This list of strange foods got me thinking about the oddest stuff I've swallowed in the Valley.
One memorable dish was Hasmar golden sweet soup at Hunan Restaurant. It contained lots of snow frog ovaries, which were notable for their texture. (Think really soft tapioca balls on the verge of falling apart.) And no, they didn't taste like frog.
Another treat was roasted lamb's skulls, part of a private dinner for adventurous eaters at the Cracked Pepper Bistro. And who's more adventurous than a bunch of restaurateurs? The Shackelford brothers of Trelio, Paul Palomino of Palomino's, Elena Corsini Mastro of Parma, and Jonathan Evans of Jonathan's were among my fellow diners that night.
We tore into these skulls. (See the photo above.) The most delicious part: the cheek meat. The least delicious part: the eyeballs. The tongues also were yummy; Cracked Pepper owner Vatche Moukhtarian used them in a salad.
(By the way, these dishes are not on the regular menus of these restaurants.)
I'm sure there are lots of other weird foods to eat in the Valley, so please give us suggestions, as well as your reviews. And if you've tried anything on that list, let us know.
Above: roasted lamb skulls, fresh out of the oven. [Photo credit: Joan Obra]
mmm, roasted skull of lamb sounds great! i really like roasted beef skull. i agree, the cheek meat is the best. when i go to taco shops, i get beef cheek tacos.
Cheeks are great. Such an underrated cut of meat (and fish).
As part of my "buy local" experiment this month, I've been exploring local markets, and I'm amazed at how out of place I can feel in some of them. It's not on the same level as lamb skull, but just last night I was perusing Asia Supermarket and came across "grass jelly drink" and "aloe vera drink" (with muscat flavor...mmm). And that's still aisles away from the meat counter.
Then again, among the right company, I usually try just about anything - especially if I'm at risk of offending a host.
Oh, I love exploring the Asian markets here. Reminds me of childhood trips to Asian stores. (We ate rice three times a day, so we needed those 50-pound bags!)
If you go back to Asia, pick up some of the Hmong sausage in the freezer. I used it to test recipes for my story about Hmong-American cooking, and it was really delicious when paired with cabbage.
Speaking of local markets, have you hit Fresno Deli at Gettysburg/Fresno yet? I love wandering the aisles there; it seems like they're always adding products from yet another country.