Tag Archives: Big Texan Steak Ranch

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List of won't-do-things keeps growing

The older I get, the more activities I add to the list of things I’ll never do.

I read recently about the California woman who came to Amarillo and choked down three 72-ounce steaks — plus the baked spuds, shrimp cocktail, rolls and salad — at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

By my calculation, that’s about 15 or so pounds of food.

http://news.yahoo.com/california-woman-eats-3-steak-dinners-20-minutes-183307496.html

I will add to the list of never-will-do things.

There once was a time in my life when I considered myself something of a thrill-seeker. There was little I wouldn’t try. Did I do all those things? No. The opportunities haven’t presented themselves over the span of time.

I haven’t jumped out of an airplane, or bungee-jumped off some platform or cliff, hunted big game in Africa.

On my 60th birthday, I did go zip-lining through the forests of St. Lucia with my wife and sons. So there. I’m not a total wimp.

I once, though, actually thought I might try to eat a 72-ounce steak — but only one — in the span of an hour. Twenty years ago, when we moved to Amarillo, I became aware of the Big Texan and its promotional gimmick of giving away the “free steak” if you could eat it within a certain span of time.

I’m a carnivore. I love steak. Just not that much of it. All at once.

Molly Schuyler chowed down three of ’em in about 20 minutes. She beat her own Big Texan record in devouring the first of her steaks in four minutes.

We’ve been to the Big Texan many times over the years and watched many folks try to consume the Big One in less than an hour. We’ve seen folks puke into the waste basket sitting next to them. One evening, we watched them carry a young man out of the eating area, toward the restroom, where I presume he got really sick.

Does that appeal to this old man? Not in the least.

Maybe in an earlier life. Maybe.

You can add this to the growing list of things I’ll never do.

 

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Tip the server, not the 'pool'

The Big Texan Steak Ranch — arguably Amarillo’s most well-known eating establishment — has been hit with a settlement that requires it to pay $800,000 to employees for tip revenue allegedly misused by the restaurant.

I won’t comment on the settlement itself, as I haven’t kept abreast of it as the complaint has proceeded. It involves allegations that the restaurant used tip money pooled together for purposes other than paying the servers the revenue they earned for their good work. Big Texan management denies any wrongdoing.

At issue — at least for me — is this practice of tip-pooling. As a customer of many eating establishments around town, I really dislike the practice of putting my tip money into some pool, where servers get to split the tips evenly among themselves.

I’ve been known to ask a restaurant waiter or waitress about the establishment’s tipping policy: Do they get the money individually or does it go into a pool? Most of the time the answer is: We pocket our own tips individually. I’m totally fine with that.

I consider myself a fairly generous tipper when the service merits it. I — along with just about every living American — am well aware that these service employees work for a miserable wage. They earn the bulk of their income from the tips they collect. Thus, the tips incentivize them to do a good job for the customers they serve. Tip-pooling, on the other hand, is a disincentive for the bad servers to pick up their game.

Here’s hoping the Big Texan settles up with employees in a timely manner. The employees — particularly the good servers — deserve a little reward.