Creating a Dry Aged Wagyu Beef Tasting Menu at SF’s Gozu

“I don’t know anyone who works with wagyu at this level in the United States,” says chef Marc Zimmerman, of San Francisco’s Gozu. At the restaurant, Zimmerman’s wagyu beef tasting menu — which includes everything from yakitori-style skewers to wagyu brisket on toasted milk bread, topped with uni — shows different ways of approaching the whole animal.

Zimmerman was inspired to create the tasting menu when he was working as a business development manager for a steakhouse that has locations around the world, which allowed him to travel. During a conversation with farmers in Japan, one of them asked him if he would be willing to bring a whole animal back to the United States rather than just a part. “It’s always really intrigued me,” Zimmerman says.

For all of their dishes, Gozu dry-ages the wagyu beef they receive. “Dry aging has really become a real phenomenon; you usually won’t see these wagyu cuts in the United States,” says Zimmerman, noting that restaurants tend to stick to cuts like New York Strip, Rib Eye and Tenderloin. “You almost have to build a place to serve it.”

Watch the full video to see how Zimmerman and his team prepare and serve the wagyu tasting menu.