Today we are talking about meat and its prime cut: sirloin. Before starting on the menu, we’ll try to devote a few lines to explaining the key criteria for judging this cut. We’ll begin at the end, with the price. There are no exquisite, cheap cuts of meat. Just like with caviar, truffle and fish, truly good meat is rare and therefore you have to pay for it. No matter how big, beautiful and thick the sirloin you’re thinking of eating may be, don’t trust it if it’s cheap.
So now let’s go back to the beginning. A sirloin can come from male or female cattle. The male cuts are more expensive because females are productively more profitable, since once they reach adulthood they produce milk, which earns the farmer money. Male cattle used to pull carts but have now been replaced with machinery; in other words, they bring no profits before being slaughtered. On the other hand, the older the animal the more flavourful its meat, although it does become tougher (later we’ll explain how this is solved). This is why a sirloin from old male cattle, which is therefore flavourful, is prohibitively expensive and extraordinarily hard to find.
But there’s more. There are two kinds of sirloin: the short loin and the top sirloin. The short loin is the ribs near the animal’s back which are closer to its head. Since they are meatier, they are the most select cut we can eat. Now let’s talk about the animals’ food and lifestyle. The more freely they are able to walk around and the more sybaritic their diet (grains to eat, and even beer to drink), the tastier their flesh – although this also depends on the breed. The more they are allowed to wander about, the better the fat is distributed in their muscles, which is visible in raw cuts, and the more unique and intense the flavour, just as in cured ham.
We’re almost done – you must be hungry by now! With just a few exceptions, the fat in female cattle is yellower than in male cattle, which is more ivory in colour, and when they are older and therefore tastier and more select, their flesh is too tough for our standards. This is why these old cuts must be refined and softened with ageing, which takes place in special chambers where the air enters and leaves at a specific temperature. During this controlled ageing, the cut of meat softens, while also being covered with a layer of bacteria which leaves the outside part hardened and unfit for consumption. Therefore, the butcher or restaurateur has to pare off the outside of the cut before grilling it.
After all this, do you now understand why it’s hard to find a select yet cheap sirloin?
At Lomo Alto, the name says it all (the name means Short Loin). Meat from different places, all premium quality, offered in a venue designed around and for meat. Everything has this goal in mind. The interior is striking from the street, Carrer Aragó: two floors clad in gleaming white ceramic tile. It is unusually spacious, with large tables which have an additional platform where the servers, who are highly professional and trained in meat matters, present the raw cuts of meat for clients’ selection, and after being cooked they meticulously cut them before the diners’ eyes.
We eat dishes which seem conventional judging from the menu, but which turn out to be exceptional. The “Starter of male and female beef” – cecina, chorizo, cured tongue, sobrassada – is exquisite. Note the sobrassada: total and complete #foodporn. The bread that comes with it is amazing, too. Yummy! Along the same lines is a “Steak tartare roll” nestled charmingly inside a perfectly-sized brioche, which allows you to eat the steak without the need for cutlery. Then come acceptable “Cecina croquettes”… and without further ado, let’s get down to the main course!
Starter of male and female beef
Steak tartare roll
Cecina croquettes
We sampled the aged female top sirloin. Rubia Gallega beef aged 160 days – that’s a long ageing process. There are no words to describe this exquisite dish. The flavour is intense, the texture buttery, the cut perfect and the garnishes delightful. Most importantly, eat the fat – it’s the best part! Just one warning: if you want short loin or male beef, get your wallet ready. You won’t regret it, but get it ready.
Aged female top sirloin
Now that it’s that time of year when we pay tribute to All Saints, we encourage you to go venerate the Holy Sirloin at the temple of Lomo Alto, unquestionably the cathedral of sirloin.
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Food | Wines | |
| 74 | 73 | |
| Service | Venue | |
| 74 | 72 | |
| Price | Miguelín Stars | |
| 65 € |  |
|
| Per person: 1 appetiser, 1 cut of meat (shared), 1 cheese board (shared), 2 glasses of wine | ||
Where is Lomo Alto?
Address: C arrer d'Aragó, 283-285, 08009 Barcelona
Telephone: 935 19 30 00
Timetable: Monday to Sunday 1 to 4 pm and 8 pm to 12 midnight
Website: lomoalto.barcelona