person who thinks she looks a little old for age 40...
I'd hit it twice!
>a straight male, the other endangered species<
Hardly unless your looking for love in West Hollywood. Dimwits: a decidedly non-endagered species.
now thats not a nice christian!!!!! marriage b4 boys!!!
Ha ha, funny. I'd hit it too!
i wish she would smother my face with her....