You think that just because we're Japanese, we're only picky about fish. No. Our obsession lies with things on land as well. We're serious when it comes to meat, especially beef.
I'm sure Iron Chef or Benihana or Nobu or some other Japanese schmuck has taught you a thing or two about our Kobe Beef and how expensive it is. Yeah, it's good of course, but there are many other branded beef in Japan. And did you know that we have rankings for beef? The rankings range from C1 to A5, with A5 being the best of the tastiest. Wagyu, refers to a beef bred in Japan that has genetic characteristics to predispose intense marbling of fat and muscle fiber. It has a high percentage of unsaturated fat, thus, the melting temperature point is lower. Of which, Kuroge-wagyu refers to the black-haired beef breeds; the most famous being those bred in Matsuzaka/Kobe, Ohmi, and Miyazaki. Yes, that's right folks. Premium branded beef. Like the Harry Winstons of beef. Like the Bentleys of beef.
It's not often that you get to eat A5 meat. It's pricey here too. But my friend recently introduced me to MEAT YAZAWA in Gotanda that only serves A5-ranked steaks and hamburgs. And for cheap!! It's like a dream come true for carnivores like myself. While at first I was hesitant to go to Gotanda (because it's an unfashionable, really unremarkable city -- known more for shady love hotels and other obscure businesses), I am so glad I went. Yazawa takes no reservations so when I got there at 11:30, there was already a line wrapped around the block. I'd say the wait was roughly 30 minutes, not too bad. I had the hamburg lunch (1260 yen)... and oh my gosh, it was SO good. Yazawa proudly features the various A5 beef for the week. Official "Champion Hitachi-gyu" or "Champion A5 Maesawa-gyu" certificates line the walls to prove authenticity. Japanese people are suckers for the real deal. We willingly splurge on quality. Next time, I'm having the 4980 yen sirloin steak!
I'll post something on our pork obsession too sometime. Tokyo X, Platinum Pork, Wine pork, Herb pork, Iberico, Agu....
In the meantime, go to Yazawa.
MEAT YAZAWA（ミート矢澤）
Shinagawa-ku, Gotanda 2-15-13, New Heights Nishi Gotanda 1F
Open 11:30-15:00, 17:00-24:00
No reservations
Tel: 03.5435.2914
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