Always on the hunt for new fillings, I opted for the unfamiliar goat panza (stomach), not even realizing at the time that I was ordering offal. I’ve eaten goat stomach once before, in little tripe-like strips nestled amid the hand-pulled noodles at Sheng Wang, which while delicious and surprisingly approachable, could not have passed as ordinary flesh. The panza, on the other hand, was much sneakier, diced and seasoned to the point where it’s rubbery qualities melted away entirely. It’s hard to say if this is a special preparation or the standard for goat panza, but other Mexican stomach applications seem more standardized. Most famous among them is probably pancita (a.k.a menudo), the hearty soup that doubles as the name of the sadly now defunct Puerto Rican boy band. Enjoying the sope (also stacked with refried beans, lettuce and cotija) on the peaceful grounds of nearby Greenwood Cemetery, there was plenty of time to reflect upon the impermanence of all things, bovid and otherwise.
Located about 20 blocks north of Sunset Park’s Mexican district, El Tenampa feels like an outpost of south-of-the-border culture, an impression accentuated by its stockade-style exterior. Stretched across two storefronts and bedecked by one of the neighborhood’s more majestic (and puzzling) signs, it maintains a cluttered general store ambiance, with shelves spanning chilied garbanzo beans (in the lime-tinged style I encountered in Mexico) to mysterious dried herbs (most of them medicinal) and containers of frozen tejocote. Behind these rows of items, across a wide stretch of white tiled, folding-table filled dining room reminiscent of a VFW hall, lies Tenampa’s biggest draw, the hot foods counter. This area dishes out an impressive array of tortas, cemitas, soups and tacos which come in both large and small varieties. In the midst of an ambitious food crawl, I wasn’t in any state to consume most of these things, and so opted for a humble sope, which turned out to be much larger and heartier than expected, a bargain at four dollars.
Always on the hunt for new fillings, I opted for the unfamiliar goat panza (stomach), not even realizing at the time that I was ordering offal. I’ve eaten goat stomach once before, in little tripe-like strips nestled amid the hand-pulled noodles at Sheng Wang, which while delicious and surprisingly approachable, could not have passed as ordinary flesh. The panza, on the other hand, was much sneakier, diced and seasoned to the point where it’s rubbery qualities melted away entirely. It’s hard to say if this is a special preparation or the standard for goat panza, but other Mexican stomach applications seem more standardized. Most famous among them is probably pancita (a.k.a menudo), the hearty soup that doubles as the name of the sadly now defunct Puerto Rican boy band. Enjoying the sope (also stacked with refried beans, lettuce and cotija) on the peaceful grounds of nearby Greenwood Cemetery, there was plenty of time to reflect upon the impermanence of all things, bovid and otherwise.
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