Beef Tongue: Like Chewing Your Own Tongue

Maybe we celebrate too much. Or, maybe the rest of your aren't celebrating enough. But on November 23rd we had another anniversary to celebrate- it was one year since Ronnie proposed.

Since he took me out for our anti-versary it was my time to pull off a surprise. I chose Oyamel, a Mexican tapas restaurant by DC-famous chef Jose Andres. I knew Ronnie had been dying to try it.

(#2) Try 26 New Foods:

1. Bison
2. Ethiopian Food
3. Oysters Rockefeller
4. Shark
5. Escargot
6. Frog legs
7. Chicken and Waffles
8. Hemp Vodka
9. Uni 
10. Beef Tongue
11. Amaranth

The good thing about tapas for us (other than everything, who doesn't love tapas) is that the tiny sizes embolden us to try new foods. Its only two bites, and if you don't like it, there are plenty of other things to try. With that in mind, we ordered a beef tongue taco.

We've seen plenty of people eat beef tongue on TV, though it usually involves some kind of dare, so we figured it couldn't be that bad. Its not really an "organ" organ, right? We like beef, right?

Truthfully it wasn't that bad.

 

If I had to compare it to something I'd say it was like a really cheap and ill-prepared steak. It definitely tasted like beef. But the texture was not great and the flavor was more...gamey? More like beef than I like to taste in my beef.

Ronnie "held his tongue" (see what I did there?) and did not mention until after we finished eating that the texture reminded him of how it feels to chew on your own tongue. Except instead of stopping and saying "ow" you just kept on chewing and eventually swallow.

I probably just ruined the whole trying-beef-tongue thing for everyone. Sorry. You're not missing too much.

What I was most looking forward to was the ceviche, something I love but will only order from a place I know can do it right. This one was done right. We had ceviche de atún, which had tuna, avocado, scallions, and another new food- amaranth.

I wish I took a picture but I couldn't stop eating because it was so delicious. Here is a nice picture of amaranth courtesy of a Google image search:

It is a tiny grain, even smaller than quinoa. In this case it was fried so it didn't add much other than a crispy texture. But I certainly didn't mind it.

One thing I DID take a picture of was this miracle of science:

It's a margarita, but that is not just ordinary foam on the top. That, my friends, is "salt air." A delicious salty foamy creation made by bartending geniuses so that with every little sip of margarita you get a burst of salty goodness.

No more licking your glass like a savage. This is the wave of the future.

Also, if you're going to have a $12 margarita, you might as well do it right.

All in all it was a great meal, capped off with one of the best tres leches cakes- nay, one of the best desserts- we'd ever had. A bit pricey, but a good place to celebrate your engage-iversary or your anti-versary or your Tuesday-iversary or whatever else you may be celebrating this week.