448042 Fri Oct 05 09:39:52 -0700 2007 10 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3007760 I am on vacation, spent two nights in Paris. I have been looking forward to Steak Tartare for a very, very long time. Seems to be on all sorts of menus, so I picked what looked to be a decent place, can't remember the name. Anyway, the waiter brings it out to me and it is basically a hamburger with seasonings. As in, cooked. I tried to convey this, although I really don't know if I did. The waiter acted as though this is how it normally comes. Is steak Tartare in france a cooked dish, or did they pull something on me? I am in London now, and I have to find someplace to satisfy my raw beef craving!!! Fri Oct 05 09:39:52 -0700 2007 48685 cloudship 1 3007802 "Anyway, the waiter brings it out to me and it is basically a hamburger with seasonings. As in, cooked. I tried to convey this, although I really don't know if I did" Since you could not manage to convey in one English sentence to English speakers that your hamburger was cooked, you may have had a problem conveying your thoughts to a non-native or non-English speaker. This sounds like a major mis-communication. I note you say "the waiter acted as", not 'the waiter said'. TTBOMK, steak tartare is steak tartare - well ground seasoned beef. Fri Oct 05 09:48:13 -0700 2007 3007760 26666 FrankJBN 2 3008669 I have no idea what the waiter said. I could not for the life of me think of the french word for cooked. I should not say pulled something on me as much as they just automatically assumed that I wanted a cooked hamburger. For what it was worth, even as a hamburger it happened to be very good. The waiter was friendly, and I might add the only person or time I had even the slightest trouble getting across what I meant to. I guess I am just dissapointed, and perhaps wondering if maybe I was just expecting the wrong thing. I noticed steak tartare on many menus, I just happened to pick this particular restaurant for my supper. Fri Oct 05 13:29:26 -0700 2007 3007802 48685 cloudship 1 3007898 I ordered steak tartare at an Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago recently. They asked me I wanted it raw or rare, implying it could be cooked but it could also be raw. Weird that at the French restaurant they didn't give you the option... Fri Oct 05 10:12:17 -0700 2007 3007760 112406 Chew on That 2 3008462 There should be no option. It's like ordering clams on the half-shell and being offered the option of them being steamed. Fri Oct 05 12:31:45 -0700 2007 3007898 26666 FrankJBN 3 3008662 Well maybe that's how they do it Ethiopian style, because this place was pretty authentic... Fri Oct 05 13:28:07 -0700 2007 3008462 112406 Chew on That 4 3011306 My regular Ethipian place, which is all 1st gen Ethiopian always offers the "how would you like it" option to newcomers. Become a regular and they teach you to eat it the right way . . . raw or just seared a bit in parts Sat Oct 06 18:34:37 -0700 2007 3008662 45908 orangewasabi 1 3008828 I have had steak tartare in Paris and it is always raw. I'm wondering if the waiter or the restaurant had previous issues with ignorant Americans complaining that their tartare was rare, so that they cook it when an Americans show up. Either way, totally a screw up on the restaurant's part, not yours. Fri Oct 05 14:19:37 -0700 2007 3007760 75002 Megiac 1 3009759 Here we go... Steak tartar(e) is raw... no modification, just raw. I have no clue what was going on at that resto. Kitfo, the Ethiopian version of steak tartar, can be raw, seared on the outside, or, in North America, cooked slightly (not traditional at all). BTW, raw kitfo is excellent, and no restaurant would dare serve it unless (a) they had very good, fresh beef, and (b) they did it well. Now that you're in London, go to a good restaurant, and get some real steak tartar. That said, it won't be cheap...US$20, min. Fri Oct 05 21:33:51 -0700 2007 3007760 91415 hungry_pangolin 2 3011649 do they add spices to the ethiopian ground beef? if so, which ones? I have never had it before, but I assume it tastes amazing....as most ethiopian food is Sat Oct 06 22:46:16 -0700 2007 3009759 24546 bitsubeats 3 3012223 Yes, they add spices, but it's not spicy, as such. They add clarified butter that is spiced with cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, etc., so it's more aromatic than piquant. And, yes... delicious. Sun Oct 07 09:38:33 -0700 2007 3011649 91415 hungry_pangolin