jdraper

Hi all. I've been gone a while with the trials and tribulations of daily life. However, we are taking our youngest son (28) to Paris in November. He is excited about trying steak tartare in Paris. Has anyone had this treat in Paris and, if so, any recommendations as to the best place to have it? Since it will be new for him I want to make sure he gets something prepared at a place that is considered to do it well so he can truely see if it is something that he would like.
Thank you in advance for your responses. J

Dutch

Do you have a problem with horse meat?

jdraper

Dutch:
I have never had horse meat and I have a cast iron stomach so I will eat anything that doesn't eat me first. However, my son is not quite as daring and, while he is willing to give various preparation methods a try, I doubt if he would be enthusiastic about horse meat. Sorry. J

spaarne

I had steak tartare in Paris and in a French restaurant in southern California. The French plate was rather runny. The California plate was superb. There I was with some oil men for a business lunch. When the waiter mixed it up with the spices and raw egg he passed the plate over to me. One of the oil men asked "Ain't ya gonna cook it?"

I plan to be in Paris in a couple of months. I am interested in replies from others for a good place to try it again.

MademoiselleFifi

http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/f.../steak-tartare

kerouac

Steak tartare has not been made with horse meat for at least 20 years in 99% of the restaurants in France.

Some myths die hard.

kerouac

I will also point out for the zillionth time that when you see "à cheval" on a restaurant menu, as in "steak hâché à cheval" it means with a fried egg on top ("egg riding horseback&quot.

The preposition "de" is what would make all the difference. "de cheval" would mean made out of horsemeat.

djkbooks

I have ordered Steak Tartare at various places in Paris (it's on the menu all over) and it has been consistently excellent in establishments of all sorts and price ranges. I've never been disappointed.

If it matters, ask whether it is prepared in the kitchen, tableside, or provided (my favorite) as ingredients you mix yourself to your preferences. With the latter, there's a mound of ground (or chopped) beef (often the filet), with a raw egg yolk atop (which you can use or not) along with capers, minced shallots, minced hard cooked egg, minced cornichons, dijon mustard, parsley, chives, etc., along with Tabasco and Worcestershire Sauce, sometimes even catsup. I prefer to mix my own with a whisper (as opposed to a shout) of Tabasco and Worcestershire.

I enjoy Steak Tartare because I love a few bites of raw meatloaf mix as I'm preparing it for the oven!

It's usually served with Frites and/or a mixed green salad, sometimes "toasts". Typically, when you order it, the waitperson will emphasize that it is not cooked!

kerouac

<i>Typically, when you order it, the waitperson will emphasize that it is not cooked!</i>

Not if you have a French accent!

Rhea58

I obviously don't have a French accent as the waitstaff did point out to me that it is uncooked...also asked how much Tabasco I wanted &amp; it was prepared tableside &amp; delicious.

Ackislander

I have had both steak and salmon tartare at a number of places, and both have been consistently delicious. The best steak tartare I remember was at Bofinger, which is a very attractive place to go anyway. The best salmon tartare was somewhere near Bon Marche. Not much help until I get home from my current trip.

Reisender

Yum raw beef and raw eggs...not!

kadurk49

My husband and I go to Paris on business on a yearly basis and he really enjoys steak tartare. We always go to La Coupole on Boulevard Monteparnasse. It is always delicious as are the other entrees at this resturant.

robjame

jdraper - here is a blog that is devoted to steak tartare in Paris. He seems to have had a hard time as many of his favourite places were closed for August. However, at the bottom of the page are reader recommended spots.

Yours is a noble quest and don't let any of the McDoo Munchers deter you! Bon Appetit!

http://parissteaktartare.blogspot.com/

ira

Hi JD,

Your son is old enough to make it himself at home, &quot;so he can truely see if it is something that he would like&quot;.

WillTravel

Personally I love steak tartare, but the tapeworm stories are enough to put me off. No matter how clean a restaurant is, they can't be absolutely sure the beef is safe, I don't think.

kerouac

&quot;The tapeworm stories&quot; - have they been published somewhere?

RM67

Tapeworm eggs are far more likely to be in pork, which you would never have raw, or even rare, anyway.

traveller1959

Raw pork is a favourite dish in Germany (&quot;Mett&quot and 60 million people eat it regularly (many of them daily).

In the last 50 years not one single case of tapeworm or any other infection has been reported. Last time I had raw pork, I was sitting at the table together with two micro biologists and they had no concerns about the food.

However, EACH slaughtered animal is carefully inspected under the microscope.

RM67

''In the last 50 years not one single case of tapeworm or any other infection has been reported''

Probably because it's not considered serious enough to merit media or HSE reports, not because it doesn't happen (from another scientist).