Dozen Best Offbeat Beef Dishes

Here's another of our lists created by paring away all the most common uses of a very common ingredient, leaving behind a mix of dishes that are either a) unique creations, 2) formerly widespread dishes we don't encounter often anymore, or iii) both. I find that the ones in the iii category are the best. Two such dishes of note are carpaccio and steak tartare, the two classic raw-beef dishes. Both have become hard to find, now that restaurant's don't like to take chances with potentially dangerous dishes. (Although their customer put themselves in much greater danger by driving to the restaurant.) I thought about including the charcuterie we find at Toups Meatery, Cochon Butcher, and the like, but found enough good places to make for an interesting list unto itself. Maybe next week. 1. Lilette. Uptown 2: Washington To Napoleon: 3637 Magazine. 504-895-1636. Steak tartare here is made using hanger steak--an interesting idea, given the bigger flavor and interesting firmness. 2. Hoa Hong 9 (Nine Roses). Gretna: 1100 Stephens. 504-366-7665. Fondued beef in vinegar is a Vietnamese preparation much better than it sounds. You get a plate of thinly-sliced raw beef and a pan of simmering water with herbs and vinegar. Dip the beef until it's cooked. Eat. Nearby Kim Son also does this very well. 3. Trey Yuen. Mandeville: 600 Causeway Blvd. 985-626-4476. Steak kew is a classic Chinese-American dish, made popular in the 1950s. Nobody does it better than Trey Yuen. It starts with thick chunks of beef--(some of them the size of other restaurants' petit filet), and comes together with a high-umami brown sauce and crunchy vegetables. Ask them to make it with filet mignon (they don't routinely; it may cost a couple of bucks more). 4. Mikimoto. Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor: 3301 S Carrollton Ave. 504-488-1881. Beef negimaki is marinated slices of beef wrapped into a roll around green onions, then grilled. It's also spectacular made with asparagus. This used to be common in Japanese restaurants. At most eight out of the seventy Japanese restaurants serve it anymore. Mikimoto's version comes out in sizzling teriyaki sauce. 5. Meauxbar. French Quarter: 942 N Rampart. 504-569-9979. Steak tartare, made classically, best in town. 6. Cafe Granada. Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor: 1506 S Carrollton Ave. 504-865-1612. Carpaccio. This perennially underrated Spanish restaurant makes a great carpaccio of filet mignon, served with olive oil and caperberries. 7. Vincent's. Riverbend: 7839 St Charles Ave. 504-866-9313. ||Metairie: 4411 Chastant St. 504-885-2984. Daube with spaghetti is an old New Orleans Italian favorite--but one that has almost disappeared from menus. I love the one at Vincent's because they use brisket to do so (beef round is more traditional), and brisket goes so well with a thick marinara sauce as to make as fine a daube as I've ever eaten. Vincent's comes up a lot in these lists, a statement of how well they cook. 8. Coffee Pot. French Quarter: 714 St Peter. 504-524-3500. Corned beef hash and eggs is a great breakfast dish, one you'd find in the deluxe breakfast places. What sets the Coffee Pot's version apart is that they make the hash in house, instead of taking it out of a can. You can have the eggs however you like them. 9. Bon Ton Cafe. CBD: 401 Magazine. 504-524-3386. Boiled beef brisket is the Tuesday special over there, and it edges out Tujague's for best boiled brisket in town. The whole onion that comes out in the bowlful of intense beef broth is odd, but there's no gainsaying the tenderness and flavor of the beef. Boiled brisket used to be very common in local restaurants, but not anymore. 10. Churros Cafe. Metairie 3: Houma Blvd To Kenner Line: 3100 Kingman. 504-885-6516. Ropa vieja. The name means "old clothes," from the appearance of the beef over the rice. A great Cuban dish, done exceptionally at this well-hidden little Cuban place near Clearview Mall. 11. Taqueria Corona. Uptown 3: Napoleon To Audubon: 5932 Magazine St. 504-897-3974. Beef tongue (lengua) tacos appeared on the first menu when Taqueria Corona first opened in the 1980s. They lead the league still. 12. Mandina's. Mid-City: 3800 Canal. 504-482-9179. || Mandeville: 4240 La 22. 985-674-9883. Beef stew is the Tuesday special at both locations of Mandina's. Rice, brown gravy, tender beef, fresh vegetables. Why do so few restaurants serve this anymore?