HUNGRY GERALD

Innards. Even though tripe and some other innards are sneaking back on upscale restaurant menus, most Americans won’t eat innards (except Black Americans who still enjoy chitterlings). HG is very fond of innards. Here are some examples. Tete de Veau (calf’s head). The dish, with a creamy sauce gribiche, is an HG treat when in Paris. Also in Paris, calf’s liver–cooked pink and served with a splash of flavorful vinegar. Kidneys in mustard sauce. Brains were best in Manhattan –cold as an appetizer at long closed Moskowitz & Lupowitz; sizzling in brown butter at Le Veau d’ Or (the bistro recently reopened with the cozy interior refurbished but not changed–prices are lofty.) Mexican tripe stew (Menudo) enjoyed at El Parasol and Sopaipilla Factory when HG/BSK lived in Santa Fe (now residing in Central Falls, RI, HG has discovered excellent Menudo at close to home Tuxpan Taqueria). Head cheese. The best is from Schaller &  Weber in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. Sweetbreads are HG’s favorite innard–elegant, delicious and expensive. Very good in Paris and London and in upscale New York restaurants. The Algonquin Hotel Restaurant served a superior version  on a slab of grilled Virginia ham. HG’S favorite down home innard—Chicken Livers.  Fried–but pink in the middle–they are good with scrambled eggs–tasty as an ingredient of pasta sauce (or topping a pasta bowl). A Jewish perennial is chopped liver–a mix of calf and chicken livers (Pass the chicken fat”schmaltz”,P!ease!!)..