experiment #37 - CobayaBelly with Chef Jose Mendin

Another experiment successfully concluded - this time around, with Chef Jose Mendin of Pubbelly and PB Steak. Mendin played host to nearly 60 guinea pigs at PB Steak, and put together an offal-intensive, "Bloody Monday" menu that focused mostly on all the bits on the animal other than the steak. It was very well done and very much in the spirit of what we try to do. You can see pictures in this CobayaBelly flickr set, or in this flickr set from Y'All Taste This, or scroll down a bit in Chowfather's Instagram feed. And here are recaps at Food For Thought and The Chowfather.

Here's the menu for the evening:

Passed Appetizers

Oxtail Croquettes with caramelized onion purée and valdeon aioli

Crispy Sweetbreads with fermented black bean sauce and carrot ginger slaw

Bone Marrow pumpernickel toast, short rib, raisins, pickles

Stabbed in the Beef Heart Tartare

(Niman Ranch Cattle, California)

peruvian aji panca rustic dressing, pickled baby onions, blood sausage filone toast

Szechuan Style Tripe

braised in juniper berries, allspice, cinnamon, orange, then fried and glazed with a reduction of chilies and sugar. raw slaw of shaved brussels sprouts, florida green onions, ginger and garlic

Veal Brains Meuniere

(Strauss Family Farms, Wisconsin)

black butter made with squid ink and soy, roasted huitlacoche, oregon chanterelles, fava beans, end of the season sweet corn, parmigiano reggiano

Red Oak Smoked Tongue Papardelle

(Jackman Ranch Wagyu Cattle, Florida)

tuscan kale from Robert Borek Farms in Homestead, dry shiitake, nicoise olives, umami jus

30 Day Dry Aged Prime Rib

(Cox Familiy Farms, Alabama)

beef blood jus, fall mushrooms, baby pumpkin souffle, vidalia onions with sauce bordelaise

Ice Cream Sundaes

with fudge, nut brittle and toasted coconut

A huge thank you to Chef Mendin, to Pubbelly partner Andreas Schreiner, to all of the crew in the kitchen, behind the bar, and in the front of house, who did a fantastic job accommodating our big group, and as always most of all, to all of the guinea pigs (including both some veterans and lots of new faces) whose interest and support makes these events possible.