Offal Good

The Fifth Quarter with Anthony Bourdain..

The old butchers’ term for offal was “The Fifth Quarter”– all non skeletal meats, including the skin, head, feet and guts. So Quinto Quarto, or fifth quarter, is what I call my 5-course offal tasting menus at Incanto. Last Friday night I had a party of 4 including chef/author Anthony Bourdain– my favorite traveling media whore– in for a Fifth Quarter Menu. This man has eaten more nasty bits then anyone so I had to put up or shut up.

Enough bullshit, here’s the menu.

Shaved Tripe Salad with Huckleberry Potatoes

Marin Mountain Oysters with Porcini (yes these are balls)

Ventresco di Tonno, Tonnarotti stew of Tuna Maw (tuna tripe & intestines)

Roasted Lamb Neck with Polenta & Broccoli di Ciccio

Italian Toast of Ciccioli brioche, with Choclate Blood Gelato & Cherry Brown Butter Caramel

Tony was not the obnoxious hard drinking in your face asshole that people might expect He is a pretty fucking nice guy, with a shit load of experiences to share. He liked the marin mountain oysters saying they werent spongey like there cousin the rocky mountain oysters which can be much larger. He said the lamb neck was what Fergus Henderson talks about– the meaty, fatty and funk factor all rolled into one. What a time I had being able to cook for him, and then sit down and talk with him about his food and travel experiences. He lets cooks get a glimpse into food and travel from all over the world, we all wish we could get to the places he does and get some of these amazing food experiences. This is one more meal in the many along the road. I look forward to the next time I can hang out with him and hear more, mabye someone else will be cooking.