Ahhh...the Tripe

I can't believe that I forgot to mention how the tripe was at the restaurant! First, why I ordered the tripe. While we were picking grapes, one of Dante's neighbors was raving about how great the tripe was at the wine festival. At this point I decided that it couldn't be all that bad if this guy was talking it up so much. It was served 'alla Romana' meaning in the classic Roman way with some sort of thin red sauce and with Pecorino cheese on the side that you sprinkle on top as you eat. The most interesting dynamic of this plate is that you get the cooked intestines of the sheep and then you top it with cheese produced by the sheep (perhaps the same one!). The plate smelled really good when the server brought it out to us. So I thought I was off to a good start. The sauce was good but the texture of the tripe is like that of a really soft, rubbery chewing gum. You have to chew and chew and chew. I gave Allie a bite and she didn't care for the texture at all plus she had a really good chicken dish in front of her at the time. The flavor of the tripe itself was pretty mild but overall it was good when combined with the sauce and cheese. At this point, I'll have to reserve judment until I can try it again at another restaurant but I will say that I probably won't be buying it from the butcher store to cook at home!