March 26, 2008 at 12:30pm
KEN SWARNER: MENUDO >>>
Admittedly, I skipped the impetus, the need, the NEED for menudo and dipped my spoon in just for the fun of it. Maybe I should have thrown back five or six So-Cos on the rocks, suffered the apocalypse to follow and then tested if this Mexican “breakfast of champions†really does kill a hangover … but it was a Thursday … and 11 a.m.
As part of my tripe investigation, which will run in tomorrow's Weekly Volcano, I felt compelled to include Menudo in my story. A Mexican-American co-worker who grew up in Houston said Menudo, like other regional dishes, varies in taste from place to place. In other words, if Taco Bell carried it â€" beware!
I did what any reasonable food enthusiasts does in Tacoma, I stopped along Pacific Avenue near 56th Street and visited Vuelve A La Vida, one of two places I always expect authentic Mexican flavors. Tacos Guaymas on South Tacoma Way is the other, but they serve menudo only on the weekends.
Mexicans swear menudo is better than any hair of the dog (which is a different soup altogether). They slurp it for breakfast, but no one batted an eye when I ordered it for lunch.
The dark, red-brown soup based on tomato and beef broth features hominy the size and texture of garbanzo beans with cubed cutouts of honeycomb tripe. A plate of cilantro, onions and lime slices accompany the bowl â€" I dumped them in with reckless abandon.
If you approach menudo skittishly, reciting to yourself, “I am eating cow stomach, I am eating cow stomach,†likely you’ll miss the point and quite possibly convince yourself into a queasy stomach. Don’t. Menudo tastes like rich, deep, earthy tomato soup â€" period. The rest is texture â€" the hardness of the hominy and the pillow soft puffs of fatty, flavorless stomach. The tripe lacks an ounce of gristle or firmness â€" literally I thought I was eating the perfect sponge.
Would I try it again? Maybe. It’s not about acquiring the taste (it tastes great), it’s more in the realm of being a comfort food (familiar) or not.
I did find menudo in cans at Safeway. The one pound, 13.5 ounce cans feature menudo with and without hominy, spicy and mild. I suppose buying a can for when Alka Seltzer fails to soothe the savage beast of post-Saturday night binge drinking assures I’ve covered all of my bases. And that’s certainly a comfort.
News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.
Thanks for posting! But I want say that Walkie Talkies are really required while organizing fun...
Really nice album. I have already purchased Vedder's Album. Listening to the song of this album,...
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
Your post contains very beneficial content. Kindly keep sharing such post.
Vedder's album is really nice. I have heard attentively
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
amazing information for getting the new ideas thanks for sharing a post
about 5 Things To Do Today: Art Chantry, DIY home improvement, "A Shot In The Dark" ...
446th Airlift Wing, 5 Things To Do, 62nd Airlift Wing, 7th Infantry Division, Air Force, All Ages, Army, Arts, Awards, Benefits, Best of Olympia, Best of TAcoma, Bobble Tiki, Books, Business, Camp Murray, Ceremony, Chainsuck, Classical Music, Comedy, Comment The The Day, Community, Concerts, Condemn or Allow?, Contest, Day Tripper, Deals, Defense Department, Deployment, DJ/Electronica, Events, Facebook, Fashion, Federal Way, Fife, Fircrest, Food & Drink, Future Things Are Coming, Games, Gay Rights, Genius, Gig Harbor, Green Crush, Happy Hour Hug, Health, History, Holidays, Honors, I Corps, In Their Words, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Judging by the Trailer, Keeping Up With The Coffeehouses, Kids, Lacey, Lakewood, Legislature, Madigan Army Medical Center, Marines, McChord Field, Media, Memorial, Military, Milton, Morning Joe, Music, National Guard, Navy, Nerd Alert!, New Beer Column, News To Us, Night Moves, Not Cool, Olympia, Outdoor Addict, outdoors, Photo Hot Spot, Podcast, Pop Culture, Poster of the Day, Puyallup, Radio, Rangers, Retail, Rocket Science, ROTC, Ruston, Schools, Screens, Sex, Shout Out, South Sound Sidekick, Spanaway, Special Forces, Sports, Steilacoom, Strykers, Summer Tip, Sumner, Tacoma, Talking Shop, The Mouth, Theater, Tightwad, Tournament of Burgers, Tournament of Mac and Cheese, Training, Travel, Twitter, University Place, USO, Veterans, Video Hot Spot, Volunteer, Web/Tech, Word, Wounded Warrior
Read Comments