Actually that’s not such a bad deal, considering I’d have to split the 18oz Kobe burger with at least one other person.
Two different items, in my case, would kick in:
-
“$81? Can’t you get a ton of hamburger elsewhere for an eighth of that?”
-
“$81? Not counting inevitable tip and tax? For a hamburger? Spend that cash on something a bit more impressive!”
Ultimately, I’d either not be able to set foot in that restaurant, or I’d order something else.
Eat it? Hell, I’d have it gold-plated and made into a pendant!
Yes, I would screw Eliot Spitzer for $81.
Ew. Clearly, we need to work on your self-esteem issues.
Going with the “I’d eat it if someone else was buying” crowd here.
It sounds like it might be good. I’ve never had Kobe beef before and am curious as to what it would taste like. 18oz would be way too much for me to eat though. I’d have trouble getting through half of it and I wouldn’t be able to eat anything else the rest of the day.
I would never consider paying that much for one meal though. Complete waste of money IMO.
I’m going to be in NYC in around six weeks time. Anyone want to split a $81 burger? My treat.
And, yes, I’m serious. :eek:
Why eat a hamburger for $81, when you can get one for $134. (Unfortunately, the link is in Japanese, but if you scroll down, the Japanese menu shows a wagyu hamburger for 13,450 yen. This is at the Ritz-Carlton hote, which has billed itself at the most expensive hotel in Tokyo.
Yeah, I’d go for it. I mean, I’ve paid more than 80 bucks to watch a football game before, or do any number of other things that aren’t as story-worthy as an 80 dollar burger. I think they should have some kind of fancy pants cheese on it.
On the Big Texan Steak Ranch: I got on to Wiki to confirm my recollection that old school wrestler Klondike Bill ate 2 dinners in an hour, but they claim somebody ate 4!
The Big Texan!
I went there and tried to conquer the beast. 72 ounce steak, baked potato, side salad, shrimp cocktail, and a dinner roll, if I remember right. You have to sign a waiver before they’ll cook it for you, and you have to sit up on a stage in front of everyone else at the restaurant to eat it. There’s also a webcam broadcasting your feeding, so my friends and family back in Georgia all got to watch.
People came up to me over the course of the hour and offered encouragement and cheers. At one point the entire place chanted my name. One British couple taped me eating for a bit and made some comment about how perfectly lovely America is.
With ten minutes left, I had consumed all of the fixin’s and 63 ounces of steak. At that point, I rose, walked to the bathroom, and bid it all a fond farewell. I got a shirt out of the deal.
That’s an interesting take on it…so basically, Bourdain says you’re ruining the Kobe by making it into a hamburger? I wonder what other foods are out there that are “ruined” by cooking it the way it’s not supposed to?
For some reason I feel very strongly about this. If it costs more than about ten dollars to make, it’s not a hamburger. Hamburger is not an elite food. Of course, I’m not factoring in the large size of this item, but even so, for $81 that’s either one PROFITABLE hamburger or not a hamburger at all.
What he’s saying is that the value of Kobe, the thing that makes Kobe special, is the manner in which fat is distributed within the normally lean muscle. That exceptional marbling and texture is what you pay for, and is only significant if the steak is whole. When you grind it, the marbling aspect is rendered irrelevant, because all the lean muscle and fat is mushed together, and texture is completely thrown out the door.
It’s not so much that the food is ruined, but if you pay a premium for qualities X Y and Z in a food, it doesn’t make sense to prepare it in a way that minimizes the value of those qualities.
I’d rather just have the 4 ounces of barely seared sirloin out of the middle, thanks.
That hamburger is a joke, for the reasons in the Bourdain quote, and also because you can’t buy 18 ounces of top quality wagyu for $81. It might be from top quality cows, but it’s clearly some inferior, crappy cut of meat that’s being used.
And even assuming it’s good meat in the first place, Bourdain’s point about the pointlessness of taking perfectly marbled beef and grinding it up holds true.
I’d eat it. Paying for though… I’d have to think about that, although I wouldn’t place it out of the realm of possibility.
Barely seared… mmmmmmm…
Not to question Bourdain, but this isn’t being prepared by Burger King, but at an apparently decent restuarant with I’m sure a decent chef- would they offer such a thing if the method of preparation turned it into shit? Has Borudain tried it, or just talking out of his ass?
What parts of the Kobe cow are they using that they would only charge $81 for 18oz of it? And what Bourdain said. I’d probably pay $81 for a burger exactly like that, but because they label it Kobe, they actually devalue it in my eyes. It’s like the chef thinks I’m too stupid to know any better. The burger sounds like it would be delicious, but it’s a travesty to grind Kobe beef.
It is kind of an odd dish, created primarily to be “the most decadent food item of 2008”. When you go into it with that attitude, I can see abusing your ingredients.
He’s probably talking out of his ass, but it’s a very experienced and knowledgeable ass.
Adding : It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Bourdain has had ground Kobe before, so he could be tapping into that experience.
Everything I’ve ever eaten at the Old Homestead Steakhouse has been so delicious that I’ve practically fallen off my chair and rolled around on the floor in ecstasy. Only I’ve never done that because I want to be allowed to come back. It’s that good.
So yes, I would try their $81 burger. Although I’ve never actually had a burger there because I’m always tempted by some other tasty meat dish.
You’ve eaten there? What’s it like? I take it it’s a high-end restaurant, on par with a Ruth’s Chris? What is your favorite dish there?