RPCookin
Executive Chef
The first dish is called steak tartare and it's a classic dish that's been around since the early 1900's - way longer than you or I. My parents even used to eat it.
My wife and I enjoyed the meal. The food and wine was excellent and sparked great conversation. The atmosphere was beautiful, as well.
This being a cooking website, I would think that people here would have more appreciation for those who try to take it to another level. It's like saying you love art, but only if it's paint-by-numbers. Have we all become so old and boring that everything has to be meat and potatoes? I'm sorry but, good or not, there's nothing much exciting about that kind of food.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking meat and potatoes, but every once in a while it's nice to get out and try something that's a little different.
To each his own. I do beef medium rare. Raw beef is simply not in my world of food - I dislike the texture for one thing. If I was to eat at a restaurant which offered it, I would order something else. I'm glad that you like it, but it hold nothing for me. The raw yolk on top of raw meat just adds an exclamation point. It looks to me like someone forgot a step in the preparation process.
I'm not opposed to raw with certain types of seafood. I've done oysters on the half shell with a pink peppercorn sauce. I've eaten raw conch just five minutes out of the shell, just briefly marinated in lime juice. I don't do sushi, just isn't my cup of tea.
As kids in Wisconsin, we hunted our own frogs and had a frog leg feast on the 4th of July. I've eaten alligator and rattlesnake and Rocky Mountain oysters. I've had squid prepared a number of different ways, not just the deep fried calamari that most Coloradans are familiar with.
As I said earlier, after 68 years, I've learned the types of foods that I really don't care for, most by trying and rejecting. I don't need to try steak tartare to know that I wouldn't like it, because I don't even like too rare beef.