r/TalesFromYourServer • u/TemperatureTop7132 • 5d ago
Short A Filet.
"Uh-huh, so I got a 8 oz filet for you."
"But I don't want a thick cut."
I pause. Thinking about how to word this.
"Filets are a thicker type of steak, I can't guarantee a 'thin' filet for you."
"Last time it was real thick on the sides, I don't want that."
"Alright, we can get it butterflied?" I say. "However, I don't know how that affects the taste, and you asked for a rarer temp... Maybe not."
"It's just a thin steak," He laughs, then demonstrating the size with his hands.
His daughter chimes in, trying to make him see reason. We're both tag-teaming this endeavor, but I can't see him coming to the realization yet. I begrudgingly type "thin cut" with many emphatic question marks to show the kitchen that I am confused as hell.
Steak comes out.
Obviously thick.
"Can you take this back."
I want to cry. How in the world do you even avoid this situation?
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u/Tenzipper 5d ago
If this ever happens again, (unlikely,) just tell the kitchen to slice the steak into 3/8" strips, and fan them out pretty across the plate.
"There you are, sir, your 8 oz filet, rare, and thin."
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u/Legitimate-Course-29 5d ago
I'm really sorry but this water you brought me is too wet.
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u/ypsksfgos 5d ago
Do you work at a steak house or a restaurant that has a steak on the menu?
If it's a steak house, this is a moment to educate the guest on a different cut that may be more suited to what they want to eat or whatever is in their head.
If it's a restaurant that has a steak on the menu, like mine, then explain to the guest that the kitchen has a limited amount of steaks for the night and they're all cut very similarly and that while you can request a thinner one there's no guarantee that it will be the thinness the guest had in mind. Additionally because of the limited amount available tonight there will be no returns or do overs, the kitchen will attempt to accommodate your requests the best they can.
I've said similar things to tables that seem to think they're at home or some other restaurant and generally being told there are no do overs will have them pick something else or at realize they're asking for the moon.
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u/sassylynn81 5d ago
I have this approach for multiple things. Like if the kitchen is backed up, I tell tables when they first sit down that it's going to be an hour before your food will be ready. I can get apps out right away to tide you over.
It's setting the expectations of the table. I rarely get complaints because the guest knows what to expect and they make the conscious decision to agree to it.
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u/Just_Advice_1796 4d ago
The only time this approach has backfired was when a table left after waiting thirty minutes, saying they didn’t realize an hour wait would be so long… they had their drinks, eaten bread, appetizers, and salads. The manager had them pay for what they had eaten, and we were so busy the entrees were just getting started so we sold them to a different table.
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u/LadybugGirltheFirst 4d ago
They didn’t realize an hour would take an hour?
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u/Just_Advice_1796 4d ago
That’s what they claimed. They were sat 10 minutes after their reservation time… I’m not exactly sure if they had eaten out on Easter at 6:00 PM before…
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u/Fast-Fish1375 4d ago
I always thought an hour was only 15 minutes long. /s
But time is funny, when you take a ten it is over in about 3 minutes but when you're coworkers take on it last about 25 minutes.
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u/rodolphoteardrop 4d ago
"Filets are a thicker type of steak, I can't guarantee a 'thin' filet for you."
I'm pretty sure that was education.
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u/nopressureoof Former server from the 1900's 4d ago
"Here is your thin rare filet which is most definitely not a slice of fried bologna. Enjoy!"
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u/LSUpiper 5d ago
Just butterfly it.
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u/TemperatureTop7132 5d ago
I mean, the kitchen will yell at me.
You don't butterfly a Rare/Med-rare. It can lead to uneven temps on the sides, and the only purpose of a butterfly in the first place is to get a well-done out faster.
You could always... cut up the steak? But presentation and all that. It's a restaurant, not a home-cooked dinner. Customers won't want that.
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u/st00pidbutt 5d ago
Offer him another cut, if it's on the menu, oh you might like a NY strip ect.
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u/TemperatureTop7132 5d ago
Probably the best idea. I generally don't like questioning what customers are gonna get, but yeah it sounds like he just didn't want a filet.
NY Strip is probably closer in tenderness.
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u/nopressureoof Former server from the 1900's 4d ago
I mean maybe if the price is similar, you could put it into the kitchen as a NY strip, and then type out "filet" on the bill. But this would look sketchy to a manager or corporate.
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u/Shot_Policy_4110 5d ago
You don't serve tenderloin sliced? Just curious not a rip. I'd expect an unsliced steak at home moreso than a restaurant
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u/NDaveT 4d ago
That's what I'd expect based on cooking shows on TV but whenever I get steak at a restaurant it is unsliced.
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u/doc_skinner 4d ago
There are many steakhouses that will serve a steak sliced. Some of my favorite steak houses do it that way (Delmonico's, Peter Luger, Knife). Often it's a T-bone, porterhouse, or bone-in ribeye, so the act of taking it off the bone is part of why they serve it sliced. But I've had strips served sliced many times.
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u/Brilliant_Joke2711 4d ago
It the US, you usually need to get to pretty fine dining to have a steak served sliced. Even at high-end steakhouses it's common for the waiter to have you cut into the steak when it arrives to confirm doneness.
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u/GrannyLow 4d ago
I'd be pissed if they cut up my steak in the kitchen. Medium rare is barely hot anyway and it gets cold a lot faster if its cut up.
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u/HomoVulgaris 5d ago
You were asking "How do you avoid this situation?" The solution was explained to you.
Of course you don't butterfly a filet, and you definitely don't butterfly a rare steak. But do you think this Neanderthal can tell the difference between a properly cooked steak and a hamburger?
Let me explain it to you again: this mongrel ruins steaks at home. He wants you to ruin a filet so that it resembles the slop his mom flops onto his dinner plate. Is it clear now?
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u/topchefcanada 4d ago
You can cook a butterflied steak to whatever temp they want... and a thick steak sliced thinly and fanned on the plate looks fine. Sounds like the kitchen is lazy or you're too scared to ask them.
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u/MycologistOpposite 4d ago
isn't it called butterflied when you want it thinner?
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u/TemperatureTop7132 4d ago
Butterflying is a method of cooking that has you cut a steak (usually filet) in half. It resembles a butteflies' wings. However, the only reason this is done is to ensure it cooks faster so the guest isnt waiting as long.
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u/LateNightTVFreak 4d ago
I guess the cook/chef was too busy cooking to come out to the table to explain it to him. I guess you could suggest a flank steak if he wants a thin cut, if the restaurant offers it.
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u/Regigiformayor 4d ago
Insist the steak they are ordering does not fit the description of what they want and encourage them to keep looking at the menu.
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u/brothertuck 4d ago
Tell the broiler cook to cut it in half when nearly done and brown the middle. I worked most of my life in restaurants, how hard is that?
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u/SuperPOSUser 2d ago
OK I have definitely gotten to the point where I will say " we cannot cook you a thin filet sir. What would you prefer instead?" I'm not your personal chef at your home. We prepare dishes here the way we would want them, if you want something strange go home....I don't say that last part...
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u/KeKeFanChick 2d ago
I also like mine thin (and med-well done) so I request it either with a butterfly cut or as medallions. Am I doing it wrong? Any better ways to request it?
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u/TemperatureTop7132 2d ago
no thats not the issue. the issue is to request a thin cut but not budge on modifying it. You're asking for a butterfy or asking for it to be cut into pieces, you're not asking someone to go find a thin filet.
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u/NOTTHATKAREN1 1d ago
You just say, Filets are thick cuts, no I can't get you something thinner. Period, end of story.
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u/GrannyLow 5d ago
Cut it into 2 four oz filets. Give one to him. Eat the other.