Eatery serves up coffee-flavored steak
 |
Story Tools
|
SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- The city that spawned America's obsession with strong, dark coffee is giving locals a popular new coffee-flavored steak, even while the mad cow scare that started in Washington state is putting some people off beef.
Rippe's, a local waterfront steak and seafood restaurant, began serving filet mignon steaks dusted with Starbucks Corp.'s dark espresso blend a few weeks ago and now has a runaway hit on its hands.
"The first night we tried it, about a third of the menu sold was the steak," said Chad MacKay, whose family runs several steak joints in the Seattle area.
MacKay said that the $29 steak, now dubbed the Seattle Signature Steak, was the brainchild of a waiter and a chef.
Despite being rubbed with coffee grinds before grilling, the 12-ounce steak, although a bit crunchy, carries only a subtle whiff of coffee flavoring.
Seattle and the rest of the state were jolted by the news four weeks ago that a cow in the central Washington town of Mabton had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
