Yesterday, I had dinner with my good friend John at La Tomate Italian Bistro in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC.  We were looking at the appetizer menu and decided to seize the day and try something that neither of us had had before, Beef Carpaccio.

Beef Carpaccio is very thinly sliced beef laid out on a plate.  Ours had olive oil and pesto sprinkled over it with a little bit of pasta in the center as a garnish.  It was delicious.  The texture of raw beef is really smooshy, which is not what you expect because you’re used to eating beef as a steak or in a burger.

According to Wikipedia, it was invented at a bar in Venice, Italy in 1950.

Now, I could have easily freaked out because it’s raw beef and not eaten it.  But I tried something new and I really enjoyed it.

Isn’t raw beef bad for you?  Why isn’t beef carpaccio bad for me?  This isn’t a question that I haven’t gotten answered yet.

I’d recommend that you try Beef Carpaccio.  Have you had it?  If not and you live in Washington, DC, check out La Tomate.  If not, find it or make it yourself.  Report back.

(Photo by Robert Paul Young)