Travel/City help: Amarillo

[KJIM]

I have a job interview next week there. Not a clue what to expect from the city.

Any impressions?

 

[JackReacher]

Isn't the famous 72 oz. steak challenge somewhere in Amarillo?

 

[Ace]

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I don't have anything constructive to add. I once got food poisoning in Amarillo. I was supposed to be there for less than a day, but instead I spent three days in a hotel room puking my guts out. I hope your experience is better.

 

[cranberry]

I think you guys are overstating it a bit.

 

[Azrael]

It makes Lubbock look Paris between the wars.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

Palo Duro Canyon is to the south of there 15-20 miles. Very scenic. It was an early inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe.

The impression most folks get of Amarillo is the view from I-40. It looks flat, dry, farily boring. The city itself doesn't seem to suck that much. It is north Texas and can be hot.

And, yes, the Big Texan is there with its 72-oz. steak that's free if you can eat it and all the side dishes in less then an hour.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Palo Duro Canyon is to the south of there 15-20 miles. Very scenic. It was an early inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe.

"Very scenic" is an understatement. It's gorgeous.

Outside has good things to say about Amarillo.

http://outside.away.com/magazine/0798/9807sumtex.html

http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200506/summer-guide-7.html

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Don't forget Winona. :)

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Have impressions? Do I!

 

[Birdscribe]

It makes Lubbock look Paris between the wars.

This is hilarious. Very well played, Azrael.

Palo Duro Canyon is to the south of there 15-20 miles. Very scenic. It was an early inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe.

And, yes, the Big Texan is there with its 72-oz. steak that's free if you can eat it and all the side dishes in less then an hour.

Palo Duro is amazing. You pull up and see what looks like a small canyon, then you drive a bit further and it just opens up in front of you. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

And the Big Texan is worth going to whether you take on the 72oz T-bone or not. They have red meat by the size there and such good eats as fried rattlesnake and beer by the bucket.

 

[Football_Bat]

Palo Duro Canyon is to the south of there 15-20 miles. Very scenic. It was an early inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe.

The impression most folks get of Amarillo is the view from I-40. It looks flat, dry, farily boring. The city itself doesn't seem to suck that much. It is north Texas and can be hot.

And, yes, the Big Texan is there with its 72-oz. steak that's free if you can eat it and all the side dishes in less then an hour.

Side dishes? That's some bogus fine print right there.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Palo Duro Canyon is to the south of there 15-20 miles. Very scenic. It was an early inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe.

The impression most folks get of Amarillo is the view from I-40. It looks flat, dry, farily boring. The city itself doesn't seem to suck that much. It is north Texas and can be hot.

And, yes, the Big Texan is there with its 72-oz. steak that's free if you can eat it and all the side dishes in less then an hour.

Side dishes? That's some bogus fine print right there.

And if you don't finish, its costs $72. I went there last winter when I was passing through Amarillo. Some guy tried the challenge while I was there and they made a huge production of it in the restaurant. He got through 59 ounces before he ralphed.

The food was outstanding (and very reasonable for a steakhouse). I had an 18-ounce steak with baked potato, salad, bread and a 24-ounce beer, and was out of there for less than $30 with tip. I can't imagine trying to eat four times that much.

The Cadillac Ranch is also just outside of town, in a field next to the I-40 service road. It's just nine old Cadillacs buried nose-down in the dirt, but it's an interesting piece of roadside Americana.

It's been said of Amarillo that there is nothing between there and the North Pole but a barbed-wire fence. I don't know about that, but I do know that the wind often blows so hard there that you can barely keep your eyes open.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

 

[albert77]

I passed through Amarillo once about 15 years ago (didn't stop). My impression was that it was an overgrown small town, and that's not a bad thing.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

If you're in that area, pick me up some Leal's salsa.

 

[PeterGibbons]

The Big Tex holds a special place in my heart, while passing through Amarillo on our way back from vacationing in Colorado Mrs Gibbons and I stopped to eat at the Tex. My wife who was a vegetarian when we first started dating in college ate her first steak there since she decided to become a vegetarian in high school sometime before we had met.
It had taken me 8 years to turn her from a strict vegetarian to eating chicken and then finally the holy grail of carnivores, the filet mignon. I think I may have began to tear up during that meal, but it was a great night! It must have been a pretty good steak, because she's still eating beef on a regular basis, now if I could just get her to quit ordering it med-well or well done!

Also, if you go to Cadillac Ranch take you a can of spray paint and put your own tag on one of the cars.