Namdrol on 26/1/2010 at 21:57
Well, don't know about England but Scotland...
Ulukai on 26/1/2010 at 22:06
Steaks should be nicely pink in the middle, just as they're done in my kitchen. I'd invite Renz round to sample my steaks but do you think I'm going to waste perfectly good fillet steak on crotchety Internauts, hmm? That's right, I'm not going to :mad:
Somewhat ironically given the quality of the food airports famed for, I have to admit that the best steak I've ever had was in Newark Airport.
I don't recall which steak house it was (seem to recall there was a few) but they've got carcasses hanging up in a refrigerated glass cabinet on your way in, and God damn that was the biggest, juiciest, tastiest humdinger of a steak that I've ever had.
It's a bit out of the way for me, mind you.
Fingernail on 26/1/2010 at 22:19
I'd wade in on this debate, but I have no real steak in the outcome.
jay pettitt on 26/1/2010 at 22:23
Quote:
I had a strikingly similar conversation with a vegetarian friend a long time ago. He said basically that steak by itself wasn't good, it was the sauce that makes a steak. And my reply was that if you absolutely have to eat steak with sauce, you're not eating a good steak. The sauce is there simply to enhance the flavor or add some variety, not cover it up (listen to me sounding like I know what I'm talking about).
See, anything by itself, prepared straight up without any garnishment is going to be pretty damn bland. Like broccolli. I love broccoli. Eat it all the time. But by it by itself, straight out of the garden, uncooked and unprepared, it's not exactly the most tasty stuff in the world. The same could be applied to just about every consumable good besides a select few fruits.
So Jay, what you need to do is eat a good steak. I mean actually go out of your way to track down a good steak house. And eat one that's been cooked well without any sauces. See what you think then.
The thing is, there isn't a culture of eating where half (at least, more if you're 'man' enough) the plate is broccoli - otherwise, yes, it would be extremely dull and very poor eating indeed and I'd not have much good to say about it. Though RBJ might yet rush to broccoli's defense. Neither is there a culture where other, non broccoli, choices are shunned because you become anxious about the response of your peers if you don't want the broccoli and think you might like to go somewhere for the pasta or fish or vegetarian. There's a machoism that goes with steak eating that goes hand in hand with rejecting better diets as somehow effeminate.
Diet in the US (and UK for that matter) is often (and I mean often) appalling in every sense - in terms of eating and health and environmental impact. The attitude that places
broccoli steak as the king of dishes is part of that woeful culture of really bad eating and I don't mind flagging it up as such on any of the many levels that steak is deserving of criticism, not for one moment. One of those criticisms is that it's not even very interesting to eat.
And of course I've had well prepared (and, for that matter well reared) steak. Frankly I'd rather have the broccoli. I'd rather apples over Mars bars too.
Quote:
You know, sometimes I rag on you [RBJ] for various reasons but then you completely make up for it with zings like this. I felt that one from over here.
Happily I have no idea. I'm sure she cooks up a mean steak though.
Rug Burn Junky on 26/1/2010 at 23:12
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
The attitude that places [...] steak as the king of dishes is part of that woeful culture of really bad eating and I don't mind flagging it up as such on any of the many levels that steak is deserving of criticism, not for one moment.
Jesus christ, could you be more of a jackass?
That's such a strawman that it makes you look even more ridiculous than you did already.
That's an entirely different argument. You're railing against one thing (Steak sucks as cuisine) because you're overplaying an entirely different position (Steak sucks as the predominant food in one's diet). Nobody here is suggesting "Rawr, eat nuthin but steak at every meal." If you ate nothing but at Michelin starred French restaurants, you'd have a heart attack from all of the fat in the meals, but that doesn't mean that it's not an exquisite indulgence on a semi regular basis. So is steak.
I'm waiting for you to start blubbering about Italian food because "Gah, having nothing but pasta is so uninteresting, and all that starch is a poor diet!" Seriously, What the fuck are you thinking?
Never mind the fact that your starting point is a ridiculously prejudiced caricature (If that's seriously your only aim, it deserves little more of a response than "Well, you brits don't know shit about food because all you know how to do is boil everything until it's flavorless." Do you really, honestly, truly want to go down that road?).
That "culture of bad eating" that you so pretentiously turn your nose up at is an entirely different aspect of diet than that which worships steak as a culinary pinnacle (Before you get your panties in a twist again, notice I said "A" not "THE"). The atrocious deep fried schlock, Ranch dressing and high fructose corn syrup aspects of the modern diet has nothing whatsoever to do with what is served at a good steak house. That's like saying that American wines are all shit because America drinks a lot of Coca Cola. Jesus fuck man, think about what you're saying.
Quote:
And of course I've had well prepared (and, for that matter well reared) steak.
No. You haven't*. Otherwise you would recognize this:
[INDENT]One of those criticisms is that it's not even very interesting to eat.[/INDENT]for the utter fucking bullshit that it is. By your logic, sushi is uninteresting.
Tell me where: Name the steakhouse. Describe their prep. Let's see exactly what you think of as a great steak. I'm betting it falls waaaaaay fucking short.
Honestly, you're better than this, I know you're not a moron, but right now you're being the culinary equivalent of the sullen goth kid who hates everything.
Edit:*Or at the very least least, you haven't properly experienced one due to your own prejudices.
Renzatic on 26/1/2010 at 23:30
It seem you're more concerned about the sociological implications of steak rather than the taste.
I do agree with some of your points. The 90% meat, 10% vegetable meal isn't exactly what I'd call a well balanced dinner. Not just from a nutritional standpoint, but from a variety standpoint as well. You could have 3 of the best cut of filet mignon, prepared by one the best cooks in the world, but chances are good you'll be bored of it after eating the same thing for 20 minutes straight.
I like having roughly equal amount on my plate. Too much steak is a waste, as is too much rice, too much of the same type vegetable, ect. I want a good variety of tastes.
And the aforementioned sociological implications? Well, I've never experienced any shunnings myself, but I believe if you're ever in a situation where you have to order food based on how your friends will react, then you need to find new friends. I'll order whatever I feel like ordering, cook whatever I feel like cooking (I'm improving! :D), based solely on what I feel like eating at that moment. It doesn't matter if I'm around some of the biggest meat eating rednecks on the face of the earth, if I want a vegetarian meal, I'll get it. Simple as that.
37637598 on 26/1/2010 at 23:36
I've never tasted a better steak than the farm fresh angus beef tender cut steak that my nieghbor farmers give me. It's quite possibly the best steak in the universe. Sooo tenderrr and juicyyy. And frickin easy to cut / chew.
I could never have too much steak on my plate, or rice, or veggies. I love it all. Food is just so good.
Rug Burn Junky on 26/1/2010 at 23:46
Quote Posted by Renzatic
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
Neither is there a culture where other, non broccoli, choices are shunned because you become anxious about the response of your peers if you don't want the broccoli and think you might like to go somewhere for the pasta or fish or vegetarian.
And the aforementioned sociological implications? Well, I've never experienced any shunnings myself, but I believe if you're ever in a situation where you have to order food based on how your friends will react, then you need to find new friends.
If I'm going to a punk concert and one of my friends starts bitching that they didn't play enough Mozart, I'm pretty sure I know who the douche is and it ain't me.
SubJeff on 26/1/2010 at 23:52
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
I don't like steak.
Then why not stfu? How is this even relevant to you? I don't like Stout so I don't drink it and I don't comment on whether I think its good or bad because if I just don't like it what right, or position, do I have to comment?
Scots Taffer on 26/1/2010 at 23:55
I mean, I could even get a small toe onto Jay's side of the dividing line if he was saying steak sucks in comparison to cuts of lamb or duck breast in terms of flavour (he did mention blandness once or twice). There is a lot to be said about the inherent flavour of certain meats (the great chicken and steak debate) but at the end of the day, it's impossible to support much of anything Jay's saying because it's just so ridiculously ranty.
Mate, all steak isn't shit. Maybe you've just had pretty average steaks for a lot of your life, and the fact that you think the natural accompaniments are sides of chips + sauce/steak rubs supports this being the case.
