My first meat...er...gastronauts outting

So here it is. My first Gastronauts experience. May 5th, 2009. La Fusta (The Whip), an Argentinian restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens. On the menu is calf's tongue, grilled calf's liver and calf's liver 3 ways including sweetbreads (Don't know what sweetbreads are? click on the link).

I get there early, have a glass of wine and introduce myself to Ben and Curtiss, the two organizers. More and more people came and pretty soon we sat down to what wound up being a meat lover's dream meal.



First, out came the sangria and wine. So far so good. The wine, a Malbec was very drinkable and wound up going very well with the meal. The sangria was as a sangria should be, fruity and smooth with a punch that knocks you on your ass.

Out came the first couple of dishes. The calf's tongue was amazing. Flavored nicely by grilling and the herbs on top, nicely textured and not chewy (tongue shouldn't be) and still beef-y. I grew up having tongue constantly in the fridge, in the bottle and mostly pickled. This was nothing like that. This is how tongue should be.

Then out came the main meal. Calf's liver done 3 ways with sweetbreads. How can you make liver 3 ways you ask? Well, they were grilled, sauteed and made in to a sausage. The fries also accompanied the livers as a way to break up the taste and get a little carbs to help the stomach handle all of the meat. I have never been a big fan of liver. The sauteed was my least favorite and the grilled was only a little more palatable. But the sausage (essentially a black sausage) was very tasty and didn't have much of that "iron-y", metallic taste to it.

The sweetbreads though were the star. Grilled until slightly charred, the sweetbreads
were braids of goodness. They had a crispy, slightly chewy exterior and a soft center. Almost like a nice piece of bread, but meat of course.

The wine poured, the meat slowly disappeared (there was a LOT of it) but the conversation continued. The one thing I realized quickly was that the Gastronauts wasn't really about the food, it was about socializing and camaraderie. The exotic food brought everyone together but it was the conversation that was the highlight.

I think I'm going to like the Gastronauts. I already can't wait for next month.