Kidneys, livers and thymuses, oh my! This isn't a prop list for Sweeney Todd — it's what's on the menu during the "No Guts No Glory" event at Crook's Corner, which celebrates Scottish cuisine during the week of Robert Burns Night, a holiday celebrating the national poet of Scotland. Swerve writer Joseph Held talked to Crook's Corner chef Bill Smith about why they serve the gut-busting food and what exactly a sweetbread is.
The Daily Tar Heel: What prompted you to have this event?
Bill Smith: Every winter, I wait for cold weather to do this because the food is so rich. Every winter, I try to have a week where we serve sweetbreads.
DTH: What are sweetbreads?
BS: It's the thymus from a calf.
DTH: Are they very popular?
BS: It has a huge constituency. There's a lot of people who love them. French restaurants have them a lot, but you don't see them that much in this country anymore. In the dead of winter, I usually have a week where (we) serve this, in some form or another. Last year I never got around to it, and I got so much grief from the public. So I decided that this year I would make a big deal about doing it for a whole week. We decided to aim it around Burns Night, which is a Scottish festival celebrating haggis and Robert Burns, the poet. Haggis is guts and so are sweetbreads. We know we have people who like kidneys, livers and sweetbreads. So, I got them all on the menu this week.
DTH: Has the event been successful so far?
BS: People love it! They call and they come in. It's not for everybody, but I think it's delicious. A lot of people are squeamish about stuff like this. We have gotten phone calls all day, and people are really excited.
