Sweetbreads With Serrano Ham And Crimini Mushrooms @ Vega Tapas Café
Sweetbreads languished on menus for decades, eaten only occasionally by gourmets. But these thymus glands (they come from the neck of a veal calf) have become more popular, ever since restaurants began serving them as appetizers instead of entrees. They're too rich for a main course, really, and are more compatible with the kinds of intense sauces that show up on smaller courses. Which is almost the only size course they serve at Vega Tapas Café. They're give a bit of Spanish flavor there, combined with the dry-cured serrano ham and crimini mushrooms (those are small portobellos). The sauce--sherry mounted with butter--pulls it all together into a very convincing mouthful of food.
