This restaurant puts the, "game," in Burlingame.
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
Business, Local, News, Syndicated Local Related Tags
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.
This restaurant puts the, "game," in Burlingame.
Some places in the Bay Area serve weird meats, I’m not lyin’.
After all, it would eat you.
I tried to get a reservation to this place, but it was a zoo...
Big kitties in danger in CA
Bushmeat!
Is it still bushmeat if it’s farm-raised?
Purrrrect
Well at least the stray neighborhood kitties are safe. Lion meat—chinese food for the upscale.
Cops found monkey meat on sale in New York not long ago. The inevitable results of “diversity”.
Is monkey meat illegal?
Uh.. I dunno I suppose not.
If I said this was a good deal, I'd be lion.
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/dispute-over-monkey-meat-hits-on-religious-freedom/60839/
Of course, some leftist nitwits are arguing that it’s a case of religious freedom, but monkey meat can carry some BAD diseases.
I only eat Vegan Lion....
Cause I am on a Diet...
I had elephant meat at an Ethiopian joint years ago. It was either in San Jose or Milpitas if I recall correctly.
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