Steak houses

[fresco]

Friends arrived for dinner last night, bringing strip steaks from an extravagantly expensive but excellent specialty food store.

They were very, very good, which raises the question: why would anyone who knows much about food or cooking and has access to quality beef go to Ruth Chris's, Mortons, or any other overpriced steak house?

A steak house seems to be the one type of restaurant where you are not going to learn anything positive about cooking or experience anything that you could not experience at home. In fact, you are pretty well guaranteed to be disappointed by the appetizers, the bread, the vegetables, the desserts and probably the beef itself.

Anyone care to make a case for steak houses?

[Jinmyo]

No.

[tommy]

i think i can produce better food, cheaper, than most of the restaurants i go to. i think whatever case can be made for steakhouses can be made for any type of restaurant where this is the case.

[Jinmyo]

I can see a case for the kind of classic NYC beefsteak more than for a steakhouse. See this thread.

[fresco]

i think i can produce better food, cheaper, than most of the restaurants i go to.  i think whatever case can be made for steakhouses can be made for any type of restaurant where this is the case.

That's probably the case for a lot of people who post on eGullet. But the same people are probably much more inclined than the average person to dine out because they believe some restaurants are worth the price of admission. Is there anything that would put steak houses in this category?

[tommy]

i think that good steakhouses use good quality meat and cook them perfectly (give or take) every time. there's no clean up, there's no heating up your kitchen, there's no smoke in your house, and there's the aspect of "going out to eat". the latter, i would think, is a big factor.

[fresco]

All true. But I don't think it's too much of an overstatement to say that grilling a steak requires not too much more skill than grilling a Whopper. If you go to, say, a celebrated Italian or French restaurant, there is at least the prospect that your money will buy some real cooking expertise.

Edited September 21, 2003 by fresco (log)

[Jinmyo]

I'd go to a steakhouse with tommy.

But I'd rather that he grilled me a good steak.

And rather than that, I'd prefer to grill one for him.

[tommy]

i don't think my grilled steak turns out at good as NYC's top steakhouses. and i don't think most people have access to beef that quality (or temps that high?). and yes, we can all order from lobel's, but not many people know that, and even more aren't inclined to spend that kind of money and run the risk of messing it all up.

besides, there's more to the experience of a steakhouse than the steak and sides.

Edited September 21, 2003 by tommy (log)

[fifi]

I dunno. I am not that good at grilling. I am a slow cook, braising, smoking kind of gal. Grilling escapes me. I go to a steakhouse because they do it better than I do.

[SteveW]

In a home kitchen set-up, an individual can`t cook his/her steak(s) at the super high temperatures that the top steakhouses can. Same idea could hold true, for Chinese dishes, that are cooked at super high temperatures in woks at Chinese restaurants(can`t be duplicated at home, with residential equipment).

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Steve

[fresco]

I'm sure there must be more to the experience than the food, but just what eludes me. Most seem to have this fake men's club ambience. Can't imagine it's the clientele.

[fresco]

In a home kitchen set-up, an individual can`t cook his/her steak(s) at the super high temperatures that the top steakhouses can. Same idea could hold true, for Chinese dishes, that are cooked at super high temperatures in woks at Chinese restaurants(can`t be duplicated at home, with residential equipment).

-----------

Steve

I do agree about Chinese food. Using a wok at home is often very disappointing.

[Jinmyo]

I guess that's true about home kitchens. I'm so used to a six-top with griddle and grill, two ovens, and a salamander on the wall that I forget about teeny electric stoves.

[fifi]

Oh yeah... I forgot about the "Men's Club" ambience. I love that. I travel a lot on business and groove on going into these places, alone, and stirring up the whole thing. I was in a steak house in Calgary where this was really something. Do you remember the beef commercial where the guys look really uncomfortable because all of these women have taken over their "haven"?

[fresco]

Calgary may be the one place where I'd actually choose a steak house over many other restaurants. But that's probably more about nostalgia than food.

[Varmint]

You also may want to check out this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...=23872&hl=chris

[mamster]

Are there any steakhouses with really good side dishes (say, more than one signature side)? I've grown tired of the "sure the spinach sucks, but the meat is perfect" rationale. That's my biggest beef with steakhouses.

[fifi]

Nah, fresco. In Calgary it is the food. They raise some awesome beef.

[Jinmyo]

Calgary may be the one place where I'd actually choose a steak house over many other restaurants. But that's probably more about nostalgia than food.

Well, sure. I've thought I might buy and eat a hot dog from a street vendor in New York because in all of the times I've been there I've never done a "New York" thing. But that has nothing to do with wanting to eat a hot dog.

Most people's reasons for eating at restaurants have little to do with the food as such. I don't have any interest in those reasons any more so I don't. And when I did, if I liked the food I ould arrange to stage or at least trail for a day.

[fresco]

But the high temp cooking suggests that steak house steaks appeal to an unusually sophisticated palate, which seems, uh, counterintuitive. Either that, or the best kept secret in the culinary world.

[claire797]

Oh yeah... I forgot about the "Men's Club" ambience. I love that. I travel a lot on business and groove on going into these places, alone, and stirring up the whole thing. I was in a steak house in Calgary where this was really something. Do you remember the beef commercial where the guys look really uncomfortable because all of these women have taken over their "haven"?

Heh. That's awesome. Do you get all dolled up ;).

We go to steakhouses for the atmosphere and the food. I like steakhouses because they are generally dark, have comfortable chairs, interesting wine lists, and lack culinary pretence. I order steak about 30% of the time.

My husband likes steakhouses because he can order prime rib. Being a family of three, we just don't cook up a lot of prime rib at home.

That said, we do grill a lot of steaks in our backyard and many of them have been on par or better that Ruth's Chris. We buy aged beef, use charcoal and mesquite and always use a thermometer to make sure we take the steak off at medium rare.

As for Calgary, I think I would definitely order steak. From what I've heard, they raise excellent beef there and they know how to cook it.

[sheffield]

i think i can produce better food, cheaper, than most of the restaurants i go to.  i think whatever case can be made for steakhouses can be made for any type of restaurant where this is the case.

here here

[Schneier]

Leaving aside the obvious answer--I go to a restaurant because I don't feel like cooking, or I am in a different city than the one that has my kitchen--I go to a steakhouse because:

1) They have dry aged prime beef, which I can't get myself.

2) They cook it perfectly.

Unfortunately, that rules out most of the steak houses in this country. I never go to Morton's or Ruth's Chris. I never order steak in random good restaurants. Once or twice a year I go to Peter Luger's and satisfy my craving for dry aged beef. (Supposedly there is a similarly good steak house in Florida somewhere, but I don't get down there very often.)

Bruce

[ronnie_suburban]

IMO, steak houses are generally good but not great. Here in Chicago we have access to great beef and I'm as happy as a pig in a mud puddle to buy steaks at one of my local stores (butcher or grocery depending on mood/occasion) and make them at home. This is a relatively easy option because, by virtue of the way my house is laid out, I can grill outside virtually year-round--even in winter. Clean up can be a big factor--making steaks indoors can really trash a kitchen. Also, I have almost no desire to make steaks, especially indoors, when I'm hosting a dinner for 8+ people.

Whenever I go to a steak house, one of my first thoughts (after I look at the prices) is "if it were not for the 'business' crowd, this place wouldn't exist." I wonder what percentage of steak house traffic is business, or family gathering or tourist. Without any data in front of me, I'd bet that those 3 categories make up the lion's share of it.

One local Chicago steak house, Gibsons, has some very good sides...the sauteed spinach and hash browns among them. But when I go to Ruth's Chris I'm often left scratching my head because, IMO, the steaks are just good (and PRICEY) and their sides are average at best.

And Bruce, I think you're referring to Bern's Steak House in the Tampa area...reputed to be great but I had a memorably horrible experience there a few years back.

=R=