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?