A 3 dressed up as a 9

A $30 steak dinner nowadays, especially at one of those chains, is a horrible, gristle-ridden cut of meat. That's because they're passing stuff off as 'sirloin' when it is likely a lesser cut that has been mechanically tenderized. What this means is that the steak has been tenderized by puncturing it with a multitude of miniature blades or needles to break down the connective tissue.

The problem with this is that if the original cut, such as flank or skirt, didn't have much gristle, it will appear to have the same quality as top sirloin. This makes it possible to charge more for the same steak. But all the tenderizing in the world won't help if there are ribbons of gristle running through the whole piece.

Now if steak actually cost $30 for a 6 oz serving, or even $20, the price would be justifiable. But the better top sirloin cuts you would get at the butcher go for around $10 a serving, so picking a lesser cut and selling it for $30 is insulting.

Yes, I know that if one went to a real steakhouse, you'd be paying $40-$50 for a superior steak cut, but that does come with superior service, superior grilling skills in the kitchen and a whole host of perks to go with the meal. Never mind that the meat itself is top notch.

So come on chain restaurants. If you're going to charge me $30 for 6 ounces of steak, at least have the decency to use a real top cut of beef where the gristle has been removed or was never there to begin with. If you insist on preparing a tough steak, it better be at a deep discount.

If you put as much effort into the food quality as you do in the hostess selection or the decor, you might have happier customers.

Oh and another thing. The little show the floor manager puts on when you complain about your food, where they come to your table and crouch down and get all soft voiced and friendly? It's demeaning, it's embarrassing, and you're probably not getting the amount of feedback you should get because of it. Don't grovel. Don't force the customer to make on-the-spot choices to redeem your bad service. Just take the food off the bill and give them a voucher for food at the next visit.

Our latest ordeal had the floor manager offering a replacement steak. We passed. I seriously doubt the next one would be much better. Then we were offered a steak to go. Why would we do that? So that we could get home and be surprised with yet another sub-standard cut of meat? Come on.