Ranchman's Cafe in Ponder, Texas

Martina and I rode out to Ponder yesterday to have lunch at the Ranchman's Cafe, where Larry McMurtry ate dinner just before seeing the Lonesome Dove Baptist Church bus that would provide the name for one of the finest books of our time. For me, Ponder and Lonesome Dove have special meaning. My grandfather grew up around Ponder and attended school there. And some of my earliest memories are related to that little town. In fact, the first time I was ever allowed to carry a shotgun on my own, which was when I was eight years old, I was hunting with my grandfather and father in Ponder. As for the Lonesome Dove connection, my great-grandparents, the Cates, attended Lonesome Dove Baptist Church, and Cates have been buried in the Lonesome Dove Cemetery since the late nineteenth century, though my great-grandparents are buried elsewhere. Family and literary history aside, I enjoyed a fine lunch special of chopped sirloin topped with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, fried zucchini, and black eyed peas.

http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/bud-kennedy/article69634787.html

Just for kicks, here is the Ranchman's steak butter recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ranchmans-steak-butter-recipe-1942728