What on earth is “The Great White Shark” doing on a box of beef patties?

I had a nice little chuckle when I first saw this. Our favorite butcher, who stocks things like elk meat and buffalo burgers, as well as an interesting array of fowl and bird meats, recommended these Greg Norman patties. Greg Norman. The golfing legend. Chris Evert’s third husband. The Great White Shark from the land of Oz. He’s into beef.

But not any kind of beef. This is Kobe beef.

When I lived in Japan, friends and colleagues told me repeatedly that Kobe beef was the greatest beef in the world. The breed of cows from which the beef came were unique. They were constantly massaged by hand and fed beer. Which beer, I’m not sure. Probably some premium Japanese beer that’s not available in stores. But I was repeatedly told to try some Kobe beef as soon as possible. The chances of my getting hit by a car and dying tomorrow were pretty high, one man said, so I better have some of that beef right away. He arranged a group outing to a Shabu-Shabu restaurant where I stirred thinly shaved slices of Kobe beef into boiling water, dipped them into a special sauce and then…gulp. One bite and fuhgeddaboudit. Yes, Kobe beef IS that good.

Greg Norman’s beef patties are pretty darn good, too. According to Mr. Norman, “These all-natural patties are made from the same cattle breed known for producing the legendary Kobe beef of Japan.” The legendary Kobe beef of Japan. Geez.

After our Greg Norman burgers, my husband did have a question, though. What beer were these cattle fed? Foster’s?

This post is a little wink to BlogLily who needs to, uh, beef up. Cheers.