May 5: Kitsch and Steak in Texas!

Back in Texas, once again. Seems like we just can't stay away from this place. Actually, we are deep in the Panhandle, just outside of Amarillo. Amarillo is home to manufacturing of secret stealth bombers, and nuclear weapons – out in the middle of nowhere! It is also the beef processing capital of the US.

Along US 40, there are dozens of signs touting the wonders of a restaurant known as The Big Texan Steak Ranch, “Free 72 oz. Steak Meal – It's free if you can eat it in one hour!” Well, it's absolutely true – several people have done it, but if you can't finish it, it costs you $72. We checked the reviews on the place, and is a local institution. It's been around since 1960, and was a well-known landmark on the iconic Route 66.

We were given free limo transportation to the restaurant in what I think was about a 1977 Cadillac stretch limo, complete with a set of steer's horns glued to the hood. Very kitsch! The restaurant looks like a western movie set, with a gigantic plaster cowboy boot, and an even bigger cement steer out in front. Even kitschier!! The interior is, as you would guess, decorated in ultra cowboy, with wooden tables, faux antique chairs, lots of taxidermy on the walls, and tons of ranch paraphernalia. The table cloths look like cowhide. There is a table on a platform in front of the kitchen. This serves as a stage for anyone taking on the challenge of eating the 72 oz. Steak.

We ordered a 21 oz top sirloin for 2, which was way to big for the both of us. Four side dishes came with it, including fried okra, cowboy beans, streak fries, and cole slaw. The food was very good. Soon we were serenaded table-side by a cowboy band with a fiddler, guitar player, and a bass player. After asking us a few questions about what we were up to, they launched into “On the Road Again.”

I'm sure we will be eating steak leftovers for days to come. We ordered a “slice” of chocolate cake for dessert. A dinner-plate size mega-slice arrived, accompanied by dollops of whipped cream, that looked large enough to feed at least 4 to 5 people. My dazed expression says it all. (Actually, it was the Margareta that was advertised as, "You'll understand why the stars at night are big and bright!") Everything is larger in Texas! We will have left-over cake for days to come, too!

Today marks our exit from Tornado Alley, and the resumption of having fun, instead of dodging killer storms and dealing with serious illness. As of today, I feel fine, thanks to those antibiotics!! Tomorrow, we head for New Mexico.