All these places claiming to have Kobe beef. No one has Kobe beef in North America.
forbes.com/sites/larryol…

We had this topic a while back....http://www.yelp.ca/topic/vancouver-kobe-beef-or-faux-be-beef but the warning does bear repeating.

True. There's really no such thing in North America. And if you did have Kobe beef, why on earth would you make it into meatballs? But some steakhouses do have something called Wagyu beef, which is a breed they make Kobe from Japan, but here I think it's usually cross-bred.

Good point Cathy, I was just frustrated with more and more places passing off this stuff in town, for top dollar.
As for Wagyu, which literally means 'Japanese Cow'; it's not from Kobe, quite often not from Japan. I think a lot of our night come from Alberta, though I'm not sure; I had wagyu in LA that wasn't from Japan, and even it is we're from Japan, it's most definitely not from Kobe.

Lol I just imagined myself yelling at the waitresses at a restaurant, "YOU LIE!!!!! THERE'S NO KOBE BEEF IN CANADA!!!!"

Exactly Denny!
And  I've done it a few times, politely, Elisa.

Here's my 2 cents worth. Kobe is a place that specializes in a specific breed of cattle. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

Wagyu is what you should be looking for and this can be bred outside of Kobe. Australia has excellent Wagyu as an example.

That said, I too am looking for a good supplier of this and have only found this place nikuya.ca that sells it. Although I did have some at a tasting at the Williams Sonoma on Granville and that came from a store in the Dunbar area. Haven't been to either of these places tho so can't comment on the reliability of the product.

LoL. Read the article

There are meat wholesale places that do have in Richmond for sure since I've been there

That's a Japanese cow from somewhere else or a cross breed. There's 3000kobe cow a year. Maybe less. It's illegal to import. It doesn't go wholesale since it always fetches top dollar.
Again, it's illegal to import. Are they selling illegal meat from someone's suitcase?

All these restaurants are pretty much mis representing on their menu. On particular chain has Kobe meatball on their menu. Hmmm... Isn't that false advertising?

I lived in Japan for 11 years, three near Kobe, so I've tried it maybe four times. It's not cheap, and it's not something you get that easily; so it wouldn't just be here at a hole sale market. They try to pass off Wagyu to foreigners there too- however it's very different.
A lot of places here that do Kobe beef meatballs/sliders/etc are just teriyaki flavoring on Alberta beef, of you're lucky a wagyu alternative- but most often not.

Too true!
Still, with 3000 a year, and a huge market in Japan and Asia- it's a top dollar item here; not something you'll find at a Richmond market (as suggested). I'm not sure how to decide, when I was in LA a few months back, every second restaurant offered some Kobe thing or another. It's all fake. Even Kobe steak house in Vancouver doesn't have Kobe beef. Just Wagyu... If even. I haven't been there in a few years due to some of the worst service ever.

The USDA can do whatever they want but Japan still won't export it. Except for a few head to Malaysia I think. So these local businesses have been lying for years. I've been calling shenanigans on them for a while now.

Only a blind taste test will determine whether or not the superiority of Kobe beef exists or if its all just marketing hype.

There is a lot of new age nonsense, mysticism and mythology about how Kobe are bred, raised and fed so I'm skeptical that its even worth the premium price you pay. But I've never tried it.

Food is always used as a status symbol by elitists. Most often they're throwing their money at unscrupulous marketing ploys. I care a lot less when rich people get ripped off.

The Kobe Beef supplier website has their exports list:

kobe-niku.jp/contents/ex…

Only about 170KG of it went to the US in 2012 with the rest to Hong Kong and Macau.

My personal favourite scam is Luxottica and their glass empire.

Burger King doesn't carry Kobe or Wagyu. Horse meat, yes. j.mp/WEvWIJ

K-Beef isn't fed bear nor raised on classical music. It's the mountain spring water and whole grain they're fed mixed with pure breading. They taste a lot like a good pure bread free range Alberta AAA, however much fattier.
Hardly worth the price tags.
And as Mark points out, with only 170KB going to America in 2012; you can bet your life none of it wound up at a wholesale market in Richmond. LOL.
As Dan points out, there's always Horse. LoL
Ironic side note - Horse is a delicacy in Japan, and very good too.

Horse meat is on a charcuterie platter at some bar. Can't remember which one. Possibly Pourhouse. Loved it.

Mountain spring water and whole grain? Oh brother. That would make exactly no difference once it's been digested and the cow has been slaughtered, butchered and prepared. IF there is a taste difference that's not the reason for it. People are such suckers. Hey I just baked some cookies. The dough was blessed by a Rabbi. $400 / dozen. $450 for double chocolate.

No, but the Rabbi is on a strict diet of alkaline water and organic whole grains. Needless to say he adheres to a few ancient superstitions.

I'll take a slice of Rabbi.

Haha! Here watch this. Penn & Teller's show Bullshit episode about "The Best." Lots of crassness and cursing.

youtube.com/watch?v=F_kC…

Why does everything now need a UI... It's just something else that will break.

What does user interface have to do with Kobe beef?

If you watched the video link Dan posted you'd understand the reference I made.

Because Kobe beef WYSIWYG.

(Yes, that makes absolutely no sense but it's Saturday morning and I just woke up.)

@foodninja: actually I happen to know my beef is raised listening to cbc in the barn. And it's very good. But I'm pretty sure any beer involved goes into the cowboy.

Haha Christine! I prefer cattle that are raised listening to Stompin' Tom.

@ Dan - The Pourhouse does indeed have horse on their charcuterie platter.

What the F, so many lies. Good to know.. So, he Kobe steak house is just a flat out pike out eh

What Sam said! Since I've heard it's shit and never been, I'm not sure if they try to scan people that much. They prolly just sell Wagyu...

Kobe Steak House's wagyu:

"Ultimate Wagyu

Our US Golden Label New York Strip is a descendant of Wagyu cattle, a refined breed from Kobé Japan."

So it's that Kobe hybrid crap. Not kobegyuu.

As long as they're labelling it properly on the menu and the servers can sell it without being misleading about the origins, I don't really have a problem with wagyu. Heck, if anyone wants to give me a few hundred bucks and a plane ticket to Japan, I'd be happy to compare wagyu with the real Kobe beef and report back ;)

I too, would  like to be sent. It's been about 6 years since I had it before :)