Tour of Cattlemen's Steakhouse
The decor of Cattlemen's is every bit as distinctive as the food.
It's not fancy, inside or out, but it is comfortable, like your
favorite boots. The stone exterior and the awning over the sidewalk
are unchanged from a half-century before, and the wagon wheels and
oil lanterns give a hint of what's to come. The handles on the front
door were custom-made from a solid piece of metal.
 Stepping into
the darkened entrance is like stepping back into a simpler time,
where the waitresses call you "hon" and the regulars hold
court in their favorite booths or at the counter. A turn to the
right takes you to the diner side of Cattlemen's, with the familiar
dark red booths and photographs of early-day Cattlemen's and the
surrounding stockyards. A glance at the photos lets you know how
little things have changed. In front of the windows, sunlight pours
over the rocking chairs where the late Gene Wade would pass the
day supervising the restaurant. If he liked you, he'd invite you
to join him in the other chair, passing tall tales about the good
old days and the time he threw the 'hard six' that landed him in
the restaurant business.
The other side
of the restaurant is for 'fine dining.'. The walls are graced with
two huge, backlit murals of Gene, his father, and a herd of herefords.
Long, panaramic photos of the historic stockyards and the restaurant
show the timeless qualities of the livestock business; the cattle
are still worked with horses, although there are a few all-terrain
vehicles that roam the chutes on auction day.
Perhaps the best
known features of the main dining room are the drawings - original
pencil sketches of rodeo greats, country singers, western movie
stars and other notables who have been known to bend an elbow or
push back a plate or two of prime, aged steak.
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