8 Adventurous Foods to Try in the Bay Area, From Insects to Embryos

Tempted to step outside your culinary comfort zone and put a little thrill on your plate? For some, ingredients like insects and offal are irresistible delicacies; for others, they are strictly off-limits. From fried alligator bites to blood stew, these eight gastronomic rarities are edible adventures waiting to be discovered. Civet CoffeeKopi luwak, or civet coffee, is one of the world’s most expensive brews. When civets—small, catlike mammals native to Asia—eat ripe coffee cherries, the beans inside them pass through their digestive system. When they make it back out through the rear door, the beans are collected, cleaned, roasted, and brewed. Connoisseurs prize the finished coffee for the exceptionally smooth, mildly bitter cup it brews.Take the caffeine-fueled adventure at Kopi Kita in the Marina or pick up a bag of kopi luwak beans for home brewing from the Castro Coffee Company.// Kopi Kita, 1443 Lombard St. (Marina), beanekacoffee.com; Castro Coffee Company, 427 Castro St. (Cast