From Carnivore to Carnoisseur

There’s a world of difference between being a consumer of something and being a true connoisseur. Many of us drink wine, but doing so doesn’t automatically make you an expert in vineyard culture, nor does it empower you to note the subtle distinctions between wines of different vintage; for all we know, you could drink all your wine out of a box. Likewise, drinking a cup of Starbucks every morning doesn’t make you an expert on coffee; if you’re drinking the same cup of java each day, then you frankly have no idea how deep and wide and complex the world of coffee culture really is.

Steak Culture

It’s the same way with steaks. Excepting the vegans and the vegetarians among us, most of us have enjoyed steaks before, and chances are you’ve had more than a few of them. Getting a steak from Longhorn or Outback on a Friday evening doesn’t really qualify you as a steak expert, though, and even grilling up your own steaks once, twice, three times per week says little about your true devotion. It suggests only that you like steak, not that you come to it with a refined palate, a breadth of knowledge, or even a particular level of enthusiasm.

You may be a carnivore, then, and that’s an important step toward really loving and embracing “steak snob” culture. It’s not good enough for Fuego Diablo, though: Our mission is to turn carnivores into carnoisseurs; to take a blossoming love of steak and transform it into true, deep passion and knowledge.

Objects of Obsession

Basically, we want to help you see steak in the same light that you might see wine and coffee, cheese and cigars. These are all delicate, savory things that you can approach with a true sense of refinery. The difference from one cigar to the next, or from one bottle of wine to the next, may be a matter of some nuance, yet it is also quite substantial. You may not know a great deal about cheese or about coffee, meanwhile, but you’re probably at least aware that there is much to know about these things—that they can become objects of passion and obsession.

So can steak, though you wouldn’t always guess it. Even many fine steakhouses do little to cultivate a deep appreciation of beef; often, the only real information you’re given about a piece of beef is its weight and its cut. There’s more to it than that, and the more you learn about steak, the deeper into “steak snob” culture you can go; the more you can savor the distinctions between different, great pieces of meat; and the less patience you’ll have for bad ones. Plus, going deep into steak culture is ultimately something you’ll do socially, perhaps inviting friends over for a night that has great steak as its centerpiece—and that social component brings with it its own rewards.

That’s the difference between a steak eater and a steak lover; between a carnivore and a carnoisseur. That’s the line we’re trying to cross at Fuego Diablo—and we’d like to take you along with us.