Vital organs

The Ritz Restaurant

What makes the calf’s liver at this swanky Continental spot worth a try? The chefs hand-cut it each day. It is lightly floured, then sauteed and served over diced apples caramelized in sugar and brandy. The final touch? Two slices of bacon on top. The dinner also includes mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and super-skinny, crunchy onion “straws.”

* Calf’s liver, $27. 880 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, (949) 720-1800.

Ortolan

Veal sweetbreads are just one stop on chef Christophe Eme’s 10-course tasting menu. (They’re also available a la carte.) Eme sautes them in veal jus and sets them on top of a little Swiss chard packet filled with diced vegetables from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. The ensemble is finished with spring onions, English peas and green parsley oil.

* Tasting menu, $120; sweetbreads a la carte, $34. 8338 W. 3rd St., L.A., (323) 653-3300.

Nate ‘N Al’s

Delicatessens are one place where you’ll pretty much always find liver. At Nate ‘N Al’s, there’s an 8-ounce beef liver steak topped with sauteed onions and served with your choice of potato. (Our vote is for potato pancakes.) There’s also chopped chicken liver, which you can get on a sandwich with schmaltz, a.k.a. chicken fat.

* Beef liver, $11.95. 414 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 274-0101.

Agora

Among the dozen or so meat choices at this all-you-can-eat O.C. churrascaria are coracao, Portuguese for “heart” -- in this case, chicken hearts. They are seasoned with salt, skewered and cooked over charcoal. Manager Fabio Scopel admits that many diners are timid at first but says they’re usually won over.

* Dinner, $35 per person. 1830 Main St., Irvine, (949) 222-9910.

Norman’s

How does chef Mike Bryant get his sweetbreads extra crispy? He blanches them, coats them in Japanese bread crumbs and cooks them in duck fat. Then he sets them atop a noodle cake made with somen, which is like vermicelli. A coconut curry laced with pickled shiitake mushrooms is the final touch.

* Sweetbreads, $14. 8570 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 657-2400.

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-- Leslee Komaiko