MetaChat - Who wants McDonald for lunch?!

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13 April 2006

Who wants McDonald for lunch?!

post by: Capn at: 15:48 | 29 comments

The Japanese cows are raised on a special diet, including beer and grain.

mmm, sounds choice!

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 April | 15:52

The beer, by the way, is given to the Waygu to keep them docile and happy. Yes, happy. Kobe beeves are also allowed to run freely with their herd each, because that's supposed to keep them happy too.

I think the true Japanese connoisseurs would blanch at the idea of the beef being served as hamburger, though. It's too highly prized for such pedestrian fare. It's often eaten raw because it's supposed to be so good.

posted by mudpuppie 13 April | 15:57

Ok, who here has had kobe beef? I was in Japan even, and dammit, I never had it! aaargh!

posted by dabitch 13 April | 15:59

Kobe beeves are also allowed to run freely with their herd each day...

posted by mudpuppie 13 April | 16:02

I don't think it's a hamburger, 'pup, but has sliced meat...

"I think if you are a food lover, this represents great value for money," he said.

This makes me feel ill.

posted by Specklet 13 April | 16:14

Ah, I just assumed it was hamburger. I'm a gullible little capitalist, I guess.

I stand by the beer thing, though.

posted by mudpuppie 13 April | 16:16

I would possibly buy and consume this just so I could say I ate an 85 pound sammich. (Also, I would ask for ketchup, just to be a dick).

posted by Capn 13 April | 16:19

I've eaten wagyu beef at Sushi-Ran, the local high-end sushi place.

Unbefrickin'leivably delicious.

I've also had the faddish Kobe Burger which, while good, was not a full-mouth-orgasm.

posted by Triode 13 April | 16:20

Wagyu/Kobe is a different breed of cow. The massage and diet helps (especially the diet) but the superior marbling is mostly genetics.

Due to the cost of land in Japan, it's less expensive to fly calves born in Kobe to farms in Alberta and Montana, raise them there, fly them back to Kobe, and then slaughter them (they have to be slaughtered in Kobe to be called "Kobe beef").

posted by porpoise 13 April | 16:22

FWIW, there's actually a good deal of "Kobe" beef grown right here in the good ol' US of A. However its market price in Japan makes it not worth the bother to sell domestically; us 'murricans don't have much interest in $75/Lb steaks. On Preview: What porpoise said.

posted by Triode 13 April | 16:29

Isn't Kobe beef what they call beef from the Waygu breed of cattle is raised in a certain fashion in Kobe, Japan? There are Waygu ranches in the US, but they are not raised the same way as the Kobe cattle. I think, even if they were raised in the same fashion, they can only be called Kobe if they're from that region.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 16:34

I'd hit it

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 April | 16:38

D'oh, yeah, what porpoise said.

Anyway, from what I've read, true Kobe beef probably would probably be disappointing to the American steak enthusiast. This is how I keep my jealous in check.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 16:43

I should give up typing. Or written communication altogether.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 16:44

A fool and his money...

I especially love how they're trying to pretend it's not a total status "look, I have so much money I can throw this much away on a sammidge!" thing, and then include Wagyu beef and foie gras and truffles. Nope, not a status thing at all. No sir.

posted by elizard 13 April | 16:59

does anybody else just really enjoy reading lists of ingredients to really good (or expensive) food?

I am a vegetarian, so I doubt I'll ever eat this, but the list of ingredients at the end sounded FREAKING AWESOME!

posted by drjimmy11 13 April | 17:22

drjimmy, I know exactly what you mean. I have a total menu fetish. I can't pass a posted menu without reading it.

posted by mudpuppie 13 April | 17:25

UK£ 85 = 148.8945 U.S. dollars

sounds delicious, but geez how many homeless people could ~$150 feed?

posted by Wedge 13 April | 17:34

For that matter, how many homeless people could be fed with the bovine beer money?

posted by mudpuppie 13 April | 17:38

Hmm, quick search suggests that 'American Wagyu' is going for ~ $100 for a 16oz dry-aged porterhouse cut.

A rib eye (no size stated) is going for $37.25 at Amazon.com (through bizrate).

This place is a little cheaper.

I guess you could buy your own Wagyu semen and cross breed your own.

posted by porpoise 13 April | 17:51

The hideousness of this creation cannot be overstated.

posted by killdevil 13 April | 18:54

there's a $40+ Kobe burger served here at a few restaurants...i think i'd try it once (if it was a work thing and they were paying) : >

posted by amberglow 13 April | 18:56

I'm not sold on a burger made from Wagyu beef. The whole idea is that the marbling approaches perfection; grinding that up and grilling the heck out of it seems like second prize.

posted by porpoise 13 April | 19:22

The ingredients of the sandwich are: Wagyu beef, fresh lobe foie gras, black truffle mayonnaise, brie de meaux, rocket, red pepper and mustard confit and English plum tomatoes.

The sandwich is served on a plate of flaming £1000 notes, and for your enjoyment, a starving orphan will be beaten to death by an authentic gypsy to accompany your meal. If the orphan's final death rattle is not timed precisely with your last bite, you will be given a platinum straight razor, encrusted with 14K diamonds and flawless sapphires, with which you may skin the gypsy. Gentle shaving strokes or brutal hacking blows, the choice is up to you. Afterwards the razor and the skin are yours to keep: why not stop by our hide tanning counter, and have it fashioned into a smart and swarthy jacket?

posted by PinkStainlessTail 13 April | 22:03

I'm going to eat one of these next time I'm in London. It sounds fantastically delicious.

And to all the haters, suck it.

Seriously, the money doesn't disappear out of circulation when I spend it differently than you would. There's plenty of cash there for the restaurant staff, the ranchers, the farmers, and (quite likely) a bunch of middlemen. Those people need to survive too.

posted by I Love Tacos 13 April | 23:47

And to all the haters, suck it.

Only if it costs substantially less than £85.

posted by PinkStainlessTail 14 April | 05:38

Yeah, for $200 CDN, I think I'd rather have an omakase course at Tojo's...

posted by porpoise 14 April | 13:13

Yeah, for $200 CDN, I think I'd rather have an omakase course at Tojo's...

It's not an either/or proposition. You can do both!

posted by I Love Tacos 14 April | 22:36

I'd hit it.

posted by dg 15 April | 05:46

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