From the Passenger Seat: Big Texan- Everythings Bigger

Everything??!!

When planning our trip we had discussed a number of different routes to go, but eventually landed on taking the 40 most of the way; it just seemed faster. During our discussions I told Jonathan if we did take the 40, we must stop at The Big Texan for a bite to eat. Jonathan had eaten their on a prior cross country journey with his family and wholeheartedly agreed that this was a must!

The Big Texan is home to the free 72oz streak! That is it’s free if you can eat it and all the sides in an hour. For those baseball fans and Christian readers I have on my blog, you might be interested to know who holds the record for eating this meal the quickest…Frank Pastore. Yep, one time Red’s Pitcher and now current Christian Radio Talk Show host finished the meal in 9 ½ minutes! That’s impressive.

I tried to eat as little as possible before stopping at The Big Texan. Before our trip, I had eaten a small McDonald's biscuit breakfast in New Mexico. I wanted to savor every succulent taste of my steak. No, I didn’t try and go for the gold and eat the 72 oz. I saw a sample of it on the platter and I admit I was too intimidated. Plus it’s an $80 gamble if you don’t eat the whole thing. Maybe, when I have my kids with me to cheer me on, I’ll give it a try! I stayed with in range of what I though I could manage- I had the 24oz Rib eye topped with onions and mushrooms. It was tender and juicy, I was not disappointed.

Yummy. Yummy. there's a party in my Tummy.

The sides weren't that great and probably not worth mentioning; in fact I don’t really remember what I had.

Sadly, after I chomped down my savory steak, I was picking away at some french fries on my plate (that was one of the sides) when one of them got stuck in the back of my throat. I was choking, but it was irritating. So, I got up to use the restroom and cough the potato out, but by the time I made it to the restroom the irritating cough had become a gag. I ended up throwing up 24 oz of steak in the men's urinal. Surprisingly, it tasted just as good coming back up! It was like paying two for the price of one!

So scrumptious, I think I'll throw it up just to taste it again!

They also served Rattle snake, but were not offering it the day we stopped. Apparently there was a mix up in there order from their supplier; they were shipped buckets of rattlesnakes that had been properly cleaned. they were just snakes in a bucket. They also sever mountain oysters, but I just couldn't bring myself to try the things! Sorry, I'm no Andrew Zimmerman.

It should be noted that the Big Texan is a kitchy stand that once use to stand along Route 66. But when the 40 came along the owner made the best move and moved his Steak House to keep up with the changing tide. Put simply the place has been around awhile and is a road stop Icon. Everyone traveling through Texas should stop there at least once. Be forewarned though, while it might have been a prime location in it's heyday, it appeared that the Big Texan is now sitting on the seedy side on town. But if you're looking for a place to stay on your way, they do have a hotel on site! It looked like a pretty fun and entertaining atmosphere.