The recent mad cow disease case in the United States and the bird flu epidemic sweeping Asia have disrupted food imports to Japan, but some restaurateurs here say it's whetted diners' appetites for the offbeat: ostrich meat.
French bistro Chez Daigo's chef and owner, Masahiro Daigo, serves it breaded with fresh herbs. In northern Yamagata Prefecture, ostrich meat comes in school lunches.
"If beef, pork and chicken are the big three meats, this is the fourth," Daigo said Saturday.