‘Totally duping the public:’ Butcher’s blind test reveals some chain restaurants swapping steaks

ATLANTA — Steak is expensive so you want to make sure you get what you pay for when you order one in a restaurant.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Sophia Choi found out some chain restaurants are swapping out filet mignon for less expensive cuts of steak.

“If you order a filet, you get sirloin and it looks nothing like the picture on the menu,” said Helen Blythe-Hart, a steak lover.

She said she is tired of ordering filets in chain restaurants in south metro Atlanta and getting a much cheaper cut of steak.

“So, people are paying 26, 27, 30 bucks for essentially a piece of hamburger that’s not ground,” said Blythe-Hart.

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Channel 2 Action News decided to test out what steaks the restaurants are actually serving.

We ordered five filets online: one from Carrabba’s Italian Grill, two from two different Outback Steakhouse locations and two from two different LongHorn Steakhouse locations.

Choi took the steaks out of the original packaging and color-coded them to do a blind test with Kevin Ouzts, a professionally trained chef and butcher with 15 years of experience.

“Okay. Here come the steaks,” said Choi as she carried the plates to Ouzts.

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First Outz visually inspected the steaks.

“Just looking at this Kevin what visually are you seeing? They look awfully different,” said Choi.

“They do. They look a lot different,” said Ouzts.

“We can just tell right off the bat that it looks a little funky. The shape is really not congruent with what I would think of as being a filet,” said Outz.

Then he cut into them.

“So, cutting into this, I can tell you that just right off the bat, this does not look for feel like filet mignon at all. You can tell by the long muscle fibers. See that? That is not a filet mignon,” said Ouzts.

After tasting it, he gave his verdict on the first steak. “I would say it’s a top sirloin,” said Ouzts.

“So, I’m losing money by buying this. When I think it’s a filet, it’s almost like a bait and switch,” said Choi.

“100%. Yeah, they’re totally duping the public,” said Ouzts.

He repeated the same steps for the second steak.

“Just looking at this right off the bat, I can tell you that it’s looking like a filet the way they cut it. Not a ton of fat,” said Ouzts.

After the taste test, he said, “This one looks like it could be a filet. It is very tender.”

He repeated the process on the third steak. “This feels like a filet,” said Ouzts.

But he did not even have to bite into steak No. 4.

“And so, you see this right here?” asked Ouzts.

“I see the fat right there,” said Choi.

“Yeah, that’s fat right there. This is a cut from a top sirloin. I don’t even have to taste it,” said Ouzts.

Outz tasted the fifth and final steak. “When you put it in your mouth, it’s a very supple, easy chew… This is a filet,” he said.

Choi revealed the results.

“So, the pink is Carrabba’s and that was not a filet,” she said.

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The other sirloin came from Outback.

Both chains are owned by Bloomin’ Brands which sent a statement that reads in part:

“We take these claims very seriously and have done a thorough review of the photos as well as the orders and inventory at these restaurants. What we served are unquestionably filets.”

“If you’re looking on a, on a menu and it says a $31 steak and you’re getting a 12, $13 cut, you should be. That, that’s absolutely deplorable,” said Ouzts.

While we got two real filets from LongHorn Steakhouse, Helen Blythe-Hart snapped photos of what she believes is not a filet she was served there.

“I even called the corporate, and they didn’t seem to care. They said, ‘Oh, honey, you’re wrong,’ kind of thing,” said Blythe-Hart.

LongHorn sent this statement:

“The foundation of LongHorn Steakhouse is, has been and always will be fresh, never frozen, high-quality steak. Every time a Guest orders a Flo’s Filet (or any of our seven iconic cuts), that’s exactly what they receive.”

Ouzts said to make sure you are getting a real filet there are signs to look for.

“So, if it’s on a menu and it’s reading super juicy filet mignon like that first right off the bat I would think that there’s something wrong there,” said Ouzts.

Choi asked him why some restaurants are swapping out steaks. “And it’s probably about 99% of what you do is it’s driven by the green dollar,” said Ouzts.

He said if you think a restaurant swapped out your steak, you should send it back and ask to speak to the person in charge.

Bloomin’ Brands issued a statement to Channel 2 Action News, writing;

“We take great pride in serving a variety of quality cuts of steak. We take these claims very seriously and have done a thorough review of the photos as well as the orders and inventory at these restaurants. What we served are unquestionably filets. Although filets and sirloins can look similar based on the shape and size, there are ways to distinguish between the two, including the fiber orientation and structure. Please also keep in mind that the amount of time that passed before the steaks were sampled could also impact texture and flavor. Filets exhibit a loose and parallel fiber orientation, and sirloins are tight and random. The texture in the photos is indicative of a filet. We have included a picture comparison.

Additionally, we track what we buy compared to what we sell. The inventory and food costs at these restaurants are consistent with what we ordered. There is nothing to suggest that one cut of steak was replaced with another. The orders sold are consistent with the inventory ordered. If this were happening, the numbers would be skewed, and they are not. After this thorough review, we are confident that the steaks you purchased were in fact filets.”

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