Last Call: Is Wagyu Beef Worth The Price?

It's been a gosh darn dang-ol' long time since I've been to sit down inside a restaurant (in fact, I don't remember which was the last one I visited), but a good memory I have is of a fancy tasting menu we experienced to celebrate my fiancée's birthday a few years back.

One of the courses involved a happily indulgent chunk of Wagyu. Maybe it was the fact that it was a slice of flank steak, but while the cut of meat was delicious, I also remember it being fairly...chewy. Then I wondered if I would be happy buying a big hunk of Wagyu to cook at home. I'm not entirely sure I would feel like it was worth buying for home preparation, especially at prices that would easily run into the hundreds of dollars. If it were served in my school cafeteria, like some kids in Japan are enjoying, I wouldn't complain. But there's just a lot more that can go wrong in a home kitchen than a high-end restaurant environment. Especially if you make up your mind to wreck a $250 steak.

Thinking back to that birthday dinner, I feel guilty (and did at the time) about not supremely enjoying something so expensive—but I'm glad I tried it. When it comes down to it, though, I'm genuinely curious: Do you think that Wagyu beef is worth the steep price?