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It's funny how ordering rare cuts of meat at upscale restaurants is completely fine, but at a fast food joint people are suddenly concerned about contracting hepatitis or having the runs for weeks.
I have never been served raw meat at Filibertos. Although their stores aren't the cleanest, I like the idea that you can see people preparing your food. I hate restaurants where the kitchen is hidden from view. People can literally do ANYTHING to your food without you having the slightest idea.
That's because you are not educated about this issue. E. coli is a natural bacteria found only in the gut. We have E. coli in our gut too. Ground beef may include unfavorable parts like intestines and thus your risk of acquiring E. coli increases with undercooked ground beef. This is different that steak which comes from the muscle belly directly and thus it's fairly safe to eat rare or undercooked. So your undercooked carnitas and carne asada are fine, your slightly pink ground beef is not fine. Hepatitis has to do with kitchen practices and handling of food and safety. Upscale restaurants are better about hygiene and safe kitchen practices in addition to being more selective with their meat.
Lastly, most food poisoning is not due to E coli. It's mostly due to Staph aureus and campylobacter. Campylobacter is found in undercooked poultry like chicken. I've also witnessed undercooked chicken at the 'bertos. Chicken should not have any pink. It should be completely cooked. If you get food poisoning with campylobacter, you could experience some nasty bloody diarrhea. Staph is far common and is found in dairy products that have been laying out too long ie sour cream! This is a very common source of food poisoning at fast food so if you want to be safe, avoid ordering sour cream on the nachos at 2 AM because I guarantee that sour cream has been laying out all day.
So you are probably wondering how certain produce like tomatoes or spinach have E coli if its only found in the gut? The reason is because cows can graze in areas proximal to produce. The groundwater gets contaminated and can spread to produce nearby.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 11-19-2009 at 02:56 PM..
It's funny how ordering rare cuts of meat at upscale restaurants is completely fine, but at a fast food joint people are suddenly concerned about contracting hepatitis or having the runs for weeks.
I have never been served raw meat at Filibertos. Although their stores aren't the cleanest, I like the idea that you can see people preparing your food. I hate restaurants where the kitchen is hidden from view. People can literally do ANYTHING to your food without you having the slightest idea.
Just so it's clear, I think my problem that I had was more to do with the extreme amounts of grease and poor flavor of the food. It's cool when you're in college at 2 AM, but now I see it as pure junk. And in regards to the medium rare steak. I think that most health experts say that you should order most ground beef WELL DONE, unless it's very high quality (I assume this means less filler). Not sure it has anything to do with steak, but I get my steak medium and my burgers medium well. Anything less than that and I think you're asking for trouble. I assume you can get away with more at a fine dining establishment because the quality and freshness of the meat is much higher.
Just so it's clear, I think my problem that I had was more to do with the extreme amounts of grease and poor flavor of the food. It's cool when you're in college at 2 AM, but now I see it as pure junk. And in regards to the medium rare steak. I think that most health experts say that you should order most ground beef WELL DONE, unless it's very high quality (I assume this means less filler). Not sure it has anything to do with steak, but I get my steak medium and my burgers medium well. Anything less than that and I think you're asking for trouble. I assume you can get away with more at a fine dining establishment because the quality and freshness of the meat is much higher.
Read my post above, you are right on all your points. It has everything to do with steak. I order my steak medium. Steak comes from the muscle belly. Ground beef can include parts of the gut and/or fecal parts which contain E. coli and thus undercooked ground beef can be dangerous. And I doubt the 'Bertos are serving the most premium ground beef available.
And since we are on the subject of safety in Mexican food, here is another piece of advice...be careful when ordering chicken chimichangas and chicken burritos at Mexican restaurants in general With many chimis, they put raw chicken in the burro and then deep fry it. What happens is the outside gets nice and crispy but the chicken inside doesn't get thoroughly cooked and it can be pink and undercooked. The same applies to chicken burros. They will place raw chicken inside the burro and bake it and the chicken doesn't get cooked all the way through sometimes. Stick with the chicken fajita burrito if possible and order the steak chimi.
That's because you are not educated about this issue. E. coli is a natural bacteria found only in the gut. We have E. coli in our gut too. Ground beef may include unfavorable parts like intestines and thus your risk of acquiring E. coli increases with undercooked ground beef. This is different that steak which comes from the muscle belly directly and thus it's fairly safe to eat rare or undercooked. So your undercooked carnitas and carne asada are fine, your slightly pink ground beef is not fine. Hepatitis has to do with kitchen practices and handling of food and safety. Upscale restaurants are better about hygiene and safe kitchen practices in addition to being more selective with their meat.
Lastly, most food poisoning is not due to E coli. It's mostly due to Staph aureus and campylobacter. Campylobacter is found in undercooked poultry like chicken. I've also witnessed undercooked chicken at the 'bertos. Chicken should not have any pink. It should be completely cooked. If you get food poisoning with campylobacter, you could experience some nasty bloody diarrhea. Staph is far common and is found in dairy products that have been laying out too long ie sour cream! This is a very common source of food poisoning at fast food so if you want to be safe, avoid ordering sour cream on the nachos at 2 AM because I guarantee that sour cream has been laying out all day.
So you are probably wondering how certain produce like tomatoes or spinach have E coli if its only found in the gut? The reason is because cows can graze in areas proximal to produce. The groundwater gets contaminated and can spread to produce nearby.
I have never had ground beef at Filibertos. They dice their meat. I have yet to see undercooked food at Filibertos.
I have gotten sick after dining a 5-star restaurants, but have never gotten ill after eating at a fast-food Mexican place.
Read my post above, you are right on all your points. It has everything to do with steak. I order my steak medium. Steak comes from the muscle belly. Ground beef can include parts of the gut and/or fecal parts which contain E. coli and thus undercooked ground beef can be dangerous. And I doubt the 'Bertos are serving the most premium ground beef available.
And since we are on the subject of safety in Mexican food, here is another piece of advice...be careful when ordering chicken chimichangas and chicken burritos at Mexican restaurants in general With many chimis, they put raw chicken in the burro and then deep fry it. What happens is the outside gets nice and crispy but the chicken inside doesn't get thoroughly cooked and it can be pink and undercooked. The same applies to chicken burros. They will place raw chicken inside the burro and bake it and the chicken doesn't get cooked all the way through sometimes. Stick with the chicken fajita burrito if possible and order the steak chimi.
Muscle belly? The only steak that I know of that comes from the "muscle belly" is flank and shortplate which aren't heavily used in mexican food; to ground beef or carnitas. Usually round, rib, rump, chuck, and sirloin are used in mexican cuisine. All these meats are from the leg, back, shoulder or "rump" area of the bovine. So ground beef isn't that much more unsafe except if it has been left out of refrigeration longer than cuts of steak; which is most likely the culprit. Also, Filiberto's doesn't really fail inspection from meat left out for too long. I have never found Fili's to be too greasy, just sometimes lacking flavor. That's what salsa and picante is for though, LOL!
I have never had ground beef at Filibertos. They dice their meat. I have yet to see undercooked food at Filibertos.
I have gotten sick after dining a 5-star restaurants, but have never gotten ill after eating at a fast-food Mexican place.
I don't really care where you eat. I'm just trying to inform people so they are aware of the risks. I know people who eat street tacos with sour cream and guac in Rocky Point and street food in China and India who have NOT gotten sick.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 11-19-2009 at 04:27 PM..
Muscle belly? The only steak that I know of that comes from the "muscle belly" is flank and shortplate which aren't heavily used in mexican food; to ground beef or carnitas. Usually round, rib, rump, chuck, and sirloin are used in mexican cuisine. All these meats are from the leg, back, shoulder or "rump" area of the bovine. So ground beef isn't that much more unsafe except if it has been left out of refrigeration longer than cuts of steak; which is most likely the culprit. Also, Filiberto's doesn't really fail inspection from meat left out for too long. I have never found Fili's to be too greasy, just sometimes lacking flavor. That's what salsa and picante is for though, LOL!
I'm speaking in anatomical terms. The muscle belly refers to the actual muscle itself. I'm not referring to the belly of the animal. That is much safer than ground meat which is often meat that may include "filler" or parts of the gut including feces. E. coli is a bacteria that is only found in the gut of animals and therefore if meat is contaminated with E. coli, it had to have some type of exposure to feces or gut contents. It has nothing to do with air exposure. Ground beef poses a greater risk of one acquiring E coli. We studied this extensive in microbiology in medical school and are tested on this on our internal medicine boards.
Ground beef and ground meat is safe as long you cook it thoroughly. I'm not advocating people not eat ground beef. I cook it at home but I make sure it is thoroughly cooked.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 11-19-2009 at 04:55 PM..
I'm speaking in anatomical terms. The muscle belly refers to the actual muscle itself. I'm not referring to the belly of the animal. That is much safer than ground meat which is often meat that may include "filler" or parts of the gut including feces. It is much safer and I'm speaking from a medical perspective. Ground beef poses a greater risk of one acquiring E coli. We studied this extensive in microbiology in medical school and are tested on this on our internal medicine boards.
Ground beef and ground meat is safe as long you cook it thoroughly. I'm not advocating people not eat ground beef. I cook it at home but I make sure it is thoroughly cooked.
Oh, I see. I've never heard meat/steak called muscle belly, but ok. Usually ground beef from a restaurant is ground steak. I'm sure they lie about this at some places, however.
Oh, I see. I've never heard meat/steak called muscle belly, but ok. Usually ground beef from a restaurant is ground steak. I'm sure they lie about this at some places, however.
No one else calls it that. I don't fault you for not knowing that. We just call it that because we want to separate Steak (muscle) versus Ground Beef. Yes, ground beef can vary in quality. I'm sure you've noticed this when you've bought it yourself from the grocery store. However, there is also really cheep ground beef that has more filler which can contain other parts.
In the UK, they were serving ground beef to cattle. However, their ground beef contained brains and CNS parts, a practice the United States strictly forbids. It was one theory behind why cattle in the UK were getting Mad Cow Disease which is a prion disease that is found only in the CNS. Since then the UK stopped that practice. Just thought you might find that interesting.
No one else calls it that. I don't fault you for not knowing that. We just call it that because we want to separate Steak (muscle) versus Ground Beef. Yes, ground beef can vary in quality. I'm sure you've noticed this when you've bought it yourself from the grocery store. However, there is also really cheep ground beef that has more filler which can contain other parts.
In the UK, they were serving ground beef to cattle. However, their ground beef contained brains and CNS parts, a practice the United States strictly forbids. It was one theory behind why cattle in the UK were getting Mad Cow Disease which is a prion disease that is found only in the CNS. Since then the UK stopped that practice. Just thought you might find that interesting.
Yes for sure! That's why I said I am sure some establishments "fib" about the quality of their grounds...but that's when common sense comes into play. Do you keep eating a Fili's burrito with pink ground beef? Or do you tell them to COOK you another? Or better yet, to give you a carnitas burrito?
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