The Secret of Kobe Beef
Noble Bovines, Protest Apparel, and Surprisingly Healthy Deliciousness
Story by Laurie McAndish King
I’ve sampled unusual foods all around the world: blood pudding, haggis, kangaroo, crocodile, even horse meat. And while I am not generally a meat eater, though that list of sampled foods suggests otherwise, I had heard that Kobe beef is the most delicious beef in the world — tender and buttery, with an exquisite texture. So when I learned I’d be traveling to Japan for a business trip, I set a modest goal for the little free time I would enjoy: I wanted to taste Kobe beef.
So did my husband, Jim, who accompanied me. And, because my personal plans sometimes go awry on tightly scheduled visits, we slipped it in right at the beginning of our itinerary. To motivate ourselves to stay up, adjust to local time, and vanquish jet lag, we’d made reservations for a special Kobe beef dinner to look forward to on our first evening in Kyoto.
Unfortunately, I was already hungry when we landed at Osaka Kansai International Airport. It was four o’clock in the afternoon, and, after our twelve-hour flight, I was fighting off low-blood-sugar malaise. I needed to find food, fast.
And there it was, before we were even out of the airport: a Japanese fast food…
