Old Homestead restaurant $75 Kobe beef burger

Anyone tried the $75 Kobe Beef burger
at the Old Homestead restaurant yet?

[grandma Zaza]

Been there done that.
Is it worth $75.00? Naw, it's not, but I'm pretty sure that I paid $60.00 for it, and that was even too much. But I have to say, it was very good... very good.

[JeremyEG]

I'm pretty sure this thread is 7 years old no? Perhaps the price is different now?
JeremyEG
homecooklocavore.com

the first time i tried kobe beef was in tokyo in 1978 and i remember it vivdly to this day. the meat simply broke apart in your mouth (avoiding the word 'melted' for the sake of the cliche-phobic) and the marbled fat flooded your senses. unfreakinbelievable.
last year, once again in tokyo, i was fortunate enough to be taken to the nobu there and seeing a kobe beef steak on the menu, simply had to order it. i thought the combination of nobu's cooking and kobe beef would knock me sideways (the $100 price tag certainly did). well, i'm almost embarrassed to admit that it completely underwhelmed me. it was yummy enough, but the fact that i could actually chew it, and the percieved lack of that rich fatty flavor (with the accompanying guilt rush you get with say, foie gras) really disappointed.
my point being: if not even nobu can get it right, where does that leave a kobe beef BURGER using beef from oregan?

I saw the CNN story this morning and a price of $41 was quoted - is a side of fries $34?

isn't the point of kobe beef its tenderness and complex flavor? Why would you want to spend money on meat that has been so carefully raised and then ripped to shreds in a grinder? you would miss out on the reputed marbling, etc.

ACK...this whole thing just seems idiotic

wait heres a good one...shredded kobe beef:
http://www.ontherail.com/site/review/morgan_kobe/index.asp

These guys raise (above) kagyu cattle which seem to be the cattle used for kobe beef...then they shred them up

These guys below sell kobe style beef, so it seems there is DOmestic "kobe"

Link: http://www.kobe-beef.com/index.html

Don't know about the burger, but they have had kobe beef on their menu for at least the past 5 years. You do usually (or at least you did) have to give them about a weeks notice though if you plan on ordering the kobe beef.

Isn't there a ban on Japanese beef imports?

Sue for either false advertising or reckless endangerment and buy lots of burgers.

the meat is domestic - produced in OR? saw a news spot on it...

Becca

If it is produced in Oregon how can it be Kobe beef? That is like saying they're serving Wellfleet oysters from Texas.

It should be billed as "Kobe-style" or wagyu (the cattle breed), and I'm sure the purveyer doesn't misrepresent it, but I'm also sure the restaurant's idea is to capitalize on the known name.

Consider that the NY strip is priced at $29.95 a lb, et it today, it was about a grade above prime on the scale being 4 for prime it was a five, 8 being the highest. I will go back to check for a more marbled grade the next time. cut the steak into rough
1 1/2in X 1 1/2 strips cooked without fat in the pan on med heat on 4 sides to med rare (american. Flavor pretty close to the real stuff but not as tender as I remember.
FYI the chuck roast was $3.99 a lb looked good should have bought it for burgers but I think just sliced very thin it should have many uses, and much more economical. $41 for a burger, meat @ retail $3.99 a lb??? can't imagine that they would use NY cut. Well when in New York...just kidding, a real Pastrami sand is all I need, half sours...

I believe it's about the breed of cow and the way they're treated and what they're fed that might be why they can be called kobe beef. I wonder if they go so far as to massage the cows in Oregon like they do in Japan. Regardless, why would you ever want to make this meat into a burger, is my question. The fat marbling on this meat is the key to its deliciousness. Grinding it into a burger seems like a waste.

It is what they're fed that I'm wondering about. What makes a Wellfleet oyster a Wellfleet and not a Cotuit is the particular water temperature and contents in Wellfleet, and it would seem that part of what makes Kobe beef Kobe beef is the particular.grass, water, etc. of Kobe.

I do agree that it seems insane to ground this meat, even if only Oregon imitation Kobe-style, into hamburgers.

Since posting my question, I have heard that the cows are really from Oregon, are descended from a real Kobe bull, and are massaged and fed them whatever they are fed in Kobe. Beer and stuff.

But also I heard that the Oregon version does not taste as good as the real born and bred in Kobe, Japan variety.

I guess lots of foods are called names that indicate where they were originally created, and not necessarily where they are made today. "Manhattan clam chowder", "champagne", "Chinese food."

And these examples too usually do not taste as good as their originals...

Last time I checked any wine called Champagne must come from Champagne. Manhattan clam chowder has always referred to a style of chowder (as does New England clam chowder) not to clams from Manhattan (always more of an oyster source than a clam source). Chinese food is far too broad a term to hold much meaning.

Regarding champagne -- it was actually a provision in the Treaty of Versailles that only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region be referred to as champagne. The U.S. was not a signatory in that treaty, and thus was not bound by the agreement. While most American sparkling wine makers adhere by the agreement, some do bend and/or break it.

I love trivia like this - thanks....

If the fact that they are calling it "Kobe beef" means that most people who read it think it comes from Japan, Kobe specifically, then they are practicing deception, even though it may be legal to deceive the public in this way.

Right, unless Kobe Japan nips it in the bud, it will maybe someday end up taking out ads like the one in this week's New Yorker in which Champagne France reminds us that only champagne from Champange France is true champagne.

Hi from England

According to the Food Editor of American Vogue the beef reared in the US is descendant from the Japanese version and has recently been graded by the Japanese experts who found it to be of the highest standard.

For those who are interested there is a great article about this subject in one of his books [the Man who Ate Everything or the subsequent volume]. It may also be possible from Vogue as the article appeared there first.

Regards

Kobe beef is like saying you want a coke. The name Kobe is the port city where the beef is exported from Japan. Hence the name Kobe beef. The actual cattle breed is Wagyu.

Link: http://yama-beef.com

Okay, does this item cross the threshold from enticing excess into the ridiculous? Am I missing something, or has the Old Homestead – the albeit underrated steakhouse for alter kockers that has been reinventing itself to the youthful clientele now surrounding its location – taken things too far with the decadent burger entrée?

- Jon

No. It is only $41, not 75. :)

oh, that's understandable. . . cheap even. do they have a 'six pack' like they do at white castle?

bryanj

According to the news story on 1010wins, the burger is $41 served with garlic fries.
Don't know if thats accurate but will still love to hear if anyone has tried it.

Lisa P