The Great CWebb Steak Controversy...

Who has the right steak in this?


  • Total voters
    32
#1

Per CWebb; I was in a restaurant with my wife, OK. The restaurant was really nice. I ordered a steak. I ordered it well-done... I piled on onions and mushrooms and now I'm just waiting for some steak sauce. They said they don't have any steak sauce. So I said OK, so can you just make me up some steak sauce. They said we don't make steak sauce. So I put the steak in a nice to-go container. Waited til my wife ate. I took that steak home, put it on some bread, put a ton of steak sauce on it, and I made a steak sandwich. And that was it. But I still thought like is that arrogant of me not to have the steak or just to have to eat a steak with that, can't I have a steak my way? Or is that arrogant of the restaurant not to give you steak sauce. That's like not giving you ketchup on my hamburger.
 
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#3
Well done and with steak sauce? You're the worse kind of person.
Hey...that's me as well. I don't eat anything that still bleed. I find that a place that make steaks but don't have steak sauce is comical as well. So I'm with him on this one.
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#5
Hey...that's me as well. I don't eat anything that still bleed. I find that a place that make steaks but don't have steak sauce is comical as well. So I'm with him on this one.
Same here. Medium well is preferred.
 
#6
This is funny on multiple levels.

1. Why pay a lot of money for a burnt steak and douse it with stuff so you can't taste the steak?

2. Well Done, if done correctly, still will "bleed"

3. If a restaurant doesn't make things they way you like, don't eat there. Why should they carry an item that 99.9% of the people eating there won't order and why should they make you something they have never made before? Sure, they may lose a customer because of this, but in a cost benefit analysis it makes more sense to not carry steak sauce.
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#7
I'm siding with the restaurant. Don't go there if you don't like the way they make the steak. That being said, I don't often (ever?) eat in the types of restaurants that don't have steak sauce. Too rich for my blood.


Medium to medium-well is where I like my steaks.
 
#8
Steak should be eaten w/o steak sauce; steak sauce simply takes away from the fabulous flavor of the steak itself. But since C-Webb was eating a burnt (well-done) piece of meat, I'm sure it tasted better w/globs of sauce on it to juicy it up a little.
 
#9
Everyone's taste is different its a definite line where a restaurant stops catering to the customer and starts telling them what to eat and that line divides the clients they are targeting. I personally am a picky eater and will eat things the way I like to eat them or not at all.
 
#10
in a cost benefit analysis it makes more sense to not carry steak sauce.
I find it hard to believe that a few bottles of A-1 are going to wreck their balance sheet. You get someone who's willing to drop some coin on a steak that's not exactly how you'd prefer to serve it, but he and his party drop a few hundred bucks and tip your server, I'm sure Webb's check could have paid for a year's worth of steak sauce.

I think it's much ado about nothing. I don't think the restaurant should have to carry steak sauce to pander to anyone, but I don't think a customer should have to pay for a meal that's not prepared the way he wants it prepared. Especially when it's pricey. Webb left, and that took care of the problem right there.

I'll say again, Webb doesn't know how to eat a nice steak. There's a whole world out there for him if he gives it a chance. And it doesn't have to be rare, either. I take my steak medium, and it's just fine.
 
#11
Each party handled the situation fine. I especially like cwebb's approach.

However...don't go into a fancy steakhouse expecting A1 or ketchup. That's just gross.


Man. Now all can think about is that dry-aged Cajun Ribeye steak at Morton's. ::drool::
 
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bajaden

Hall of Famer
#13
I'm a medium rare guy myself. And if the steak is a prime cut of meat, I have no use for steak sauce. The steak will be juicy and flavorful enough without any additions. However my daughter always puts steak sauce on her steak and likes it medium to well. So everyone's taste is different. Most steak houses that I've been in carry steak sauce. Its a fairly common condiment. There is however no obligation on the resturants part to carry steak sauce. By the way. If you take catsup and mix worcestershire sauce with it, you'll come up with something close to A-1 sauce.
 
#14
I have to say that I don't use steak sauce on my steak (medium BTW), but know a lot of people who do. I also don't think I have ever been in a place that served steaks and didn't carry steak sauce of some kind (Probably surprised CWebb). That being said, I had an girlfriend in college that always carried Heinz 57 sauce with when she went out to eat (just to make sure & because she didn't like A-1).
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#17
This is quickly turning into the worst off season I've witnessed. We're talking about steak with sauce or without?:rolleyes: God, the NBA can't come back soon enough.

Next week I'll start a thread. I'm thinking "with cheese or without". Hope everyone can wait for that riveting debate.

Other than that, I hope everyones summer is going well! I miss debating with you guys every day, yes, even you RookieoftheDay.;)
 
#18
I'm with Chris on this one...

Although I do hate my steaks to be Well Done. I love them Medium Rare, nice a juicy =) but with BBQ sauce as well.

I just think that every customer is different and you just gotta respect their views/opinions/tastes, whether it seems ludacris to your own views. A good restaurant would cater to every customers needs, and that's why I'm on Chris' side.
 
#19
This is quickly turning into the worst off season I've witnessed. We're talking about steak with sauce or without?:rolleyes: God, the NBA can't come back soon enough.

Next week I'll start a thread. I'm thinking "with cheese or without". Hope everyone can wait for that riveting debate.

Other than that, I hope everyones summer is going well! I miss debating with you guys every day, yes, even you RookieoftheDay.;)
Obviously it should be with cheese!!!
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#20
I hate ketchup. Anything you put it on no longer tastes like it's supposed to taste and instead tastes like ketchup. Every time I order fries I politely decline the ketchup, but that doesn't mean restaurants should stop serving it. I think CWebb has a point here. If you're at a steak restaurant it's not unreasonable to order some steak sauce. You paid for the steak, why shouldn't you get to eat it how you want to? I don't know what's in steak sauce, but they probably could have made a batch to order if they don't want to supply the bottles and they probably should have been prepared to make a batch if necessary.

But I think we're all glazing over (heh, no pun intended) the real news story here: Webber's married? When did that happen?
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#23
A good restaurant would cater to every customers needs, and that's why I'm on Chris' side.
A good one sure, a great one often won't. Most of the chefs I have worked with have egos that put professional ball players to shame. That's just part of the experience. There's some great ones where you don't even get a menu, you just get what they tell you is great that night.
 
#24
A good one sure, a great one often won't. Most of the chefs I have worked with have egos that put professional ball players to shame. That's just part of the experience. There's some great ones where you don't even get a menu, you just get what they tell you is great that night.

Most I've spent on a meal = $130 and they didn't have a menu, the waiter memorized the three things they were serving and I chose the five course meal, however, the option list (how everything was prepped) was impressive. Waiter didn't even have a notepad and got everything right. $40 tip. I miss having a good job.
 
#25
A good one sure, a great one often won't. Most of the chefs I have worked with have egos that put professional ball players to shame. That's just part of the experience. There's some great ones where you don't even get a menu, you just get what they tell you is great that night.
Best post in the thread.

In terms of no menu, they have 10 dollar meal restaurants that do that too. You sit down in a large table, you eat what everyone eats that night. It's like home. If its $10, it's "family atmosphere" but if it's $100, it's an ego trip on the chef? Doesn't jive well with me.

A good restaurant caters to the people it wants to cater to and does it successfully. It is making a conscious decision to not carry some A-1. Personally, I would die a little inside if I saw someone glop A-1 on a $60 steak. Some steakphiles would agree.

When I buy a prime hunk of rib roast to cut into steaks, I get a bad taste in my mouth when someone asks me took cook it medium well. I could just run out to Safeway and get $4/lb steaks if you wanted it medium well. If you buy a $300 chefs knife, you don't use it to pry open cans.
 
#26
I find it hard to believe that a few bottles of A-1 are going to wreck their balance sheet. You get someone who's willing to drop some coin on a steak that's not exactly how you'd prefer to serve it, but he and his party drop a few hundred bucks and tip your server, I'm sure Webb's check could have paid for a year's worth of steak sauce.

I think it's much ado about nothing. I don't think the restaurant should have to carry steak sauce to pander to anyone, but I don't think a customer should have to pay for a meal that's not prepared the way he wants it prepared. Especially when it's pricey. Webb left, and that took care of the problem right there.

I'll say again, Webb doesn't know how to eat a nice steak. There's a whole world out there for him if he gives it a chance. And it doesn't have to be rare, either. I take my steak medium, and it's just fine.

You missed my point, it's not that carrying A-1 is going to make or break them, it's that a lot of people will not view it as an upscale "Steak House" if they are giving out A-1 sauce.

If Chris Webber comes into my restaurant, I am making him whatever he wants. He wants steak sauce and we don't have it, I either have a sous chef make some, or send a server to the grocery store to get one.

That being said, this is a unique situation, that a celebrity is making the request. If some normal person comes in, I don't do that. Webber can give me bad press, some random most likely cannot.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#27
In terms of no menu, they have 10 dollar meal restaurants that do that too. You sit down in a large table, you eat what everyone eats that night. It's like home. If its $10, it's "family atmosphere" but if it's $100, it's an ego trip on the chef? Doesn't jive well with me.
I think the cheapest family dinner type set up I've been to or am aware of is at least $35, but probably closer to $50.

I'm actually a very picky eater and like stuff done my way (and I HATE seafood) but when your family is in hospitality for 3 or 4 generations sometimes you learn to suck it up and eat that tuna tartare when it shows up at the table.

My personal style tends to follow the customer is always right model, but it doesn't mean that I don't think some requests aren't extremely tacky. I remember doing a job in Vegas once where a (in)famous pop diva ordered a Starbucks latte at the casino brew pub and the server actually went to the Starbucks across the street and got it for her out of her own pocket... and was stiffed on the tip.
 
#28
You missed my point, it's not that carrying A-1 is going to make or break them, it's that a lot of people will not view it as an upscale "Steak House" if they are giving out A-1 sauce.

If Chris Webber comes into my restaurant, I am making him whatever he wants. He wants steak sauce and we don't have it, I either have a sous chef make some, or send a server to the grocery store to get one.

That being said, this is a unique situation, that a celebrity is making the request. If some normal person comes in, I don't do that. Webber can give me bad press, some random most likely cannot.
Bad press if you're a Webber fan or a steak sauce fan. It could actually turn out to be good press if you are going for steak aficionados. "We have a vision, and we do not dilute that vision even for celebrities." It's akin to making a movie that doesn't cater to a wide fan base with tons of action, slapstick, easy plot, etc, but stays true to the vision of the filmmaker.
 
#29
There are three things to eating right..your mind, tongue and stomach. If any of those things decide it's not right..then it's not right. Anyone telling you it's not right is balony, which is pretty good with two pieces of bread.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#30
Bad press if you're a Webber fan or a steak sauce fan. It could actually turn out to be good press if you are going for steak aficionados. "We have a vision, and we do not dilute that vision even for celebrities." It's akin to making a movie that doesn't cater to a wide fan base with tons of action, slapstick, easy plot, etc, but stays true to the vision of the filmmaker.
Was the restaurant even named? Does anyone outside of Kings land and apparently TMZ on a slow week care?