J.H.
My son started his "true" solids (table food), with sweet potatoes, we then did mashed potatoes, cooked carrot wheels, basically the baby food items only in real people versions. He does love the "Gerber Puffs" as someone mentioned earlier. He gobbles bananas to no end. When we wanted to try new stuff for breakfast, we did pancakes, then scrambled eggs... We offered little bits of chicken for dinner and we give him bites of what we eat. Gerber Graduates puts out a "Ravioli" that he would readily eat. He would fuss from time to time over the new items, but it really just depended upon where he was eating (yes-my son would gobble items at my house, but absolutely refuse them at grandma's).
Good luck on your adventures in eating! (My son's 14 months and we're still trying new items-it was little bites of a tuna fish sandwich and cantaloupe for lunch with applesauce as a snack...). Last night it was a Lean Cuisine (less salt than most types) of turkey and rice w/ veggies. Keep reading those labels!