Annette White Eating Lamb BrainI originally wanted to spend our fourteenth wedding anniversary sipping champagne on the veranda of a cozy B&B overlooking the coast, but eating lamb brain in San Francisco was a close second.

Though I was unaware of Locanda’s offal menu, I have to admit that my eyes sparkled as I read; pig’s head, tripe, oxtails or lamb brain? It was a surprisingly tough choice.

If you recall, last year on our anniversary Peter and I indulged in lambs tongue at Scopa in Healdsburg. Well, really…he indulged, I took a bite. This year…lamb brain. Isn’t it fun being married to me?

Even though I made reservations at Laconda a week in advance, the earliest slot available was 9:00pm on a Sunday night. This is not unheard of for San Francisco dining, though a bit of a shocker considering this restaurant was still in its infancy, just a few weeks old.

We arrived an hour early to belly-up to the bar for pre-dinner cocktails. But, our tummys couldn’t even come close, it was an overfull house. Bulging in fact. The room. Not our stomachs. Yet.

laconda restaurant dining roomwaiting at the laconda bar

I was intrigued by the laboratory-style cocktail mixers at the bar. But, not enough to sway me from my typical Jammy red wine.
Laconda Bitters

We were sat a half hour early at the bar (finally belly-up) and it was a guilty pleasure to watch somebody else cook for a change. Complimentary flatbread was the first to arrive at the table which was similar to a focaccia. It was reminiscent of the last delicacy that my Nona ever cooked for me. Tear drop.
line cook at lacondafocaccia at locanda

This Jewish Style artichoke ($6) was showered in mint and each part was more tender than the next.
jewish style artichoke

The Fiorellini pasta ($16) was stuffed with ricotta and sprinkled in squash blossoms. It was lightly sauced, implicative of the true Italian style.  Ciao, Lamb Scottadito ($26). I watched you laboriously being grilled and I can taste the love.
fiorellini pasta at locandaLamb Scottadito

The lamb brain ($12) arrived discreetly, covered in batter. Didn’t resemble the noggin at all. I did a tongue test to cure my anticipation. Hmmm. Not so good. Of course, you have to at least take a full bite to access the situation and I did so. I was confused by the uber-creamy texture. All my anatomy text books showed something that appeared as if it would be chewy. But. this was smooth. It had almost a mild oyster flavor, definitely not as gamey as lambs tongue.
lamb brain at lacondaeating lamb brain

We ended our evening with a berry tart chaser to the  wash down the cerebrum we (when I say we, I really mean my husband) just devoured.
berry tart

Have you ever eaten lamb brain?

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