Where's the beef? In Texas

The Toronto Star ^ | June 22, 2003 | LEE HOCKSTADERj

[El Conservador]

AMARILLO, Texas—If you've never seen a young woman in a staring contest with a 4 1/2-pound slab of red meat, it's a thing to behold.

Her nostrils flare. Her eyebrows twitch. She blinks. She exhales lightly through pursed lips. Then she picks up her serrated knife to begin sawing at her butterflied top sirloin, all 5,200-odd calories of it, cooked medium and sprawled on her dish like a catcher's mitt on home plate. For its part, the steak is impassive.

For the rest of the article, click here

[Maria S]

The Big Texan is where we always take visitors to eat when they're in Amarillo. When we were waaay out in the boondocks in Ireland last year, we stopped in a hamlet to eat. Probably 30 people in the whole "town". A local heard our Texas accents and asked if we'd ever heard of a place in Texas where if you eat a 72 oz. steak, it was free! "Uh...yup!" we said. "'Bout 10 miles from our house!" True story.

[weegee]

At $50 (and a roadtrip) I'd just settle on eating a quality steak here in Houston. $50 is too high to put up on a wager (for a steak that may not rate as high as one someplace else). And how are those sides?

Here in Houston (near Tomball actually) there is a cafe that serves a Mega Mel burger. It's a more affordable challenge (It's got good meat, although I still prefer the smaller version)

The Mega Mel Burger ($16.95) is 1 1/2 pounds of meat, 1 pound of bacon and 1/2 pound of cheese with all the trimmings on a light fluffy roll.

Mel's Country Cafe is just outside Tomball. It's not easy to find, but it's well worth the trip. Take I-45 north to FM 2920. Make a left at the light. Go until you hit Kuykendall, and make a right. When you reach the fork in the road, stay left. You'll cross FM 2978. The first road you see is Stanolind. Turn right. You can't miss it.

[weegee]

Reverend Horton Heat BUMP

Eat Steak


Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol' steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it's a mighty good food
It's a grade A meal when I'm in the mood.


Cowpokes'll come from a near and far
When you throw a few rib-eyes on the fire
Roberto Duran ate two before a fight
'Cause it gave a lot of mighty men a lot of mighty might


Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol' steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it's a mighty good food
It's a grade A meal when I'm in the mood.


Eat meat, eat meat, filet mignon
Eat meat, eat meat, ear it all day long
Eat a few T-bones till you get your fill
Eat a new york cut, hot off the grill


Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol' steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it's a mighty good food
It's a grade A meal when I'm in the mood.


Eat a cow, eat a cow 'cuase it's good for you
Eat a cow, eat a cow it's the thing that goes "Mooooo"


Look at all the cows in the slaughterhouse yeard
Gotta hit'em in the head, gotta hit'em real hard
First you gotta clean'em then the butcher cuts'em up
Throws it on a scale throws an eyeball in a cup


Saw a big Brangus Steer standing right over there
So I rustled up a fire cooked him medium rare
Bar-B-Q'ed his brisket, a roasted his rump
Fed my dog that ol' Brangus Steer's hump


Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol' steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it's a mighty good food
It's a grade A meal when I'm in the mood.

[Admin Moderator]

El Conservador 06/22/2003 7:56 PM EDT Regarding #1

Since it's taken from the Toronto Star, not the Washington Post, it shouldn't be excerpted.

Incorrect. If the Washington Post owns the syndication rights, it must be excerpted.

[El Conservador]

He did it because it was originally published by the Washingotn Post.

But he's wrong, since i quoted from the Toronto Star, and AFAIK, the Toronto Star is not owned by the WP.

I asked him to restablish the full article

[deport]

The Big Texan Steak Ranch

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.

[weegee]

At $50, it's still a steep tip just for service (if the meal is comped).

[El Conservador]

LEE HOCKSTADER
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

It says the Star, not the Post

[weegee]

Several people are on the wall at Mel's Cafe for eating the 3 pound Mega Mel in under 10 minutes.

[eastforker]

I think this story was made famous from a movie starring Dan Akroyd and I forget his name but he's dead,no I think it was uncle buck,correct me if I am wrong.

[gcruse]

Amazing.

[eastforker]

Yeah ,John Candy and Dan Akroyd in "Uncle Buck".

[weegee]

I think that Mel's Country Cafe has a photo of Lyle Lovett dining there (the steam table they offer at lunch is real good too). Lyle Lovett dines at a number of the Tomball restaurants.

I don't think that Ms. Roberts could take that. Reportedly she complained about the produce at one of the area grocery stores.

[habs4ever]

Please, only excerpts from the Red Star!My eyes, my eyes!

[Maria S]

I'm not sure which story you're referring to! The story about the Irish guy questioning us about The Big Texan was true...is that's what you're asking!

[lilylangtree]

Bet Robert F. Kennedy, Jr is gnashing his teeth if he reads about this 72 oz steak. In a FR posting this week entitled 'Hog Summit' in Pennsylvania, he states after ridding the country of pork he's going after beef and poultry. I guess he envisions a meatless future for everyone. An excerpt:

"At last year’s “Hog Summit” in Iowa, Kennedy told a Fox TV reporter that “the best thing would be if this [pork] industry did leave the country.” And in a January 2001 Des Moines Register article, he suggested that beef and poultry would be his next lawsuit targets. “We’re starting with hogs,” Kennedy said. “After the hogs, then we are going after the other ones.”

[coder2]

No... Not "Uncle Buck"...

The movie was "The Great Outdoors"... Hilarious !!!

[Lawgvr1955]

"At last year’s “Hog Summit” in Iowa, Kennedy told a Fox TV reporter that “the best thing would be if this [pork] industry did leave the country.”

Guess Kennedy just likes pork. He doesn't care for pigs though.

[Admin Moderator]

Wrong.

I did it because the syndication rights belong to the Washington Post Writers' Group. It doesn't matter what paper it appeared in first or exclusively. It matters if the author is under contract to the Washington Post Writers' Group.

Sorry.

[Servant of the Nine]

The only time I ever went to Amarillo, I tried to convince the chaperone that I could do it. She wouldn't let me try, the weasel. ;)

Just one more reason life is more fun without the chaperone.

So9