When I went to go pick up beef heart for my Michigan Style Coney Sauce I lucked out; they were having a special dinner that night. And not just any of their dinners either, not like they’re awesome Fried Chicken Nights they have every week in the summer. No, this was much …weirder. It was an all organ meat dinner. Yeah, you read that right. The lineup for the night:

• Heart Kebabs
• Deviled Kidneys
• Pickled Tongue
• Fried Gizzards
• Chocolate Blood Pudding

I’ll admit, even after having some different dishes at the Hill Farmstead Dinner at Armsby Abbey like pig ear, lamb brain, and veal sweetbreads, this was definitely out of my comfort zone. And while some of the organ meat I’ve had in the past has been presented in a relatively approachable manner, there was no hiding what you were eating at The Meat Market. It was all out in the open.

There were times when it was a little tough to put down. It’s a texture thing and I’m sure with more consumption of offal I will get used to it, but being relatively new to it, there were a few bites I rushed to wash down with my drink. Elise was… rather uninterested. I don’t blame her. She did try a little bit of each and had more than a few spoonfuls of the blood pudding, so I’m proud of her for that. Overall, I’m glad to have had the experience and am looking forward to my next new and interesting meal at The Meat Market!