The problem with steakhouses

You mean aside from being gross, overpriced relics of an earlier, gluttonous age? Well, you might not be getting what you think you're getting. From food writer Josh Ozersky:

There is never enough prime beef to go around; much of what gets served in steakhouses is actually USDA "high Choice," which has less marbling than USDA Prime. If you're not in New York City or the military, your chances of seeing actual prime are low indeed. But you'll still pay a premium for whatever it is you're getting. Thanks to rising corn prices, a major drought you may or may not have heard about, and the rising demand for U.S. beef overseas, there is less beef for sale here and so it costs a lot more.

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So steakhouses find ways to trick you into thinking you are getting something precious. They bathe the meat in melted butter, which is good, but as much of a deceit as a padded bra; they buy steaks that have been jabbed with thousands of tiny needles to make them soft; they'll use MSG or other tenderizers; they'll call a steak "dry-aged" that has been in their refrigerator for three days (as opposed to a month in a real aging room.)

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So here is my suggestion: go somewhere you can get a great piece of beef, even if it's not gigantic, even if it's not a strip steak, and enjoy it with a good glass of Uruguayan or Chilean wine and call it a day. You'll like it more, it'll cost less, you won't feel as fat and foul afterwards, and you'll know that you have been good to yourself -- both as a glutton and as an American.