'WHERE'S THE BEEF?' Internet picks a side as man makes meaty admission about in-laws and parents
A man's revelation that he buys "excellent quality" steak for his parents but lower grade ones for his in-laws has caused controversy among netizens. The scenario was discussed by the Original Poster (OP) u/Late-Enthusiasm3751 in Reddit's well-liked "Am I The A**hole" subcategory, where it garnered more than 4.4K upvotes and 1.3K comments.
In a Reddit post titled "AITA for buying lower grade steaks when my in-laws visit and serving my mom and dad Wagyu", a man wrote, "My wife and I live far away from both of our sets of parents. We visit them a couple of times a year and they visit us about the same." He then discussed his parents' love for food and wrote, "My mom and dad love food. They will buy pounds of garlic and leave it in a rice maker for a month to make black garlic. They plan their vacations around amazing restaurants."
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'Boiling chicken drumsticks is fancy for them'
He further commented on how his in-laws didn't like experimenting with their food and wrote, "My in-laws are lovely people but boiling chicken drumsticks is fancy for them. And they refuse to eat steak that isn't well done. I discovered this the first time I went to their home for dinner. I wasn't even asked how I like my steak. Everyone got a well done steak. It took me years to convince my wife to try a medium rare steak. Now she loves them."
The post continued, "I bought some beautiful prime steak for them when they came over when we moved in together. I made theirs medium well, and I died a little inside. Her dad took it back to the grill and destroyed them. So now I buy Select grade meat. I've been buying some excellent quality Wagyu for when my parents visit. Not every single time. Maybe once a year. My wife says I'm being an a**hole by not treating both families the same. I don't think I should waste money on great food for them when I know how they will treat it."
'I feel your pain!'
More than 1.3K people left comments on the post, with all of them supporting the OP. One user commented, "I might get down voted but honestly I do not see the point in paying for really expensive steak for someone who is going to want it served as burnt offerings. They certainly won't understand the difference. NTA (Not the A**hole),"
Agreeing with the OP, another user said, "Agree! OP - making things they genuinely like and being considerate of that is much better than being fancy or spending too much where it’s not valued. Find out more about their favorite things - make more of those and the way they like it and serve it genuinely and without putting anyone down. 'Your mom loves this cake.. your dad loves baked beans' means more about caring about them than spending money on food they don’t really want - and no one has to feel wasteful or guilty. They also might prefer pulled pork or roast chicken to steak- everyone’s happy! Edit for judgement -NTA."
A user suggested an alternate method of keeping his wife happy and said, "NTA, but just a suggestion, OP? To keep your wife happy and feeling like things are equal, you could always get a really nice pork roast or something that is meant to be cooked through, but nice and juicy for the in-laws. There's plenty of expensive, really delicious cuts of meat out there that anyone can enjoy fully cooked without destroying Wagyu to make your wife happy. Heck, get a rack of lamb or something. Plenty of options to spice thing up a little and show your effort for you in-laws. This could be fun as a cook to think outside the box and experiment a little, but as someone who loves their meat bloody and has a mom and SIL who dip their medium or well done prime steak in ketchup or A1, I feel your pain!"
Another user chimed in, "As a person who doesn’t really care for steak and would prefer it well done - DONT WASTE YOUR GOOD BEEF ON ME!" One user said, "Exactly. At work today, we were talking about a $250 bottle of wine. I made the comment that I probably would not taste the difference as I’m not a big a wine drinker. I would be perfectly understanding of them not wanting to spend that much on a bottle for me but with someone else. With all 'fairness,' I think a great compromise would be something to offset that treat. Maybe a fancy cake or something special they would appreciate."
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