The offal truth: No guts, no glory at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival

If, like me, you waited far too long to make reservations or were simply put off by the high prices of this weekend’s specialty dinners in celebration of the Food TV Network’s South Beach Wine and Food Festival, there’s still hope — provided you’re not put off by offal (animal guts). While most folks are drawn to the tender center cut of beef or the chaste chicken breast, many gourmets groove to the trendy ears-to-tails movement that’s bringing the sinewy cheap cuts to the tables of fine dining restaurants.

Husband and wife Chefs Frank and Andrea Curto-Randazzo enjoy a loyal local following at their swank Collins Park dining room where a garden table can be more romantic than a box of Valentine’s chocolates. To celebrate their love of gourmet cuisine, Talula will feature a limited menu this weekend entitled “The Offal Tasting” which the chefs designate as strictly for “sophisticated” palates.

This 7-course Fantastic Voyage through the entrails of some pretty interesting beasts starts with a Confit of Beef Heart Salad followed by Pan Roasted Sweet Breads, Braised Pig Ear Risotto and Sauteed Duck Hearts with a rutabaga mash. The fifth course features Tripe Cassoulet en Croute with house-smoked bacon and then a Chicken Liver Pate with House Made Pastrami on toast. Fans of Iron Chef secret ingredients will thrill to the last round as the chefs make Foie Gras Doughnuts with a blackberry-chile jam to bring your culinary adventure to a sweet close and perhaps help soothe the aftertaste of such gutsy gourmet fare.

If you think you have what it takes to dine at the other end of the food chain, reservations are still available for this weekend’s Offal Tasting at 305-672-0778.

The Gansevoort South and the W South Beach are just across the street from Talula (210 23 Street, South Beach).

– AdvisorGirl

[Flickr/dinemag]

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