RUTH HAFFLY wrote to DAVE DRUM <=-

The only steak place I have eaten in Texas is the "Big Texan" just off
of Route 66 (now I-40) where the offer a "free 72 oz steak" (4 1/2 lb roast cooked on the grilll). To get it free you must finish it in one sitting along with the baked potato and side salad. I managed it. But

I've seen the signs for that approaching, then in, Amarillo. The place
is just off of I-40, and no, we've never stopped there. Only times
we've stopped in the city have been for fuel and visits to a (now deceased) aunt of Steve's. There's no way I could finish 4.5 pounds of meat, a potato and salad (especially if the salad is brought out first)
in one sitting.

There used to be billboards up and down Route 66. And since Route 66
has its beginning in Chicago and terminus in Santa Monica I saw
several near my town since we were astraddle of Route 66.

Sounds like the Buc-ee's or South of the Border signs. When Steve's parents lived in Florida, we made a number of trips there. SotB signs
all up and down I-95!

Never met a Buc-ee's in person. I was off the road before they became a "thing". But, when I was trailer-trucking I used to see the SOTB eye
pollution all over the highways in the East/Southeast. I stopped there
just once and learned that it started as a semi-boolegging beer store
serving the "dry" countied just across the state line in NC. From a garage
size (18 x 36) building known as South of the Border Beer Depot. Business boomed. A few years later a 10-seat grill was added and the business was re-named South of the Border Drive-In. And, like Topsy, "it jus' growed".

I can't remember what I expected to see when I stopped but I was not
ready for what I got.

8<----- CLIP ----->8

bagged peanuts (shells go into buckets) only a couple of years ago.

We used to have a chain place called "The Ground Round" a family
casual place that offered the p-nut shells on the floor deal. The

I've heard of them but don't recall ever eating at one. Sounds like
they were trying to be a TR clone.

Nope. They pre-dated Texas Roadhouse. G.R. began in 1969. T.R. in
2003. If anything T.R. is the copycat.

OK

chain, a part of the Howard Johnson's family went bust in 2004. Our
local store is now "The Dublin Pub" with not an Irishman in sight.

Does it offer Irish beer?

Just Guiness stout. They do offer one of the better bowls of chilli in Springfield.

You should know. Steve has ordered the TR chili a few times and has
said it's "ok but not as good as yours".

Dublin Pub's chilli is not to everyone's taste. Joe Rupnik got the recipe
when he bought Vic's Pizza. It's one of the last places you can get a bowl
of good old, greasy, Springfield tavern chilli. All of it based on that
served at a legendary place called "Lawson's" where I never ate as it was
gone before I was permitted to eat in a tavern. But, the chilli lives on.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Smitty's Famous Lawson's Tavern Chilli
Categories: Beef, Herbs, Chilies
Yield: 1 Pot

4 1/2 lb (to 5 lb) ground suet
4 lb Coarse ground beef; this is
- sometimes called chilli
- chuck. Hamburger does not
- work very well; it tends
- to get too crisp.
4 3/8 oz (3/4 cup) chilli spice mix
2 tb Salt; more to taste
3/4 tb Garlic powder
1 ts Ground oregano
2 ts Red pepper
1 tb Ground cumin; more to taste
Beans *

Use a 9 to 10 quart iron kettle. Render the suet first.
Put in a cup of water to get it started to melt and
prevent sticking. Keep it boiling and stir constantly.
When mixture stops foaming, skim off all foam. Continue
cooking until suet looks like oil. Cracklings can be
left in, if desired. If they taste strong, they should
be omitted. Let oil cool until meat does not splatter
when added.

Add meat, breaking up with a potato masher or large
spoon, while cooking. Always stir constantly. Cook until
med/well done, but not crisp. Mix powdered ingredients
and add them a few minutes before meat is done. Keep
stirring. Don't let it stick to the bottom of the kettle.

* BEANS: Beans, which are very important, are cooked
separately from the meat. Small red beans (although hard
to find) are best to use. Don't use kidney beans. Brooks
hot chilli beans are the next best choice.

Cooked beans are better if prepared at least 24 hours
prior to serving. They will provide their own juice
during cooking.

SERVING: Place heated beans in bowl first. Top with 3
to 4 tablespoons of chilli meat. Let the consumer do the
mixing. Serve with crackers, etc.

STORING CHILLI MEAT: Strain meat from oil; pour oil into
small cake pans. Divide meat mixture into cake pans. Let
cool until solid. Place pans in refrigerator or freezer
for a few hours or a day. They can be removed easily by
heating in a little hot water or moving pan over hot
flame.

Remove bricks from pans; seal tightly with butcher paper
or plastic wrap. Do not use aluminum foil or leave in
pan, as spices can eat through aluminum.

These bricks can be stored in refrigerator for a couple
of weeks or for a year in a freezer (if well wrapped).
Slice off only the amount of brick you want to use;
rewrap and refrigerate.

NOTE: This chilli meat makes super Coney Island hot
dogs.

From: http://www.patriotledger.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... Life is like a sewer; you get out of it what you put into it.

--- ProBoard v2.17 [Reg]
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)