Tripe is a funny old game - it has the taste and texture of a tender sheepskin rug with milky, earthy overtones. I like it. In the soups iskembe and tuzlama you get tripe in a milky broth, and add chili, salt, vinegar, lemon and pepper yourself. It's mighty tasty. My companion, a man who reads Beckett for fun and is much too clever to keep my company, had a lamb's tongue soup. He was visibly disappointed that he wasn't putting up with my inane babbling in some West End swankerie, and looked askance at the Iskembecisi. Its gloomy lighting and truculent waiters weren't his idea of a worthwhile free dinner.
