Offal Archive

Arnavut ciğeri, Turkish for Albanian liver, is actually lamb’s liver. It is cut into strips, pan fried with with onions, dusted with paprika, and served with fresh parsley leaves. I had never had an impressive plate of it outside of Turkey until a trip to (more…)

Is it just me or have the intestines used in pajata gotten bigger recently? I can’t figure out why. Maybe restaurants are back to using the intestines of unweaned calves after switching to lamb intestines after the mad cow fiasco. They weren’t so huge (more…)

Clothing shops display their wares in illuminated window displays. Why should butcher’s storefronts be any different. At this butcher in Istanbul’s Tophane quarter, you always know what offal is on offer, whether it is tripe, hearts, liver, (more…)

In Rome, Easter Sunday is devoted to a blow-out feast on lamb, organs included. The heart, lungs, and spleen are sauteed with herbs and white wine and served as one of the many side dishes of the grilled lamb feast. I get my uncooked organ (more…)

I used to eat at Lo Scoppetaro once a week when I first moved to Rome back in 2003. That and Dar Moschino were two of my favorite spots. For one reason or another, I stopped going to both, but they continued to linger in the back of my mind. (more…)

I am a pretty big fan of intestines. Anything that is a fundamental ingredient in sausage is cool with me and pajata is one of my all-time favorite pasta condiments. I had these mumbar dolması (stuffed intestines) at Çiya Sofrası in (more…)

I am finally ready to talk about it. It would be a stretch to say that I am totally over it, but at least now I can breach the topic without blaspheming. I am speaking of my trip to St John two weeks ago. I know I am supposed to love this place. (more…)

Today’s Daily Food Photo is brought to you by St John, London’s favorite destination for nose to tail eating. This starter was one of the highlights of last night’s meal. I am a sucker for fried food and an offal lover. This is the best of both worlds (more…)

I have had an endorphin rush brought on by eating very spicy food before. I have tasted foods so hot that it has taken me days to recover from eating them. But I have never encountered anything with spice so intense, so profound, that (more…)

A few weeks back I had dinner at Hearth in NYC. I had heard about this place last year from my friends Megan and Liz who adore it and have great taste in food/restaurants. I had high hopes. My dining companions and I tried (more…)