Where should a vegetarian go for the best transition-to-eating-meat-again meal? for Questionland Seattle

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Where should a vegetarian go for the best transition-to-eating-meat-again meal?

I'm a vegetarian, but I've decided to eat meat again. Where should I go for the most amazing meat dish? I want something organic, high-quality, and so delicious that I would never question being a vegetarian ever again.

leboncitron asked in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Tom

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According to Dr. Science, the first thing you should do is make out with a meat eater. You may not have the requisite bacteria to eat meat so no matter where you go for your first fleshy meal you may get some unfortunate gastro intestinal consequences. Farts, mostly. Serious stinky ones. Accourding to the good doc, all is not lost!

"People can regain these bacteria if they restart eating meat. How? By kissing. Hence moms kissing their kids: to give bacteria (and love, I suppose). Another means is by people not washing their hands after pooping. (If you want poop bacteria, eat poop. Just make sure it's HEALTHY poop. And only a little bit at a time.)"

The last truly great meat I had that made me cry was from El Gaucho. Yeah, it's expensive, pretentious, full of jerk-offs, scumbags and other types of republicans, but man. What a piece of meat. I got the chateau briand at about $140. Whenever I get drepressed I just think about that meat for a little while and i feel much better.

Tom answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Tilth! You can get smaller tasting plates so you can try more things. And everything is wild, organic, and amazing. It will make you cry, it's so good.

Cedarthvader answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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For digestive and flavor reasons, I would recommend something stewed. Boeuf bourguignon, lamb stew, pot roast, birria, rogan josh -- basically anything braised until you can cut it with your tongue.

It doesn't have to be fancy; make a field trip down to Burien and try the birria tacos at La Estacion. Or better yet try four different ones and see if you like the birria, carnitas, or al pastor. Or get a bowl of pho at Than Brothers; the broth alone is the purest distilled essence of meat, plus the other stuff in it is good too.

Or, if you'll looking for something a bit more upscale, see what's on the menu at my old favorite standbys, Cafe Campagne or Stumbling Goat (though this isn't really stew weather). I hear Luc, run by the chef from Rover, makes a killer boeuf bourguignon, though I haven't tried it.

Fnarf answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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The Best? Peter Luger's.

or locally and more practically than a fancy pants steak dinner:
just slum it with Dick's. ( If you can't love a simple Dick's deluxe, then Meat and you are going to have a very rough marriage.)

Rev.Enant answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Bethany Jean Clement

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I'm with CleverScreen Name—just choose a restaurant that's good and try something that sounds gentle. I mean, you don't want a big ol' steak, right? Just a little bit of something high-quality. And as Matt from Denver says, fish seems like a good way to start, really—less traumatic. Or a pasta with a little meat in the sauce...

Right now some favorites of mine are weirdly all in Wallingford: Avila, Cantinetta, Joule. Tilth is good, too. Also great: Spring Hill in West Seattle.

At Cafe Presse right now, the prawns with cous cous is pretty splendid—summery, cool, just a few tasty prawns on top.

If you want to go bananas, you should get yourself up to Burning Beast. Tons of meat, lots of veg, too, and just really pretty and really fun.

Bethany Jean Clement answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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The steak and fries at Cafe Lago. Cafe Lago is a superb Italian restaurant in Montlake and I usually get the lazagne because it's so incredibly delicious (no meat) and would never think of getting a steak at an Italian restaurant but I did and it was simply the best steak I've ever had. Perfectly cooked, resting on a balsamic reduction w/ shoestring fries on the side. YUM!!!

Marty Unger answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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I'd go to a restaurant like 611 Supreme, the Virginia Inn or Spring Hill (or one of dozens of others) that makes a big deal out of locally sourced meats. All of those have extremely good meat dishes, and I don't eat much meat.

I'd also recommend that you start with meat as a side dish or flavoring agent. Tempting as it may be to go eat half a cow, as a part-time vegetarian I find that an increase in meat consumption sends my digestion out of whack. Eat too much meat when you haven't been eating it, and you may be feeling sick enough afterwards that you're back in line for the salad buffet.

CleverScreenName answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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When I went back to eating meat I went against all advise and went full throttle into my home made ground pork/turkey lasagna.
This was the one thing I missed the most and it was totally worth it... until later that night.
It wasnt terrible though, and if I were in that situation I would do it again.

As for a resturant, I dont have any great recommendations. I usually like home made food best

ashley.leigh answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Carrie Oliver

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Bethany, lol re: going to Burning Beast.

leboncitron, I'm neither a dietitian nor a vegetarian so it's hard to give any professional or personal experience advice as per CleverScreenName and Bethany and others. If you do want to start with beef, Pikes Place for burgers and Canlis for steaks offer grass-fed & finished beef from The Gleason Ranch, just west of Rochester, at least when Gleason's beef in season (just ask to make sure). This is a really delicious grass-fed beef and the butcher is an artisan, too, Tracy Smaciarz from Heritage Meats Washington. You might take a nibble off of someone else's plate as a start.

The key is that meat will taste different from one farm to another whether it's beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey... you get the picture. You'll probably like some better than others.

There's a book out that I wish I could remember the name of that chronicles one vegan's foray back into meat for health reasons. I believe she started with a bite or two of tuna fish. Tea Austen's book might be another to consider.

Carrie Oliver answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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My suggestion would be to stick with the cuisines and chefs who view meat as an ingredient rather than the dominant feature of the meal. Many Asian cuisines work this way. Also (some but all) of the local/sustainable leaning chefs lay back on the meat portions, and most of them have small plates that give you some options as you pave the way back to meat. But don't overdo it!

Dean DeCrease answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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As a 14-year vegetarian (18 if you count the four years I ate fish but no fowl or red meat), I transitioned gradually. First, I ate fish for four years, and only took that long because I initially was still not intending to ever eat any other kind of meat. Then, my first real meat meal consisted of a hamburger. Not a rich, fatty, delicious steak, but a burger. I got it at Ted's Montana Grill, and it was bison.

I have heard of people having trouble digesting meat after a prolonged period of not consuming any, but I can't say that I experienced any problems. That could be because I went about it slowly - I wasn't eating burgers and bacon every day - and it's possible that eating fish (which I also did not do every day) helped.

Matt from Denver answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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You shouldn't start eating meat again, as it's ethically wrong, environmentally destructive, and generally unhealthy. Meat production requires that animals suffer and die needlessly. The meat-laden American diet wastes huge amounts of energy and contributes to habitat loss and global warming via deforestation; our meat habit, along with our lousy planning and consequent driving habit, is pretty much cooking the planet in a way likely to kill a lot of poor people in the coming decades. Meat isn't necessary for a healthy, varied diet: competent medical authorities acknowledge that veg diets are as healthy or more healthy than eating meat.

I'm sure you have reasons for deciding to eat meat, and that you're going to write this off as sanctimonious crap (it is! hth), but eating meat is the moral equivalent of skinning dogs or dumping your household cleaning products in the water supply of the nearest poor community. You can certainly get away with it, but that doesn't mean you should.

rocketfairy answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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