Kobe beef: Now, it’s for chili

Kobe beef used to be a prohibitively priced luxury item, the culinary equivalent of a Hermes bag. In the U.S., ordering a Kobe steak could set you back $100. But now, American and Australian ranchers are producing Kobe beef (using the same Wagyu breed of cattle made famous in Japan, and often using similar feeding methods) that aficionados agree is comparable to the real thing. Sometimes called American Kobe, this beef is lower in price, so chefs are playing a little and offering it in preparations other than a dead-serious, rare filet.

Both Matsuhisa and Koi on La Cienega Boulevard, for example, serve Kobe beef sushi. Matsuhisa does it as a special, upon request. The sushi is finished with a light sauce made with ponzu and green onion, and topped with ground radish. “I don’t think Kobe beef sushi is traditional,” says Takeshi Okamura, serving manager. “But it is delicious.” A single piece costs around $8.

Cafe Hiro in Cypress offers Kobe beef osso buco as part of a set lunch and a la carte at dinner for $15. “A lot of people imagine it’s like a sirloin or a filet where they charge $60 or $80 a pound,” says chef-owner Hiro Ohiwa. “But the one I’m using is a short rib. We cook it with red wine and beef stock.”

Shari Lynne Robins, executive chef at James’ Beach in Venice, introduced Kobe beef chili as a Wednesday night special. “I decided to use Kobe beef because I wanted to make a traditional chili but make it stand out,” says Robins. “Also, this is a good way for me to get Kobe out there and let people try it who don’t have $45 to spend.” The chili, which is served with a cheese biscuit and all the customary fixings, is $18.

Robins experimented with cubed Kobe, but decided to use ground Kobe. “It made it really rich and robust,” she says. “People are really into it,” she says. “They like the chili.”

-- Leslee Komaiko

Small bites

* Norman Van Aken, the celebrated Florida chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, will open Norman’s at Sunset Millennium on the Sunset Strip in January. Why West Hollywood? “If I hadn’t ended up in Key West, then Miami, I think California would have been the most likely place,” Van Aken says. In addition, he says, “There’s an understanding of the roots of our food already -- a fresh, varied, tropical, embracing style of cooking. And we’ve vacationed there so many times.” The restaurant will seat about 130 inside and 40 outside. Menu items will include such dishes as roast pork with golden Haitian grits and French toast with Curacao-scented foie gras and savory passion fruit caramel. Entrees will average around $30.

* Eric Klein, who worked at various Wolfgang Puck restaurants over the last seven years, most recently as sous chef at Spago in Beverly Hills, has left the fold. On Monday, Klein becomes executive chef at Maple Drive. Although Klein grew up in Alsace-Lorraine, don’t expect the Beverly Hills institution to go French. Klein plans to continue serving American fare. “I want to respect the customers that have been coming a long time,” he says. “So we’ll go very slow and take baby steps.”

Maple Drive, 345 North Maple Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 274-9800.