# Butter on my tone, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787 "2012-10-25T01:52:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/1 "2012-10-25T01:52:04Z")
I mentioned putting butter on steak the other day at lunch at work. Everybody there denied ever hearing of such a thing, and gave the old “ewe” routine. I’ve had steak at some really good steak houses. Jack Dempsey’s in Manhattan in the 1960s was one. My big t bone, nice and rare, had a dollop of flavored butter on top. It was great. It’s been the same story in most other places. So what’s with these (sometimes ;)) friends of mine? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/2 "2012-10-25T02:08:00Z")
To me, steak needs butter. Your colleagues may have come of age in the low-fat era, poor things. They probably don’t know how to dial rotary phones either. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/3 "2012-10-25T02:20:53Z")
Sure, a nice compound butter can be very tasty on a steak. Don’t always do it, but it’s not crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/4 "2012-10-25T03:40:29Z")
It’s a common practice. It can make the steak look better. I usually don’t do it myself, I’ll just have my butter on the side. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/5 "2012-10-25T03:57:59Z")
Yes to butter. You’re friends have never eaten in a fine steak house. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/6 "2012-10-25T12:49:33Z")
I’ve never done it myself, but occasionally we eat at a local hibachi restaurant and when they’re preparing the filet in front of us they drop it onto a small pile of butter. The steak turns out delicious. I’ve never had it served to me with butter on it and I’ve never added it myself, but I like it cooked that way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/7 "2012-10-25T12:54:14Z")
I don’t think that a good steak actually benefits from it, but a mediocre steak can, and it’s not an uncommon practice in any event. And what’s the meaning of the title? “Butter on my tone”? Is “tone” slang for steak, now? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/8 "2012-10-25T12:56:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And what’s the meaning of the title? “Butter on my tone”? Is “tone” slang for steak, now? I thought this was going to be about music that was so smooth it was like butter. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/9 "2012-10-25T12:56:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think that a good steak actually benefits from it, but a mediocre steak can, and it’s not an uncommon practice in any event. > > And what’s the meaning of the title? “Butter on my tone”? Is “tone” slang for steak, now? Maybe T-Bone? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/10 "2012-10-25T13:04:21Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Maybe T-Bone? I expect it was meant to be “butter on my bone, please”. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/11 "2012-10-25T14:23:20Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Sure, a nice compound butter can be very tasty on a steak. Don’t always do it, but it’s not crazy talk. This. But I am much more diet-conscious in my old age, so I don’t do this anymore. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/12 "2012-10-25T14:25:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think that a good steak actually benefits from it, but a mediocre steak can, and it’s not an uncommon practice in any event. > > And what’s the meaning of the title? “Butter on my tone”? Is “tone” slang for steak, now? Somebody doesn’t know how to spell “T Bone”. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/13 "2012-10-25T14:28:11Z")
Yes, please. I love making compound butter for steaks. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-on-my-tone-please/638787/14 "2012-10-25T15:02:47Z")
Butter on everything, in my opinion. Except maybe tones.