STEAK TARTAR

[michael (mea culpa)]

There are multiple postings on sushi. Tuna tartar seems ubiquitous. Where can I get a good steak tartar?

[Renee]

Musso & Frank's USED to serve a good Steak Tartare, but that was 20 years ago....

worth a phone call to them?

[michael (mea culpa)]

Good call. Musso & Frank's says they don't do it much anymore, it's not on the menu, but they will.

[SKU]

Palm Thai actually serves a sort of Thai-style steak tartar (I forget what it's called): raw beef chunks with raw garlic and lime juice. Delicious, but not for the weakly constituted.

I assume traditional steak tartar is hard to find because of the hesitancy to use raw eggs; I haven't seen the traditional dish on an LA menu.

[Dave Feldman]

Koi soy?

[silver queen]

And of course the key ingredient in koi soy is beef bile, straight from the gall bladder of the cow. Renu Nakorn used to do this dish as a weekend special, I think. But it's an aquired taste: I've never seen the dish anywhere else.

My fave tartar is probably the one at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills. No better Friday lunch.

[Rafi]

connecting sushi to tartar...

When I was briefly and unhappily a waiter at Asakuma (this was about ten yrs ago now -- yikes!) they served a beef sashimi that I quite liked. Very pretty, too. Curled up into a raw meat rose. Don't know if they still offer it in the post-mad cow era...

Asakuma is on Wilshire in WLA.

[michael (mea culpa)]

When I was briefly and unhappily a waiter at Asakuma (this was about ten yrs ago now -- yikes!) they served a beef sashimi that I quite liked. >>
Told it's not on the menu, but "sometimes we can make it." Thanks.

[Renee]

Benihana used to also have a Steak Tartar that was really raw. They still have it on the menu but it is seared and sliced. Close, but...

[michael (mea culpa)]

Benihana and I do not agree with one another. Went to a business lunch there about 8-10 years ago and within 10 minutes of my departure I became violently ill.

[Renee]

Hmmmm - how odd. Food poisoning TRADITIONALLY takes 24 hours to manifest.

[Griller141]

Staphylococcal enterotoxin food poisoning is often from meat (most likely in eggs, but can get into almost anything), is one of the most common types of food poisoning, and often manifests in 30 minutes - though more typically in 2-6 hours. It is equally likely in cooked and raw meats, as it is not inactivated by cooking.

[Fine]

Perhaps the very knowledgeable-sounding poster can also explain why the Feds and all other sources I’ve encountered warn against eating raw or even rare beef these days. If not, such info is readily available online. Better for interested parties to read it for themselves rather than have me paraphrase it. It has nothing to do with Mad Cow.

I no longer eat steak tartar, but when I did, I made darn sure, if I was in a restaurant, the kitchen adhered to the HIGHEST standards of hygiene, chopping beef at the last minute in properly sterile equipment, which was immediately recleaned. At home, where I preferred to have it since I could make it to my own taste, I would definitely feel safer freezing the beef—bought from the most reliable butcher--for a couple of days beforehand, partially thawing it in the reefer, then chopping it in sterilized equipment. (Only in places where low-paid apprentices still exist could one find the ideal: hand-chopped beef! A Cuisinart, pulsed, comes close though.)

[Griller141]

Not to get too carried away with this (it should probably be on the general topics board anyway), the feds are more concerned with e. coli which rarely contaminates meat in processing plants - not restaurants - and IS inactivated by cooking.

[jdecay]

Whoever said food poisoning traditionally takes 24 hours to come on is completely misinformed. I have had food poisoning on multiple occasions, some involving hospitalization. In actuality, the symptoms of food poisoning usually manifest themselves 4-6 hours after ingestion of contaminated food. Of course this can vary, but it is, indeed, the norm.

[David T]

Best traditional steak tartare is at the Grill in Beverly Hills (and, I assume, at the new one at Hollywood and Highland). The version at Maple Drive, also in BH, is not bad, either.

[u4ik]

Try calling some Ethiopian places to see if they're serving kitfo. Raw beef, butter, cinnamon, hot chili, etc. It's like a party in your mouth.

[jerome]

Yes. There is a steak tartare at the Grill. Is the TOwer still around? I think they used to serve it. The other ideas are good too, go for the Ethiopian raw beef, remember several Italian restaurants serve carpaccio (bresaola/bundnerfleisch is uncooked although it is air dried and cured), many Korean places serve yuk hwe raw beef, with egg, and many will put raw beef in the bibimbap for yuk-hwe bibim bap, and last, Maroush and other Lebanese places serve Kibbe nayeh or is it kibbeh arayes, in any case it's seasoned raw beef.
G'luck.

[Fine]

I posted my views on this; however, in skimming some of Jonathan Gold's pieces, I came across one in which he referred to the tartar at, I believe, the BelAir--whichever posh place is owned by the Sultan. He thought it was the cow's moo or whatever--sorry.

[Zoe]

For my taste, the Grill's steak tartar has too much seasoning, too much pickle in it. The Bicycle Shop steak tartar is pretty fare but skip the one at Moustache Cafe. Did read that the Brentwood Grill was offering this but have not tried it. The best is to do it at home with a good piece of trimmed top sirloin ground twice, two jumbo egg yokes, salt, pepper, grated onion and capers with thin sliced rye bread (from San Vicente Market bakery or Diamond Bakery) and butter. Don't mix it until just before you eat it.

[Patrick D.]

One of the best in town is at Le Dome on Sunset, and the Wine Bistro in Studio City has a very good one. I've also had good luck at the Moustache unlike a previous poster.

[michael (mea culpa)]

Thanks for your post. As for Moustache Cafe, I ate several times at the Westwood and Melrose spots about 2 years ago. My overall impression was of places which had passed their prime. The decor was dated. The selections seemed dated. The waitresses who had formerly been wannabe starlets were now veteran food servers. And, most tellingly, the food was mediocre. In short, not the sort of spot(s) to inspire eating anything raw. Still, they did have a scallop salad, that when done right, was one of their better selections. I could never rely on it to be consistent, however. Tell me they've gotten better.

[Renee]

They haven't gotten better -- I ate there last month and found it appalling.

[michael (mea culpa)]

Oh, well ...

[Vanessa On The Town]

Was just at The Red Lion in Silverlake and noticed they have Steak Tartar (Mix it yourself) on the menu. They are a German Pub with a beer garden and they are known for their German fare ie: Bratwurst and kraut and such.
I would imagine their Tartar is a traditional European version. In general, I like their food especially their mashed potatoes with bacon bits and gravy.

[Dommy]

My favorite one was from Vert... but that has now been replaced by the one I had last night at Ford's Filling Station. Hmm..

The serving is larger and it's served with a poched egg on top. It also comes with Fresh Made Truffle Potato Chips, which just has a KISS of truffle oil on them so now to over power... It was truly one of the best apps I've had in a while...

--Dommy!