Originally Posted by emma69

Safety wise, how the meat has been processed is more important than the cut (which comes down to personal preference, can't say raw meat appeals at all, but tenderness, taste, etc. is not a safety issue) The 'cut' of meat you buy needs to not to have come into contact with any of the (for want of a better word) poop during processing (as the cow is cut open, it can 'splash' on to other bits of meat). The meat is washed, but not to the degree it would kill nasties such as e.coli, so meat for steak tartare must have been very carefully processed from slaughter on. Another way some restaurants minimize (but not eliminate) the risk, is by cutting off the outer parts of the big slab of meat, and using that for cooked products, keeping the centre for the tartare, but isn't foolproof as the knife, board etc. can all contaminate.

Long and short, I probably wouldn't trust an unknown butcher to give me the product I would want for tartare, and instead would work on developing a relationship with a butcher back home, who can tell me the cow's name if I wanted to know!