for the low and mid-range i will agree. but high end steakhouses should be better cos of their equipment which we can't replicate at home using a pan.

my problem though is still not being always accurate in hitting medium rare. sometimes undercook and too rare for me, sometimes overcook and it ends up medium or medium well ... don't dare to splurge on the expensive marbled cuts until i get my technique down properly.

No it's not. The #1 weakness with home cooking even with sous vide is you can't get the same char you get from 1000-deg broilers, wood-fired josper grills, etc that the top steakhouses use.

DIY at home can give you unbeatable value and superior quality to many low-end to mid-tier restaurants, but to say it is "best" is wishful thinking.

And you think you can get better steak at home than Ruth's Chris, etc? Bullshit.

Look, I'm a HUGE fan of home DIY steak. I DIY at home something like 2-3 times a month (either sous vide then pan sear, or sous vide then pan sear + blowtorch ala seriouseats style ... but lately I'm digging the 30min freeze then sear then slow and low in oven), I've tried TONS of methods and I consider myself good enough now that I simply don't bother going to any low-end to mid-range steak place.

But you need to recognize the limitations of what you can do at home. The high end places, Morton's, Wolfgang Puck's Cut, Skirt (where I am) etc have equipment and techniques that are simply impractical to own/use for home chefs. At home you can't dry age properly, you can't smoke, you can't get as good a crust as you can with those super high heat grills/broilers.

This post has been edited by deodorant: Oct 14 2014, 08:12 AM