America - Men and Meat

That’s right, we managed to refrain from singing the song for the entire 300-mile drive there, and instead focussed on the more Texan side of Amarillo.

Now, things are certainly big in America (roads, plains, mountains, women) but there’s nowhere where they are quite as big as Texas. And, much to my surprise, the state isn’t full of rednecks or people wielding guns. In fact, pretty much everyone we met was entirely lovely and helpful, even if they informed us “Y’all don’t speak proper”.

In return, we whole-heartedly embraced the Texan way of life, which is to say Big and Loud. There was a rodeo, with bulls and horses and people falling on the floor and stampeding and whooping and girls in tiny jeans. But, more importantly, there was:

Mmm… so much steak. This was taken at the Big Texan Steakhouse, home of the free 72 oz steak (if you can finish it within the hour, it’s free!) where we stopped just after we broke the car again. Sadly, I didn’t reckon I could eat 72 oz. of steak, so settled for 21 oz. It was still larger than I imagined my whole stomach to be:

The serving man agreed with my estimated-gut-measurement, and informed me that it was a very big steak before I ordered it, and told me I could get a box to take what I didn’t finish home with me. But I’m not one to be put off by a challenge, especially when it is a meaty, bloody challenge.

In fact, so un-put-off was I that when Philip returned 15 minutes later, he was horrified to find no steak and a slightly larger girl. So impressed was he when we then ordered dessert, in fact, that he brought us all free cowboy hats (normally given out with the children’s meals), which we dutifully wore for the rest of the meal. Maybe next time I should try for 72 oz after all?

N.B. If you fail to finish the huge steak, and all the sides, within 60 minutes (there’s a big count-down clock over the Big Steak Table) then you pay $50 for it.