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Hmm. In 1999/2000 I had a $110 Kobe Beef cheeseburger (complete with truffles) at the Burger Bar in Vegas, so either (A) it wasn't Kobe Beef or (B) there was s

Hmm. In 1999/2000 I had a $110 Kobe Beef cheeseburger (complete with truffles) at the Burger Bar in Vegas, so either (A) it wasn't Kobe Beef or (B) there was some limited exporting prior to 2012.

sbenario 13y ago
I've got some bad news for you...
wahnfrieden 13y ago
It wasn't, sorry. There are farms in the US that try to mimic the process, and there've been cattle flown in from Japan, which might have been what you had (but who knows, the real product isn't trademarked here). Kobe beef is also around $300-400 for 1kg, so maybe $50-100 in ingredients alone, in Japan, for a burger, let alone what it costs when imported. Not that it matters a great deal. You probably still got something good. There's other highly (and higher) valued beef in Japan too, Kobe is just a big prestigious brand.
- ghshephard 13y ago
  Apparently, "Kobe" is used to describe many things, and, given that a prominent place like the burger bar is still selling their burgers 10 years later, their doesn't appear to be a lot of trademark police chasing people down. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23233092 http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23233092
  - wahnfrieden 13y ago
    "Kobe beef" is trademarked in Japan and is legally protected there, but not in the US, where anyone is free to use it as they like. You can still prove a beef cut has come from the real source via certification.
    - corresation 13y ago
      A couple of interesting things on this- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_traditional_specialities_in_the_European_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_t... These things usually get codified in trade agreements. It seems that Japan hasn't been particularly concerned about protecting Kobe beef internationally, likely because there are so few exports simply due to production limits.
- deelowe 13y ago
  You had Wagu. Kobe wasn't exported until last year. Any prior "kobe" dishes were actually Kobe style Wagu.
  - dagurp 13y ago
    Wagu (or Wagyu) being the breed of cattle used in Kobe beef http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu
epochwolf 13y ago
I've got a bridge I'm selling in Detroit you might be interested in. ;)
nathannecro 13y ago
Various factors, some of which have been touched upon below: 1. There is almost 0 chance that you've tasted beef from a wagyu cow from the city of Kobe. Aside from import/export costs, the cost in Japan (having actually eaten Kobe beef from Kobe) is far closer to about $400-600 per steak (2kg perhaps?) 2. Americans have been importing wagyu cattle and crossbreeding them with cows here to create American "Kobe beef" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu#United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu#United_States

Hmm. In 1999/2000 I had a $110 Kobe Beef cheeseburger (complete with truffles) at the Burger Bar in Vegas, so either (A) it wasn't Kobe Beef or (B) there was some limited exporting prior to 2012.

sbenario 13y ago

I've got some bad news for you...

wahnfrieden 13y ago

It wasn't, sorry. There are farms in the US that try to mimic the process, and there've been cattle flown in from Japan, which might have been what you had (but who knows, the real product isn't trademarked here). Kobe beef is also around $300-400 for 1kg, so maybe $50-100 in ingredients alone, in Japan, for a burger, let alone what it costs when imported. Not that it matters a great deal. You probably still got something good. There's other highly (and higher) valued beef in Japan too, Kobe is just a big prestigious brand.

ghshephard 13y ago
Apparently, "Kobe" is used to describe many things, and, given that a prominent place like the burger bar is still selling their burgers 10 years later, their doesn't appear to be a lot of trademark police chasing people down. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23233092 http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23233092
- wahnfrieden 13y ago
  "Kobe beef" is trademarked in Japan and is legally protected there, but not in the US, where anyone is free to use it as they like. You can still prove a beef cut has come from the real source via certification.
  - corresation 13y ago
    A couple of interesting things on this- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_traditional_specialities_in_the_European_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_t... These things usually get codified in trade agreements. It seems that Japan hasn't been particularly concerned about protecting Kobe beef internationally, likely because there are so few exports simply due to production limits.
deelowe 13y ago
You had Wagu. Kobe wasn't exported until last year. Any prior "kobe" dishes were actually Kobe style Wagu.
- dagurp 13y ago
  Wagu (or Wagyu) being the breed of cattle used in Kobe beef http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu

epochwolf 13y ago

I've got a bridge I'm selling in Detroit you might be interested in. ;)

nathannecro 13y ago

Various factors, some of which have been touched upon below: 1. There is almost 0 chance that you've tasted beef from a wagyu cow from the city of Kobe. Aside from import/export costs, the cost in Japan (having actually eaten Kobe beef from Kobe) is far closer to about $400-600 per steak (2kg perhaps?) 2. Americans have been importing wagyu cattle and crossbreeding them with cows here to create American "Kobe beef" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu#United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu#United_States