Do You Wagyu?

For decades, many cross-breeds of Wagyu beef—often misnamed “Kobe” after the Japanese city where the strain was first developed and raised—have made their way onto local menus. It’s a breed of steer with intense marbling and incredible tenderness.

The only restaurants that serve true pure-bred Wagyu in this area are Cosmos and 20.21. Spago’s Lee Hefter was one of the first American chefs to directly use Japanese suppliers for his restaurant, and 20.21 gets some of its supply from its Puck sisters in Los Angeles. Stephen Trojahn at Cosmos also contracts directly from Japan and has ancestry charts on the beef he receives.

Wagyu beef is the most expensive beef in restaurants and is currently super-trendy. The real thing is worth the astronomical cost, but much of it isn’t the real thing. The plague of Wagyu burgers on menus is a ridiculous way to serve it and a victory of hype over good sense.

Wagyu beef contains a much higher proportion of the desirable mono-unsaturated fats than other beef. Fifty percent of all marbling in Wagyu is oleic acid (mono-unsaturated), while a relatively small portion is saturated fat. Wagyu is thus considered a healthier type of beef.

Here’s a guide to what you may see on menus:

* Wagyu: Japanese breed of steer that has intense marbling and is fed on grasses, grains, rice, sake, and beer.

* Kobe: A type of Wagyu steer that comes from Kobe. It’s famously massaged daily by teams of farm hands who maintain the pastures.

* Washu: A genetic cross of American Angus and Wagyu, often mislabeled on menus and erratic in quality.

* Australian Wagyu: Purebred Wagyu, raised in Australia, where there is tremendous space for the herds. Often exported back to Japan—it’s that good!

* American Wagyu: A scam. The USDA has never certified any domestic beef as Wagyu. Meat from these animals, while often tasty, is not the real thing, but you wouldn’t know it based on the hefty price on the menu.