Kobe beef at Varanese

My wife and I ate at Varanese last night, and on the specials list was Kobe beef tenderloin! It was NOT cheap, but it's not something you see every day so I decided to give it a shot. It was well worth it! We had a chance to speak with Mr. Varanese and he told us that he ordered the beef for a private party, but had enough left over to make it into a special. Thought others might want to know, since the window is probably closing.

Thanks for the heads up, I wish i had that kinda money to spend this week.

[Robin Garr]

Kobe, or Kobe-style US Wagyu? I love Varanese, but I hate it when restaurants - even restaurants I love - misrepresent Wagyu beef as Japanese Kobe, which is virtually impossible to get in the US and would have to sell for about $200 a steak. Harrumph ... it's still great beefsteak, though.

My wife and I ate at Varanese last night, and on the specials list was Kobe beef tenderloin! It was NOT cheap, but it's not something you see every day so I decided to give it a shot. It was well worth it! We had a chance to speak with Mr. Varanese and he told us that he ordered the beef for a private party, but had enough left over to make it into a special. Thought others might want to know, since the window is probably closing.

Kobe, or Kobe-style US Wagyu? I love Varanese, but I hate it when restaurants - even restaurants I love - misrepresent Wagyu beef as Japanese Kobe, which is virtually impossible to get in the US and would have to sell for about $200 a steak. Harrumph ... it's still great beefsteak, though.

My wife and I ate at Varanese last night, and on the specials list was Kobe beef tenderloin! It was NOT cheap, but it's not something you see every day so I decided to give it a shot. It was well worth it! We had a chance to speak with Mr. Varanese and he told us that he ordered the beef for a private party, but had enough left over to make it into a special. Thought others might want to know, since the window is probably closing.

Ulysses' Prime Steak in Cocoa Florida serves Japanese Kobe beef. It's like "liquid meat", totally decadent.

http://www.ulyssesprime.com/

Kobe, or Kobe-style US Wagyu? I love Varanese, but I hate it when restaurants - even restaurants I love - misrepresent Wagyu beef as Japanese Kobe, which is virtually impossible to get in the US and would have to sell for about $200 a steak. Harrumph ... it's still great beefsteak, though.

The menu definitely said Kobe, but I certainly can't validate that. I can say that although it was expensive, it was not quite $200!

[Robin Garr]

Ulysses' Prime Steak in Cocoa Florida serves Japanese Kobe beef. It's like "liquid meat", totally decadent.

http://www.ulyssesprime.com/

Hey, my mother and my sister and her family live near Cocoa, and they love Cafe Margaux, Ulysses' sister establishment. I hadn't heard about this, though. If they say it's so, it must be true, but no kidding, real Kobe is very rare indeed in the US, but Wagyu is widely labeled "Kobe."

Added by edit: Looking at their PDF menu, it appears that it's legit. They offer both "US Wagyu" and "Japanese Wagyu," the latter going at $160 for a "dinner cut." Looks like my $200 guesstimate wasn't far off.

Robin,
I agree... it is rare to find and when you do, it's very expensive. To me, the real thing usually prices out along the lines of what they have at Cut in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Ulysses' Prime Steak in Cocoa Florida serves Japanese Kobe beef. It's like "liquid meat", totally decadent.

http://www.ulyssesprime.com/

Hey, my mother and my sister and her family live near Cocoa, and they love Cafe Margaux, Ulysses' sister establishment. I hadn't heard about this, though. If they say it's so, it must be true, but no kidding, real Kobe is very rare indeed in the US, but Wagyu is widely labeled "Kobe."

Added by edit: Looking at their PDF menu, it appears that it's legit. They offer both "US Wagyu" and "Japanese Wagyu," the latter going at $160 for a "dinner cut." Looks like my $200 guesstimate wasn't far off.

We've dined there twice in the last 6 months just to get the Kobe. It's a different and decadent beef experience.

Kobe, or Kobe-style US Wagyu? I love Varanese, but I hate it when restaurants - even restaurants I love - misrepresent Wagyu beef as Japanese Kobe, which is virtually impossible to get in the US and would have to sell for about $200 a steak. Harrumph ... it's still great beefsteak, though.

Robin, that's why I love this website. I learn so many things. I love food, passionately. Cooking, history, techniques, differences in culture, recipes, I could go on and on. So now I will be googling Japanese Kobe beef and the misconception people have.

For anyone interested in educating themselves on the topics of Wagyu and Kobe, please read the following (in particular the last link)

Chadzilla: Wagyu vs Kobe

Kobe Beef from Japan to America(a research paper by Daryll Neault - manager of the meat department at Uwajimaya in Seattle).


The latter is very thorough, and covers just about every misconception Americans have about Kobe/Wagyu. In particular, there's a section that compares both US Wagyu and true Kobe to the highest grade domestic prime that is quite interesting. (It may look long, but there is really only about 10 pages of actual "reading" in it.)




To quote the final words of the Chadzilla link:

"So, the whole point of this is 'truth in menu.' I, personally, have never had the pleasure of tasting real Kobe beef... I can't afford it, and no one's going to send me a free sample. If you have wagyu, then call it wagyu... or Japanese style. Don't say kobe unless you paid over half a thousand bucks a pound for true kobe which then should have been frozen and air shipped to you. Morimoto seriously doubts that it was."

Due to the overwhelming intrest in this subject (Kobe vs. Wagyu) we have decided to host a Kobe Steak Dinner at Varanese on July 21st. The American Kobe or Wagyu we ran on special last month was a result of a large party we had booked that requested we find something special and unique to put on their private menu. Chef John has now found a supplier for the real Kobe beef from Japan and has decided to feature it in July. We have already pre-registered around fifteen of our regulars who have jumped on the chance to try a real 10 oz. grade #5 Kobe Strip Steak for $125.00 a plate. only a limited amount of reservations will be excepted. So if you would like to take advantage of this rare opportunity please call to reserve your spot.