Did I get a bad steak at California Grill?

[Cayaco]

We went last week, lovely atmosphere, my wife was amazed at everything she ate, the drinks were spot on. The service was wonderful, dessert was tasty, and of course the fireworks were a top tier experience. But my steak. I ordered the Oak-fired Filet of Beef, rare. When it came out I had to really hack at it with my knife to get it cut and then chewing it, well, it was a chore. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, I kept thinking it was okay, but nothing special at all.

Then I watched The DIS Dining Show where they went there. Both folks who got it, include Pete, said it's the most tender piece of steak around. Cut it with a fork easy and melt in your mouth. That was the exact opposite of my experience. I had to saw it with a knife and then just chew and chew and chew to get it down. At the time I figured I ordered it wrong and should have had it cooked more, but now from reading and talking to others, something went wrong that night with my order.

I am not a filet person so don't have much experience with that sort of steak, but after finding this out I realize my let down that night wasn't just me not liking that cut of meat, but perhaps it was a bad cut of beef.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I think that happens sometimes with meat.
It may look good raw and have a great “pedigree” but is somehow lacking. It just happens with basically natural food products. It’s unusual in a high end restaurant like California Grill, but it does happen once in a while.

 

[Paulines]

A filet should be tender. With rare you may get a bit of resistance when slicing, but not like you experienced... sounds awful!

 

[Dean Marino]

Having gone to the Grill, twice per vacation, two times per year, since 2012?

This is a REAL SIG. They do QUALITY work . As in "NOT BOG Shoe Leather" .
But they MAY, on occasion, be provided with poor meat, or a new Junior Chef....

The thing to do is to send your steak BACK when this occurs. Your Waiter will do this, and he will NOT frown at you .

Oh - trick at any Fine Restaurant (Shula's waiters will NOT leave until you do this...). CUT delivered steak in half, examine the cook, and if it is WRONG? Send it back. This is not an insult.... it's more that ANY Steak varies in thickness - and it's not easy to get the COOK right.

Gristle? Send it back. Over and over, if necessary.

 

[DISNEYSQUIRRELS]

From what I understand, CG gets their steaks from Snake River Farms.
We have ordered from them privately at home & we’re not impressed. We actually needed to ship our order back because the steaks were so tough & lacked flavor.
A filet should be lean in appearance, meaning there is little fat marbling throughout. This cut should be super tender & flavorful.

 

[gharter]

Sounds like a sub par steak. I would have talked to the server, had them send it back and get a different one. They would not have flinched at it if you show its bad.

 

[Cramden]

Snake River Farms is an American Kobe producer. They actually breed Japanese Wagyu with Black Angus cattle to get their beef. Unless the menu specifically states Kobe or Wagyu I can guarantee it's not from Snake River Farms. It's a big selling point.

It's not unusual to get an occasional tough cut of beef, even in the nicest restaurant. Each animal is different and one could produce a tough steak without being able to tell by looking at it. Also if the meat is green, meaning it hasn't been aged long enough it will eat tougher than one that has been aged properly. Even a Prime grade or American Wagyu will eat tough if not aged properly.

On a side note I've found American Wagyu to be hit or miss. Snake River gives their beef grades based on the marbling score. Silver, Gold and Platinum so all Snake River is not equal. Also don't confuse this with Japanese Wagyu at Yachtsman or Morimoto. It's night and day and the price reflects it.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I think that happens sometimes with meat.

Not with a filet, never, unless it was drastically over cooked! OP ordered it rare, so it should have been like butter! Flavor is an entirely different thing, it can look good but be flavorless but tender is the norm unless you were slipped a beef eye of round steak, which is tough unless you cook it a long time. 1st question was it cooked rare as ordered? 2nd, can’t imagine it’s the OP’s 1st filet, why not talk to the waiter... and send it back.

 

[DisneyFive]

Sounds like a poor piece of tenderloin (filet).

Having cooked enough whole beef tenderloins in my lifetime (rare to medium-rare), filet's should end up soft and tender, not chewy. However, it's not like your knife will pass through without any resistance. You still need to cut any piece of beef, but it should be easier than most with a tenderloin.

Dan

 

[MomOTwins]

Sounds like a poor piece, but also filet does not do "rare" well in my view. It is so thick, the heat does not penetrate the way it would with a thin rare sirloin. Asking for medium rare allows the fat to melt a bit and makes it tender and buttery.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Filet mignon steak is a cut of beef from the tenderloin that is part of the cow's short loin. The tenderloin runs down the back of a beef cow and is taken from a muscle that gets very little exercise. That lack of movement keeps the muscle tender as the cow matures to the ideal age of 18 months to two years old. When served it is devoid of any fat, as it’s the leanest of red meats and all connective tissues (aka silver skin) has been removed. If they served you the butt end (which is a no-no) where it’s hard to get rid of all the silver skin, it would be tough. Those bits at the end, once the silver skin is removed, can be used in stir fries, lean quick stroganoff, small appetizer kabobs. Yes, I butcher my own whole tenderloin! And rare is a perfect way to order it, if that’s how you like your meat, still mooing as I call it!

 

[Lisa F]

nothing to add but really enjoying this discussion. OP sorry you had a miss. My son loves the filet at CA Grill, he is on the spectrum so texture is a HUGE issue for him. He basically fell in love with steak (filet in particular) here because of how tender and buttery it was. Sorry you got a bad one!

 

[Cramden]

You can get a tough piece of tenderloin. It's rare but it can happen. There's a large percentage of beef on the market coming from Holstein Cows. Holsteins were historically bred for their milk production not for consumption unless the males were going into a Veal program. The meat tends to be softer, almost mushy darker red and muscle more elongated than Western Steer. If you were to place one on a cutting board you would actually see it start to flatten out because it's so soft. It's also anywhere from 20% to 50% cheaper than Western Beef thus the attraction. The tricky part is it's still graded like Western Beef so you could get a Prime Grade Holstein and there's a good chance it wouldn't eat as well as a Choice or even Select Grade Western. There's also a large amount of ungraded Holstein in the market. If CG were buying an ungraded Holstein Tenderloin(ungraded meaning it din't meat the minimum marbling score to be graded USDA Select or higher) and was serving it without the proper wet aging (which as opposed to dry aging is done in the cryovac packaging it's packed in after slaughter) ideally 21-28 days, that could definitely lead to someone getting a tough piece of tenderloin.

It would be sad if a restaurant as nice as CG and with the prices they charge were using the above for their Fillet.

 

[Jestocost]

I would say you got a bad steak or a poorly cooked one. It can happen anywhere. We ate with a large group at a top restaurant in San Francisco once. Three people ordered their filet medium rare. Two got perfectly prepared steaks but my wife's was visibly smaller and looked (and cut) like a hockey puck because it was cooked way past even medium.

 

[Cayaco]

Well, thanks for the responses. I was going to come in here tonight and ask if I should have sent it back, obviously, and what might have happened, but it sounds like the server would have almost appreciated it.

I want to try this again. Maybe I am just a glutton for punishment and spending too much money, but I want to go again, explain the situation, order it as the chef sees fit, and see if it cuts better. What a shame this all ended up being. I remember being in there, just chewing on the steak, chewing chewing chewing, and thinking something was off but couldn't figure out what. The inside wasn't overcooked, it looked, purplish I would say, but having to chop it that much, saw at it even, with the steak knife, nope, something was wrong.

Not sure when I will be back, maybe I will make a special trip out of it, but next time I do I will be sure to give my sob story and tell them I am here to correct what went wrong. Except correct it with my own cash, so I guess they win.. drat.

 

[Lisa F]

Well, thanks for the responses. I was going to come in here tonight and ask if I should have sent it back, obviously, and what might have happened, but it sounds like the server would have almost appreciated it.

I want to try this again. Maybe I am just a glutton for punishment and spending too much money, but I want to go again, explain the situation, order it as the chef sees fit, and see if it cuts better. What a shame this all ended up being. I remember being in there, just chewing on the steak, chewing chewing chewing, and thinking something was off but couldn't figure out what. The inside wasn't overcooked, it looked, purplish I would say, but having to chop it that much, saw at it even, with the steak knife, nope, something was wrong.

Not sure when I will be back, maybe I will make a special trip out of it, but next time I do I will be sure to give my sob story and tell them I am here to correct what went wrong. Except correct it with my own cash, so I guess they win.. drat.

Purplish is beyond rare, it's undercooked. Rare should be a red, cool center... about 130 degrees... not purple, which in my experience is raw. Refrigerator temperature is the upper 30's. There's a lot of room there!

My son got a purple steak from Narcoossees (ordered medium) that was sent back and it came back charred on the outside and rare (rather than purplish) after additional cooking... he ended up eating just the outside edges because we couldn't get the server back. Sounds like the grill was too hot if it looked perfect outside but was raw inside. He eats medium rare into medium... I usually order him medium at Disney because I find they err on the side of being a bit under on their steaks. Rare is NOT raw on the inside, and purplish is definitely not properly cooked.