Tripe Truck

I was excited when I learnt that the Tripe Truck would be in my Paris neighbourhood in November. It was scheduled to be at Montparnasse twice in the same week: Monday and Wednesday. Monday arrived and I jumped on the 58 bus and headed to the station. I walked around and around the square in front of the station - no tripe truck.

Major disappointment. However, perhaps I'd made a mistake. Why would they come twice to my part of town? After all they didn't know I lived there.  On Wednesday I set off again and again no tripe truck. I was not only disappointed, I was annoyed. I fired off a couple of angry Tweets implying that the French were hopeless at organizing anything. On Thursday I left for Zurich, more about that soon, and forgot all about the Tripe Truck. The following Wednesday by chance I  happened to be at Montparnasse and low and behold there was the shiny blue Tripe Truck.  I'd made a mistake with the dates. If I'd bothered to check my calendar where I had marked the passage of the Tripe Truck before I left for Paris I'd have realised my mistake the week before. So I now officially withdraw all my negative comments about the French, but just those concerning the Tripe Truck.

The truck was, in reality, a fancy Airstream caravan, or as I learnt a "travel trailer". The advertised tripe burgers were indeed gratuit (free), but they didn't contain any tripe. I'd imagined  pieces of cow's stomach breaded and fried in a bun. Instead, the mini burger buns were filled with slices tongue, liver or cheek, garnished with beetroot, radish and mayonnaise. Not really a burger, but tasty nonetheless.

Every city should have a tripe truck to introduce people to offal. If it's free people will try it. Imagine  fried testicles, braised tripe, breadcrumbed brains, sautéed heart, and liver, cheek and tongue in a bun with toppings. I bet we'd convert the populace to nose to tail eating.