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Kathy456 Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Possible Answers to "How do like your steak done?"

0Hi everybody,02br
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00I know that there're the following possible answers to the question from a waiter at a restaurant "How do you like your steak done?":-02br
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001. rare (almost raw)02br
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002. medium-rare02br
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003. medium ("half" raw)02br
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004. well-done (fully cooked)02br
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00My question is, if I'd like my steak done somewhere/halfway between "medium" & "well-done", can I say "medium-well-done"? I seem to have got this from some book but I'm not sure whether this sounds natural.02br
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00Could you help me with this?02br
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00Thanks.02br
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00Kathy0-
  

Top answer

" It's pink all the way through. 01i 00Medium well02i 00 is going to have only a pink center. )0-

— BarbaraPA

  • " It's pink all the way through.
  • 01i 00Medium well02i 00 is going to have only a pink center.
  • )0-
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18 Answers
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0In the U.S., you'd say "medium well."02br
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00(I don't agree that "medium" is "half raw." It's pink all the way through. 01i00Medium well02i00 is going to have only a pink center. 01i00Well 02i00won't have any pink at all.)0-
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0 The cooks down here tend to play it safe or something. Anything medium or above is quite cooked. 0-
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0Hi Grammar Geek/julielai,02br
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00Thanks for your quick replies.02br
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00By the way, I've got a follow-up question. You seem to suggest that "Well" is used in place of "Well done" in that sense in the US. Am I right? Then, if I say "Well done" at a restaurant in the US, will I sound unnatural or even be misunderstood?02br
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0 No, not at all! 01i00Well done 02i00is just fine, but 01i00Well 02i00is okay too. 0-
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0Ok, I think I am most qualified to answer these questions for the fact that I was in the hotel and restaurant business for a few years when I was going to school. In the past, when you ordered a chopped sirloin medium rare, it would be brown on the outside and slightly pink on the inside. Today, any processed meat will be cooked thoroughly for fears of liability. However, steak and prime rib ca
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0Hi guys02br
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00I prefer my steak done to a turn0-
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0I prefer my steak done 01font00to a turn ??02font02br
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01font00I never heard of that!02font0-
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0 People might possibly say "done to a T", but I don't think "done to a turn" is likely to be used in the US.02br
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00I would understand "done to a T" as "done just right/perfectly" -- however, that still doesn't tell the waiter/waitress what you consider "just right" to be. 050010id1
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Yankee12cite10People might possibly say "done to a T", but I don't think "done to a turn" is likely to be used in the US.12br
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10Lots of it at the New York Times: 02br
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0500240hrefhttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Anytimes.com+%22done+to
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0 Hi Marius02br
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00Apparently you do find that expression in newspaper reports about how something was or will be cooked. Generally speaking, the expression "to a T" is much more widely used (in any sort of context). However, nobody would place an order for a "done to a t(urn) steak". As I said, the waiter/waitress would have no idea what that actually means to you.
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