The Two Most Overrated Steakhouse Steaks

There is no wrong steak to order in a good steakhouse, but there are some cuts whose reputation exceeds the actual experience. You may know ribeyes and New York strips, but if you are not a steak obsessive, you may not know what actually makes one or another desirable. In that case, a reasonable assumption is that the more expensive cuts are the best ones. That is true, kind of, but there are a few big exceptions. When talking to The Takeout about the two steakhouse cuts you should avoid, the owner of Gallagher Steakhouse in New York recommended skipping what are often the priciest steaks on a menu: filet mignon and beef tenderloin.

Now if you know you like these two steaks and think they are worth the price, you shouldn't stop ordering them, but for their high cost they may disappoint people at a steakhouse. When you order a prime cut of beef at a restaurant, you are usually looking for a juicy, flavorful steak that is delicious with nothing but salt and pepper. Despite their high prices, tenderloin and filet mignon are two of the blandest steaks you can buy. This is because these two cuts are extremely lean and lack fat marbling, which is the thing that makes steaks, like ribeye, richly flavored and moist. Lean steaks often get dressed up with sauces and toppings, but if you are going to smother your meal in sauce anyway, why pay so much for a supposedly premium cut?

There are a few reasons for filet mignon and beef tenderloins' high prices. The first is described by the name tenderloin. Coming from a part of loin in the back of the cow that gets very little work, filet mignon and tenderloin are the two most soft and tender steaks you buy. Filet mignon is, in fact, just a subsection of the tenderloin, so they share very similar characteristics. That tender texture is highly prized by chefs and diners who want a buttery smooth steak and do not mind the lack of fat.

What really makes these cuts expensive is how rare they are. There are only two tenderloins in each cow, and they are a smaller cut, being only 2% to 3% of the animal's meat. Because filet mignon is only cut from one section of the tenderloin (the narrower end), it's even rarer. There are only 2 pounds of filet in an entire cow. This rarity combines with the tender texture to create filet mignon's and tenderloin's sky-high prices. As far as getting a varied cut of steak, go filet mignon and tenderloin, but they probably are not deserving of their reputation as the best of the best. A big part of that price is the lack of supply in the supply and demand equation. If you like lean beef, go for them, but most people are looking for more from a steakhouse.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and The Takeout.