Medium. I would much rather have medium well than rare.
Well done, thank you. My ancestors didn’t spend thousands of years discovering and mastering fire so that I could eat raw meat.
Medium rare or under for me. I like rare and blue just fine, but if I’m going to get meat that raw, I’d rather have tartare or carpaccio. I generally order “on the rare side of medium rare” just to be safe, because I hate it where the texture transitions into medium territory.
^^^^^ this
Medium rare, assuming it’s actually medium rare. I like it to be pink all the way through but I’m not a big fan of the texture of rare steak.
I tend to order “rare to medium rare” in restaurants because they often err on the side of more, rather than less, cooking.
Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a thread past 50 posts this fast… 
Now to address some statements and questions.
Available cuts. I made a deal with my ex-brother-in-law and ran some of his cattle to the processor. So any cut you want is fresh in the cooler, never frozen. Angus. Nothing fancy.
There will be a basic bar, but with literally thousands of microbrews and wines I’m not even going to try to stock much beyond known names. If you’ve got a favorite, then by all means bring a bottle or three.
Same for sides and desserts. Basics will be provided, but if you’ve got a signature dish we’d love to try it out.
And the poll results. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a poll here with a more perfect bell curve. I just really really hope the vote for charcoal was a pity vote.
Rare or blue, but I’ve yet to find a reasonably-priced restaurant here in the UK that can get that right. It’s like they don’t really believe me when I ask for rare (on one occasion, I think the waitress even said “You do know that’s like, raw, in the middle?”) - and it arrives medium-rare.
I said medium rare, but it depends on the type of steak. Some cuts don’t seem to be as suited for rare; for some reason, I enjoy NY strip medium rare, but most other cuts I like cooked rare.
Going over to Cafe Society…
Just start a poll on how much you should tip on a well done steak, you’ll have 50 responses before your browser refreshes.
I always liked the Ameglian Major*Cow from Hitchhikers Guide 
Walks over and introduces itself and suggests which cuts are best *
Oh my yes. Letting the cow see the grill before cutting off my steak is good enough for a nice cut of beef.
Pittsburgh Medium-Rare—anything else is simply murdering cattle for no good reason.
So is there any truth to the rumor that the cook will select the steak based on how the customer wants it done?
I have heard that a cook will select a better steak if the customer orders it rare or medium rare, and an inferior cut if it’s to be cooked well done.
Medium rare. Anything warmer is a sacrilege to the Gods of beef.
When I was working a hot line sort of. Not a better cut, menu 8 oz NY strip is a 8 oz NY strip, but one that showed less grody bits would be cooked for someone that didn’t order well, because well done hides the gristly bits better.
If so, I’m going to start ordering a “rare steak, cooked medium.”
I bring beef into my house once, maybe twice a year. Steak for dinner last night - your fault!
Yeah, Anthony Bourdain claims in Kitchen Confidential that “Saving for well-done” is a time-honored kitchen practice, but I suspect he is exaggerating for effect. An 8 oz prime strip is an 8 oz prime strip. Now, some primes may be “primer” than others, so I could see saving a “lesser” prime for well-done, but it’s still good steak.
Choice steak, meanwhile, seems to have a lot more variability, at least in my experience. When I go to Costco to buy some choice strips or ribeyes or whatnot, there can be a marked difference in the marbling of the meat. Some choices I’ve bought looked like they could have qualified for prime; others looks only a hair’s breadth above select. I always examine my steaks closely and pick out the best looking ones.
Great! I’ll let my husband know that next time he lectures me for ordering my steak too rare.
Man, I really want a steak.