So I took my brother out to dinner tonight for his birthday, a brother who I thought I knew. We went to a steak house and of course I ordered the Filet Mignon, because that is everyone’s top choice always and if they don’t order it, it’s because they’re on a tight budget. Well get this, I order my Filet medium rare with a side of mashed potatoes & asparagus, and my brother orders a New Your Strip. Seriously?!?!? I reminded him that I was paying. A “discussion” ensued & we just could not find common ground. Eventually we just had to agree to disagree in order to preserve the relationship. So what is your favorite cut of steak?
Piffle! Tender, but comparatively lean and flavorless ;).
The king of steaks is obviously a well-marbled ribeye, dripping with succulent fat.
You should check out the “culinary misconceptions” or something like that, thread in Cafe Society. There’s a discussion about meat cuts at restaurants within it.
I am surprised that anyone would be that butthurt about what someone else ordered. Then again, I am the kid that would order abalone at a restaurant because, “that’s different, what does it taste like?” and thereby piss off whichever relative was paying for the meal. So it goes.
Anyway, I am not a big steakhouse maven. I’d talk to someone like pulykamell or silenus for that. I like filet mignon, but it is rather tasteless compared to other cuts. I’ve liked bone in ribeye when I’ve gone out, though usually I’m ordering whatever the restaurant does well or looks interesting, and anyway I’m probably geeking on whatever wine we’d ordered/brought instead of what’s on the plate. My fiancee loves meat, that doesn’t taste like meat, black and blue. This is challenging to cook at home, but I do all right.
Honestly, I might rather have the strip. Or the ribeye if available. They often are more flavorful. Now other animals can be different. Backstrap, which I want to say is a loin, and therefore the filet mignon equivalent, on deer is amazing.
As to, “Why won’t they order what they should order?! I’m paying! Why are they insulting me?!” People want what they want. When recommending things (like wine, and only when asked), I ask a bunch of questions to figure out their taste, and then I try to recommend something that I think, with my knowledge and experience, that they’d like. If they want something else? Fine. So long as they have the choice, and they have all of the information, it’s all up to them.
New York Strip, pink in the middle. In fact, my typical order is what you had (asparagus and mashed potatoes) with it. I grill it at home crusted in sea salt. My brother, one of those guys that practices Grilling as his religion, swears by the rib eye. He actually scowls when he sees a package of steaks in my fridge.
Typically I only have Filet Mignon when the place doesn’t have New York Strip, but I’ll concede I’ve had some good ones. A place in Chicago called Reza’s (mediterranean place) made a very nice filet.
Your brother is right, but he should have gotten the bone in ribeye.
I’ll have Veal Piccata with Capers, please.
I put a high priority on tenderness, so Filet Mignon was always my favorite (when Veal Piccata wasn’t available 
), but others may put a higher priority on rich tastiness and order elsehow, e.g. Rib-Eye.
Where I live now, imported beef is very expensive, domestic beef is tough; and neither beef is widely offered. AFAIK, I’m a very long way from any restaurant that offers filet mignon. So in a local steak house I’ll order chicken, pork, or fish. (Especially fish, which comes with various delicious sauces. When it’s available I order a large “two-faced fish” with different sauces on the left and right faces! — Perfect for indecisive me!)
I don’t tend to order the most expensive thing on the menu when someone else is paying.
Perhaps your brother is polite, like me. 
At the Steak House, I’ll order a ribeye.
At the store, I just look for the best marbling. Don’t really pay attention to cut.
This is the correct answer
Another vote for ribeye, medium rare. Something about the fat that surrounds and permeates that cut is so unctuous and tasty. I eat every bit of it.
If someone is buying me dinner - but with their generosity they feel they have also purchased the right to ridicule my choice of meal - we can split the check, thank you.
mmm
As always, flavor comes first, which is why I’ll always get hanger steak if available. It may be thinner than other cuts, but none of them match it in terms of taste.
My favorite is a ribeye. The Spinalis Dorsi or ribeye cap is my favorite part of my favorite cut. I’ll start eating that while it’s still on the counter.
When it comes to family steak night, I’ll often get a small tenderloin roast and cut fillets off it and fry them up. Easy, quick, tender, and tasty. One of my daughters has turned against red meat so this doesn’t happen as often as it used to.
I like my beef pink and juicy. My wife likes hers well done. I’ve accepted it.
The Filet has never done much for me. Kinda like a big, meat flavored gummi bear. I’ll take the New York or the Ribeye or a big old T-Bone.
Aw, hell! They’re all good. And if you’re buying, all the better!
I had a boyfriend once who wasn’t much of foodie. If we had steak, he just wanted a big plate of meat, so I would get a small rib steak for me, and a big blade steak for him. Everyone was happy - he got his steak and I didn’t blow the budget on expensive rib steaks he didn’t appreciate anyway.
Indeed. Ribeye is my first choice, but I may go for the strip if I’m in the mood. Filet will be near the bottom of my choices, no matter who is paying.
And as I said in the other thread, I believe that most steak and beef lovers’ first choice will not be the filet, because it’s so delicate on the beef flavor. So far, this thread bears this out. Filet is more the choice for people who don’t generally eat steak, IMHO, as it’s delicate, lean, and tender. I’m sure there’s some steak lovers out there who love it best, but IME, the other cuts are far more prized for the steak eaters I know.
Mod Hat On
Off to Cafe Society
No real interest in a filet. Too mild. I like a Ribeye, on the rare side of medium rare. Strip steak is good too.
Even if those are more commplace cuts I can do at home, good steakhouses have cooking equipment that brings them to a whole nother level.
Another vote for ribeye here, with Delmonico a close second. I want mine done to just lose the red and start to pink in the middle with a good sear on the outside.
Costco sometimes has the rib caps cut off and rolled and tied. They are about 1.5" thick and very good when they are available.
No sauce please, just salt and pepper.
I don’t get these threads where people are saying that filet is tasteless. They taste perfectly beefy and yummy to me. Maybe it’s because I buy 'em at Costco, and all their steaks are usually topnotch. Especially if you splurge and buy the prime beef that comes in the blue-colored foam trays.
It’s hard for me to choose which steak I like best. They each have a standout quality: ribeye for fatty juiciness, strip for robustness of flavor, and filet for succulent tenderness.
A good compromise is to buy a big porterhouse, and that way you can get some strip and some filet on the same steak.