What is that one food that you have tried once and will never, EVER, try again? For me, that food is menudo or "tripe," which is sort of a fancy way to say "chitlins" in Spanish!

I am never trying menudo again! In fact, the only Menudo I like is the one with Ricky Martin in it!

If you like chitlins or menudo, then you are in luck this Labor Day weekend. The city of Granger is hosting their annual Menudo Fest at Hisey Park around 11 a,m, this Sunday. (Scroll down for full details.)

I am from the South. I hail from Nashville, Tenn., so I have grown up with people bringing chitlins to potlucks and get-togethers, but I never tried it. The thought of eating the intestines or bits of stomach from an animal did not appeal to me.

Fast forward to the mid-1990s to the time I visited Austin, Texas, with some Latin friends, and their parents and grandparents made us a big welcome dinner.

"You should try some menudo," they encouraged me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just taste it and see if you like it!"

As I lifted the spoon to my mouth to sample a slurp of the soup, I saw something thick and beige, something that resembled an earthworm on steroids.

"Um, y'all? What the heck is this?!" I gasped, and began to swallow the juice.

"It's tripe. It's similar to what you would call 'chitlins' in English," my friend's abuelita said.

"CHITLINS? TRIPE?!" I yelled, as I spit the soup back into my bowl. Everyone laughed at me hysterically.

Granger Chamber of Commerce's 13th Annual Menudo Fest
Hisey Park,
513 S Main St

It's not just about the menudo cooking competition, there will also be a co-ed volleyball tournament, a cancer awareness 5K/10K Fun-Run walk, beer garden, bouncy houses, and a car show. You can even buy a bowl of menudo while you're there.

For contact information click here.

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