How does that George Strait song go? “Amarillo by Morning, up from San Antone…”
When I went to Texas over Christmas break to visit my brother and his family, I got to experience a few things that are unique to their part of the country. After visiting the Alamo in San Antonio, we didn’t make it up to Amarillo. That would have been another 500 miles north. But my brother did play classic country music on his XM Satellite radio and we did listen to a lot of Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and George Strait, which made me wonder why Amarillo is so important to the people of Texas.
I learned that in Amarillo they have the Big Texan Steak Ranch Brewery that has an incredible steak challenge. If you can eat one of their 72 oz steaks with an appetizer, a salad and side of potatoes in under an hour you get it for free. If you fail, you pay $72 for trying.
I found other references to Amarillo in places that I wasn’t really expecting. Along our travels we discovered the biggest convenience store in America, “Buc-ee’s.”
They are known for the cleanest bathrooms you will ever find, including your own home. I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself, and yes, they were everything they claimed to be.
Outside the store there were hundreds of gas pumps for people to fill up their cars. Inside the store there were hundreds of people getting food from the fresh bakery, from the brisket BBQ stand, from the countless fountain drinks, from the roasted nut bar, from the isles and isles of every snack that you could ever imagine.
And that was just on the food side of the building. On the other side they had crafts, souvenirs and clothing and fishing equipment. It was just an amazing circus.
In one little nook they had a self-serve soup bar with about 6 different soups to choose from. That is where I found a new soup that I hadn’t experienced before. It was called, “Amarillo Chicken Spud.” I decided to give it a try. It is a creamy chicken soup with potatoes, but it has a little bit of Texas heat mixed into it that just wakes you up and causes you to check your vital signs to see if you are still alive. It is amazingly tasty and invigorating.
If that soup comes from Amarillo, I can see why George Strait would want to drive all night from San Antonio to get some. It is that good.
Well, I talked to some good old boys there from the Buc-ee’s management team and was able to secure the recipe so I could try and make it once I got back home.
Today is my first attempt. I think I got pretty close to the way they make it down in Texas.
If you want to see what old George is singing about, drop by Room 200 and give it a try. We will be using it to motivate math students to complete their weekly quiz over systems of linear equations.