Brains

[SeanMike]

So - I've never had brains before. I know they're horrible for you, but it's something I've wanted to try.

But I'm also lazy, and don't want to cook them the first time I try them the first time.

Any recommendations on a restaurant that serves them? Doesn't matter the kind, though I've always wanted to try pork brains and scrambled eggs. I just want to add them to my list of things I've tried.

[Waitman]

Bistro d' Oc used to do tasty veal brains with a lemon caper sauce for lunch. Now, according to the menu, they have lamb brains for dinner instead, and I can't recall if the veal was a special or a regular feature. One or the other ought to be available if you go.

My one experience with home-cooked brains (pig) was unsatisfying. And never try to get a brain out of a pig's head unless you own a band saw.

[Mark Slater]

SeanMike, you want them cleaned, sliced , breaded and fried. Trust me, you don't want them to plop a whole poached brain on your plate.

[Ericandblueboy]

As a kid, I loved chicken brains. We cooked the chicken whole often and I would picked up the head, crack the skull with your teeth and pick out the brain. You can go to any Cantonese joint with whole duck or chicken. I don't know if they'll give you the head if you don't order the entire bird but you can ask. The brain is pretty small and tasty. I'm much less enamored with pig or cow brains.

Pigs brain soup - something I ate as a kid and never liked.

[Sthitch]

SeanMike, you want them cleaned, sliced , breaded and fried. Trust me, you don't want them to plop a whole poached brain on your plate.

Suffering from a large amount of jet lag, I made the mistake of ordering brains at Cibero in Florence. I like most organ meat, and particularly like brains as you suggest, however, on this evening a foil pouch came out and when it was opened I looked down and saw two perfectly cooked lamb brains, still as they would have been in the skull. It took some doing, but I finally was able to take the first bite, and they were delicious.

[bettyjoan]

Not particularly helpful for those in the DC area, but husband and I had some really tasty veal brains at Holeman & Finch in Atlanta a few weeks ago - perfectly pan-fried and served on crunchy toast with, if I remember correctly, some sort of acidic "relish" to cut the richness. Decadent and delicious.

[zoramargolis]

So - I've never had brains before. I know they're horrible for you, but it's something I've wanted to try.

I was an adventurous eater when I was a child. One of my favorite places when I was four or five years old was an old French restaurant in Hollywood, called Café de Paris. Everyone was served a first course of calf brains in mustard sauce. My brother didn't touch his, but I loved it. (I recall it being soft and custardy, not pan-fried.) I usually ordered filet mignon, medium rare, as my main. And always crepes Suzette for dessert, flambéed at the table, of course. When my mother would ask my brother what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he always wanted her to make meat loaf, mashed potatoes and corn. When she asked me --it was always to go out for calf brains and filet mignon at Café de Paris.

[Waitman]

SeanMike, you want them cleaned, sliced , breaded and fried. Trust me, you don't want them to plop a whole poached brain on your plate.

Suffering from a large amount of jet lag, I made the mistake of ordering brains at Cibero in Florence. I like most organ meat, and particularly like brains as you suggest, however, on this evening a foil pouch came out and when it was opened I looked down and saw two perfectly cooked lamb brains, still as they would have been in the skull. It took some doing, but I finally was able to take the first bite, and they were delicious.

That's how I had them at Bistro d'Oc, as well. Not poached -- there was a little bit of crunch on the outside -- but nonetheless sitting there on the plate looking like a science project. Quite tasty, but it takes a moment to dig in the first time you're served them.

[leleboo]

Not particularly helpful for those in the DC area, but husband and I had some really tasty veal brains at Holeman & Finch in Atlanta a few weeks ago - perfectly pan-fried and served on crunchy toast with, if I remember correctly, some sort of acidic "relish" to cut the richness. Decadent and delicious.

I agree this isn't helpful, but I would almost advise going all the way to Atlanta for H&F to do brains for you, for the first time. The skill with offal/organ meats/weird shit is off the hook. Really.

[AlexC]

Eola has pig brains on the menu almost every day.

[Waitman]

Eola has pig brains on the menu almost every day.

This suggests either a huge demand for the rest of the pig or a lagging demand for the cervelles themselves.

Once, whilst making head cheese for a DR pick-nick, I decided to harvest the brains for a snack. Two hours, a trashed cleaver, a trashed hacksaw, and significantly bloodied hands later, I got the fuckers out. You have no idea how thick a pig's skull is until you try to split it open without a bandsaw. I trust that Eola's offerings are much better than mine, which were so not worth the effort.

[yuca]

Once, whilst making head cheese for a DR pick-nick, I decided to harvest the brains for a snack. Two hours, a trashed cleaver, a trashed hacksaw, and significantly bloodied hands later, I got the fuckers out. You have no idea how thick a pig's skull is until you try to split it open without a bandsaw.

Here's how they break down the head.

[Waitman]

Here's how they break down the head.

They appear to have a better cleaver than I did.