2010 Redux: Just Offal

​1. Petite Maison’s Offal Halloween DinnerFour delectable courses of scary offal meats served up by Chef James Porter with sophistication and class. Leave it to a charming French bistro to make offal meat melt-in-your-mouth delicious. We must have tried just about every part of the animal. Homemade head cheese made with pork snout, cheeks, ears, lips and lungs. Sweetbread and trotter crepinette topped with fried chicharrones. Sous vide veal tongue with crispy bone marrow. And the most delicious creme brulee we have ever savored. The secret ingredient? Foie gras. Hate us tomorrow, PETA, because this is too good to waste today.

2. SPAM Mystery Meat Sliders from Maui DogWe would never have predicted that mystery meat slathered in coconut and pineapple and topped with spicy chipotle aioli would have been so addictive. SPAM may be the butt of many jokes (heh, heh), but this noble haminal is raised to respectable heights at Maui Dog. Spicy Processed Ankle Meats nomiker be damned.

​2. Pig’s Blood Soup from Com Tam Thuan KieuWhen the guy asks you three times if “you’re really sure you want to try this,” and “it’s really not good,” and “what about something else?” Take him at this word.
3. Beef Tendon Pho from Khai HoanAn odd snot-like gelatinous texture and a major case of the jigglies made this stuff hard to even grasp with the chopsticks, let alone choke down.
4. Chicken Feet from Phoenix PalaceChicken feet, while graced with a bad ass name like Phoenix Claws, are the equivalent of eating soggy chicken skin and weird tendons. And they require you to spit out tiny little foot bones like a BB gun.
5. Chicharrones from Huauchinango GrillUnlike their crispy fried pork rind cousins, these chicharrones were odd strips of skin and fat that jiggled all the way down our throat. Stick to the crispy pork rinds for late night noshing and convenience store runs.