# What do you drink with your Steak Dinner? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054 "2005-02-02T21:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/1 "2005-02-02T21:49:49Z")
Me, I love me some wine with dinner. Preferably dark, brick-red, from Italy, to complement my perfectly grilled NY steak. The meal is less than complete without the wine – in fact, if the wine weren’t available, I’d probably rather go with a burger and fries. What do you drink with your steak dinner? Is there an alternative to vino that is as good? Is there (shudder to think) a non-alcoholic alternative? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/2 "2005-02-02T21:54:23Z")
> [@shelbo](#): > > What do you drink with your steak dinner? Is there an alternative to vino that is as good? Is there (shudder to think) a non-alcoholic alternative? Wine’s nice, but expensive. How about a nice glass of water? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/3 "2005-02-02T21:55:36Z")
I prepared a family Steak Dinner two nights ago…grilled a couple of thick pasture-fed Delmonicos, baked a few russets with butter and lots of sour cream, steamed broccoli with olive oil and lemon. The whole American schmear. We drank a Spanish rioja. Not too heavy, and with a bit of spice to it. Perfect. I’ve served this meal with beer, too. Beer is also good. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/4 "2005-02-02T21:56:01Z")
I’m not a big fan of the taste of alcohol and generally only drink to get drunk so I avoid beer and liquor with my meals and usually drink tea\* with steak. \*With sugar, ice, and lemon. Sorry, **owlstretchingtime**. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/5 "2005-02-02T21:57:10Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How about a nice glass of water? Fish _fuck_ in that stuff! ---
**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:** [February 2, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/6 "2005-02-02T21:58:30Z")
A good, hearty zinfandel. Maybe a shiraz. Or an Argentinian malbec. As long as it isn’t French, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/7 "2005-02-02T21:58:58Z")
Barbecued steak on a hot day calls for a vigorous ale. If it’s really hot, and there’s also sports, I may even go for a lager. Non-alcoholic alternatives include a good strong iced tea (lemon, no sugar) or ice water. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/8 "2005-02-02T22:07:23Z")
Milk. After 30 years, I am still unable to reconcile the tastes of alcohol and food together. For me, one just wrecks the other. And I’ve never tasted a wine that didn’t cause me to make a nasty face. So milk. Maybe a Coke. ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/9 "2005-02-02T22:08:53Z")
> [@shelbo](#): > > Is there (shudder to think) a non-alcoholic alternative? I’ve found that most non-alcoholic beverages don’t have enough alcohol in them to be a credible alternative. But seriously folks…there’s nothing finer than a big red wine to go with steak. My preferences are Bordeaux, Rhone Valley or California Cabernet. Eating at a nice steakhouse sometimes changes my plans though. The markups on California Cabs especially, can be astronomical. I’m sorry, but I just can’t pay $90 for a wine that I can get at the store for $30. In those cases, I often use Zinfandel as an alternative. You can typically get a very nice Zin at a fraction of the price of Cabernet. > [@silenus](#): > > As long as it isn’t French, it’s all good Heretic! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/10 "2005-02-02T22:09:26Z")
Last night I had a 400g blackened Prime Rib accompanied by an orange juice. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/11 "2005-02-02T22:10:47Z")
I had a lovely steak for lunch yesterday and accompanied it with a lime and soda. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/12 "2005-02-02T22:24:47Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Wine’s nice, but expensive. How about a nice glass of water? Water is ok, but it really doesn’t add to the experience. A great glass of wine can turn a good meal into a great meal. (But you’re right, it can be expensive!) ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/13 "2005-02-02T22:30:17Z")
If given the option, I’ll drink a nice Irish or Scottish beer (Harp or Belhaven, to be exact) and follow the meal with a nice Single Malt Scotch or an Irish whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/14 "2005-02-02T22:32:28Z")
I’ve started cooking steaks at home so that I can afford to have decent wine with them. I also like malbecs, zins, cabs and, heresy of heresy, often a good Bordeaux with my steak. Also some meritages go well. I usually avoid Beaujolais, Spanish and Italian wines with steak. Frankly I don’t know enough about Italians to sort them out, so it’s trial and error there. Spanish wines I like to drink with cheese or proscuitto and melon, or even “Italian” food. In this case Italian food usually means stuff I make, so it’s not really Italian. The only other thing I’d drink with steak would be water. Anything else would fight with the flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/15 "2005-02-02T22:37:09Z")
> [@Ass For A Hat](#): > > I’ve found that most non-alcoholic beverages don’t have enough alcohol in them to be a credible alternative. I’ll drink to that! 😃 > [@](#): > > But seriously folks…there’s nothing finer than a big red wine to go with steak. My favorite of late is Rex Goliath, a California merlot named after a prize winning 47 lb chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/16 "2005-02-02T22:46:15Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > …and, heresy of heresy, often a good Bordeaux with my steak. What’s wrong with a good Bordeaux? A St.-Emilion or Medoc might be my _first_ choice to accompany my _entrecote frites_. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/17 "2005-02-02T22:47:00Z")
The proper questions is: What kind of steak do you eat to complement your beer? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/18 "2005-02-02T22:48:37Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > What’s wrong with a good Bordeaux? A St.-Emilion or Medoc might be my _first_ choice to accompany my _entrecote frites_. Nothing, most of my private stock is French; it was a wink at the conservatives here. I fired a babysitter in Cincinnati because she was teaching my children to say “freedom fries”. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/19 "2005-02-02T22:50:37Z")
For me, the only real thing to drink with steak is a big, robust kick-in-the-balls South Australian Shiraz. Failing that, beer. Failing _that_, Coke or water. But **Don’t Ask** mate, steak and _orange juice_? I’m not quite sure I could do that. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054/20 "2005-02-02T23:08:51Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Milk. After 30 years, I am still unable to reconcile the tastes of alcohol and food together. For me, one just wrecks the other. And I’ve never tasted a wine that didn’t cause me to make a nasty face. So milk. Maybe a Coke. Uh, so you don’t take your dates to steakhouses do you? Hehe, I would be a little taken aback by that kind of order. Screw it, why lie? I’d be like, “Wtf, I gotta get outta here, what kind of person drinks milk with steak???” I mean, other than that you seem cool. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-drink-with-your-steak-dinner/288054.md?page=2)