Chad Forces His Cruise Friend Leisa to Eat Raw Meat [Photos]

Here's one thing you likely know about me or at least need to know if you didn't already.  I love adventure.  Of all kinds.  I love to travel, try crazy things (some death-defying) and sample all sorts of wacky, potentially stomach-churning foods.  And, here's another thing you need to know.  If you travel with me, the odds are in your favor that you're gonna be trying a whole bunch of wacky stuff too.  Just ask my friend Leisa, who just went with me on an 8-night cruise in the Southern Caribbean.  Every night at dinner, I found the most bizarre item on the menu and tried it.  Then, I made Leisa try it too.  And thank goodness I had my camera along for the ride because THIS is what happened when Leisa met carpaccio.

Carpaccio is essentially raw meat.  It can be beef, venison, tuna, salmon . . . whatever.  I happen to love beef carpaccio and eat it any time I get the chance.  Yes, it is RAW.  It's blood red, but thinly sliced and pounded out and typically seasoned with garlic, salt, olive oil, take your pick.  Leisa had never tried it.  Well, until about a week ago when it popped up on the appetizer menu aboard the Carnival Freedom.  Here's her first impression . . .

Now, I will admit.  That piece of raw meat looks pretty gnarly stabbed by the prongs of her fork . . . but, try it, Mikey!  It's delicious. I promise.

Now, get a grip, Leisa!  There is more blood draining out of your face than dripping off that bite of meat. EAT IT!!!

After all the intense observation and her biology class-inspired dissection of her serving, Leisa finally opened wide and took a bite of carpaccio.  And THIS was her reaction . . .

Well, that went well, didn't it??  And after Leisa spat the carpaccio out of her mouth and onto her plate, she struggled for a few minutes to regain her culinary "center."

What I unfortunately don't have a photo of (because I was laughing so hysterically I was crying at the dinner table) is Leisa scraping her tongue clean with a slice of cucumber.  I kid you not!!  She was literally rubbing a cucumber all over her tongue to kill the taste of the carpaccio!  Who knew the cucumber had so many medicinal properties.  We know a couple of slices over your eyeballs during a nap can reduce crow's feet.  But a slice scraped across your tongue like a Brillo Pad can apparently instantly refresh your taste buds . . . sort of like sniffing a jar full of coffee beans after trying a fragrance.

But I will say this.  Leisa was a GREAT sport!  Here's her play-by-play . . .

Leisa tried everything I asked her to on the trip.  Some were hits . . . like the conch fritters we ate in Nassau.  Yes!  She ate some deep-fried meat from the guts of a seashell Sally sold by the seashore.  Some, like the ill-fated beef carpaccio, were complete misses.  They missed Leisa's digestive system and ended back up on her plate.