Not two years ago, variety meats were still the stuff of only the most esoteric and/or ethnic, haute and/or peasant cuisines. But now that liver and its ilk have arrived in all their gory glory, we dare say it's high time for an offal crawl. Possible stops: the Butcher Shop (552 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.423.4800) and Eastern Standard (528 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.532.9100) for daily-changing charcuterie plates laden with pâtés, terrines, mousses, and the occasional gutsy (no pun intended) surprise like headcheese; KO Prime (Nine Zero Hotel, 90 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.772.0202), where former Eastern Standard meat maverick Jamie Bissonette is wowing us with honeyed sweetbread nuggets and unctuous bone marrow over oxtail marmalade; Petit Robert Bistro (468 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.375.0699; 480 Columbus Avenue, Boston, 617.867.0600), where you can line your stomach with stomach lining in the form of tripe Provençale; and Craigie Street Bistrot (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617.497.5511), whose own Tony Maws is always doing some dandy thing or other with every bit of pig, from jowls to feet (complete with little piggies, we presume). If you can stomach (still no pun intended - we swear!) blood, his boudin noir with mushrooms and eggs is a must.
