Over at SNY Why Guys, Rob Steingall lists his five favorite steakhouses.

Look: Steak is delicious and I’ve enjoyed my few experiences at high-end steakhouses. But as far as I’m concerned, they’re overrated.

I can prepare really tasty steak at home. It’s pretty easy, actually. Plenty of supermarkets have great butcher sections, and if you pick out a good piece of meat there are about a dozen different ways to get it hot and delicious on your plate without too much hassle. You don’t even have to season it much, if at all.

I’ll amount that they treat you way better at an upscale steakhouse than I treat myself in my kitchen, and all the fixins and steak accouterments make for a luxurious dining experience. But on a humble web editor’s salary, if for whatever reason I’m going to go out and drop that type of cash on a single dinner, I want it to be spent on ingredients and culinary expertise way beyond my scope.

I suspect at least some of the appeal, price and cachet associated with steakhouses are relics of a time when it was more difficult to ship and store high-grade beef, but don’t quote me on that. And again, I don’t eat at steakhouses very often, so maybe I’m missing out. But unless someone soon convinces me it’s worth dropping $200 for the wife and I to eat something we can have for a fraction of that (plus a little elbow grease) at home, I’ll be manning the barbecue to satisfy my ample steak-eating needs.