Question about Filet Mignon, the filet mignon of beef

What’s the difference between filet mignon at an expensive restaurant versus filet mignon at Outback Steakhouse? I’ve never been a meat connoisseur, but I love eating filet mignon. I had probably the best I’ve ever tasted last week at the Capital Grille in NY. I always thought that a filet is a filet. But people have sworn to me that the filet at Peter Luger’s is the best. Smith & Wollensky and Sparks also rank highly. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to eat at these places. But isn’t it the same piece of meat? Is the difference merely in the preparation, or do the quality steakhouses receive shipments of “special” meat?

I’ve been in a few beef restaurants that bragged about serving only the highest quality beef from Omaha, or some other special place, aged for mumble days. So I assume there are differences in where they get their carcasses, and how they are treated when received.

Quality of beef varies wildly. Dry aged beef is best. Outback, IMO, serves some pretty tasteless crap, probably in the ‘select beef’ category. Here is a discussion of grades of beef.

Filet mignon is from the tenderloin of the cow, but not all cows are created equal. Slaughtered cows are graded based on the quality of their meat. More expensive steak houses probably use more expensive, higher grades of meat.

There can be a huge difference in the quality of any cut of meat. What was the animal fed? How marbled is the steak? Is it aged? And that’s all before cooking. The differences between a Select, Choice and Prime cut of beef are easily detectable, especially if you don’t cook it beyond medium rare. Now I happen to think that Outback does a decent job with steak but if you are a fan of beef your owe it to yourself to check out a great steak at a great steakhouse.

Also, the filet may be the most tender cut of meat but I don’t believe it is the best tasting steak- for that I go to a strip or a ribeye.

Obviously a lot of IMHO going on here.

Some chefs will argue filet isn’t the best cut. Tender, yes. Flavorful? Not always. That said, I recently had possibly the best beef in my life. Yep, filet mignon. Tender beyond belief. The taste was helped by several hours of marinating. Wow.

Other than that. You folks have hit the nail on the head. You often get what you pay for. Outback isn’t terrible at all, and sometimes quite good. But it isn’t Morton’s or a Chicago Chop House.