500cc's of Hot Beef, STAT.

The term "Kobe beef" gets thrown around a lot these days (wait, what?), but apparently in order for beef to truely be called Kobe, it must only come from 160 government-acknowledged farms in the Kobe prefecture. I know that sounds like a lot, but those farms only raise an average of 5 cows at a time: that's how much time and attention they need. The treatment of the cows is pretty legendary: they receive massages daily and are feed on beer (in this way their lifestyle is not unlike your typical Googler) and the rice that's left over after sake is made (sake mash).

Anywho, I found myself in Kobe yesterday, which is a rather dreary place until you head up into the mountains behind the town: there are lots of beautiful hikes with pristene mountain lakes and waterfalls. A great way to spend the afternoon.

All this, of course, was just an excuse to pump myself full of steak: as should be clear by now, I've loved the food here immensely but it can be a bit, well, dainty. I was ready for some serious beef. There are basically two options for eating Kobe beef in Kobe: go to a very fancy restaurant, where you can expect to pay about 27,000Yen for a prix fixe (about $300), or go to A1. A1 also serves true kobe beef, but it cuts down on price, apparently, by being tremendously bare-bones: the place looks like the greasiest of greasy spoon diners. And it's still not cheap: my 12oz portion of sirloin, nearly more fat than meat, was $60.

They prepare the steak the same way they prepare really excellent meat in Argentina, or America, or really anywhere else there's good beef: throw it on a hot grill, sear on both sides, put it on a plate with a pat of butter on top and serve with spinach and fried potatos. And it was good. Really, really good. Unlike in Argentina, it's more about texture than flavor: it practically falls apart even though the middle is still basically raw. I will say this though: was it better than a $60 steak in New York? Or a $30 steak in Argentina? All different experiences, certainly, but I'd hate to have to pick any one of those options over the other two.