“Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls.  He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices stuffed with crustcrumbs, fried hencod’s roes.  Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys, which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.”   

from Ulysses, James Joyce

If you’re like me and/or Leopold Bloom, some of the best dishes you have had in the last decade or so have been, well, offal.  While I admit that a “fine tang of faintly scented urine” seldom makes my mouth water, the appearance of organ meats on a menu makes my heart pitter-pat.   In fact, three of the very best things that have passed my lips and tickled my palate the last decade or so have been truly offal (I promise to quit jumping on this homonym with both feet for the time being).   

While it seems a shame to extol the virtues of a now shuttered establishment, Exhibit A in our organ meat tour was procured and devoured at the now-closed Standing Stone Brewing in Ashland, Oregon.  Weary from a day of fighting sleet and snow while driving from Seattle southward, we stopped in Ashland and landed at Standing Stone purely by accident.  Thirsty for a decent beer and unwilling to move the car, we shuffled in circles around the historic. A crust of sleeted snow covered the sidewalks of downtown Ashland and the mercury dipped into the twenty-somethings as the sun set. Falling faintly as though unto my last end through the door of Standing Stone we emerged into a warm and hospitable roadhouse that was Standing Stone.   Without looking at the menu, I knew this was the place.  

 Pondering either the burger or the fish and chips to go with a pint or three of their finest pilsner, our waitress informed us that there was still one serving left of the daily special – tongue taco served street-style with rice and beans. While I typically only eat Mexican food at restaurants that specialize in south of the border cuisine (if not run by actual people of Mexican ancestry) the prospect of a tongue taco made my selection easy.  Handing over my menu, I went with the special.  And, I am here to tell you, it was not only special, but delicious.  Clearly someone in the kitchen at Standing Stone was paying attention and cooking with intention.  Had I mre opportunities to stop for the night in Ashland, I would have been a regular there and perhaps they would still be in business.  When somebody coined the term Gastropub, it is kitchens at places like Standing Stone that they were thinking of.  The tongue itself was tender and delicious and the topping of salsa selections (fresca, verde and rojo) were all terrific.  Like Leopold Bloom, I tucked in with relish, both literally and figuratively.  I also ate them with house made tortilla chips and some rustic, lumpy guacamole.  So confessions?  I may have licked my plate.  

At the risk of having this column turn out to be more restaurant review than meditation on the virtues of offal, I offer Exhibit B: the daily terrine at The Simone, also now closed due to Covid complications.  The Simone was, quite frankly, the restaurant I would have selected without hesitation if you told me I had one last meal out.  While the food was fantastic and Chef Chip Smith is a peerless cook in the French tradition, the reason for the Simone being my final culinary destination is for the experience as a whole.  I don’t want to get into anything resembling a restaurant review, but the redeeming virtue of The Simone is that it is a decidedly analog experience from start to finish, thanks to the calm and poised atmosphere created by Tina Vaughn, spouse of Chef Chip. The Simone was a gastronomic refuge from the scurry of the digital age.  Being cheaper than Le Bernardin and Daniel was a virtue, but if I were to choose a restaurant just for the pure existential enjoyment that it brings, full stop, I would choose The Simone 7 out of 10 times over those two destinations.   

I bring up The Simone because it so happens that Chef Chip is an absolute master of the terrine, a special that changed daily depending on what was inspiring the chef.  Of course, the basis of these splendid slabs was liver, usually chicken but often duck.  Even people who say they hate liver (or any organ meat for that matter) are often beguiled by a nice pate or terrine.  As for me, I am happy unto bliss by the sight (not to mention smell) of a plate of sauteed chicken livers, seared on the outside but still a bare pink, covered with a red wine and shallot reduction.  But Chip Smith’s terrine?  These are works of art, liver ground into forcemeat, then studded with whole chunks of rabbit or lamb, pistachios, prunes and pignolis. Each day’s terrine at The Simone was a new creation, edible artistry. Thinking of this, I am reminded of the (now disgraced) chef Mario Batali who once said, “I create works of art and my patrons turn them into shit in 24 hours.”  Like a broken clock, even a thieving, sexually abusive chef is right twice a day (sorry Mario).   

My third and final argument for the inner organs of the beasts and fowl is from the Barcelona Wine Bar, a micro-chain outfit that I discovered while on a work-stay in the Brookline neighborhood of Boston.  BWB has some 20 locations scattered among 11 states, including (but not limited to) such odd locales as Nashville and Denver. As chain operations go, it is pretty good with a nice/affordable selection of wine from the Iberian Peninsula.  The regular menu is standard Spanish tapas fare (jamon, Manchego, patatas bravas, croquettes…), toned down for American tastes.  However, the two nights I was there, they had an off-menu special that was decidedly tuned-up – skewered, wood-grilled duck hearts slathered with a house-made green harissa paste.  The first night I ordered a second plate of hearts while the second night I just ordered two to begin with.  The hearts were grilled to a mellifluous medium rare.  The pumpers were plump, juicy and delicious and the green harissa provided just enough of a jolt to keep things interesting.  This special was not found on subsequent visits to other BWB locations, so this may have been a totally one and done deal.  Lesson being, when duck heart is offered, do not hesitate.  Since those visits, I have been trying to procure a stash of duck hearts myself, but to no avail.  It makes one wonder, What have they done with the hearts?   

While injecting politics into my eating is a sure-fire way of making me lose my appetite, I must admit there is at least a modicum of moral/ethical element to eating.  I am certainly not about to go vegan or even vegetarian as a political or even moral statement. However, I do seek the high ground when feasible and eating organ meats moves me modestly in that direction.  If we are going to murder animals for our gustatory enjoyment, the least we can do is make the most use of them as possible, not to mention preparing them with intention.  Those chicken feet?  They are terrific added to the carcasses when making a stock.  And that offal?  Much is delicious as I have noted above.  Thus, eating that liver, heart, gizzard, pancreas (sweetbreads?) and stomach (mmm, tripe) is an edible/ethical win-win.  Not only are they delicious but consuming them lifts an eater a few inches higher on the moral high ground.   

An Offal Dish 

Getting back to the original format of Meezenplace (my meezings, if not musings) I offer up my own organ concoction: Kung Pao Gizzard.  As noted above, gizzards are like rubber bands if not simmered first.  The side benefit to this is that you get a wonderful stock for chicken or turkey gravy, so save the poaching liquid, it’s pure gold.  Once you have softened the gizzards, you can use any recipe for Kung Pao that you like.  I particularly like this one.   

Kung Pao Gizzard 

Chicken Gizzards (a pound should make 4 servings) 

Coarsely onion, carrot, celery and leek 

Rinse gizzards thoroughly and trim the silver skin.  Place in a pot with the vegetables and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Skim any foam that is released.  Simmer very low for 2 hours, adding water if necessary.  Remove gizzards and vegetables from pan and reserve the remaining stock for another use (this will make amazing chicken gravy).  Coarsely chop gizzard meat into bite-size pieces, not too small.   

8 scallions, chopped coarsely 

1 stalk celery, chopped 

2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini 

1 cup coarsely chopped red pepper 

For the sauce: 

1 tbs dark soy sauce 

1 tbs light soy sauce 

3 tbs black rice vinegar 

1 tbs Shaoxing rice wine 

4 tsp sugar 

4 tsp cornstarch 

Mix sauce ingredients and set aside 

Black rice vinegar and Shaoxing wine are not on the shelves of Safeway, but ff you are going to the trouble of finding a pound of gizzards, you might as well procure those items as well.  Yes, it does make a difference.  

For the stir frying: 

Cooking oil (peanut oil is best but canola is OK) 

15 small dried chilis, halved and seeds removed 

2 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns (see comment above regarding Shaoxing wine and black rice vinegar) 

6 cloves garlic, sliced 

8 slices ginger 

Roasted peanuts 

Get your wok smoking hot and then add the gizzards for about 30 seconds.  Remove from the wok and reserve. Add cooking oil and then the chilis and Sichuan peppercorns, sauté for 30 seconds.  Add the garlic and ginger and sauté another 30 seconds.  Add chopped vegetables and sauté about 2 minutes (don’t overcook, they should be still crisp).  Add the gizzards back to the wok and stir with veggies until well mixed.  Stir up the sauce and add to the wok all at once, stirring as you go.  The sauce will thicken quickly.  Once the sauce is distributed to coat all ingredients and thickened, add roasted peanuts.  Serve with white rice.   

OK, I admit this is just a chicken kung pao replacing cubed chicken breast with the simmered gizzards.  But, it is terrific, trust me on this.   

I can’t believe that none of my prior posts have included a musical clip from Bonnie Raitt. This one is from the late last century and features some tasty slide work on her Fender Strato-caster. Not too many songs about organ meats out there. Sometimes you just get lucky.  

Bonnie Raitt – Have A Heart – 11/26/1989 – Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium (Official)