A Philosophy of Eating Beef.

I've only started to eat beef when I was 21. "Why?" you might ask. Well, partially it was religious reasons as my Mom was a buddhist. Partially, it's also I'm an actual adult, and the full "rebelliousness" was in full effect, whereby I can think for myself without the control from a parent, piece one and one together, and make proper choices. Spoiler alert: I'm not a religious person at all (also for a future post).

That being said, I still remember the first time I had beef. AlaskanTF, some ex-secondary school classmates, and I went to this K-BBQ place. They were like "TRY!" looking at me with a piece of beef on their chopsticks, and they placed it on my plate. I took it, placed it in my mouth, chewed and swallowed.

FUCK ME! What have I been missing all these years?

I instantly fell in love with beef. The reaction of AlaskanTF and friends says it all. Ever since that day, whenever I ate out, I always selected beef as the choice of proteins, also to catch up on all the lost years of not eating beef. That soon advanced into Steakhouses. The first was Jack's Place, a local steakhouse. Over the few times I've been to Jack's Place, I tried some of the different cuts, compared to the thinly-sliced beef cuts they have in those BBQ places, it was a whole other experience. I thought Jack's Place was the best, or so i thought.

Cue my first overseas military exercise. On one of our off days, my superiors brought me out to Texas Roadhouse. I cannot remember what I had, but all I remember was the steak was the best that I had in my life, and it was my birthday as well! Up till that point, my philosophy was beef was best enjoyed as a steak. Coming back home, nowhere that sold beef here brought me the same joy as I had experienced at Texas Roadhouse.

As time went on, I stumbled upon the Omakase-style steakhouse. Just when I thought it cannot get better, it just did. These sort of steakhouses, present a Omakase Set Course menu for you, giving you different cuts of meat (though not as thick a cut compared to steaks). There IS actually more to just a Striploin, or a Ribeye. Don't get me wrong, while latter cuts are still enjoyable, the Omakase-style is more brilliant, as it gives you the more exotic or adventurous cuts such as Tounge, Tripe, Cheek, and so forth.

This is my philosophy now. Beef is best enjoyed in different cuts. I would now eagerly introduce my friends to two steakhouses locally which gives customers the Omakase Set Course menus, should we want to eat proper beef. I've grown to love Beef Tounge and Tripe. Depending on which part of the tounge it is, the tip gives you a more "bouncy" sort of profile, while the root of the tounge gives you more bite. Tripe might feel a little gamey, but if done right, it is actually quite delicious.

Other underrated cuts: Hanger and Skirt. These two are the more juicy cuts, with the skirt offering more of a bite.

Another thing I would like to mention is I have had Japanese A4 and A5 Wagyu, USDA Prime, and Australian Wagyu. Personally, Japanese A4 Wagyu is the best, as you can grill them, and eat multiple cuts, without going to the point you are sick of eating, because of all the fats and marbeling. Others are great, but Japanese A4 Wagyu is S-Tier for me.

That's about it.

Warmest,
- Stephano