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I like that you don't have to worry about cleaning up anything, and the food directly from grill to mouth thing is pretty cool. I'd even make the argument that all of the boring parts of cooking (cutting meat, marinating meat, doing dishes, cleaning the grill after cooking, preparing side dishes) are taken care of, and you're left with the fun part. Do you really find it to be that much of a labor to toss a piece of beef on a grill? Can I also assume you don't care for fondue?

You're right though, it can pretty easily be replicated at home if you want to buy the equipment.

As long as we're getting into it, I'm going to voice an opinion I've had for a while:

Steakhouses are bullshit. I'm a miserable cook, and I don't even particularly enjoy cooking, but cooking a steak is super easy. I can get a choice cut of steak that's super massive for $5 at Costco, throw a little salt on it, toss it on the grill for 10ish minutes, and have an awesome steak with practically no cleanup! Why would I want to pay $20 or more for something at a steakhouse just so some meh mashed potatoes can be thrown in on the side?

I go to restaurants to eat good food that I either can't prepare at home because I'm a lousy cookmans, or food I don't want to cook at home because cleaning is boring.

Fluffyumpkins wrote:As long as we're getting into it, I'm going to voice an opinion I've had for a while:

Steakhouses are bullshit. I'm a miserable cook, and I don't even particularly enjoy cooking, but cooking a steak is super easy. I can get a choice cut of steak that's super massive for $5 at Costco, throw a little salt on it, toss it on the grill for 10ish minutes, and have an awesome steak with practically no cleanup! Why would I want to pay $20 or more for something at a steakhouse just so some meh mashed potatoes can be thrown in on the side?

I go to restaurants to eat good food that I either can't prepare at home because I'm a lousy cookmans, or food I don't want to cook at home because cleaning is boring.

What kind of "choice cut" of beef are you getting for $5? You should be looking for prime at a steakhouse, not choice.

There are some steakhouses worth their money. I haven't found a chain that is, though.

Honestly, if you're going to a steakhouse for nothing but a steak, you're probably doing it wrong. A good steakhouse will have pretty good steaks that are properly prepared, yes, but they will also have amazing side dishes.

I'm not even sure where St. Elmo gets their green beans, but yowza! Those things are good. I've come somewhat close by hand-picking beans at the grocery store when they have a particularly good batch then babying them along during the cooking process to make sure I get them just right, but it's certainly not easy. A good baked potato is not a lot of work, but it certainly takes time or at least forethought to have one ready for you. A good salad is also a little more work than just dumping Dole in a bowl. If you're in fact going to St. Elmo, then you should get some shrimp cocktail too, of course.

Can you do all this? Sure. I certainly can do a decent job if I want to. It's work, and there's a fair bit of cleanup. We haven't even gotten to the steak. Trying to get all that properly prepped while also cooking the steak perfectly and managing the pipeline to serve it all hot and fresh at the same (or correct, if you're doing multiple courses) time is a lot of work. THAT is what you're paying for at a steakhouse. You get to sit down and chat with whoever you're there with while other people cook and serve the food for you. Oh, and yes, decent beef.

Now, is this an experience you'll honestly have at a cheap chain steakhouse? Nope. Don't get me wrong; I love me a Bloomin' Onion and cheap steak at Outback or some prime rib (now there's something that takes some time, at least, to cook) at Longhorn. You go to one of those because you want something better than fast food or a family diner and because you don't want to dirty up the kitchen (for lack of time, usable kitchen, whatever). Don't kid yourself into thinking you're getting a particularly good dining experience at a place like that, because you're not. It's just better than many of the alternatives, and it's somewhat consistent no matter where you go...for better or worse.

Most good steakhouses also have a very well stocked bar for your drinking pleasure, if you like. Whether you have that at home or not may vary.

I have had some pretty good food at steakhouses over the years. Sides I particularly enjoy are tartar, mushrooms (not trolling), brussels sprouts, and risotto. Mashed taters are good, but they're pretty easy to make at home.

I'll check on the steak prices at Costco next time I'm out there.

Can we all agree that if you're looking at the quanity-to-quality-to-price ratio that Mexican food is hands down the best bang for your buck?

Fill up on chips, eat half of your entree, spend like $10 and then eat your leftovers the next day! If you want to drink you can get a tower of beer! iAy yai yai!

Mexican food is pretty solid in both taste and value. But I think Chinese buffet can give Mexican a run for its money if your goal is simply to consume mass quantities. (Some Chinese buffet is also quite good, but non-buffet tends to be better quality-wise.)

Chad and I are going to go to Costco for lunch and look at steaks. I propose over/under bet(s).

But first, here's some steakhouse pricing for reference:

Filet Mignon
Outback $20.49 6 oz. / $25.99 10 oz.
St. Elmo $40.95 8 oz. / $51.95 12 oz.

New York Strip
Outback $21.79 13 oz.
St. Elmo $40.95 14 oz.

Ribeye (boneless)
Outback $18.99 10 oz. / $21.19 12 oz.
St. Elmo $38.95 14 oz.

Sirloin
Outback $11.99 6 oz. / $14.79 8 oz. / $17.79 11 oz.
St. Elmo apparently doesn't serve a sirloin

It should be noted that the Outback pricing includes a potato and one additional side. The St. Elmo pricing is for the steak only. Sides are served ala carte.

I'm going to take the largest cut price of each of the above and convert to a per pound price (disregarding the fact that Outback comes with sides).

Filet Mignon
Outback $41.58/lb.
St. Elmo $69.27/lb.

New York Strip
Outback $26.82/lb.
St. Elmo $46.80/lb.

Ribeye
Outback $28.25/lb.
St. Elmo $44.51/lb.

Sirloin
Outback $25.88/lb.
St. Elmo N/A

I'm going to assume Outback is Choice (though it may be prime). And I'm sure that St. Elmo is Prime.

Merk, can you set some lines for each cut, Choice and Prime, for an over/under?

Filet Miggy:

19.99 / lb

New York Strip

11.99 / lb

Ribeye

10.99 / lb

Sirloin

8.99 / lb


Go ahead and place your over / unders

Are those lines the Choice or Prime prices (at Costco)? I was thinking we might try both?

Also, you might want to set the lines at .50 rather than .99. I'm guessing most of the actual prices end in .99.

Chaddu, are you willing to wager $4 ($1 for each cut)?

You win the $1 if you get both Choice and Prime correct for that cut. If you only get one, it's a push.

Side note: I am there very infrequently, but I imagine this is what the IndyDDR IRC channel is like.

I don't think Costco offers choice and prime varieties of their cuts. I think they only offer choice

I know they definitely have Prime ribeye. I've bought it before. I don't know about the other cuts though.

Welp, my lines are for choice then kekekeke

I would take the under on all of those.