Foodsday Tuesday: Having a Forgy

I'll bet you thought I was going to write something about barbecues, in honor of the Fourth of July, right?

Wrong.

I already covered where and what to barbecue, and frankly, I don't like potato salad or cole slaw enough to come up with recipes to provide you with, because then, I'd have to try them. And we're giving pretty decent coverage to the Fourth of July on Phillyist, anyway. We're patriotic like that.

And to show what good patriots we are, I thought it only fitting to take this opportunity to express my First Amendment rights and write a food column about sex. Well, not really about sex. About foodgasms.

What is a foodgasm, you might ask? Well, as the name might indicate, that's when the food that you're eating is so good, it's practically orgasmic. Your toes curl up, your breath gets shallow. You may start to moan a little. Anyone who's ever had a foodgasm before knows what I'm talking about; anyone who hasn't, well, I'm sorry.

I had my first foodgasm several years ago at La Viola on 16th and Spruce. I had the vitello carcioffi. I would rather have spent the night with my plate of veal medallions than with my date. It was that good. Flash past a few dozen subsequent foodgasms (you should NOT have a foodgasm every time you eat - that's cheating) to last week at Vintage Wine Bar on 13th Street. My boyfriend ordered the fish special of the day: walu. This very healthy, light fish was served with grilled vegetables. And something that looked rather like a deep-fried blowfish. Upon breaking it open, we discovered it was filled with arborio rice and manchengo cheese - a sort of deep-fried risotto. He let me try a bite. It was honestly one of the best things I've ever had in my mouth. It's like the rice was making love to me, even at an estimated three thousand calories per bite. It made my (really very delicious) chicken roulade taste like Burger King.

After a foodgasm, it takes a little while for your taste buds to settle down again: foods that you ordinarily like quite a bit seem bland and flavorless, and the junk food that you find to be a guilty pleasure is completely unpalatable. It could be a matter of hours or a matter of days, depending on the intensity of your reaction. But eventually, you go back to eating as you usually do, always hoping your next foodgasm is right around the corner.

So, now that I've told you about a few of my local foodgasms, I'm hoping you'll tell me (and the rest of the Phillyist staff and readers) yours. What foods get you going? Where do you get them? Does the combination of champagne and strawberries do the trick for you? Did your lobster at Le Bec Fin nearly make you lose it? Is dark chocolate all it takes? Raw oysters? Leave a comment and let us know about your love affair with food - remember, it's your right!

Image via Flickr user Velo Steve.