On a recent Sunday morning the Missus was in a well, "offal" (pun intended) mood. And She was thinking about how enjoyable the Lengua, Tripas, and Maciza was on our last visit to De Cabeza/El Único. Yes, we are regulars for the Cabeza en su Jugo (head soup) there, but that's usually during cooler weather. She had really enjoyed the "offal three", so we decided to head down to Chula Vista for our version of "Sunday brunch". We usually get there a bit earlier, but this time arrived at 1030 and the place was pretty busy.
We were heartily greeted by Jesus, the boss man, who always seems so happy to see us.
We had a seat and this time, really looked at the menu more carefully. And my goodness, they have Mollejas (sweetbreads)! The Missus enjoy the Alambres here and ordered the version with Lengua (tongue) and Maciza (head meat). The Missus really wanted to try the Sesos (brain) and since She wasn't ordering the Tripas (intestine), I ordered one each of the tacos. And, we also ordered the Mollejas. The young lady waiting on us was very nice and serious, but it was interesting watching her eyebrows go up and down as we ordered.......
Love the tortillas here, full of maize goodness, heated on the comal with drippings, it is always up to the task. The tripas have a nice mild crunch with beefy goodness. I bet you'd never figure out what it was if you were served one of these.
The sesos was somewhat mushy-soft and there was a metallic tinge to the flavor which the Missus wasn't fond of. I personally thought this did fine with the Salsa Verde which had enough sour-acidity to balance things out.
The lengua here is so beefy and tender, and combined with the bacon in the Alambres it's quite a treat.
Combines with the Maciza; this is beefy heaven. Though I think the combo of tripas with the beefy crunch and the bovine wonderfulness of the lengua might be the perfect combo.
And then it arrived.
My goodness; this was even better than we thought! Fried to a light crispness, the interior was light, creamy, and almost fluffy. There have been times when we've had a iodine like aftertaste when having mollejas, but this was mild with a slight offal-nutty-buttery-sweetness. We actually didn't need salsa, lime, or heck, even the wonderful tortillas.
I think we have yet another go-to dish here! This turned out to be an "offaly good" (yes, I know...) meal. Man, if only De Cabeza/El Único was closer!
De Cabeza/El Único
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Current Hours:
Open Daily 8am - 9pm
omg I always have gone straight to the tacos and never read the apps – I LOVE sweetbread and will be ordering that next time
Posted by: SageOlson | Tuesday, 13 August 2024 at 04:20 PM
We did too Sage. For some reason, probably because they were busy, we had time to peruse the menu and I'm so happy we did! Hope you enjoy the mollejas!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 13 August 2024 at 04:29 PM
No chapulines? Been wanting to try them for a long time
Posted by: Mike Z | Wednesday, 14 August 2024 at 01:36 PM
Not this time MikeZ! I kinda think of chapulines as adding crunch and savory tones to a dish...think like maybe bacon bits? I do enjoy them on Chilaquiles:
https://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2024/04/you-are-what-you-eat-chapulines.html
And I dunno, at $10.50 it seems kinda pricey too. But perhaps next time!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 14 August 2024 at 03:57 PM
nice
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 14 August 2024 at 04:04 PM
One of our favorites Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 14 August 2024 at 04:11 PM
I LOVE sweetbreads and always have some in the freezer to pull out when I get the need. Those crispy gems are making my mouth water..
Posted by: Dereck | Friday, 16 August 2024 at 10:30 AM
Sweetbreads if done right and of good quality are so good Dereck!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 16 August 2024 at 11:04 AM