How can anyone – who actually went to one of these – forget those great buffet lines at these steakhouses? You'd order your steak the way you wanted it, then go thru and load up on all the extras:
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Baked potatoes with butter & sour cream
Mac & cheese
Green salad with all the fixin's
Potato salad
Macaroni salad
Cole Slaw
Hot vegetables
Corn on the cob
Apple Pie
Corn bread
Dinner rolls
Chicken nuggets …..and more.

You'd gobble all that down, and if you had room, you'd go back for seconds!
But then your steak would arrive and you'd be too full to eat it.

Whatever happened to 'em?

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First of all, the Bonanza Steakhouses were created in 1963 by actor Dan Blocker, who portrayed “Hoss Cartwright” on TV's “Bonanza”...the first one opened in Westport, Connecticut. Ponderosa Steakhouses followed in 1965, named after the Cartwright's massive property, but not founded by Blocker. The first one opened in Indiana.

Without going through all the legal bull, let's just say that these days there are NO Bonanza Steakhouses left in Michigan. However, there are a few Ponderosas still around...you can find 'em in:
Bay City
Clare
Coldwater
Ludington
Mount Pleasant

The ones in Coldwater and Ludington reportedly closed and re-opened, but who knows by the time you read this.....stuff happens. So if ya wanna re-live that steakhouse experience, get to one while you still can!

BONANZA & PONDEROSA STEAKHOUSES

 

 

THANKS TO:
Ponderosa/Bonanza

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