Having seen lions in the wild I'd never want to eat one regardless of how good they might taste.Spotted Owl,OTOH,is quite tasty they say.
Posted on 05/20/2013 1:44:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A skewer of farm-raised African lion meat being served at Mokatanya Yakitori Restaurant in Burlingame. (CBS) Filed Under
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Animals, Burlingame, Exotic Animals, Food, Lion, Lion Meat, Mokutanya Yakitori Restaurant, Restaurants, Threatened Species BURLINGAME (KPIX 5) — A restaurant on the Peninsula known for its exotic fare has caused a bit of an uproar over a new menu item. For foodies who are interested in the controversial dish, it does not come cheap.
At Mokutanya Yakitori Restaurant in Burlingame, the mane course on Thursday was lion.
“It was really good,” said Mike Manole of San Mateo. “It was a little chewier than I expected but it was really juicy and had a lot of flavor.”
Commonly known as the king of the jungle, the toughest animal out there is turning out to be kind of tough himself.
“It’s a little tougher than I expected. It’s kind of between beef and chicken,” said Andy Lee of San Mateo.
Mokutanya is known for its exotic fare, including peacock and swan. The restaurant just received a shipment of lion on Thursday.
“I had it last year. And then I sold out in a week,” said Jason Li of Mokutanya.
The meat is farm-raised African lion that comes from Illinois. One skewer, three cubes, five ounces will set a customer back $70.
“I believe it’s very hard to get. I did not bargain on the price,” Li said.
He also didn’t bargain on the controversy it has caused here and at the few other restaurants around the country where lion is on the menu.
“People, like here, are eating lion then the demand goes up,” a customer who did not give her name told KPIX 5. “And if the demand goes up, then the threat on lions might go up as well.”
The woman is a regular customer, an animal lover, but she is among those who are outraged.
While it is not illegal to serve lion, Brandy Kuentzel of the SPCA said the animal is at risk of going extinct.
Kuentzel said the lion is listed as a threatened species, and not an endangered one, so it falls into a crack in the legal system, and a crack in regulation.
“Between the USDA and FDA, so they really aren’t regulated by one industry from start to finish,” she said.
A restaurant in Florida was also hit with protests over serving lion and quit offering it on the menu. There are no plans to do that here.
“If no one buys it, they won’t farm raise it anyway. If we went to hunt it, then it’s a different thing,” Li said.
Li told KPIX 5 he has enough lion to serve customers for the next two weeks.
I Tot I Taw A putty Tat.... I did tee a Putty Tat, and it was delicious...
[[Is it still bushmeat if it’s farm-raised?]]
As long as it was near ab bush when it was taken, sure.
I wonder if it tastes any good.
I believe it. Herbivores usually taste better than carnivores.
BTW, I had bear once. Tough, but good. Very rich taste.
You see everything in black and white!
Let me guess, it wasn’t prepared too hot, it wasn’t prepared too cold, it was just right.
Took some visitors around Kenya.
The first day it was "Look! Zebras!"
The third day it was, "oh, more zebras."
The seventh day it was, "just run over the < censored > things".
When I was in England they pronounced zebra to rhyme with Debra.
Cattle, elk and buffalo are herbivores. Fish are carnivores. Pigs and chickens are omnivores, so they're marginal in my book.
They supposedly cut down on this in the 90s, but cattle where, possibly still are, fed meat, including other cows.
To each his own. I’ll pass.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to go to a sketchy Chinese restaurant if you want to eat cat?
Ack!
I don't eat vegetables. My food eats vegetables. There is food and there is feed. Feed is what food eats.
Cattle haven't been fed animal products since "Mad Cow Disease", and mine never did.
Having seen lions in the wild I'd never want to eat one regardless of how good they might taste.Spotted Owl,OTOH,is quite tasty they say.
Yeah, but I kept finding these blonde hairs in it...
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