Steak tartare

[Ian Mundell]

Preamble: I've just been reading the thread on where to get a good cheeseburger, and someone mentioned steak tartare and how hard it is these days to find real steak tartare due to health risks and such. I had never tried it, but had always wanted to, and so I was delighted a few weeks ago when a work dinner took me out to Sullivan's Steak House in King of Prussia and I was able to order a nice appetizer of steak tartare. Everyone else at the table looked at me askance, but several of them were actually brave enough to try a bite. Reactions were mixed...

We went back to Sullivan's just recently (another work dinner for the same project team) and of course I had the steak tartare again, and was just as happy with it. Now, however, I have to wonder where else, in this risk-averse day and age, can you still buy it? And who makes the best steak tartare in the Philadelphia region? My only base of comparison so far is KoP Sullivan's, which tastes pretty good to me. (Fortunately they don't put the raw egg on top; not sure I'm entirely that brave.)

Look forward to opinions and suggestions!

Cheers

Ian

[mattohara]

one of my top 5 faves at Ansill is the venison tartare. it's absolutely perfect and it does have a raw quail's egg on top.

Edited May 25, 2007 by mattohara (log)

[mrbigjas]

nearly two years ago london had steak tartare on their bar menu, and it was really good. the only unfortunate thing was that they served it traditionally, formed in a ring mold with a quail egg yolk on top, and it bore a striking resemblance to cat food.

anyway, i don't know if they still have it, but i really enjoyed it.

[Andrew Fenton]

nearly two years ago london had steak tartare on their bar menu, and it was really good.  the only unfortunate thing was that they served it traditionally, formed in a ring mold with a quail egg yolk on top, and it bore a striking resemblance to cat food.

Yes, I'm always serving my cats quail eggs. (They're so picky! Like Morris, they are...)

[guzzirider]

Love the tartare.

I find it interesting that people who might enjoy a nice rare burger will balk at steak tartare... like there's a big difference betweeen raw meat and slightly warm raw meat.

On a related note, Umai Umai here in Fairmount recently put Kobe beef sushi/sashimi on their menu. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet... the beef is definitely nice stuff, but I personally think I would appreciate it more as a carpaccio, rather than a thick sashimi slab. Might have to go back and try it 3 or 4 more times before I make up my mind on it ;-)

I was in Portland, OR a few weeks ago and had some lamb tartare (yes, w the quail egg) at Park Kitchen. I wasn't sure what to expect... I've had mixed experiences w/ lamb in the past, but I'm glad I ordered it... it was delicious!

__Jason

[mrbigjas]

nearly two years ago london had steak tartare on their bar menu, and it was really good.  the only unfortunate thing was that they served it traditionally, formed in a ring mold with a quail egg yolk on top, and it bore a striking resemblance to cat food.

Yes, I'm always serving my cats quail eggs. (They're so picky! Like Morris, they are...)

←

well it was more the tartare in the ring mold that was the issue, i have to admit.

i was there with a bunch of people and i was the only one that would eat it. their loss, the suckas.

[serpentine]

Not the same thing, but I get a fix for my tartare cravings by getting kitfo whenever I go to Dahlak.

Edited May 25, 2007 by serpentine (log)

[-sheila mooney]

Not the same thing, but I get a fix for my tartare cravings by getting kitfo whenever I go to Dahlak.

←

one may like, even love, steak tartare -- but sometimes it just doesn't love you back. carpaccio, yes; tartare, no. someone once told me that the raw fat in tartare was the problem for some of us....?

[hathor]

Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook has an excellent recipe for tartare.

I need to get out more often, had no idea this was considered a 'dangerous' food...

[matthewj]

the swann lounge has an excellent beef tartar, and 20/21 also has an excellent tartar

[percyn]

OK, so this is not the classic version, but Nectar in Berwyn used to make steak tartare sushi (sort of like a spicy tuna roll, but with steak), which was pretty good. While not on the menu anymore, they were kind enough to make it for me when I visited last week.

[Alcibiades]

Steak tartare is best enjoyed in Paris, not because it's necessarily better there (though it may well be) but because it embodies the pleasures of casual bistro dining in the Parisienne tradition. As noted on this thread the dish is not seen around here as much as we'd like it to be. To boot, it seems impossible to imagine a traditional horse meat tartare State-side. In my opinon, steak tartare is food with an interesting history and fabulous gastronomical reward. It's decline in popularity in the US may have something to do with our penchant for uninformed hysteria, though it may be that people just don't like it much. Don't know, but I do know that I love it.

[townsend]

...when I was in Paris and ordered the tartare, the waiter showed up 10 minutes later "....uh, monsieur, you do know that's raw?" "Oui, raw, I know..."