Big Texan Steak Ranch
7701 E I-40, (806) 372-6000. Daily 7am-10:30pm.
Back in 1962, Big Texan Steak Ranch owner R.J. “Bob” Lee challenged a dining room full of cowboys to eat as many one-pound steaks as they could within one hour. One cowboy ate 72 ounces of steak, a baked potato, a shrimp cocktail, a dinner roll, and a salad. Lee proclaimed that thereafter anyone who could eat that same dinner in one hour would receive the meal for free. It is now referred to as the 72-ounce Steak Challenge. So far, almost 100,000 people have won the challenge--that averages out to two people per day. Bobbie says a “128-pound housewife ate it all in 20 minutes. She would have eaten my hand, too, if I hadn’t moved it!” The day I dined here one guy almost did it and another very young fellow from Ohio most definitely did not.
Happy diners who squeeze into the humongous dining room (it holds around 300 people) can watch this show unfold on a small stage in front of them while wandering cowboys serenade. But mostly they will be enjoying eating their own well-priced, delicious steak. I devoured most of my spectacularly tasty 16-ounce bone-in Duke’s Cut ribeye ($23) and sent the rest home for a dining companion’s dog. Rocky Mountain oysters (aka bull balls) that reputedly taste like chicken hearts are another popular menu item. Kids meals are served in a cowboy hat they can take home. And I grew very fond of the “laughing margarita,” which did indeed get me laughing. My sister suggests, “Sit upstairs near the edge. It’s really, really fun.” But I found a prime spot by the kitchen and got to watch the grilling action as well. Bobbie and Danny, sons of the owner, didn’t want to take over the business, but here they are. They now also make their own beer and have also opened the Starlight Ranch down the road. And they want you to come on down--they’ll even send a free limo with Texas longhorns attached to the hood to pick you up and return you to your hotel or campground.
More things to do in Amarillo.
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| steaks just off the grill at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
Back in 1962, Big Texan Steak Ranch owner R.J. “Bob” Lee challenged a dining room full of cowboys to eat as many one-pound steaks as they could within one hour. One cowboy ate 72 ounces of steak, a baked potato, a shrimp cocktail, a dinner roll, and a salad. Lee proclaimed that thereafter anyone who could eat that same dinner in one hour would receive the meal for free. It is now referred to as the 72-ounce Steak Challenge. So far, almost 100,000 people have won the challenge--that averages out to two people per day. Bobbie says a “128-pound housewife ate it all in 20 minutes. She would have eaten my hand, too, if I hadn’t moved it!” The day I dined here one guy almost did it and another very young fellow from Ohio most definitely did not.
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| the 72-ounce Steak Challenge at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
Happy diners who squeeze into the humongous dining room (it holds around 300 people) can watch this show unfold on a small stage in front of them while wandering cowboys serenade. But mostly they will be enjoying eating their own well-priced, delicious steak. I devoured most of my spectacularly tasty 16-ounce bone-in Duke’s Cut ribeye ($23) and sent the rest home for a dining companion’s dog. Rocky Mountain oysters (aka bull balls) that reputedly taste like chicken hearts are another popular menu item. Kids meals are served in a cowboy hat they can take home. And I grew very fond of the “laughing margarita,” which did indeed get me laughing. My sister suggests, “Sit upstairs near the edge. It’s really, really fun.” But I found a prime spot by the kitchen and got to watch the grilling action as well. Bobbie and Danny, sons of the owner, didn’t want to take over the business, but here they are. They now also make their own beer and have also opened the Starlight Ranch down the road. And they want you to come on down--they’ll even send a free limo with Texas longhorns attached to the hood to pick you up and return you to your hotel or campground.
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| exterior sign at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| limo with longhorns attached at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| dining room at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| laughing margaritas at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| salad at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| 16-ounce bone-in Duke’s Cut ribeye at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| carrot cake at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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| owners Bobbie and Danny at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas |
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I would love to visit this steak house in Amarillo! My husband and I are steak lovers. We will enjoy watching someone de our a 72-ounce steak while we split a 16-ounce one!
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a foodie, but the steak does look good, and of course I'd never pass up a margarita!
ReplyDelete