Central New York Pasta Dish Has To Be Better Than Cow Head,Right?

Far be it for me to challenge anyone's idea of a delicacy. My pallet is rather unrefined afterall. So this is not about me, nor is it my opinion. This is about the people.

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TasteAtlas, a self-described “encyclopedia of traditional flavors”, has updated it’s user curated list of the top 50 worst dishes in the world and CNY residents might be shocked to find it includes one of our local favorites.

Yep, that’s right, Utica favorite Chicken Riggies currently stands at number 25 on TasteAtlas’ worst food ranking. Chicken Riggies are currently placed just after Raib—a Moroccan yogurt made with sweetener and flavored with a number of things like mint or a different syrups. Honestly, it sounds pretty tasty!

But just a few spots lower than Chicken Riggies on this list is a dish called Tete de veau. It’s a French meal and for those of you who didn’t take French in High School, allow me to translate the name: in English it is known as Calf’s Head. Because that’s just what it is, a calf’s head, boiled long enough for the flesh to become gelatinous and soft. But don’t worry! All that delicious brain and tongue doesn’t go to waste as it’s boiled separately and then the whole thing is sliced and served with veggies.

And Tete de veau isn’t the only cranial related dish on the list. Even i gotta admit, Chicken Riggies don’t sound so bad after that.

Now, just to be clear, TasteAtlas doesn’t condemn any of these dishes. Each dish description includes a nice write up about the food that is full of information about the meal and the history behind it’s creation. Each food is ranked based on the site’s user ratings. Chicken Riggies, Raib, and Tete de veau all have a 2.5 star rating on the website.