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The Big Texan Steakhouse

Amarillo, Texas


The Big Texan Amarillo, Texas
The Big Texan Amarillo, Texas
Dinner Salad with Bleu Cheese dressing (No Raaanch)
Dinner Salad with Bleu Cheese dressing (No Raaanch)
Chicken Fried Steak and Bake Potato
Chicken Fried Steak and Bake Potato
The Big Rocker at the Big Texan
The Big Rocker at the Big Texan

The "Big Texan" looks like a big tourist trap, however it has great steaks, great service as well as a Big Texan made for movie atmosphere

This is also the home of the Famous 72 oz. steak. The way this works is just tell your wait staff person, what ever they call it now days, that you want to take the 72 oz steak challenge. She / He / It will escort you to a table on a small stage at the front of a the humongous main dining room. Beside you on the table is large digital count down clock. If you consume the 72 oz. steak and all the trimmings that go with it in 60 minutes (one hour) the steak is free. If you fail, you pay $70.00 (Updated 2007)


Big Texan Steak Ranch 72oz. Steak Facts and Stats

  • Nearly 4800 people have succeeded in eating the 72oz. steak (since 1960).
  • Almost 30,000 people have attempted to consume the free 72oz. steak (since 1960).
  • Approximately two women each year successfully eat the steak of the 4 or 5 who try. About 50% of the women who try are successful.
  • Richard LaFeare chomped his way through 2 steaks on the "Donny & Marie Osmond Show" in 2000.
  • Frank Pastore, who was a professional pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, ate the complete steak dinner in 9 and 1/2 minutes.
  • The oldest person to eat the steak was a 69-year-old grandmother the youngest, an 11-year old boy.
  • Klondike Bill, a professional wrestler, consumed two complete dinners in the one hour time limit back in the 1960s.

The Real Restaurant Review

The wait staff was friendly and courteous. The food was typical Texas fare with a few hard to find items like calf fries.

I usually try to order the most common dish available to the establishment. In this case I chose the small Chicken Fried Steak. (breaded veal for you Yankees) It looked so good I started eating before I realized that I had not taken a picture of the dish. I still think you can tell that the "small" is really very "large". It was very good, not as thin and beaten down as some restaurants are guilty of doing now days.

The baked potato potentially had every thing but the kitchen sink on it. I chose just sour cream.

The ice tea and fresh bread flowed generously from our attractive waitress as needed. She was very patient with us as we flashed pictures of food, the dining room and her.

Texas Bob recommends this place.

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