Last weekend, I attended a baby shower and caught up with some friends. One of my girlfriends related the story of one of her friends (are you still with me?) who is making her way through the dating scene.

She went on a first date with a nice gentleman who. . .

1. likes to lift weights (excellent)
2. has a great relationship with his mother (this bodes well)
3. is very attractive (always a plus)
4. does not like steak (cue the depressing music).

I fell out of my chair with laughter.

My friend’s friend had said, “I don’t think there will be a second date. I mean, how can I make a life with someone who won’t share a steak dinner with me?”

When I picked myself up off the floor, I realized that it’s pretty universal:  Steak is just one of life’s great pleasures. A good steak, that is.

And if you don’t enjoy steak, those of us who do think you’re pretty misguided.

Maybe there’s an online dating site for non-steak lovers this guy could join.

Nah, I doubt it.

Apparently, in 2007 a French movie was released as a “sci-fi/comedy” (huh?). Its title?

Steak.

My first thought was, What could be better than an entire movie about steak? But upon further investigation I don’t see any mention of succulent beef at all in the movie’s advertisement.

Mind you, all the movie propaganda is in French and I took Spanish in college, so that’s kind of a barrier. But all the related pictures show people in weird masks with red jackets and too-short pants. They look like a bunch of thugs from The Outsiders with Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, etc.

Steak, however, features such stars as the ever-popular Eric Judor and the irrascible Sebastien Tellier.

(Crickets.)

Yeah, I’ve never heard of them either.

And so, I will continue the journey to find a movie that prominently features my favorite carnivorous treat.

Surely there are some great steak shots in The Godfather trilogy. . .

Last Friday evening, two days before we had planned a rockin’ steak dinner at home, we were invited to dinner with my husband’s boss and his wife. We were happy to accept; and where did we end up, you may ask?

A steakhouse.

It started the wheels in my mind spinning, comparing the restaurant steak experience to the at-home steak experience.

So here’s my Top 10 List for Why I’d Rather Eat My Steak at Home:

10. No Teriyaki sauce at the restaurant. (My fave.)

9.   Most chefs don’t like to hear “Barely any pink, please.”

8.   Really nice places don’t have bacon bits for my baked potato. 🙁

7.   I can’t bring my favorite chair from my dining room table to the restaurant. It’s really cushy.

6.   You have to tip the waiter. (My husband just asks for a kiss.)

5.   At home, we listen to awesome playlists from our iPods that we pump through the house during our meal. (Most restaurants don’t play old Bobby Brown songs, Merle Haggard and Def Leppard.)

4.   I can’t wear my really stretchy pants to a restaurant.

3.   At a restaurant, I don’t have the luxury of knowing my kids are asleep in their rooms upstairs while I leisurely enjoy my steak.

2.   It’s more expensive at a restaurant and you can get the same quality steaks (even USDA prime) delivered to you from KC Steaks. (Plus, see #6.)

1.   No reservations.