When I was a child, my parents had to bribe me to eat meat.
Let’s clarify that.
And it is not hyperbole to say I’ll never forget it.
Photo: Shutterstock. Design: Eat This, Not That!
It was averyspecial occasion, and I was looking to celebrate in style.
Some people buy tickets to “Hamilton” or designer handbags.
I splurge on food.
Photo: Shutterstock
Perusing the menu over cocktails before dinner, I turned to my husband.
“Let’s try the Wagyu,” I said.
His eyes lit up like I’d gifted him tickets to see the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
Photo: Pursuit Farms
It’s a lot of pressure to eat something so costly.
What if it doesn’t live up to the hype?
Honestly, I didn’t really know much about Wagyu.
Fogo de Chao
Each option came with a different name: “olive,” “snow,” and Miyazaki.
We opted for snow.
It sounded cool and made me think of the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”
A screen placed over the bowl bore eight bite-sized slices of the beef in question.
Priced at $150, the dish worked out to $18.75 per piece.
Add tax and tip you’re looking at easily $20 per bite.
Would it be worth it?
Each piece was ringed in the kind of carbon-black crackling you’d find on a perfect s’more.
The meat itself was ruby rare, reminiscent of a mini version of a standing rib roast.
I took a deep breath, forked a slice, and popped it in my mouth.
It was bacon from a local farm that raised happy, fat, pastured pigs.
One bite of the melting fat and savory, crisp bacon flesh and there was no turning back.
This Wagyu was the beef version of that life-changing bacon.
There were three bites left for my share so I tried to mete them out ever more slowly.
Too soon they were gone.
A ghost, a visceral memory of smoke and snow.
I didn’t want to eat anything else that would overwrite the lingering taste.
I didn’t want to eat any steak other than this ever again.
The term Wagyu literally translates to Japanese cow in English.
These cattle are bred and cared for under exacting standards in the Land of the Rising Sun.
(That one costs $170 per order, in case you’re wondering.)
If you’re new to Wagyu, Iocchi has some advice.
I can absolutely see that.
At this kind of cost, it’s not something you’d want to botch your first time out.
(That said, I was googling where to buy it online before dinner was over.)
You also want to time it perfectly in your meal.
Just know that once you go Wagyu, you may need some sort of bribe to ever go back.
