# Sent a Steak Back to Kitchen and Got Same Steak in Return **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 19, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456 "2024-09-19T03:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/81 "2024-09-20T16:47:51Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > I never, never, EVER send food back in a restaurant because you never know what happens to complaining customers food when it’s out of sight. If I get a garbage meal I just don’t eat it and try to get it comped. I spent 15 years in the industry in a variety of restaurants and I never saw anyone mess with a customer’s food. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/82 "2024-09-20T16:48:59Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Sometimes the inevitably called managers say, “You ate it; you pay for it.” Sometimes they cave. I might cave, just to keep the peace. But I would also trespass them from the property. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/83 "2024-09-20T16:51:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m not sure I understand this. Unless it’s actually cold in the middle, how can it be undercooked? If they order a steak well done, but it’s medium, then it’s undercooked. Why would it have to be cold? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/84 "2024-09-20T16:51:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m not sure I understand this. Unless it’s actually cold in the middle, how can it be undercooked? When you order a steak, the server typically asks you how you want your steak cooked. Rare - seared on the outside red on the inside Medium Rare - seared on the outside, red in in the center, but with pink surrounding the red Medium - seared on the outside pink in the middle Medium Well - seared on the outside slight pinkish color in center Well Done - Brown Center and not truly fit for human consumption If I order a steak to be cooked medium and it comes back rare then it is undercooked. If I order a steak to be cooked medium and it comes back well done it is over cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/85 "2024-09-20T16:57:57Z")
Whoosh! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/86 "2024-09-20T17:22:17Z")
Only now that it’s too late do I get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/87 "2024-09-20T17:49:32Z")
[![](https://preview.redd.it/you-better-eat-food-how-i-like-it-or-else-v0-xxg4eeihfk6c1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=516af4d27566fae4154d58d5fcaaf2930d8b4a8d) ](https://preview.redd.it/you-better-eat-food-how-i-like-it-or-else-v0-xxg4eeihfk6c1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=516af4d27566fae4154d58d5fcaaf2930d8b4a8d) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/88 "2024-09-20T17:54:12Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > > [@Mallard](#): > > > > I never, never, EVER send food back in a restaurant because you never know what happens to complaining customers food when it’s out of sight. If I get a garbage meal I just don’t eat it and try to get it comped. > > My very first job was working in a restaurant, buffet pizza, and I never saw anyone mess with the food. As long as you treat the staff with respect, I don’t think you have much to worry about. Boy, i hope you can say, “excuse me, i asked for a rare steak, and this one is gray all the way through. Can you please get me a rare steak” without pissing off the staff. Mistakes happen. It’s nice when they can be fixed. Related to the OP: i like meat rare. My husband likes it medium well to well done. Sometimes, when i make steaks, his is underdone, despite my best efforts with a thermometer. When that happens, we take the same piece of meat and cook it some more. It would never have occurred to me to throw it out and start over. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/89 "2024-09-20T20:01:26Z")
> [@Frosted\_Glass](#): > > As a former bartender/server/FOH manager, I see two mistakes on the part of the waitstaff. The person who delivered your food should have waited for you to cut into it to confirm the temp. I do not think I have ever had waitstaff do that. > [@Odesio](#): > > My very first job was working in a restaurant, buffet pizza, and I never saw anyone mess with the food. As long as you treat the staff with respect, I don’t think you have much to worry about. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Same. Worked fast food kitchen and never saw anyone messing with the food (or did it myself). I _guess_ I could see the temptation if someone was screaming at me from the other side of the counter but if someone just needed a burger without onions, who cares? Just one more burger out of the hundred I’ll be cooking that shift – get it done and move on. Yep, and I was a line cook for some time. Simple normal complaints do not get the food spat on. They are an hourly occurrence, and sooner or later, that would be spotted and the restaurant shut down. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/90 "2024-09-20T20:11:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Simple normal complaints do not get the food spat on. They are an hourly occurrence, and sooner or later, that would be spotted and the restaurant shut down. Maybe I’m just a romantic, but deep down I think most people who work in the food industry are just decent people who wouldn’t do something to someone’s food. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/91 "2024-09-20T20:23:02Z")
God, what a shitty fucking meme. I don’t know what it is about steak that makes so many people so absolutely insufferable about people having different preferences, but no other food seems to draw out people’s inner prick more than a well done steak. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/92 "2024-09-20T20:26:28Z")
Thank you. I’ve been dying to say something like this for a while, but I thought it might be too Pittish for CS. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/93 "2024-09-20T20:30:01Z")
Yeah, possibly. Consider my comments aimed at the asshole who made the meme, and not the perfectly fine poster who had the misfortune of sharing it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/94 "2024-09-20T20:32:40Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > God, what a shitty fucking meme. I don’t know what it is about steak that makes so many people so absolutely insufferable about people having different preferences, but no other food seems to draw out people’s inner prick more than a well done steak. We exiled a man from my village because he insisted on putting cereal in the bowl _after_ filling it with milk. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/95 "2024-09-20T20:42:15Z")
I have no issue with how anyone wants _their_ steak cooked, as long as they arent overly fussy. I went to the Pantry, and my buddy ordered his steak well done. The waiter said- I can ask the cook to butterly it (it was a very thick steak). But bring _me_ a well done steak when I have ordered medium rare- and yep, I am not a happy person- I will send it back. Mind you, if it is merely medium, I will not complain. I will raise my eyebrows a bit if you pour ketchup over a good steak, but your food is your food, eat it and enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/96 "2024-09-20T21:19:42Z")
No. Just…no. Eat your steak the way you want, but I will not eat with you anymore than I would eat with someone who chews with their mouth open or abuses the waitstaff. At that point it negatively affects my enjoyment of MY meal. Probably best if we meet after dinner. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/97 "2024-09-20T21:33:20Z")
> [@Frosted\_Glass](#): > > I spent 15 years in the industry in a variety of restaurants and I never saw anyone mess with a customer’s food. Same as you. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/98 "2024-09-20T22:40:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > God, what a shitty fucking meme. I don’t know what it is about steak that makes so many people so absolutely insufferable about people having different preferences Actually, what’s currently obsessing me about that meme graphic is the puzzling fact that it uses the British spelling of “flavourful”, but the American version “mommy” rather than British “mummy”. Is the origin of that meme… Canadian?? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/99 "2024-09-20T22:52:44Z")
I assume that’s not an intentional British spelling, and that the “u” is a fortuitous typo by a semi-literate meme-maker. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456/100 "2024-09-20T23:09:46Z")
It’s astonishing how many people on this board think this regularly happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sent-a-steak-back-to-kitchen-and-got-same-steak-in-return/1007456.md?page=6)