How people like their steak cooked is a hot topic, with well-done steak eaters oftentimes being looked down upon by those who like theirs to have some pink in the middle. This restaurant also has some strong opinions about how their patrons order steak—at least, that’s what it seems like based on the menu.
Because of steak’s dense muscle structure (which makes it hard for bacteria to penetrate past the surface), it’s safe to eat it rare. A rare steak is seared on the outside to kill off bacteria but is left largely raw, red, and bloody inside.
A steak can be cooked anywhere from rare to medium-well and be considered the epitome of good dining. Many people say they prefer the softer texture of meat that has some pink in the middle, and some chefs say cooking meat this way allows them to show off their culinary skills.
Some people can’t stand the idea of a steak that isn’t cooked all the way through. And depending on who they’re dining with, they may get made fun of.
This restaurant took it a step further and put their disdain for well-done steak eaters on their menu.
In a TikTok, Sonique Morris (@soniquespeaks) explains that she was ordering at a restaurant and noticed something odd on the menu.
The steak section described how the meat would come out based on how you order it.
- Rare – cool red center
- Medium rare – warm red center
- Medium – hot red center
But when it comes to ordering a well done steak, the description doesn’t quite look like the others.
- Well done – order chicken
Now, the restaurant has jokes, but so does Morris.
“If you want to order this, just go ahead and go outside and bite that motherf*cker. That’s basically, that’s what you did,” Morris says. “They put it on the pan for two seconds and then gave it to you, and you eatin’ it. You might as well just go get a cow and bite it.”
@soniquespeaks Dont tell what to do with my steak#foryou #fypage #deadass #jokes ♬ original sound – Sonique Morris
There’s a stereotype that Black people tend to prefer well-done steak. While there haven’t been any investigations into why this stereotype exists, some people say that the practice is rooted in slavery and segregation. They theorize that because Black people were given rotten or nearly expired cuts of meat during slavery and in the Jim Crow era, they cooked it thoroughly to improve the taste and kill off bacteria.
“Fuck it, my ancestors did it. Imma continue the tradition,” Morris says in a follow-up video.
“Talking bout, ‘This is how they eat it in the wild.’ I’m not in the wild, I’m in a f*cking restaurant,” Morris adds.
The video has more than 400,000 views and over 1,300 comments.
“Rare steak should be illegal as well. Y’all gone catch worms,” a top comment read (though we already mentioned that it is safe to eat rare steak).
“All this talkin coming from that strong jaw after chewing so much,” a person wrote.
“Release my people from the shackles of well done steak!” another chimed in.
“I get medium . It’s perfect bc it’s soft and not chewy or hard,” a commenter shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Morris for comment via Instagram direct message.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.