By Emily Hsieh
When you're at a good steak house or a fine restaurant, don't be afraid to ask questions and discuss all the options with your waiter. Not only are you more likely to end up with something you love, you also tend to get better service when you show that you care about eating well.
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Make the cut. I think steak is the ultimate comfort food, and if you're going out for one, that isn't the time to scrimp on calories or quality. A steak needs fat to taste great. The best beef is USDA-certified prime. A prime animal has a longer life span than cattle that are injected with growth hormones to make them grow faster. These end up leaner than animals that mature naturally. My favorite cut, a strip steak, has the best marbling (which is fat running through the meat), and that gives it a richer flavor and texture. If there are two of you and you're not sure what to get, I suggest splitting the porterhouse, which is usually meant for two and includes a strip steak and a filet—it's a nice combination. If you're watching your diet, ask for grass-fed beef, which is leaner than corn-fed varieties and has a different flavor.
Size it up. An eight-ounce portion is fine for most people. If you're dining with someone who wants the same cut, it's always better to get a 16-ounce steak and split it than to order two eight-ounce steaks. The longer something cooks, the more flavor it develops, so you'll get a better taste with a bigger piece of meat.
Cook it right. I'm not a fan of grilling meat, since that tends to dry it out, and I find grill marks leave a bitter taste. A good steak house will offer different options for preparation, and I would ask them to broil or pan-roast the steak and finish it with butter. It ends up a dark chocolate color and stays very juicy. I like steak medium rare, which is warm and red in the center. Rare steak is cool and red in the center, while well done is brown all the way through. These definitions can vary from place to place, so it's worth describing the color of the meat you want to your waiter. Well-marbled prime meat is all about the fat, so if you order it well done, that defeats the purpose. (The longer you cook a steak, the more fat burns off.) If you really like your meat cooked through, you're better off ordering short ribs.
Accentuate the positive. A great piece of meat doesn't need much to taste good; my favorite seasonings are salt and pepper. There are plenty of delicious sauces—from A.1. to béarnaise—but I always order them on the side. It's better to taste the meat naturally first and then add other flavors.
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