#229: Cattlemen's Steakhouse (pg 692; Listed as Oklahoma City's Cowboy Culture in 2nd Ed, pg 852)

Oct. 7, 2018

We drove to Oklahoma City from Dallas and headed to Cattlemen's Steakhouse for dinner.

We checked in with the Hostess and they handed us a buzzer and told us to head up to the "Waiting Room".  It was a huge room with a (closed) bar and we were the only ones up there.  So we kicked it for 10 minutes or so until our buzzer buzzed and we headed to our table.

 The menu.

I chose the the Small Filet.  All steaks come with a salad, baked potato and homemade roll.

The history

The dining room

Bon appetite!

The plate in the middle was full of toppings (whipped butter, cheese, bacon crumbles, sour cream) for the baked potatoes. Yum!

Here's my analysis of the food..... I ordered the steak medium well.  I debated between medium and medium well. I like a "little pink" but sometimes when I order medium, there's way too much pink for my liking and sometimes when I order medium-well, there's no pink at all, so I always debate what to order.  So I basically said as much to the waiter hoping it would come back perfect!  It didn't. It came back with no pink at all.  It was definitely well done. So, if I ever go back, I'm definitely ordering medium!  Anyway, regardless of the steak being a little too well done, it was seasoned to perfection and tasted delicious.  The salad was "fine" (nothing to write home about, but fine).  The baked potatoes and toppings were yummy.  The rolls were dry and didn't really taste homemade.

The vinyl bench covers could use some refurbishing....

The Open Seating/Counter area

And they even have the book on display!

Verdict: No.  The steak was yummy and there's some definite history in this place.  I love that it's located in the middle of the Stockyards.  But, honestly, I have no idea how it earned a place in 1000 Places to See Before You Die.... because it's not. Not even close.  Maybe in 10, 000 Places to See before you die?  Maybe.  But not 1000. No Way.  It's just a good steakhouse with a very casual, somewhat charming, historical atmosphere. 

Note:  The new edition mentions this restaurant as part of a broader entry under "Oklahoma City's Cowboy Culture" which talks about the Stockyards (where we stayed) and more.  And while I think this is a much more appropriate entry, it's still not a must-do before you die.  As I've mentioned about some other sites, this would be a more appropriate entry in the 1000 Places in United States and Canada but I don't think it should make the top 1000 in the world list.