Is the phrase
"Are there any vegetables except for asparagus?"
"Are there any vegetables other than asparagus?"
The first feels wrong, and the second feels right, but I have no clear understanding of why that is, or when "except for" should be used rather than "other than", or if they are in fact completely interchangeable.
A second case:
Except for asparagus, I love vegetables.
Other than asparagus, I love vegetables.
These two phrases seem equivalent to me. Are they?