grammar - "except for" vs "other than"


Is the phrase



"Are there any vegetables except for asparagus?"



equivalent to



"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?




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