He ordered the filet mignon. He paid filet mignon prices. And for the third time, he says, a sirloin landed on his plate. A longtime cook who posts as @kennethcard3 says it happened at the Texas Roadhouse in Forsyth, Illinois, a restaurant he visits about once a week, and when he raised it with the manager, she told him it was impossible.
His caption does not mince words: “Talking about getting ripped off! shame shame!”
A Cook Knows His Cuts
He ordered the 8 ounce filet, which he describes as a $30 steak. When it arrived, he could tell right away it was not a filet. It was a sirloin.
He politely told his server he thought he had gotten the wrong steak. The server took it back for a second opinion from the kitchen or a manager. After a while, the answer came back: yes, it was a sirloin.
For him, the mix-up was not a one-time slip. “I come here once a week, you know, for the last year,” he says, “and this is the third one I’ve gotten.”
He is not guessing, either. He explains that he worked as a cook for many years and has cut and cooked just about every steak there is. “I know the difference between a ribeye, a filet, bone-in New York strip,” he says. “So whenever I go out to eat, I know what I get.”
So he asked for the manager and told her this was the third time he had ordered the 8 ounce filet and received a sirloin. According to him, she looked at him like he was “stupid or crazy” and said, “That’s impossible.” She explained that a manager checks every plate before it goes out.
His reply: “Well, what about this time?” He says she had no answer.
His warning to other diners is simple. “Be careful what y’all order and what you pay for,” he says, “because sometimes you order a filet, you’d be getting a sirloin.” In his view, that is the difference between a $10 steak and one that costs three times as much.
@kennethcard3
The video tells only his side. It does not say whether he was charged for the filet in the end or how the meal was resolved, and there is no suggestion in it that the swaps were anything more than kitchen mistakes. But three mix-ups at the same restaurant would make anyone start checking their plate.
How to Tell a Filet From a Sirloin
You do not need decades in a kitchen to spot the difference. A few clues help:
Shape. A filet mignon is cut from the tenderloin and is usually small, round and thick, almost like a tall puck. A sirloin is typically flatter, wider and more irregular in shape.
Texture. Filet is famously tender, with a soft, buttery bite and a very fine grain. Sirloin has a firmer, chewier texture and a more visible grain running through the meat.
Fat. Filet is very lean, with little marbling and usually no thick strip of fat along the edge. A top sirloin may have a band of fat on one side and a bit more connective tissue.
Flavor. Sirloin has a bolder, beefier taste. Filet is milder, which is why it is often served with butter or a sauce.
Cooking can blur these lines, especially if a steak is cooked well done, so cut into it early and look closely.
What to Do if You Get the Wrong Steak
Mistakes happen in busy kitchens, and most restaurants want to fix them. Here is how to protect yourself without making a scene:
Check your plate right away. Look at your steak as soon as it arrives and before you eat much of it. It is much easier to get a replacement for a nearly full plate.
Speak up politely. Tell your server what you ordered and what you think you received. Ask them to confirm with the kitchen, as this diner did.
Ask for the right fix. You can ask for the correct steak, or ask that the charge be changed to the lower price of what you actually received. Do not be shy about asking for one or the other.
Read your receipt. Make sure you were charged for the dish you ended up eating, not just the one you ordered.
Keep a record of repeat problems. If the same issue happens more than once at the same location, note the dates and keep your receipts. Then contact the company’s customer service line or corporate office with the details. A calm, specific complaint with dates is far more likely to get attention than a general one.
Know when to walk away. If you keep getting the same mistake and no one takes it seriously, you can always take your weekly dinner somewhere else.
For a regular who has spent his career at the grill, being told his complaint was “impossible” clearly stung. His advice to fellow steak lovers is worth remembering the next time a pricey cut arrives at your table: know what you ordered, and make sure that is what you got.
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