Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 35: Eating Meat Sparingly Is Alright
I'm slowly realizing that meat can and should be enjoyed in small portions. Serious Eats contributor and Meat Lite co-author Joy Manning does have a point: small portions of meat can be an incredibly satisfying thing to eat.
Joy inspired me a couple of nights ago when I went to a steakhouse with a group of seven serious eaters. Like many people I usually order my own steak. Sometimes it's a ten-ounce steak, sometimes it's 12 ounces, and sometimes it's even a pound. I enjoy every single bite and then, of course, I realize I feel uncomfortably full. Lots of red meat will do that to anyone.
So this time I did something radical.
I took control of the ordering and ordered three steaks for the seven of us. One was a prime, dry-aged bone-in ribeye aged for an incredible 65 days. The other two were also
rich, prime dry-aged steaks. I asked our extremely competent waitperson to slice the steaks and serve them to us. I got a plate of three quite small pieces of steak. The bone-in ribeye aged 65 days might have been the single best piece of beef I have tasted in my life. Miraculously, although there was a platter of steak slices left over I left my friends to fight over them. I ate a little salad, some Brussels sprouts, a few french fries, and a bite or two of dessert.
I hope that when I get on the scale I'm okay. C'mon, Mr. Scale. Reward my meat lite epiphany. I stayed even, at 246. I'll take it. Perhaps most importantly, I might have learned a little something about how to eat in the future. Stay tuned.
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7 Comments:
Awesome! Which steakhouse was this?
Jenn Sit at 10:23AM on 09/26/08
Thanks for the shout out, Ed! I'm intrigued that you ordered three steaks for seven people. It's true that I would rather not eat an entire steak. When I cook at home, I would definitely feed three steaks to seven people. But at a restaurant, I feel pressured (especially at a steakhouse) to order a steak for each diner (unless of course the menu says "for two"). So I'm wondering: did the server/restaurant know you were Ed Levine, food writer extraordinaire? And if they didn't know, do you feel like they gave you and your table an attitude? When if comes to eating at home, I've got eating just a little meat down to a science. But I really struggle with it in restaurants. And a lot of times it's because I feel pressured to order a certain amount of "entrees" which usually means a big hunk o' beast.
Joy Manning at 11:29AM on 09/26/08
It was Prime House New York, and by and large our meal was absolutely killer: steaks, sides, salads, and dessert were all executed at a very high skill level. They did know who we were, so I don't know if they would give non-food writers a hard time for not ordering "enough" steak. Definitely food for thought, though.
Ed Levine at 1:12PM on 09/26/08
I applaud you cutting down on your meat consumption! It basically goes with Pollan's subtitle of his latest book...eat food, not too much, mostly plants. I want to add another possible step to consider when eating less meat: where/when possible, consider buying it locally from pasture-raised animal farms. Because these animals are eating food they are meant to eat (cows stomachs are meant to eat grass, not pounds and pounds of corn and grains, for example), many are less likely to fall ill and are less likely to be shot up with antibiotics to, literally, keep them standing. This video will give a better idea of this kind of farm: http://cookingupastory.com/show/raised-on-grass-pastured-fed-animals/
And, a great resource is Jo Robinson's website: http://www.eatwild.com/
-Rebecca
Cooking Up a Story at 2:10PM on 09/26/08
How many pounds have you lost at this point, Ed? Your success stories are very inspiring to read.
Christina at 4:20PM on 09/26/08
YAY Ed! isnt it amazing how satisfying a small amount of quality food is?! there will still be days you want to pig out on a big hunk o" beast but they will truly be fewer and farther between. As always, i'm very proud of you, less for losing weight or not gaining, and more for learing how to eat wisely.
huneybumper at 6:43PM on 09/26/08
this was definitely food for thought,Ed. Am trying to eat less meat as well,so I will be doing the sharing bit the next time i am at a steakhouse. Well done on the diet!
rasheenpadia at 1:45AM on 10/05/08