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Steak Tartare


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Marcel's
Bistro Franí§ais
The Guards
Bistrot du Coin

I've had horrific steak tartare at both The Guards and Bistrot du Coin. Had a 2-AM version once at Bistro Francais and I enjoyed it at the time. It used to be fabulous at Les Halles (back when they had their own butcher) but the last one I had there (in 2004) was so bad it was inedible. At all of these late-night hangouts it probably depends on the night and is a dice-roll. Marcel's is excellent, and I've had really good versions this year at Circle Bistro and Poste (although both of these places offer small portions and Poste's is in the form of a miniburger).

Cheers,
Rocks
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I've had horrific steak tartare at both The Guards and Bistrot du Coin.  Had a 2-AM version once at Bistro Francais and I enjoyed it at the time.  It used to be fabulous at Les Halles (back when they had their own butcher) but the last one I had there (in 2004) was so bad it was inedible.  At all of these late-night hangouts it probably depends on the night and is a dice-roll.  Marcel's is excellent, and I've had really good versions this year at Circle Bistro and Poste (although both of these places offer small portions and Poste's is in the form of a miniburger).

Cheers,

Rocks

Yeah, but the person asked where to get steak tartare, not GOOD steak tartare. :)

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BdC is unfailingly good to me.

Perhaps Nadya is being too modest or is close to see it, but Bis has my favorite steak tartare in the city. I also recently had Circle Bistro's version and it was definitely up to par. Be sure to skip the tableside preparation at Les Halles. I tried it during the Beaujolet fest last month and it was surprisingly (at least to me) terrible. This was before the wine started to free flow, so I'm pretty sure it was no good.

For any tartare fans seeking a different experience, I highly recommend finding out when Poste is serving the salmon tartare and getting there post-haste. The tartare is served in 3 individual "ice cream cones" with creme fraiche and perhaps some other little things that escape me now. Total gluttony.

Last week the lamb tartare, lamb spring rolls and a 1/2 bottle of Mark West pinot did quite the trick at Firefly in advance of the annual trip to see "The Messiah" at the Ken Cen.

Mmmmm...raw meats...

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I know you're asking for steak tartar but Johnny Rooks' lamb tartar at Firefly is dope.

I especially loved the texture. Not the mashed up chop meat that you might normally find, but really nice firm pieces of fantastic meat. Don't sleep on the celery root either.

Edited by PONYPUNCH
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Chef Krinn has a killer tartare at 2941 during the warmer months as part of his "Tapas on the Terrace" menu. I hope it returns this year.

ETA: the utter lack of description above doesn't do this dish justice. It seems to be a take on steak and eggs, with the tartare accomapnied by a slice of brioche with a quail egg yolk set in its middle. The steak, brioche, and yolk all blend together into a delightfully gooey mess that disappears all too quickly.

Edited by Capital Icebox
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It has cheese in it, which some people enjoy. I am not one of them; I like to be able to taste the beef.
Testify! Ick - the tartare at Montsouris was definitely not good. I still think Les Halles has the best in the area.

But you really should try making your own. I couldn't believe how easy it was, and so much better than most restaurants. I follow Bourdain's recipe (with personal adjustments) from his Les Halles cookbook. The recipe is on the Canadian Food Network website.

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I wanted to bump this up to see if there were any new thoughts on this topic. I have been craving steak tartare for a a week or so now. ANy brilliant ideas?

I recently had steak tartare at both Bistrot du Coin and then Bistro Bis. If I were craving steak tartare, of the two, I'd choose Bistro Bis. Unfortunately, my steak tartare at Bistrot du Coin was not good (everything else was fine though).

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It's not cheese; it's a sauce de belle-maman which is basically homemade mayonnaise - you can request it without the sauce.
The menu says "Steak Tartare Belle Maman, Pommes Frites: steak tartar Belle Maman topped with cream of Swiss cheese served with french fries." And based on my service experiences there, I wouldn't trust them to get my request right if I asked for it without.
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Ok, preferable Northern Virginia, who has the best?

And I would like the old fashion one, presented 'not made' but then tableside mixed by an experienced server, asking the preferences to mix in.

Please, do not shy away to mention places with 'newer' version of the old Standby.

Atmosphere is not of importance, nor is the clientel, but first class meat and ingredients are.

Thanks all.

Don, does this post qualify me to not being 'pruned' ?

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Ok, preferable Northern Virginia, who has the best?

And I would like the old fashion one, presented 'not made' but then tableside mixed by an experienced server, asking the preferences to mix in.

Please, do not shy away to mention places with 'newer' version of the old Standby.

Atmosphere is not of importance, nor is the clientel, but first class meat and ingredients are.

Thanks all.

Don, does this post qualify me to not being 'pruned' ?

If you're open to branching out a bit in the raw beef world (hrm...tree + cow references = awkward metaphor), consider trying the following in a high quality Korean restaurant sometime:

Yook Hwe

I've had exceptional versions at Woo Lae Oak, Yechon, and Han Gang, but I've also had less stellar versions at all three. It absolutely depends on the quality of the ingredients that day. This is not something to order on a Monday night, for instance.

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Not exactly northern VA, not exactly continental U.S.A., but the best steak tartare I ever had was at a place in Geneva called La Glycine (21 passage de Montbrillant). Came on a wooden slab in the shape of a heart. Ate enough of it to disqualify me from donating blood because of the Red Cross' mad cow protocol :D

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I'm sorry that this post helps absolutely no one other than myself, but thank you for mentioning steak tartare b/c it stimulated one of my favorite taste memories of Trabocchi's dual steak tartare and carpaccio at Fiamma. I really don't think I long more often for any other restaurant-created taste. But that longing is probably enhanced by Fabio's prices, location, and uncertain employment putting my re-experiencing this dish perpetually out of my reach.

Pax,

Brian

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I'm all in for a raw meat run. Kibbee Nayee is available Sundays at Mediterranean Gourmet Market in Franconia, on weekends at Layalina in Arlington (just south of Ballston), and according to a few sources at the DR.com picnic, at Me Jana most of the time. Count me in for a run anytime....

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Maybe this is too common a response, but I am always a fan of the tartare at Central. It's nothing particularly fancy or inventive, but it always does it for me. Every time I get it, I am amazed at the tiny little croutons that are in it and wonder how they make them so small. I find that the appetizer portion is plenty big enough as an entree, especially with the accompanying frites.

I've had Cafe du Parc's version as well and didn't care for it.

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Maybe this is too common a response, but I am always a fan of the tartare at Central. It's nothing particularly fancy or inventive, but it always does it for me. Every time I get it, I am amazed at the tiny little croutons that are in it and wonder how they make them so small. I find that the appetizer portion is plenty big enough as an entree, especially with the accompanying frites.

I've had Cafe du Parc's version as well and didn't care for it.

I just wish that the entree version at Central was served with more than just the one cracker it comes with. I always have to ask for extra bread to smear it on. I can't get down with just eating fork fulls of it.

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Rice crackers, huh? Thanks for the info...

As for the shortage of accompanying crackers, I have to agree. I usually have some of the pre-meal bread left over so I eat it with that. Although I have no issues of shoveling spoonfuls of tartare alone in my mouth, I am always a little leary of what it would mean for digestion later, if I were to eat it completely by itself.

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I find the cracker, with all the cheese on it and so buttery, to be at least as rich as the tartare itself. No problems eating the tartare alone for me, although I always get the app portion. Someone next to me at the bar once had the rabbit tartare there, that looked scrumptious.

Did try the buffalo tartare at Granville Moore's. Tasty, but the presentation could use major improvement.

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Rice crackers, huh? Thanks for the info...

As for the shortage of accompanying crackers, I have to agree. I usually have some of the pre-meal bread left over so I eat it with that. Although I have no issues of shoveling spoonfuls of tartare alone in my mouth, I am always a little leary of what it would mean for digestion later, if I were to eat it completely by itself.

The tiny round crunchy things are the rice crackers. The Cheesy buttery thing is a Gruyere tuile, which is the garnish. French Fries are served with the tartare and are meant as the accompaniment.

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