Sweetbreads and other new treats

Life, sometimes, is funny. Last night I worked the election desk in the Kentucky bureau, taking results from a reporter in Campbell County. It was a bit of an ass-backwards setup because Kentucky has no direct feed unlike Ohio. I was there until 11:30, then came home and passed out.
I went to work an hour late today and just wanted to come home and sleep. But for reasons I shouldn't blog about, I was offered a great dinner... at a great, five-star restaurant downtown.
The menu:
Côtes du Rhône rosé
amuse bouche: tuna tartare with a yummy sauce and micro cilantro
oyster velouté with seared sweetbreads and a poached oyster with purple peruvian potato chips
bonus course: skate in a fabulous sauce with grilled baby fennel
duck with curry sauce and a cabbage roll stuffed with basmati rice
with a great pinot noir
cheese course...
mmm.... very happy I am.
Sweetbreads are something I've always wanted to try. I was afraid of them at first, but the texture is velvety inside and crisp outside. They were perfect. Heavenly.
The skate has a crablike texture. Yum!!!
And the cheeses: a sheep's milk cheese from France, firm and a bit pungent, served with honey and honeycomb. A weeping, soft sheep's cheese from Portugal, with a kumquat. The grapefruit flavor, slightly bitter and acidic, mellowed the cheese. And a fine blue from Spain, with a fig jelly. Divine!
Et puis, je ferai dodo!