How do you prefer your steak? Spare no detail

[civvver]

The only places I order steak is at either a dedicated steakhouse or an Italian restaurant. Seafood restaurants and diners are usually cook the worst steaks. And while some BBQ places make a good one, you at a Barbecue joint, get some Barbecue!

There's been a correlation of the rise of "steak toppings" and the lowering of the quality of the meat at most restaurants. Since 2008, when the restaurant industry took a hit along with the rest of the U.S. economy, many steakhouses and restaurants started to compensate by buying lower grades of meat and then offering toppings to try and enhance the flavor (honestly cover up the cheaper meat) at the table. Even though the economy has gotten better, this practice has remained.

I usually order my steak medium while eating out, because if they over/under cook it it will still be within a edible state. When cooking at home or at a party, it tend to go on the redder side.

Dedicated steak house can be a rather loose definition though. Have you ever eaten at outback? They cook the steaks terribly. Meanwhile I've had great ones at applebees before.

I try to err on the side of under done so I order rare or medium rare. They can always throw it back on the grill if it's blue and vast majority of places overcook steak.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Outback is Applebees masquerading as a fancy steakhouse.

 

[Arwon]

We don't have "steak houses" in Australia but you'll get a good steak at pretty much any pub.

 

[Gen.Mannerheim]

Dedicated steak house can be a rather loose definition though. Have you ever eaten at outback?

Not really. Even with the explosion of franchise restaurants in the U.S. its usually pretty obvious which places are mostly dedicated to slices of beef and not an Applebees+. And I like to patronize local haunts over your roadside Logan's or LongHorns' if I can, but that's getting increasingly harder these days.

And don't even get started on what an overpriced joke Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is...

Outback is Applebees masquerading as a fancy steakhouse.

They don't even have the decency to stock any real Australian beer! Even your average Mexican restaurant can be trusted to have 2 or 3 Mexican beers available that aren't Corona.

We don't have "steak houses" in Australia but you'll get a good steak at pretty much any pub.

In the States, bars & pubs are usually you best bet for a better than average hamburger. On a date once, the lady I was with decided to order the chicken marsala at this local sports joint and was then *shocked* when it turned out dreadful. It doesn't take a connoisseur to know that just because its on the menu doesn't mean you should order it, you should always pick towards the strengths of whatever style of place you are at.

 

[Synobun]

We don't have "steak houses" in Australia but you'll get a good steak at pretty much any pub.

That would explain why a family friend from Australia exclusively wanted to eat at steakhouses/family restaurants when they visited us in Ontario a decade ago.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I'm not a big fan of steak. (I also dislike hamburgers.)

I think the only beefsteaks I've ever enjoyed were chicken-friend steak (sirloin or top round that is flattened, tenderized, and then breaded and pan-fried in a manner like like fried chicken).

Salmon or mahi-mahi steaks can be pretty good if marinated properly.

 

[Arwon]

That would explain why a family friend from Australia exclusively wanted to eat at steakhouses/family restaurants when they visited us in Ontario a decade ago.

Oh my god Denny's yessss glorious garbage

 

[Arwon]

In the States, bars & pubs are usually you best bet for a better than average hamburger. On a date once, the lady I was with decided to order the chicken marsala at this local sports joint and was then *shocked* when it turned out dreadful. It doesn't take a connoisseur to know that just because its on the menu doesn't mean you should order it, you should always pick towards the strengths of whatever style of place you are at.

To be honest there are pubs and sports clubs here I'd back for their curries or a particular other cuisine. Just gotta know where to go.

There's a bowls club in central Canberra which was known for its Burmese menu, of all things. And a place semi- attached to a large pub near our cricket ground that is both decent Italian food and great takeaway burgers.

 

[Sommerswerd]

And a place semi- attached to a large pub near our cricket ground that is both decent Italian food and great takeaway burgers.

Minus the cricket grounds of course, places like that are a dime a dozen in the Northeastern US.

 

[metalhead]

Not really. Even with the explosion of franchise restaurants in the U.S. its usually pretty obvious which places are mostly dedicated to slices of beef and not an Applebees+. And I like to patronize local haunts over your roadside Logan's or LongHorns' if I can, but that's getting increasingly harder these days.

And don't even get started on what an overpriced joke Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is...

One of the best things about Chicago is that it has a long heritage of family owned, one-of-a-kind steakhouses. NYC has Peter Lugar's and the like, but you just can't top Chicago for steak, especially since their proximity to cattle country gives them the best beef you'll find anywhere.

Here in Philly, there are depressingly few non-chain steakhouses. Ruth's Chris is awful, I will never eat there again. The rest are hit-and-miss, I find. Sullivan's out in the 'burbs has been the most consistently good of any I've been to, so we always go there for steak. I like The Capital Grille better as an overall dining destination, but even there I've had a so-so steak.

 

[Gen.Mannerheim]

One of the best things about Chicago is that it has a long heritage of family owned, one-of-a-kind steakhouses. NYC has Peter Lugar's and the like, but you just can't top Chicago for steak, especially since their proximity to cattle country gives them the best beef you'll find anywhere.

That reminds me of a place in Ft. Worth, Texas called The Cattlemens' Steakhouse. Its located in the old stockyards in downtown Ft. Worth, where they loaded the cattle that went north to places like Chicago and Boston. Given it's location, it has a tourist-y vive with prices to match, but it is a favorite with the locals and the one time I went, really good.

This thread kinda makes we wanna take a great steak tour, starting where the beef got on Texas, with stops in places like Memphis & St. Louis, and ending in Chicago; eating at fantastic places along the way.

 

[civvver]

Outback is Applebees masquerading as a fancy steakhouse.

I like the bloomin onion and I just don't order steak there lol. Their prime rib is actually not bad or I get a sandwich or something.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I like the bloomin onion and I just don't order steak there lol. Their prime rib is actually not bad or I get a sandwich or something.

In these parts, every fall they have this giant event called "The Big E" which is essentially a county fair on steroids. Its awesome... and they serve the best blooming onion there I've ever had. They literally have a guy standing there with a crate full of farm fresh onions, peeling and hand slicing them into blooms then handing them to a lady that is dunking them into batter that some other guy is mixing fresh batches of ... again, right in front of you, then they fry the things right in front of you.

The line to get one is an hour, and people happily wait because they're so good. People will ask how long the wait is... the lady says "about 5-8 mins per person so... 1,2,3... hmm about 60-90 mins hon"... people just shrug their shoulders and get in line. Anyway its a county fair, and they serve blooming onions... literally right next to fried-dough/funnel cakes, corn dogs and cotton candy. So I think that makes my point about Outback.

 

[Snerk]

Man I haven't had a proper steak in years. Perhaps it's time. I prefer mine medium cooked. Pink but not raw.