In these tough economic times, its time to lose your squeamishness and learn to embrace what nearly every other culture has known to be good eats since the dawn of time — offal. Sometimes called nose-to-tail eating, this waste-not, want-not food movement is being adopted by a new generation of chefs (and eaters) savoring the wobbly, wiggly organ meats our penny-pinching great-grandmothers once coveted. It’s challenge food for even the most experienced eaters, but once you go offal, you never go back.
As cooler days approach, dishes get heartier and long-braised meats return to our table, consider some of these spots to to get culinarily adventurous…
Easy to Approach: Chicken Livers & Onions
Like meatloaf and deviled eggs, chicken livers are making a return to restaurant menus as the ultimate comfort food. And whether you loved ‘em the first time around or had to hold your nose to choke it down (there was dessert to consider, after all), it’s worth giving these revamped versions a try. They’re richly coupled with caramelized onions and smokey bacon, and a whole lot tastier than mom’s ever were.
Jeffrey’s Hillside Cafe (2901 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 546-6317) serves up a morning feast called Jeffery’s Favorite (see photo above), with sauteed organic chicken livers with caramelized onions, mushrooms and pancetta. Add creamy chive scrambled eggs and country potatoes and you’ll wonder where offal has been all your life.
Bistro Ralph (109 Plaza Street, Healdsburg, 433-1380) is well-known to die-hard liver and onion fans. (Yep, they’re out there.) Though the restaurant may be small, their portions are generous.
Duck Liver
Another easily approached (though often controversial) organ meat is
foie gras, or duck liver. Still (at least for now) legal in California,
there is nothing quite like the silky, lush texture and flavor of a
lightly seared lobe of foie gras in hands of a master chef. Josh
Silvers of Syrah Bistro (205 5th St, Santa Rosa, 568-3167) almost
always has it on the menu, as does the Farmhouse Inn (871 River Road,
Forestville, 887-3300) and Cyrus (29 North St., Healdsburg). Paired
with Sauternes, it is a rare experience of bliss. If you’ve got money
burning a hole in your pocket, Bouchon Bakery in Yountville sells jars
of Thomas Keller’s duck liver pate for $80 a pop. Blissfully good? Yes.
Cheap? No. 6528 Washington St., Yountville, 944-2253.
By Any Other Name, Not to Sweet: Sweet Breads
Because “pancreatic gland” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue when
ordering, these silky delicacies go by a the kinder term of
sweetbreads. Though they can come from calves, lambs or piglets, it is
the veal that is most prized for this small gland coming either from
the neck (less flavorful) or near the stomach. Usually fried, they can
be ethereally good or, well, a bit like a soggy McNugget.
With a name as rich as the dish, La Gare’s (208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa,
528-4355) classic preparation of Ris De Veau Financiere features veal
sweetbreads with mushrooms, onions and olives in a Madera wine cream
sauce. Bistro Des Copains (3782 Bohemian Highway, Occidental, 874-2436)
does a slightly different take on veal sweetbreads, adding the crispy
glands to puff pastry with herbed mushrooms.
Ethnic Offal
You’ll find myriad menudo lovers hunched over bowls of steaming tripe
soup at cucinas throughout the North Bay, mostly on the weekends. Its a
homey, comforting dish that takes a great deal of time to make and
who’s intense heat and spices are also thought to be a hangover cure
(also a reason for its weekend appearances). La Fondita gets high
marks (816 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa, (707) 526-0881).
Laotion cuisines isn’t squeamish about its inclusion of everything but
the squeal. At Teriyaki Restaurant (473 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa,
578-0416), the chicken noodle soup – also known as pho — is available
with a side of pork blood. Tripe and beef tongue soup are also
specialties at the Laotian Vang Vieng Kham (3446 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa
Rosa, variable hours call ahead, 206-0884) and Vietnamese restaurant,
Lee’s Noodle House (1010 Hopper Ave., Santa Rosa, 523-2358).
Exceptional Offal
With a passion and talent for oft-overlooked cuts of meat (head cheese,
sweetbreads and other offal) along with more everyday eats (rack of
lamb, housemade pasta) on their ever-changing French-Mediterranean
menu, husband-and-wife chefs Eric Korsh and Ginevra Iverson have
created a comforting mix of old-meets-new school dishes at Restaurant Eloise. But one of
their signature dishes is bone marrow — a piping hot chunk of beef
bone with its marrow gelantinized for spreading on bread with a tiny
spoon. Its heady aroma and funky texture can be a challenge, but
well-worth overcoming for its tasty rewards. 2295 Gravenstein Hwy
South, Sebastopol, 823-6300.
John Stewart of Zazu Restaurant + Farm and Black Pig Meats has a
passion for all things porcine. And that means not wasting perfectly
good pig parts. The restaurant frequently features less-often used
parts like pork cheeks and the fatty belly meat, along with special
dinners showcasing everything from blood to heart. 3535 Guerneville
Rd.,Santa Rosa, (707) 523-4814.
You can find the old fashioned “tongue” luncheon meat at Big John’s. I loved eating it as a child until I was old enough to know what it actually was…..
Yea, but when you order the LENGUA they cook it fresh, unlike the chicken that’s been sitting in grease for the last 5 hours.
Madrona Manor has a wonderful foie that comes in three different preparations. Torchon, Terrine , and seared yummy and they pair it with a riesling that is unexpectedly delicious.
GOOD FOOD
GOOD FOOD
GOOD FOOD
Are “mountain oysters” served anywhere? I really like them….Anyway, I’m planning to go to Jeffrey’s tomorrow for a breakfast of chicken livers and eggs, (no dinner tonight!)
Steve writes:
“And your better taco wagons include among the choice of meats tongue and head…”
Some of them only refer to LENGUA and CABEZA. Maybe they figure that those who won’t try something they don’t understand, won’t order them!
Someone on another site made a very accurate point about offal becoming more acceptable… Long ago, it was eaten because it was the cheapest, least-appealing option; many sauces were originally created to help make them palatable! So even though far more cows/chickens/etc. are being slaughtered and demand is far lower, it evidently costs far more to obtain the main ingredient than ever before!
I find it disturbing that most of those body parts were used to filter/carry toxins, given the stuff that’s fed/injected into the beasts… Also, aren’t there certain diseases that can reside in the brain (like BSE) that can’t be destroyed by cooking?
Ah yes, tongue — my mother fixed tongue in what she called “Spanish sauce” and it was excellent (however I never participated in the tongue-skinning part that took place before she cooked the tongue!). Love chicken livers, and liver and onions — mmmmmmm! That’s comfort food!
And then there’s smoked tongue….a “lunch meat” that used to be a mid-west staple, but can’t find it anywhere these days…..it was delicious! And my mom used to stuff and bake beef heart too and that was delicious. Love calf liver and chicken liver too…..oh yum!
They don’t call it “offal” for nothing!
Don’t forget our local foie producers at Artisan Foie Gras.
Where do chefs Eric Korsh and Ginevra Iverson cook? The article doesn’t tell us…
When speaking of variety meats one must include Mountain Oysters, Blood sausage, head cheese, and (the ingredients of commercially made Chirorzo including gland meats)
Jeffrey’s:
http://jeffreyshillsidecafe.com/index_1.html
Tom
H – Didn’t know Jeffery opened yet. Does the restaurant have a website? Would love more info.
And your better taco wagons include among the choice of meats tongue and head. Both are tender and yummy.