Mondongo

Shortly after arriving in Venezuela I "accidentally" tried a soup that I probably would have avoided, had I known better what it involved. When given the option of ordering the soup, we asked Venezuelan Claudia, what ingredients it involved. She said she couldn't remember, but that it was good. As we began eating our soup, the real story came out... "It is cow stomach!"

Claudia exclaimed. The broth and the veggies were good, so I ate around the stomach. I tried one piece, but just couldn't stomach the texture of the stomach... So I made a mental note to avoid mondongo int the future.

Until yesterday I was successful in my attempts (it actually has been quite easy to avoid... I don't think I've even had opportunity to say no, or to choose otherwise). Yesterday however, we had lunch in the university cafeteria, where your option is whatever they happen to put on your metal tray, or nothing. Guess what?! Mondongo!

I tried to stomach it, I really did. For those of you who don't know, I am generally someone who will eat pretty much anything that is served to me, whether or not it lands high on my list of preferred foods. This time however, the flavor, smell and texture of the stomach was unavoidable. I finally had to call it quits, about a quarter of the way into the soup.

So... on the list of Venezuelan foods that I recommend... on a scale of 1 to 10, where I've already placed Platano at 13, I believe I would place mondongo at a 2 or 3. (Believe me, it could be worse... much, much worse!)