Comments on: Douchebags at Dinner

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:36:05 +0000

I know a lot of people with non-American mothers who used to hate all of the funny bits. (I especially hear complaints of the smell of tripe wafting from the kitchen.) Now, of course, all of these same people are begging their moms to make those dishes. I just love the idea of an entire lamb head in your oven as a kid. I come from a farming family, and we always had a freezer full of tongue from our own butchered cows, but my dad would give it away to friends. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I finally tasted it and realized we should’ve been popping that stuff on the grill.

Anyway, I’m glad that people have different experiences, and I’m glad that I’ve become more open to trying unusual foods in the last few years, and I wish you could leave mean comments to my friends in Ohio to get them to experiment a little, too.

By: David

David — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:30:40 +0000

By the way, try Uni at one of the better Sushi joints in town. It should be nutty and slightly sweet with the essence of the ocean.

By: David

David — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:29:28 +0000

I grew up in NY with one of the rare mothers who cooked. She was a first generation American(Greek) who did not give up all of the good bits like others. Between her and my father I was eating offal galore as a child though my brother and sister rejected these items. When a chicken was roasted I would only eat the liver, heart, gizzard and skin then eventually dark meat. It was only as an adult that I could stand to eat white meat. On rare occasions she would roast lamb heads in the oven revealing all sorts of good parts, especially the tongue. This I suppose led my parents to enjoy tongue sandwiches at the Jewish deli despite our non Jewishness. Because of a child hood like this, i tend to seek out things that are new to me.

As to why they are good, well just for the reasons you mentioned. First off the different parts taste different and have wondering various textures. I happen to like the feel of rubbery chewy cartilage and gizzards and of the creaminess of liver. A good cabeza taco with all its heady parts has a fatty unctuous profile that makes it one of my favorites.

As a NYer I never ate Pizza Hut until college and found it utterly revolting. Sugary sauce thats more like catsup on top of poorly made bread with a rubbery off tasting cheese, blech. To each their own.

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:46:16 +0000

Where did you grow up that you were being fed all of this stuff as a kid? I knew of exactly one restaurant in Ohio that served offal, and it was this Mexican dive in a part of town no one went to.

What is it that makes you like all the weird parts more than muscle? The intense flavor? The creamy yet rubbery texture? My boyfriend’s on a major chicken livers kick for those two reasons, so I guuuuuuess I believe that you could like them, too.

I’ve only had uni once, and it was an awful experience just because it wasn’t fresh, but I do know I have to try it again since all sorts of people seem to love it. Plus, it was a couple of years ago, and I barely remember it, so it doesn’t seem as horrible now.

I liked being called out, I admit, and you can say anything you want about my love for chain pizza, because I’m a Pizza Hutter for LIFE.

By: David

David — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:38:08 +0000

You are probably right from the way you described those guys that they were not being truthful. Though if you caught me after work in my “uniform” (suit) you could have mistaken me for the same thing. Sweetbreads are not a thing I grew up with but are delicious and are one of my favourite animal parts. I did grow up with tongue and other heady bits which I suppose led me to try everything else. I have had people tell me before that I am just eating these foods to be weird but that really is not the case as I actually like most offal and genuinely prefer it to most muscle meats. I will admit to finding it amusing to watch people’s faces as I pop poultry testicles into my mouth.

From this blog I can tell you truly love food, so make sure you keep trying things. Sometimes it also takes a few visits to an item before it clicks and you can truly enjoy it. Sea Urchin gonads were like that for me and now I am addicted.

Hope I wasn’t too harsh on you, at least I refrained from commenting on your chain pizza post ;)

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Haha, thanks for calling me out on being a douche myself, because I totally am.

I do have an extremely open mind about trying things, though, as you’ll see if you check out some of my other reviews. Growing up with a limited array of foods on my plate has made NYC really exciting, since so many tastes are new to me. The only thing on your list that I haven’t tried yet is brain, and I really did like all of the other foods.

I do think people can genuinely like sweetbreads (though I’m still not sure I buy your “delicious”, but I’m about 99.9% sure that these guys didn’t.

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:22:27 +0000

I don’t think I could do a snobby bitchface even if I tried. I have such a corn-fed face with big, round features, you know? I need a nose that could cut a bitch.

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:16:19 +0000

Organ meat is super-flavorful and can have a really cool texture if you can get past what it is. Kamran had some chicken liver the other night that has him totally craving organ meats, but I think he’s in the minority.

Now I really wish I would’ve taken you somewhere and ordered you some battered-and-fried sweetbreads without telling you what they are so you could eat them without bias.

By: David

David — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:31:27 +0000

While I understand the disdain for people that are douchey, I think your little rant is just a bit douchey as well. Just because you don’t like organ meats does not mean that others who do are doing it to seem cultured. Sweetbreads quite simply are delicious, as are most tongues, brains, bone marrow, gizzards, skin and other assorted bits. I mean if someone writes a food blog they should be a bit more open to things other than what they grew up with.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:23:04 +0000

Ewwwwww new money leg spreaders.

Have you perfected your snobby bitchface? They never know how to handle it.