The original steak sauce.

James Silverton

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Mar 2, 2015, 12:20:14 PM3/2/15

to

I have two bottles of "brown" sauce sitting in front of me, both of
which claim to be the "original". A1 says "established 1862" and HP
claims that it has "set the standard for quality since 1899". I suppose
various interpretations of the words are possible. Both sauces show the
usual creative packaging; A1's bottle is 10 oz and HP's 9 oz. A1 belongs
to Kraft and HP is a "product of Holland" but claims to be British (and
has a royal appointment to support that).

The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
have strong opinions?

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

James Silverton

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Mar 2, 2015, 12:27:58 PM3/2/15

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Just to allow a wider range of opinions, there is or used to be another
brown sauce in Britain called "Yorkshire Relish".

ImStillMags

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Mar 2, 2015, 12:28:03 PM3/2/15

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I never use either one of them alone as a pour out of the bottle steak sauce.
When I do a steak in my cast iron skillet....sear - sear - oven method.....I then make a sauce in the pan while the steak is resting.

Here is my methodology, and trust me, it's really good:
Add another pat or two of butter to the pan,
put in a good glug or two of red wine,
a couple shakes of worschestershire,
a couple shakes of tamari,
a glug of A1 or HP and let reduce a bit,
then taste and finish with about 1/2 teaspoon or so of brown sugar (takes away the harsh).
Boil a minute more and then serve with the steak.

Sometimes I brown some mushrooms and then add chopped bacon before the rest of the above ingredients.

Try this once. You will never go back to just bottled sauce.

Message has been deleted

Glutton

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Mar 2, 2015, 12:48:32 PM3/2/15

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On 2015-03-02 17:21:04 +0000, James Silverton said:

> I have two bottles of "brown" sauce sitting in front of me, both of
> which claim to be the "original".

Do either of them mention what the originality refers to? The sauce,
the taste, the bottle, the usage?

> A1 says "established 1862"...

Wiki points out that it "It went into commercial production" in 1831.

> ...and HP claims that it has "set the standard for quality since 1899".

> I suppose various interpretations of the words are possible.

"Setting 'quality' standards" is certainly different from "original
recipe" or "first producer" or "first commercial producer". The
inventor registered the name initially in 1895 (wiki).

> Both sauces show the usual creative packaging; A1's bottle is 10 oz and
> HP's 9 oz. A1 belongs to Kraft and HP is a "product of Holland" but
> claims to be British (and has a royal appointment to support that).

Wiki says it was originally a British product, purchased by Heinz in
2005, and is currently manufactured and bottled in Elst, Netherlands.

> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
> more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
> have strong opinions?

I've only rarely tried HP sauce so hardly remember it. I eschew A1 on
steak as I avoid ketchup on meat or meatloaf, just a
socially-inculcated limitation. Ten or 15 years ago I turned down the
A1 bottle, as did all my companions, at a conference where most of us
were served steak, and a pitiable steak at that. One guy used the A1
and stated the steak was "almost edible". One by one everybody at the
table then used it. Since then I've considered it critical to use on
poor quality meats wherever I go.

I just remembered that in my youth I ran out of Worcestershire sauce
which I used, with some diced onions, to make burgers. I had an
ancient bottle of A1 in the fridge and used that instead and thought it
was great. Then I forgot about it.
--
Food good! Fire BAD!! - Frankenstein's Monster

Paul M. Cook

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Mar 2, 2015, 1:35:42 PM3/2/15

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"James Silverton" <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:md2630$g9t$1...@dont-email.me...

A! is awful stuff. It ruins the flavor of a good steak. I mikght use it to
coer the taste of a rancid one, though. HP is milder and I like it on fish
and chips like they do in England.

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dsi1

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Mar 2, 2015, 1:46:38 PM3/2/15

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This is why I don't like to read labels - it just complicates things.
OTOH, I never did care for the taste of those sour sauces. I like to mix
up my own sauce anyway - the kids just love that stuff!

JRStern

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Mar 2, 2015, 2:16:16 PM3/2/15

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Neither beats ketchup, much less barbeque sauce, if you really need to
pollute your steak with anything. Then there's mustard or
horseradish.

J.

Message has been deleted

Ed Pawlowski

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Mar 2, 2015, 2:32:49 PM3/2/15

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On 3/2/2015 2:19 PM, l not -l wrote:

> On 2-Mar-2015, James Silverton <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
>> more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
>> have strong opinions?
>

> It is my strong opinion that I would avoid a steak that required anything
> other than salt and pepper.

Agree with that. S & P enhances the steak, A1 and the like mask the
good flavor of the beef.

Brooklyn1

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Mar 2, 2015, 2:50:54 PM3/2/15

to

I don't have those silly sauces at home, the only way I know how awful
they are is from tasting at a restaurant out of curiosity. A good
piece of beef steak doesn't need steak sauce, not ketchup either...
occasionally for a good steak I'll saute a pile of 'shrooms in budda,
but really all a good steak needs is a smidge of s n' p. For pot
roast or ground beef steaks if anything I prefer a creamy
horseradish... for one of my burgers I like lots of sauted onyuns and
a bit of Heinz red.

Moe DeLoughan

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Mar 2, 2015, 3:36:18 PM3/2/15

to

I agree that the flavor of good beef needs no adornment. I cringe when
people buy good steak, then marinate it. Cheap meat, yeah I can see
that. But with a good ribeye or porterhouse, it's just plain wrong.

I know a guy who insists that every grilled steak should be finished
with a pat of butter melting on top of it. I could go with that, since
the butter will neither diminish nor conflict with the flavor of the
meat itself. But that's as inventive as I want to go with good beef.

ImStillMags

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Mar 2, 2015, 3:40:28 PM3/2/15

to

I agree in so far as a good piece of steak stands on it's own. But a well made sauce is served as an enhancement to a dish, not to mask it. I love steak, but I also love a really good hand made sauce alongside as an enhancement to the meal.

Nunya Bidnits

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Mar 2, 2015, 4:09:20 PM3/2/15

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"James Silverton" wrote in message news:md2630$g9t$1...@dont-email.me...

======================

HP? I've never heard of a steak sauce by that name. Maybe an east coast
thing.

A1 and Heinz 57 cover up the steak flavor too much. A tiny splash of L&P is
all I want.

MartyB

ImStillMags

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Mar 2, 2015, 4:12:28 PM3/2/15

to

HP is a British Sauce, the HP stands for Houses of Parliament. It is in most better grocery stores. Has a lot of similarity in flavor to A1.

Nunya Bidnits

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Mar 2, 2015, 4:14:51 PM3/2/15

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"Moe DeLoughan" wrote in message news:md2hik$4is$1...@dont-email.me...

On 3/2/2015 1:50 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
> On Mon, 02 Mar 2015 14:42:38 -0500, Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> wrote:
>
>> On 3/2/2015 2:19 PM, l not -l wrote:
>>> On 2-Mar-2015, James Silverton <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
>>>> more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
>>>> have strong opinions?
>>>
>>> It is my strong opinion that I would avoid a steak that required
>>> anything
>>> other than salt and pepper.
>>
>> Agree with that. S & P enhances the steak, A1 and the like mask the
>> good flavor of the beef.
>
> I don't have those silly sauces at home, the only way I know how awful
> they are is from tasting at a restaurant out of curiosity. A good
> piece of beef steak doesn't need steak sauce, not ketchup either...
> occasionally for a good steak I'll saute a pile of 'shrooms in budda,
> but really all a good steak needs is a smidge of s n' p. For pot
> roast or ground beef steaks if anything I prefer a creamy
> horseradish... for one of my burgers I like lots of sauted onyuns and
> a bit of Heinz red.
>

>I agree that the flavor of good beef needs no adornment. I cringe when
>people buy good steak, then marinate it.

Sacrilege.

>I know a guy who insists that every grilled steak should be finished with a
>pat of butter melting on top of it.

I totally agree, and with a little butter, wine or stock or even water plus
a splash of Dales to deglaze the pan, and L&P Worcestershire, and there's
the steak sauce.

MartyB

Janet

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Mar 2, 2015, 4:19:57 PM3/2/15

to

In article <md2630$g9t$1...@dont-email.me>, not.jim....@verizon.net
says...

>
> I have two bottles of "brown" sauce sitting in front of me, both of
> which claim to be the "original". A1 says "established 1862" and HP
> claims that it has "set the standard for quality since 1899". I suppose
> various interpretations of the words are possible. Both sauces show the
> usual creative packaging; A1's bottle is 10 oz and HP's 9 oz. A1 belongs
> to Kraft and HP is a "product of Holland" but claims to be British (and
> has a royal appointment to support that).

The original HP sauce was British, but the traditional use for it
here was not on steaks. Used here as a condiment on the trad bacon
sausage and eggs breakfast; or pork pies, egg butties, fish fingers.

Janet UK

Message has been deleted

Gary

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Mar 2, 2015, 5:32:10 PM3/2/15

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Sqwertz wrote:
>
> A.1 is way too tart to be used for steak, or even hamburgers. Maybe
> if they reduced the vinegar by half it would edible. The best general
> purpose "steak sauce" out there is Heinz 57 but I rarely use it on
> actual steaks. Smith and Wollensky also makes a mighty fine steak
> sauce, but expensive.

Lee&Perrins makes a tasty steak sauce. I rarely use any though.

G.

cshenk

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Bryan-TGWWW

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Mar 2, 2015, 6:57:04 PM3/2/15

to

I like dipping thick cut French fries in A-1.
>
--Bryan

cshenk

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Mar 2, 2015, 7:13:23 PM3/2/15

to

Travis McGee wrote in rec.food.cooking:

I could go with that for Lamb or pork!!

Frankly, I dont get many 'real beef steaks' due to the cost and when I
do, we do not add sauce although we may have some at the side and that
is apt to be melted butter with garlic and a little worstershire (just
enough to brown tbe butter but not overwhelm).

Carol

--

cshenk

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Mar 2, 2015, 7:17:45 PM3/2/15

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Bryan-TGWWW wrote in rec.food.cooking:

My guilty pleasure is to use tartar sauce with them as a dip. My
other guilty dip is 1 part mayo, 1/2 part ketchup, 1/2 part brown
mustard then mince some onion fine and mix that in. Weird but good!

--

Julie Bove

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Mar 2, 2015, 7:33:29 PM3/2/15

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"James Silverton" <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote in message

news:md2630$g9t$1...@dont-email.me...
>I have two bottles of "brown" sauce sitting in front of me, both of which
>claim to be the "original". A1 says "established 1862" and HP claims that
>it has "set the standard for quality since 1899". I suppose various
>interpretations of the words are possible. Both sauces show the usual
>creative packaging; A1's bottle is 10 oz and HP's 9 oz. A1 belongs to Kraft
>and HP is a "product of Holland" but claims to be British (and has a royal
>appointment to support that).
>
> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the more
> acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone have
> strong opinions?

HP has tamarind in it. I don't think the other does. I didn't like the HP.
I used it in some recipe but now I can't remember what it was.

James Silverton

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Mar 2, 2015, 7:36:40 PM3/2/15

to

Not that weird! The Belgians and Dutch use mayonnaise (flavored or not)
on French Fries and, of course, Canadians use cottage cheese to make
Poutine (potato not politician).

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

Glutton

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Mar 2, 2015, 8:51:08 PM3/2/15

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On 2015-03-02 17:27:59 +0000, ImStillMags said:

> I never use either one of them alone as a pour out of the bottle steak sauce.
> When I do a steak in my cast iron skillet....sear - sear - oven
> method.....I then make a sauce in the pan while the steak is resting.
>
> Here is my methodology, and trust me, it's really good:
> Add another pat or two of butter to the pan,
> put in a good glug or two of red wine,
> a couple shakes of worschestershire,
> a couple shakes of tamari,
> a glug of A1 or HP and let reduce a bit,
> then taste and finish with about 1/2 teaspoon or so of brown sugar
> (takes away the harsh).
> Boil a minute more and then serve with the steak.
>
> Sometimes I brown some mushrooms and then add chopped bacon before the
> rest of the above ingredients.
>
> Try this once. You will never go back to just bottled sauce.

It looks damned interesting. Thanks for input.
--
Food good! Fire BAD!! - Frankenstein's Monster

Glutton

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Mar 2, 2015, 8:52:24 PM3/2/15

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On 2015-03-02 17:43:13 +0000, Sqwertz said:

> A.1 is way too tart to be used for steak, or even hamburgers. Maybe
> if they reduced the vinegar by half it would edible. The best general
> purpose "steak sauce" out there is Heinz 57 but I rarely use it on
> actual steaks. Smith and Wollensky also makes a mighty fine steak
> sauce, but expensive.

Does a really good steak need steak sauce? Or do you do this kind of
thing when working with lesser quality meat?

JRStern

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Mar 2, 2015, 8:54:15 PM3/2/15

to

On Mon, 2 Mar 2015 19:19:05 GMT, "l not -l" <lal...@cujo.com> wrote:

>
>On 2-Mar-2015, James Silverton <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote:
>

>> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
>> more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
>> have strong opinions?
>

>It is my strong opinion that I would avoid a steak that required anything
>other than salt and pepper.

Well, now and again it's worth trying some other spices even on pretty
good steaks, I mean at least butter and garlic, but mostly stuff used
for basting. Or put the spices in the side dishes and leave the meat
alone!

J.

Glutton

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Mar 2, 2015, 8:55:24 PM3/2/15

to

On 2015-03-02 20:36:15 +0000, Moe DeLoughan said:

> I agree that the flavor of good beef needs no adornment. I cringe when
> people buy good steak, then marinate it. Cheap meat, yeah I can see
> that. But with a good ribeye or porterhouse, it's just plain wrong.

One of the best steaks I ever had was a rosemary/thyme rubbed
porterhouse at the 21 Club. I admit the ambience juked it up a bit,
but it was great.

> I know a guy who insists that every grilled steak should be finished
> with a pat of butter melting on top of it. I could go with that, since
> the butter will neither diminish nor conflict with the flavor of the
> meat itself. But that's as inventive as I want to go with good beef.

That image is bored into my head from the 50's, but I think a good
steak is rich enough. What I REALLY don't like is herb-butter put on a
steak.

Message has been deleted

dsi1

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Mar 2, 2015, 9:30:57 PM3/2/15

to

My guess is that Hawaii consumes the most tonkatsu sauce than any state
in the union because we consume more chicken katsu than any other state
in the union. I have recently become aware that a local plate lunch
place is known for it's sauce for chicken katsu. People seem to really
dig it for some reason. It's a ketchup-based probably with shoyu, brown
sugar, dehydrated garlic, maybe some Worcestershire sauce, and little
else. My guess is most fast food places will make their own version of
this sauce. It doesn't have that slightly sour taste of plum or the dark
spice flavor but it'll do.

unread,

Mar 3, 2015, 9:28:35 AM3/3/15

to

On 3/3/2015 9:02 AM, Ophelia wrote
> "S Viemeister" <firs...@lastname.oc.ku> wrote

>> On 3/3/2015 4:05 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>>> "graham" <gst...@shaw.ca> wrote
>>>> On 02/03/2015 11:35 AM, Paul M. Cook wrote:
>>>>> A! is awful stuff. It ruins the flavor of a good steak. I mikght
>>>>> use it to coer the taste of a rancid one, though. HP is milder and
>>>>> I like it on fish and chips like they do in England.
>>>> I doubt that many English put it on their fish and chips! Salt and
>>>> vinegar is all that's needed!
>>> I sometimes see people putting on ketchup, but never brown sauce!
>>>
>> In Edinburgh (which has many English residents), a thin brown sauce is
>> often used on fish and chips.
>> Not by me, though.
>
> 'Ahh yes, I had forgotten that, but isn't it diluted with vinegar?
>

I believe so.

> I have never seen it in England though. Perhaps the English there think
> it is a local delicacy <eg>
>

:)

Paul M. Cook

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Mar 3, 2015, 11:53:02 AM3/3/15

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"graham" <gst...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:RB6Jw.636277$rq4....@fx27.iad...

That's good, too.

---
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Ed Pawlowski

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Mar 3, 2015, 1:35:42 PM3/3/15

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On 3/3/2015 1:25 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>

>>
>> Grin, I'll join the club. I'm trying to figure out what 'HP' is.
>>
>> I do use a fair amount of L&P worstershire, A1, and Heinz57 but they
>> aren't saucing a steak. More apt to be used on Pork here. The
>> worstershire for fish. Mael Ploy and Jufran Banana sauce woud be the
>> bulk component for the pork.
>
> Wow! Two people who have never heard of it? Wow!

Readily available at any place selling British Foods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Sauce
The original recipe for HP Sauce was invented and developed by Frederick
Gibson Garton, a grocer from Nottingham.[5] He registered the name H.P.
Sauce in 1895. Garton called the sauce HP because he had heard that a
restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it.[6] For many
years the bottle labels have carried a picture of the Houses of
Parliament. Garton sold the recipe and HP brand to Edwin Samson Moore
for the sum of £150 and the settlement of some unpaid bills.[6] Moore,
the founder of the Midlands Vinegar Company (the forerunner of HP
Foods), subsequently launched HP Sauce in 1903.

For many years the description on the label was in both English and
French. The factory in Aston, Birmingham, was once bisected by the
A38(M) motorway and had a pipeline, carrying vinegar over the motorway,
from the Top Yard to the main Tower Road factory site. The Top Yard site
was subsequently closed, and vinegar was not brewed on the Aston site
during the last few years of production there. HP Sauce in its original
years was known as "The Handkerchief" because of the reversal of the
name "Garton's".

Bryan-TGWWW

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Mar 3, 2015, 8:29:35 PM3/3/15

to

Salt and lemon (or lime) juice is far better than salt and vinegar. If I
were served vinegar with fish, I might exclaim, "Blimey! You think I'm a
Limey?"
>
> Graham

--Bryan

graham

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Mar 3, 2015, 9:02:07 PM3/3/15

to

Lemon would be for the poncy, uptight aristos!
But when no-one is looking, they have F&C with salt and malt vinegar
and eat it with their fingers!!!
Graham

--
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
And let my liver rather heat with wine,
than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
MofV: I/1

Brooklyn1

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Mar 3, 2015, 9:20:45 PM3/3/15

to

No one would ever mistake Bwrrryan for anything but a flaming faggot.

cher...@gmail.com

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Mar 3, 2015, 9:21:31 PM3/3/15

to

When no one is looking I have my fish and chips with curry sauce.

Cherry

Bryan-TGWWW

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Mar 3, 2015, 9:27:31 PM3/3/15

to

You wish. You pine for your brother's penis.

--Bryan

jmcquown

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Mar 5, 2015, 9:53:06 AM3/5/15

to

On 3/2/2015 3:36 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
> I agree that the flavor of good beef needs no adornment. I cringe when
> people buy good steak, then marinate it. Cheap meat, yeah I can see
> that. But with a good ribeye or porterhouse, it's just plain wrong.
>

I once bought some *prime* filets to grill and was asked if I planned to
marinate them. What?! Why on earth would anyone marinate a great
tender piece of beef? Similarly, why would anyone dump steak sauce on it?

> I know a guy who insists that every grilled steak should be finished
> with a pat of butter melting on top of it. I could go with that, since
> the butter will neither diminish nor conflict with the flavor of the
> meat itself. But that's as inventive as I want to go with good beef.

I've had good steak with a pat of butter added at the end. I can't say
the results were spectacular. It was just steak with a pat of butter.
Save the butter for my baked potato. :)

Jill

notbob

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Mar 5, 2015, 11:46:38 AM3/5/15

to

On 2015-03-05, jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:

> tender piece of beef? Similarly, why would anyone dump steak sauce on it?

Way back, when I was first married and my income was increasing, I
tried filet mignon for 4 wks. They were all purchased from different
mkts. Surprisingly --for me, at least-- the most tender filet of the
four was absolutely terrible. Zero flavor. Could cut it with yer
fork, but had as much flavor as the foam tray it came packaged in.
Unfortunately, I had no stk sauce.

nb

Reggie

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Mar 5, 2015, 11:51:27 AM3/5/15

to

"notbob" <not...@nothome.com> wrote in message
news:clrfj9...@mid.individual.net...

That is not surprising at all if you understand beef.

notbob

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Mar 5, 2015, 12:16:10 PM3/5/15

to

On 2015-03-05, Reggie <Reg...@wantsnospam.com> wrote:

> That is not surprising at all if you understand beef.

It's not surprising the beef industry will do all it can to provide
the consumer with the most expensive, flavorless, meat it possibly
can. They feed steers ground up newspaper, ferchrysakes! I once paid
$24 for a T-bone of age-dried beef. The added salt and pepper were
the only flavors I experienced.

nb

dsi1

unread,

Mar 5, 2015, 2:36:24 PM3/5/15

to

I had dinner at a steakhouse on a company's tab. The beef option was a filet mignon. What a waste of a free steak! Had they served me a porterhouse, then I would be buying product from them this very day.

I once served a steak that was in the back of my refrigerator for way too long. It was absolutely putrid. OTOH, it fried up beautifully, and was wonderfully tender. My dad called it an "aged" steak. I thought the taste was "complex" and still have dreams about eating that rotten meat. Nice dreams, that is.

>
> nb

jmcquown

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Mar 5, 2015, 2:43:00 PM3/5/15

to

Rant all you like but there is still some good tasting beef out there.
I was merely commenting about people who adulterate it with steak sauce
or marinade. Those people probably wouldn't know a good cut of steak if
someone slapped them on the face with it.

Jill

notbob

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Mar 5, 2015, 3:43:49 PM3/5/15

to

On 2015-03-05, jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>

> Rant all you like but there is still some good tasting beef out there.

I know there is. I've tasted some. The last resto I worked at served
ribeyes that were to die for. They were also dry-aged, then
vac-packed, and we would cut the stks off the whole roast. Best
corn-fed beef I've ever tasted.

nb

Bryan-TGWWW

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Mar 5, 2015, 3:50:02 PM3/5/15

to

An Andy steak.
> >
> > nb

--Bryan

dsi1

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Mar 5, 2015, 3:59:03 PM3/5/15

to

This is way against my better judgement but OK, I'll bite. What's an "Andy steak?" Try to see if you can get through this without speaking ill of the dead. OTOH, I don't want to cramp your style so fire away if you feel the need to. :-)

Brooklyn1

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Mar 5, 2015, 4:52:11 PM3/5/15

to

notbob wrote:

The tender beef cuts are also the least flavorful... ribeye and filet
migon are for folks who don't like the flavor of beef... they'd really
prefer grilled tofu with their steak sauce. My favorite beef steak is
a two pound 1 1/2" thick chuck steak grilled fast and furious rare to
medium rare. Unfortunately no steak house does chuck.

Brooklyn1

unread,

Mar 5, 2015, 4:57:10 PM3/5/15

to

Unfortunately you don't know that the tender beef cuts have no flavor
other than the fercocktah sauce yoose idiots drown it in. The beef
industry follows the money, and the morons are willing to pay more for
the least flavorful beef than for the most flavorful cuts... don't
blame the beef industry, blame yourself.

Dave Smith

unread,

Mar 5, 2015, 5:31:28 PM3/5/15

to

How well was it cooked? Beef tenderloin is not for the squeamish. I
like beef darned near raw and I find a rare tenderloin to be tender and
tasty. When cooked past medium they lose their flavour and they get dry
and tough.

Nunya Bidnits

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Mar 7, 2015, 1:12:48 PM3/7/15

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"Brooklyn1" wrote in message
news:bfjhfadi3ut9iung7...@4ax.com...

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It's not about tenderness, it's about fat content. You can also cook an eye
of round which is not a tender cut but is very lean, and it will not have
much flavor either. You must have been eating some crappy steaks if you
don't think ribeye or tbone have any flavor. There's no comparison between
tenderloin (mignon) and ribeye unless you've had the taste nerves to your
mouth severed. And if you buy decent quality meat (i.e., select grade is
usually short on fat and flavor) you will get plenty of flavor. Maybe you're
buying institutional grade meat, or maybe canner beef. But I will agree with
you on one thing, no matter what the grade, even prime, tenderloin is
grossly overrated and not worth the ridiculous price.

A friend and I split a prime grade strip loin, purchased from the wholesale
packing house that sells us most of our barbecue meats. It was a special
product they offered to their customers during the holidays, with the loin
precut into steaks about 1 1/2" thickness. They were outstanding, fork
tender, and full of beef flavor. Yeah, it was ridiculously expensive, and
far better than any filet mignon I've ever had.

MartyB