Are restaurants painting their meat red? The reason that I ask is because of some recent meals that I have had in restaurants.

The first were some lamb chops that I ordered medium rare. When they arrived, they were rosy red. “Great!” I thought. But, when I cut into the first chop, it was dull gray. Well, I thought, I must have gotten an end piece. But, when I cut into the second chop, it too was dull gray. Odd, I must have gotten both ends of the rack of lamb.

My next encounter was with a slice of prime rib. When it arrived, it was 2 inches thick with the coloring of a medium rare piece of meat. But, again, when I cut into it, it was dull gray.

Now, with the lamb chops, I could understand the sudden change from medium rare to well done because the chops were so thin. However, with the 2 inch slice of prime rib it made no sense. There was no transition from red to pink to gray. It was gray all of the way through. It was as if the medium rare look of the meat was painted on a well done piece of meat.

The lamb chops took me by surprise. The prime rib made me suspicious. While I hate to be a pain in restaurants, from now on, I will send it back. For the price that I am paying for these meals, I should get what I ordered.