If you pay extra for a filet mignon, you want the cut you ordered. An Illinois diner says a Texas Roadhouse served him a sirloin instead of his filet on three separate visits. The company says it confirmed one wrong order and has not been able to track that the problem happened on three occasions. Here's what is known, what is not, and how to check your own steak.
Kenneth Card posted a TikTok video in early October about his visits to the Texas Roadhouse in Forsyth, Illinois. He says he has worked in hotel and restaurant kitchens. He also says he ordered the filet mignon each time. The meal he describes costs about $30 and includes an 8-ounce filet. On the third visit, he says, he spoke with a manager. The restaurant then took the steak for a second opinion and told him it was not the cut he ordered. Card says he has gone about once a week for over a year. The video has drawn more than 30,000 views.
Texas Roadhouse responded through a spokesperson. The company said it had confirmed one wrong order, which management corrected on site. It said it had not been able to track that this occurred on three occasions. The company said it provided Card a filet for the corrected order. Card's account has not been independently verified.
The price gap is the practical issue. At the Forsyth location's menu prices, an 8-ounce filet costs $29.99 and an 8-ounce sirloin costs $19.49, a difference of $10.50. If you think you were served the wrong cut, say so before you finish the steak or leave with takeout. Ask the server to confirm the cut, and keep your receipt. Readers who want background on food labeling can start with deceptive food labeling and consumer rights.
How Sirloin and Filet Differ on the Plate
Filet mignon comes from the center of the tenderloin and is remarkably lean. Top sirloin is a separate muscle that lies beside the tenderloin. It is larger and thicker, and it usually looks fattier. Retail guides warn that appearance alone is not a reliable test.
Card says his years in hotel and restaurant kitchens, where he prepared and cut steaks, helped him tell the cuts apart. Texas Roadhouse says staff double-check food before it leaves the kitchen. The available reports did not describe that check in detail. For background on what drives steak prices, see rising beef supply chain pressures.
This is our inference, not a reported fact. At the menu prices reported for the Forsyth location, a sirloin served as a filet would bring in $10.50 more per plate. A kitchen mistake and a deliberate swap would produce the same bill. The reports do not show which one happened in this case.
How can you tell a sirloin from a filet mignon before you cut into it?
Filet mignon is small and round, and it is lean. Top sirloin is larger and thicker, and it usually looks fattier. Shape alone is not always a reliable guide, so look at the fat and the overall size before you cut. If the steak does not match the menu description, ask the server to check the cut before you eat more.
Card says he was served a sirloin instead of his filet on three visits. Texas Roadhouse confirmed one wrong order, which it says management corrected on site. It has not been able to track that the problem happened on three occasions. No further statement had been reported at the time of writing. Check back for updates.
