The Blast Writers Reveal What Their Last Meal Would Be!

We've all probably thought about it at one time or another. Whether it has come up in conversation with friends, or you just finished watching a true crime doc that got your wheels turning, the question "What would your last meal be?" is always interesting to say the least! So, here at The Blast we asked some of our writers what their last meal would be if they could choose. Here's what everyone decided to munch on...

Melanie VanDerveer

If I had a choice for my last meal, it would most definitely be Mexican food. But not just any Mexican food; it must be authentic. Living on the west coast for a good part of my life, I know what authentic Mexican tastes like. I’m not at all saying you can’t find authentic on the east coast, but it’s not as easy.

To narrow it down to just one meal is tough, but here we go. Chicken enchiladas, rice, street corn, and homemade guacamole and salsa would be my MUST HAVES.

If the choice is between homemade or at a restaurant, I’m not cooking my last meal. No way! (I don’t cook most meals, so why start at the end of my life?) There are two restaurants not far from me that top my list - Mesa Modern Mexican in Easton, Pennsylvania and Cafe Habana in New York City. Cafe Habana has the BEST street corn I’ve ever had. Mesa has the best guacamole and salsa! If I could combine the two restaurants for my last meal, that would be the best way to go.

Let’s talk about the street corn. The first time I tried it, I was skeptical. I never had street corn anywhere before, but I was told that Cafe Habana has the best, so I decided to just try it out. And oh my…life hasn’t been the same since. I’ve tried street corn anywhere I could find it after that first time and I haven’t been blown away by any of it other than Cafe Habana, and of course, Mesa.

Mesa’s guacamole and salsa are good enough to just eat with a spoon, no joke! Anytime I go to Mesa with my friends, we get the guacamole and tear it up! Because I know I’m going to eat tons of that and the salsa (because it’s good enough to literally drink), my order is usually just street corn, guacamole and chips and salsa. Oh, and let’s not forget the margaritas. Their margaritas are so good you can really forget there’s alcohol in it. They go down way too smoothly.

I think I probably could eat Mexican food every day and never ever get tired of it. For the longest time, I tried to convince my kids we were part Mexican so I could justify why we eat Mexican food so much but they called my bluff. My oldest son actually bought me an Ancestry.com test for Mother’s Day years ago just so I would stop saying we are Mexican. (And yes, he got his wish because I’m full European - Hungarian, German, British, and a touch of Indian.)

Favour Adegoke

I have two distinct meals in mind. One would have to be something new. A meal I've never had but I've been dying to try. The other needs to be something familiar; a hearty meal that reminds me of my childhood. You can't leave this world without a taste of home on your tongue.

For something new, it would have to be, wait for it… Lasagna.

This thick-looking and cheesy Italian dish has been stuck in my mind since I was a little girl watching the cartoon, "Garfield and Friends." That lazy orange cat would not let an episode go by without consuming a piece of Lasagna, and it has always left me wondering, "How good does this actually taste?"

I've tried to make one myself, with YouTube as my guide, but it turned out bad. So, it would need to be prepared for me by someone who knows the right cheese and pasta and the exact number of layers needed to make the perfect Lasagna. It is my last meal on earth; don't I deserve such special treatment?

For my other meal, something familiar, the only thing that comes to mind is a well-made, hot plate of Jollof rice. This meal is the most popular dish in Nigeria (and Africa at large) and one that we argue over a lot about the best recipe.

Jollof rice is basically rice cooked in a thick tomato broth that has been flavored and mixed with beef or chicken stock. For Nigerian Jollof specifically, there must be curry spices and a notable amount of pepper for some heat.

Since it's my final meal, it MUST be prepared using the most hectic method; In a large pot that sits on top of firewood. This process is so the smoke from the burning wood is infused in the rice while cooking to give it a unique, smokey flavor.

So, there you have it, a slice of Lasagna to satisfy an insane craving I've had for the longest time, and a plate of Jollof rice, to send me off this earth with a smile.

Russ Weakland

When I get stuff to eat for breakfast, lunch and or dinner, or anywhere in between. I am sure I am like anyone else and always try to seek the best option for whatever I am craving. But when I think about what I would love to have for my last meal, I might have to take things from a few places to get it absolutely right. Growing up on Cape Cod, seafood has always been a favorite choice of mine, so almost instantly I would love lobster, scallops, and oysters to be on the plate. The seafood could be almost from anywhere on the Cape, but the oysters would have to be from New Orleans, and from the restaurantMr. Ed's, and having them charbroiled is key. While I obtain the oysters from New Orleans, I would need a few Hand Grenade drinks from Bourbon Street and a few pieces of chicken from Willie Mae’s Scotch House. There is no other place that has chicken that is better. It is impossible.

To wash that all down, I would have to then get the Zingers and Capt. Jack’s Buried Treasure dessert fromMiller's Ale House in Orlando. The Zingers are more chicken, hand-breaded but the Buried Treasure is something completely unique. It is a tremendous Triple-layered vanilla ice cream cake, Oreo cookie crust, Heath Bar crunch crumble, caramel, and hot fudge delight. Some travel needs to be made, but I would be more than happy to make this travel as they are in locations I either once lived in or have visited on many occasions and enjoy immensely. All the food brings me back to the very fun times I had in those locations. And to add great food on top of the memories, it is a mission I would take on every day if I could.

With it being my last meal, I would hope to not get full so I could continue to enjoy all of it and pace myself because since it is so good and I would probably get full fast, I would likely eat it very fast. Even with it being many flavors. I would be like Joey Chestnut with all the food, just to make sure I get it all down and enjoy it as much as possible.

Or maybe I would stretch it out for the entire day. Because I would also want to add a pizza fromSweet Tomatoes in Sandwich, MA. Then go across the street and have the best ham and cheese sandwich atThe Deli. All of this is a must and is a delicious delight that my mouth is watering right now just thinking about all the awesome selections. Everything that I have listed, if I am near them, I have to get. It is just what needs to happen. So if you are ever at any of these locations or eating any of this, look to your right and look to your left as I might be sitting right next to you eating the same thing, or waiting for you to go to the restroom so I can steal it from your plate. It is simply the best.

Kristin Myers

If I could choose a last meal, it would be dim sum. For those of you who don't know what dim sum is, it's not a food. Its literal translation is closer to “small plates.” It's a social dining experience where you sit around and catch up with friends and family over small sweet and savory culinary offerings. The dishes are passed around for everyone to partake in to emphasize the social aspect of the experience.

Har gow, or shrimp dumplings, have always been a favorite of mine, although first timers who accompany me on a dim sum trip will be surprised at how quickly I can scarf down Fung Zao, chicken feet coated in a black bean sauce.

Lo bak go, another favorite of mine, is a small cake made from radish and rice flour. Since I have celiac disease and need to follow a gluten-free diet, it be difficult to find flour-free foods. Fortunately, most dim sum places I have visited don't typically use wheat flour in their dishes. Usually, the only thing I have to look out for is the soy sauce, which, if you didn't know, does contain gluten. Fortunately, Tamari does not contain gluten and is being used as a substitute in more and more restaurants.

That being said, if this really was my last meal, it would probably be a lot easier to enjoy without fear of gluten poisoning. However, with so many gluten-free options available on the market nowadays, I might just stop by a gluten-free bakery and grab one of everything. You only live once, right?

Vilona Trachtenberg

If I had to choose a very last meal in life – and oddly enough it’s something I think about often – it would have to be a soft shell crab BLT sandwich with a side salad dressed in a citrus glaze. And the soft shell crab sandwich MUST have remoulade. It was during the pandemic that I discovered this beauty of a sandwich. We all had been stuck in our homes for a while, and I finally made it out to a restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio near my home in Buffalo, NY during the summer of 2020.

This isn’t something I would have normally eaten prior, but something drew me to it, and it was an amazing decision. As a big seafoodie (I’ve eaten every other crab besides soft shell…), the crab was perfectly crisp, and the remoulade added tang. It tasted like summer and was the perfect accompaniment to the patio overlooking the lake. I haven’t really seen it on any other menus besides atThe Terrace in Buffalo, and actually, I only saw it on the menu in 2020. I hope they bring it back. This sandwich really brought joy to me during strange times. Maybe it was just meant to be a 2020 special for me. To top it off even further, one should drink a lemonade with muddled blueberries in it. Just perfection.

In any case, I hope everyone gets to experience this incredible sandwich someday to know why it has earned “last meal ever” status in my rankings.

And there you have it! Now that your tastebuds are absolutely watering, let us know what YOUR last meal would be by dropping a comment on our Facebook page!