There is a
theory which states that that all
foods can be placed into exactly
one of
two categories: foods that are improved by
garlic and foods that are improved by
chocolate.
It's surprisingly hard to come up with
counterexamples1.
(Of course, this categorization is roughly equivalent to the classifications of
savory and
sweet foods.)
Our friend Bob Wilt, in an attempt to make some kind of commentary on this theory, once baked up a batch of garlic chocolate chip cookies.
They were among the strangest things I've ever tasted.
It was the gustatory equivalent of figure/ground reversal,
as in those "eye benders" where you can either see the goblet, or the two faces in profile, but not both at the same time.
With these cookies, you could either taste the chocolate or the garlic, but not both, and there was a nagging sensation that some part of the taste centers of the brain was about to short out, trying to keep the two apart...
Footnote 1:
But there are some counterexamples.
Peanuts are obviously great with chocolate,
but peanut sauce is a staple in Thai cooking which is obviously eminently amenable to the addition of garlic.
The same is true, in various ways, for other nuts:
almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, etc.
Orange is obviously a chocolate food, but there are savory dishes (e.g. chicken) that orange and hence also garlic work well with.
And who can forget mole sauce?
(Well, I almost did, but sighmoan reminded me.)
Feel free to /msg me with others...