My Review of The Big Texan Steak Ranch

I've always wanted to go to Amarillo and visit The Big Texan Steak Ranch (www.bigtexan.com) for a meal. Finally I got the opportunity to stop in on my way through town.

For those of you who have lived under a rock, The Big Texan has been on numerous food and travel shows. They're famous for the Free 72-oz. Steak Challenge. If you can eat a 72-oz. steak,  baked potato, roll, and shrimp in under an hour it's free.

I'm not a competition eater so instead I ordered the "50th Anniversary Steak". It's like a smaller version of the challenge. It has an 18-oz. sirloin, 3 shrimp, baked potato, salad, and roll. Normally I would order a steak medium-rare but I chose medium this time. Something about this place didn't make me trust that they knew how to cook a steak.

My food came out and was was very underwhelming. I knew it was going to be rough when the waitress looked at my friend and said, "Umm. You may want to cut into your steak and let me know if you think it is cooked correctly." Ofcourse it was not so it went back to the kitchen to be cooked longer.

My salad, roll, shrimp, and baked potato were standard cafeteria fare. The steak was dry, tough, and tasted more like a cowboy boot than a steak. I was thoroughly disappointed.

However, this is not where the story ends. While the Big Texan is definitely not a food destination it is most certainly a tourist destination. It's stereotypical Texas on acid. Being a native Texan I was somewhere between amused and offended. I'm a little horrified that travelers might stop in and think this is what Texans are like.

The staff dresses up like a character from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. There are even cowboys walking around playing the guitar and singing folk songs. The restaurant itself looks like a wild west saloon. The outside of the building looks like a cross-between a circus and a old west town. There really isn't anything else I've ever experienced quite like this place.

So if you're on I-40 cruising through Amarillo stop on by. It's definitely worth the experience., and afterwards make sure you stop by Cadillac Ranch right outside of town.

  

Axiom 29: Sell Yourself First

"Everyone lives by selling something." -Robert Louis Stevenson

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect." 

-W, Clement Stone

If you're not good at selling yourself then you'll never be good at selling anything else. I've known a lot of talented and smart people that couldn't succeed because they couldn't sell themselves and their ideas to others. Likewise, I've also known many people who were very average in their abilities who accomplished a lot by being great at selling themselves. We're all politicians in our own way, crafting our message in order to convince others to follow us. In a lot of ways it can seem superficial and showy but it is very necessary to completing the sell. Sometimes the way the message is delivered is more important than the message itself.

There are plenty of people that say, "I'm not in sales. I don't need to know about selling". To that I say, "We are all in sales". Selling is the most crucial and vital skill you can learn in life.

Here are some instant ways to sell yourself better:

• Have a firm handshake. Not too soft, not too strong. Never let the other person turn your hand palm up while shaking it because it is a sign of dominance.  
• Maintain strong eye contact. The eyes are the window to the soul. Make sure you maintain strong and direct eye contact. Make sure the other person breaks eye contact first.
• Have impeccable hygiene. Make sure you are well groomed, you smell nice, and you are clean at all times.
• Dress appropriately. You clothes make a strong subconscious statement about yourself. Make sure you are dressed for the situation and that your clothes are clean and fit properly.
• Speak with confidence. Don't stutter. Don't hesitate. Maintain a strong and commanding flow of your speech.   

Utah's Favorite Condiment: Fry Sauce

Around the Salt Lake City area I discovered a condiment virtually unknown to the outside world. It's called "Fry Sauce", a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, and sometimes other ingredients.

So what's so magical about this special sauce anyway? I was determined to find out myself so I went to the regional fast food chain, Arctic Circle to try some. 

Arctic Circle claims to be the inventor of fry sauce. They even sell it in to-go bottles (see picture above). Many restaurants have copied them with their own fry sauce recipe, but I decided to try the originator first to make my own judgement. 

So I took a fry and plunged it into this mysterious sauce for the first time. My first impression was that is was slightly bland and underwhelming. Then something magical happened. I was devouring this stuff with out even knowing it. Fry sauce has a funny way of flying under the radar and being very addicting at the same time.

While I don't think this stuff will ever reach notoriety outside of Utah, I do think its worth a try for anyone that is in the area.