Top beef (Kobe or otherwise) on Honshu?
 

I am looking to truly splurge on a meal of Japanese beef while in Japan this winter. Anywhere within a 3 hour train ride of Tokyo or Osaka is acceptable. I am simply looking for the best experience for three people. This is our first experience in Japan. On a related note, what is the dress code for such an establishment? Price doesn't matter. Thanks for the help.

If you don't feel like traveling, Kobe beef is widely available in Tokyo. Restaurants (and pricing) can range from casual to as formal (or expensive)as you like.

I defer to Smidgen's concierge for recommendations. It's safe to say you won't be finding it on the menu in Coco Ichibanya.

Smidgen's factotum is at a loss. There are so many places, really, each with its own approach and style. Since budget is no object, I suggest that the OP do a bit of a beef-run, hitting some of the following places: Aragawa, Morimoto XEX, Kamon, Dons de la Nature, Ukai, Coco Ichibanya, and Yoshinoya.

We love to travel! Getting "off the beaten path" is important to us. The rest of the trip is pretty budget oriented, but we wanted to splurge on one meal. If we are the only Westerners in a restaurant, all the better.

Yoshinoya?

I do hope you were listing those places in order of quality and ambience, top to bottom. (Note to OP: You don't need to dress up to go to Yoshinoya.)

Actually, I lucked out once in that I happened to visit some friends on the one weekend each year when they buy some Kobe beef and make a lavish dinner. Mmmm.

Looks like Yoshinoya is a fast food chain, correct? Or am I looking at the wrong Yoshinoya?

what's your beef?
 

It's not all Kobe beef, y'know...

I really like Hida beef cooked in miso on a layer of hoba (magnolia leaves) over a hibachi.... It's a delicacy in Gifu. There's a restaurant in the center of Shirakawa go that does this really well. It's not expensive... but who's complaining?

The butchers' shops in Takayama are also worth checking out. I recall one with one of the best displays of beef I've ever seen. They will happily arrange refridgerated shipments to any place in Japan. If you planned things well, you could do a tour of the country with choice cuts of Hida beef delivered to your lodgings every day just as you arrive... :cool:

Alternatively, you could tour the famous beef producing regions in Japan and eat local cow:
http://www.pulgogi.net/sanchi.html

I was jus' giving the range. And for the record, I happen to like Yoshinoya.

I do too but have to admit they are not really known for the quality of their wagyu beef. :p

When I was doing research for my Japan trip earlier this summer I found a place called Steak House Satou which seemed to be popular with (English-speaking) internet food bloggers as being a good value. It's a little bit off the beaten path in Kichioji (a Tokyo suburb). It's primarily a butcher shop that sells Matsuzaka steak, but upstairs they have a really small restaurant where you can get high quality steak for about $50 (at lunch, probably a bit more for dinner).

You can read about it here: http://paulstravelpics.blogspot.com/...-yakitori.html or just googling for "steak house satou" for some other links.

I didn't get a chance to make it out there this trip since I was with travelling with a bunch of people and it doesn't sound like the restaurant can accomodate us, so I can't personally vouch for the place, but I definitely added it to my list for future visits. Seems like a fun expedition into suburban Tokyo where you would almost certainly never venture on vacation.

Anyone on the board been to this place?

And what is CocoIchi? Curried chopped liver? :D

CocoIchi is by far the choice among choices. For me anyway. Yoshinoya is a not distant second though. I tend to roll in after the sun is up on weekends though, and a stop at CocoIchi is a near must for me. YMMV.

But back to the original Q, beef in Japan is largely cooked in away to that hardly brings out its best characteristics. If you took a decent chunk of Japanese beef to the US and had a decent steak restaurant prepare it you would receive a better pure "meat" experience. The Japanese are more into balance, accent, presentation, and other sublime things when preparing and presenting food. I would say go to Japan for the whole meal, but stick to the US, Argentina, etc. for the pure beef experience.

That all said, I think I am reading the original post correctly when I assume that the goal of the meal sought is a carnivorous feast highlighting the flavors and textures of Japanese beef as opposed to a delicately prepared and presented Japanese meal. For that I would recommend going to a very good Shabu Shabu place and enjoying too thin to believe it is possible cuts f the very delicious Japanese beef accompanied by all that is a lovely shabu shabu meal. You can dine and dine and dine on platters of beef and really enjoy a flavorful experience that will endear you to Japanese beef forever.

Mike

w0rd! If shabu shabu is the ticket, I like Zakuro. Tasty and expensive.

As for Yoshinoya, it may not be wagyu beef, but it is reputed to be beef ("or otherwise", per the OP's request). On CocoIchi, not a big fan, I'm afraid. If you want curry, and want to pay for it, the best place is the Orchid Room at the Okura for lunch. They make a mean upscale curry.

There are a lot of places claiming best beef. People said that Kobe beef is really from Sanda. Sanda itself is now a bedroom community. But Sandaya in Sanda is still worth a try. This is a huge steak house.

Other people said that Kobe beef is really from Tajima. Tajima being close to Toyooka and really in the boonies, that I can believe they raise cows there. I went there by chance quite a few years ago and their beef is pretty good.

Saga is another country place claims to have good beef. Normally Saga is associated with nori. I tried it once in Isahaya and Saga beef is pretty good too.

Hotel Gran Villa at the JR Osaka Stn. has a very nice teppanyaki place (forgot the name) and it is a great place to go. Wine list is so so.

Oh, it is defintely beef and I, along with many here, enjoy slobbering down one of their plebeian beef bowls.

On that subject, does anyone know if they are back using US beef or is it still banned?

JR