Oh.My.God. That’s really all the words I can find to describe this dish. The smoked essence of the pork. The filling earthiness of the taro leaves. The I-Don’t-Even-Know-What-They-Did-To-That-Salmon-But-Wow. The tiniest taste of coconut pudding. All perfect, filling, flavorful, divine, and joyfully unfamiliar.
There’s nothing better than spontaneously discovering a dining treasure in a rural area. It usually happens like this; I’m driving somewhere far from home, I forgot to eat before I left, my stomach is screaming so loud passing traffic can hear it, and I know I must placate the demon before said stomach finishes consuming my body and moves on to my soul. Out comes the iPhone, up pops the Yelp app, and I am ready to hit whatever food haunt shows up first.
This past spring, we watched a new local restaurant being built and then watched the business start up. Month after month, night after night this eatery filled with diners and waiting lines. Eight months of solid traffic is a hot run for a new restaurant, especially in a town that has no shortage of places to eat. Our interest was piqued!!
At last! The perfect opportunity to experience what some might consider an extreme food. And I have to admit the little devil on my left shoulder did a back handspring of joy at the idea of coaxing my friends into trying sweetbreads and finding they liked it without ever knowing what it was.
