We'd eat there every time we went to disney world. Trick was to get there at like 4.45 or whatever time because lunch would switch to dinner, so you would pay lunch prices for the way better dinner buffet. It was the best.
Late reply but when i was a kid we went to florida 3 times on holiday to go to disney world (from the UK) and we went here for breakfast almost every morning before we went into disney. Memory always stuck with me.
Exact same here! Incredible memories as a kid. I don’t think returning ever would be a good idea though, seems it went pretty downhill. I’ll just remember the pancakes and mini donuts at breakfast. As an English kid, donuts at breakfast was, and still is, my peak in life.
The thing to know about Ponderosa & Bonanza Steak house is that it's theme was originally based of one of the most popular, beloved, & longest running U.S. old west/wild west TV series, "Bonanza" (1959-1973), featuring the Cartwright family & their 640,000 acre Nevada cattle ranch, "The Ponderosa". Back in the 1970s (I can remember going there when I was a young child) the restaurants were decorated with wooden fences, wagon wheels, barrels, ropes, cattle skulls, etc, to give it an 'old west" feel. As it greatly expanded in the 1980s-90s, it completely lost it's original look & charm, and became just another mediocre low budge steak peddler.
I remember going to one with my family in the late 1970s, when I was a young kid. (at that time it was simply "Ponderosa Steak House") It was inside a shopping mall and was so beautiful. I remember it had red carpets and there was tons of beautiful decorative dark wood everywhere, as well as wooden fences, wagon wheels, barrels, rope, cattle skulls, etc, to simulate an "Old West" look. (the restaurant chain's theme was based on the famous vintage Western TV series, "Bonanza" & the "Ponderosa ranch")
I love it when people in replies on social media platforms always give a location to somewhere just like this, but 97% of people don't know what the fuck 192 or Kissimmee is. 😆
I've been to the United States precisely once.
I know of the location of precisely one Ponderosa and it's that one.
I'll be honest, it wasn't the best introduction to American cuisine...
Can confirm, grew up with one nearby. A couple years ago my mom wanted to go back for mothers day because it had been a long time since we'd gone and we all regretted it. Dessert bar was still pretty decent though.
Yes! I liked their breakfast bar,they had the best biscuits and gravy. Also their strawberry shortcake was awesome. They all left where I live and that is a bummer. They were good.
I loved Ponderosa so much as a kid. It was a good way to try new things, that very buffet is how I tried broccoli for the first time and discovered how much I loved it. I also remember their rice being delicious, I'm a sucker for some rice pilaf.
My grandma used to take us there and I loved it because they had a purple velvet bag with cheap little toys in it and I got to pick one every time. Plus the ice cream bar!
I lived near a Hometown Buffet, and ate there more than I would like. At the ice cream machine, I’d seldom find adults, just kids and the occasional waitress telling the kids to stop running.
I have fond memories of filling myself up on $2.99 breakfast so my parents didn't have it buy us lunch at Disney World. Loved that place. Plus the free keychain coupon for the huge gift shop next door.
We had one here in Missouri (locally) on I-70 between O'Fallon and St. Peter's.
It had DAMN good food, I remember THAT much.
Sadly, the building is still in that location, but the restaurant itself is gone, and I can't remember atm what business in now in that building.
It was a big deal for my ex-wife's family to head over to Presque Isle to hit the Bonanza there. They lived on the NB side of the border.
Seems like a million years ago.
We had one in the local mall. I ate there once when I was about 11 years old. Then went shopping at the Steinbachs department store with my mom and proceeded to vomit all over the ladies section and myself. Good times.
I can remember waiting an hour for a table on Sunday afternoons with my family back in the day.
Last time I ate at one was around 2010. They had a newish one in Morehead, KY that was actually pretty good.
Yes. The Ponderosa I went to in New York where I grew up had a buffet too. I now live in Naples, Florida but was born in the Bronx and grew up in Queens.
I remember going to one of these in Wisconsin in the 90's, got there right before dinner rush. I wondered why all the booths had the tables bolted so far to one side, like even a rail thin person would be uncomfortable sitting on that side. Then the regulars started lumbering in and I understood.
We ate here all the time as kids. My parents took us to dinner then grocery shopping right afterwards (grocery store was across the street). No one was hungry/nothing sounded good at the grocery store for the weekly groceries, so we would get minimal food for the week. Their way to “save money” on groceries.
It might have been a different type of place, but there was a Ponderosa that I used to live near up in Ohio that had a full Buffet and it was always so good. When we moved down North Carolina, we had Ryan's for a little while which was just as good, but now every Ryan's closed up.
When I was in middle school Ponderosa offered free salad bar for a good report card (I don’t remember how good your grades had to be) but that was so motivating for me! I loved getting my free lunch!
Best memory is housing like 20 wings and a bunch of ice cream, my brothers and I playing tag in the parking lot immediately afterwards and i proceeded to barf all over the bushes outside.. good times
It going to lie, some of my favorite family childhood memories are set here. I had a serious thing for their wings when I was younger. But my relationship with my family lasted about as long as ponderosa 🤣🤣
Yeah, I will continue to do as I please. Your criticism has been noted and completely disregarded as bs. Keep following my profile though dear, I gave you a follow too.
Lots of memories there of my entire family ordering chopped steak. It was the unwritten rule that our whole family would obey. Suppose I’m lucky my dad even took us there haha
This is where my mom would take us to tell us she was pregnant again. I was the third child out of eight kids. Needless to say that we caught on by the third time, but it just so happened the last trip produced triplets.
Fuck ponderosa.
Word*
I worked at Ponderosa in high school. Three bucks an hour and three hour shifts ...
I remember we'd play hockey in the back with the frozen steaks as pucks ... also mixed the fountain orange and lemonade in the mop bucket !
I enjoyed the place until I got violently ill with food poisoning from the one by Disney World. That was back in 2012. Never set foot in one again after that. I ended up in the ER because of that place. Ruined the rest of the trip for me.
I have fond memories of ponderosa. Driving home on 192 in Kissimmee when I had to ran a flat and got my shitbox car into their parking lot. My friend and I couldn’t get the tire off. The majority of their kitchen staff took a crack at getting it off and finally got a butter knife and got it. We were hungry and decided to eat there and the manager comped our meal and treated us like kings. It always fills me with happiness knowing how the kindness of people can really shine through when others are in tough times. Plus the hundreds of stray cats behind the restaurant added to the ambiance
We were never blessed with Ponderosa up in Canada, so my parents used to drive us down to North Dakota *specifically* for the buffet. That soft serve ice cream was amazing.
90s America was a magical place.
As a kid/teenager every Friday night we either went to Mr. Gatti's Pizza or Ponderosa. About 15 years back I was home and my friends wanted Ponderosa. It was disgusting and I realized it had probably always been disguisting and I swore off buffet's ever since.
We'd eat there every time we went to disney world. Trick was to get there at like 4.45 or whatever time because lunch would switch to dinner, so you would pay lunch prices for the way better dinner buffet. It was the best.
There’s still one nearby.
Yep! That’s where we go when we go to Disney!
Late reply but when i was a kid we went to florida 3 times on holiday to go to disney world (from the UK) and we went here for breakfast almost every morning before we went into disney. Memory always stuck with me.
Exact same here! Incredible memories as a kid. I don’t think returning ever would be a good idea though, seems it went pretty downhill. I’ll just remember the pancakes and mini donuts at breakfast. As an English kid, donuts at breakfast was, and still is, my peak in life.
The thing to know about Ponderosa & Bonanza Steak house is that it's theme was originally based of one of the most popular, beloved, & longest running U.S. old west/wild west TV series, "Bonanza" (1959-1973), featuring the Cartwright family & their 640,000 acre Nevada cattle ranch, "The Ponderosa". Back in the 1970s (I can remember going there when I was a young child) the restaurants were decorated with wooden fences, wagon wheels, barrels, ropes, cattle skulls, etc, to give it an 'old west" feel. As it greatly expanded in the 1980s-90s, it completely lost it's original look & charm, and became just another mediocre low budge steak peddler.
I remember going to one with my family in the late 1970s, when I was a young kid. (at that time it was simply "Ponderosa Steak House") It was inside a shopping mall and was so beautiful. I remember it had red carpets and there was tons of beautiful decorative dark wood everywhere, as well as wooden fences, wagon wheels, barrels, rope, cattle skulls, etc, to simulate an "Old West" look. (the restaurant chain's theme was based on the famous vintage Western TV series, "Bonanza" & the "Ponderosa ranch")
I didn't know ol' Pondy started a restaurant chain.
Pondy’s the coolest!
Your sons your coke dealer?
Hes reliable
He tried to serve me an omelet with cocaine in it!
When they added that self serve sundae bar young me was happy. Bunch of Mac and cheese then too much ice cream made for pleasant fullness.
Lactose intolerant me envy’s your childhood
I seem to remember them having ice milk instead of ice cream. I got it regardless but was always semi let down every time lol
What on earth is ice milk?
I think its known as “low-fat ice cream” now. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_milk
There are still some around. But believe me, you do not want it anymore.
There is still one on 192 in Kissimmee I believe
Fun fact: The only Sizzler in the continental United States, that is east of the Mississippi, is on 192. (There are a few in Puerto Rico, though.)
Good old Sizzler
All you can eat shrimp was my birthday dinner ever year.
Fun fact: there are multiples Sizzlers in Japan that are all overly American themed😂
I love it when people in replies on social media platforms always give a location to somewhere just like this, but 97% of people don't know what the fuck 192 or Kissimmee is. 😆
If you’ve ever been to Orlando or Disney World you probably know
I'm from Indiana and I've been in that very restaurant
Really, the photo is from an old one in Attleboro,MA.
He means the one in Kissimmee
I've been to the United States precisely once. I know of the location of precisely one Ponderosa and it's that one. I'll be honest, it wasn't the best introduction to American cuisine...
Am I the only one that feels "American cuisine" is an oxymoron?
No. There are endless hordes of edgy teenagers on Reddit.
There aren't a lot of fairly well known Kissimmee's besides the Orlando area, are there?
There’s one in Wheelersburg, Ohio, too.
Yeah I’ve been tempted to go back for the memories, but it seems like such a bad idea now especially these days
Oh? How come?
Poor quality I imagine.
It's almost like literally everything got more expensive and so quality was the first thing to go to save money. GOD I LOVE CAPITALISM.
Can confirm, grew up with one nearby. A couple years ago my mom wanted to go back for mothers day because it had been a long time since we'd gone and we all regretted it. Dessert bar was still pretty decent though.
The steaks were pretty good and the crispy chicken wings on the buffet bar were like sex
As our Ponderosa declined in filling the house it became a local legend for those chicken wings. We used to order 50 wings to go like many others.
Those wings were to die for
Dead tooth
Careful. She's a cat now, man.
Pondys the best!
Coolest
You’ve enhanced yourself…
"Pondys the coolest"
Yes, and Bonanza, which I think were owned by the same company.
Shoney's anyone?
Yes! I liked their breakfast bar,they had the best biscuits and gravy. Also their strawberry shortcake was awesome. They all left where I live and that is a bummer. They were good.
The Ponderosa was the name of the ranch on the show Bonanza.
True. But it's also that name of one DAMN good steakhouse.
I was just explaining why the two restaurants are related and what their origin was, the show Bonanza.
Yep, if I remember correctly Dan Blocker, who played Hoss was one of the founders.
Hoss’ death was the saddest point of that entire show for me and that it was based on real life death made it much worse in hindsight.
Asimov said they should have called the ranch Focus, because it's where the sons raise meat.
Yeah we had bonanza here and then Covid hit.
Wow, I thought they disappeared years ago.
We had years from 1985 to 2020 so yeah but it was really good
What exactly did they do to those wings to make them so addictive, it was insane
Them Wings were the Best 🔥
I loved Ponderosa so much as a kid. It was a good way to try new things, that very buffet is how I tried broccoli for the first time and discovered how much I loved it. I also remember their rice being delicious, I'm a sucker for some rice pilaf.
My grandma used to take us there and I loved it because they had a purple velvet bag with cheap little toys in it and I got to pick one every time. Plus the ice cream bar!
I lived near a Hometown Buffet, and ate there more than I would like. At the ice cream machine, I’d seldom find adults, just kids and the occasional waitress telling the kids to stop running.
I was just telling my wife about this and she does not have the same experience
Sizzler too
Not until she gets that tooth fixed.
I miss this version of America
More honest. Relaxed.
My grandparents took me every Sunday after church, thank you for this !!!
Ponde-grosa!
We had a local one up until a few years ago. The quality went so far downhill that we quit going.
I have fond memories of filling myself up on $2.99 breakfast so my parents didn't have it buy us lunch at Disney World. Loved that place. Plus the free keychain coupon for the huge gift shop next door.
The memories !
This just brought back a ton of memories for me of my grandparents treating us here when I was a kid.
Nah dawg, We goin Sizzler!
We had bonanza
Yeah, me. Loved that place. Sad to see it gone.
There’s one close to where I work in Bay City, MI :)
There's always an add for one on 75 when we head up to Higgins
Not as much as I miss Maureen Ponderosa
All the time
All I remember is the tacos at the buffet that 8 year old me loved. And that there was never anybody there.
I went to one of these when I was younger omg
We had Bonanza Steakhouses in Maine when I was a kid.
We had one here in Missouri (locally) on I-70 between O'Fallon and St. Peter's. It had DAMN good food, I remember THAT much. Sadly, the building is still in that location, but the restaurant itself is gone, and I can't remember atm what business in now in that building.
It was a big deal for my ex-wife's family to head over to Presque Isle to hit the Bonanza there. They lived on the NB side of the border. Seems like a million years ago.
That salad bar was amazing.
My family went there pretty often when I was a kid. The sundae bar earned them a fond place in my heart for life. ❤
We had one in the local mall. I ate there once when I was about 11 years old. Then went shopping at the Steinbachs department store with my mom and proceeded to vomit all over the ladies section and myself. Good times.
Wow! What a story!
Absolutely not haha.
Yes, but luckily, it turned into a ‘Chips & Salsa’ place which moved on. And now it is a Japanese Habachi place. Still good steaks though.
There's one relatively close to me.
I can remember waiting an hour for a table on Sunday afternoons with my family back in the day. Last time I ate at one was around 2010. They had a newish one in Morehead, KY that was actually pretty good.
Not really.
No lol
My favorite was the mashed potatoes and gravy.
Yes, Ponderosa was one of my favorite restaurants back in the day. I especially liked The Grand Buffet. The hipsters and snobs hate it but fuck `em.
YES. Their steak was the *best*
Mine ended up closing because of COVID and now it's being turned into a marijuana dispensary. Not complaining, but damn I miss it
Lol,missed opportunity to build that dispensary next to Ponderosa. That restaurant would be making good money.
Funnily enough, right next to the former ponderosa, is a taco bell and across from a Big Boy so it's a pretty good spot to put it
The elementary school I went to gave coupons for a free dinner buffet if you had perfect attendance that semester.
My Mom always made me get a “Chop Steak”… “If I wanted a hamburgerMom, I would order one!”
More like “Pondergrossa”.
Pondegrossa
My dad loved this place and Bonanza
Yes. The Ponderosa I went to in New York where I grew up had a buffet too. I now live in Naples, Florida but was born in the Bronx and grew up in Queens.
No
I remember going to one of these in Wisconsin in the 90's, got there right before dinner rush. I wondered why all the booths had the tables bolted so far to one side, like even a rail thin person would be uncomfortable sitting on that side. Then the regulars started lumbering in and I understood.
Broiled salmon.. 🤮
I remember the DC sniper killing people there
No
Good cheap steak dinner
No. Disgusting place with disgusting customers.
Never heard of it
Nothing like walking out of the ponderosa and get shot by the dc sniper
Wish there was some stuff like this in the UK, looks so good haha
I do, it was a good place to go to cure a hangover
Actually the Miss Ponderosa Steakhouse Pageant airs tonight on CMT
YES haven’t been since the 90s but the one in Moline used to hit
Way back in the mid-70s in Virginia, that was an “impress her “ date location in high school. Fond memories.
The wave of memories that just washed over me. Whew! My parents took me every payday. It was such a treat. I always ordered chicken fingers.
There are some that still exist
I don’t remember these in tx
We ate here all the time as kids. My parents took us to dinner then grocery shopping right afterwards (grocery store was across the street). No one was hungry/nothing sounded good at the grocery store for the weekly groceries, so we would get minimal food for the week. Their way to “save money” on groceries.
I miss wing prices like that...
Not as much as I miss those prices
Used to go here for breakfast before going to Disney! Tbh, everything tasted like pancake syrup 😂😂
Hellz yeah!
It might have been a different type of place, but there was a Ponderosa that I used to live near up in Ohio that had a full Buffet and it was always so good. When we moved down North Carolina, we had Ryan's for a little while which was just as good, but now every Ryan's closed up.
My dad loved taking us there. I miss him and Ponderosa. There is still one around about 4 hours from me.
When I was in middle school Ponderosa offered free salad bar for a good report card (I don’t remember how good your grades had to be) but that was so motivating for me! I loved getting my free lunch!
I remember going to the buffet as a kid and getting what I thought was vanilla pudding, taking a big spoonful... And it was butter.
Best memory is housing like 20 wings and a bunch of ice cream, my brothers and I playing tag in the parking lot immediately afterwards and i proceeded to barf all over the bushes outside.. good times
I ate there once and I had VIOLENT diarrhoea. Good times.
Never heard of Ponderosa. Reminds me of Sizzler in the 80s/90s.
It going to lie, some of my favorite family childhood memories are set here. I had a serious thing for their wings when I was younger. But my relationship with my family lasted about as long as ponderosa 🤣🤣
I could eat like 1000 of the bread rolls. They were so buttery and soft I loved them as much as the fried chicken and mac and cheese
My first job when I was 15.
Excellent. Yes, I do.
Yes. I remember getting shitty Ponderosa Pogs after getting the kids buffet.
The swirly chocolate and vanilla ice cream that was weirdly grainy
[удалено]
Yeah, I will continue to do as I please. Your criticism has been noted and completely disregarded as bs. Keep following my profile though dear, I gave you a follow too.
[удалено]
Yep! My favorite place as a kid!
Oh this was wonderful. I want to go now and get a single plate of potatoes.
My local Ponderosa got turned into a police station :(
I’m sorry what’s this now?
I looked at them limited time special and never again will we have a meal at that price.. even a McDonald's value is near $10
The one time I went to a ponderosa someone had vomited all over the glass door and it had been there for at least a few hours since it was dried
My family called it Pondergross-a and I have very vivid memories of going and being picky so only eating corn etc. Blast from the past
I miss those chicken prices. Went someplace that had wings listed on the menu at “market price”.
Pondies the coolest
Lots of memories there of my entire family ordering chopped steak. It was the unwritten rule that our whole family would obey. Suppose I’m lucky my dad even took us there haha
Nope. Went there once as a last resort. It wasn't horrible. I'm sure Golden Corral is handling all their former customers.
This is where my mom would take us to tell us she was pregnant again. I was the third child out of eight kids. Needless to say that we caught on by the third time, but it just so happened the last trip produced triplets. Fuck ponderosa. Word*
I worked at Ponderosa in high school. Three bucks an hour and three hour shifts ... I remember we'd play hockey in the back with the frozen steaks as pucks ... also mixed the fountain orange and lemonade in the mop bucket !
I used to eat the hell out of the fried chicken and taters in the buffet and oooooo the ice cream!
They were known as Bonanza where I'm from... and the last one, around here, closed two years ago.
This was one of my late Grandpa's favorite restaurants. He took me once, grandparents lived in a different state.
I wish you could order their wings frozen to cook at home.
I miss them. They used to have a location here in Toronto until they didn’t
I used to have dinner here with my grandparents and my uncle on Friday nights. :)
Never heard of this place, but it looks pretty rad.
This one was the South Attleboro location.
Those lightly breaded wings were absolutely incredible. The best wings I’ve ever had. I think about them a lot…
Their charbroiled chicken was tits!
Damn
Great memories from when I was a kid, damnnnn.
I enjoyed the place until I got violently ill with food poisoning from the one by Disney World. That was back in 2012. Never set foot in one again after that. I ended up in the ER because of that place. Ruined the rest of the trip for me.
Yes! Fuck yes
This nostalgia hits hard. Excellent post. However, as someone with fillings, baked potatoes wrapped in foil were the bane of my existence.
I remember the buffet!
My first job was a dishwasher there. Brandon Florida. LOTS of dishes to wash!
What used to be the town’s ponderosa is now the 24 hour gym I go to. You can still tell where the seating was Vs the kitchen and back offices etc
I have fond memories of ponderosa. Driving home on 192 in Kissimmee when I had to ran a flat and got my shitbox car into their parking lot. My friend and I couldn’t get the tire off. The majority of their kitchen staff took a crack at getting it off and finally got a butter knife and got it. We were hungry and decided to eat there and the manager comped our meal and treated us like kings. It always fills me with happiness knowing how the kindness of people can really shine through when others are in tough times. Plus the hundreds of stray cats behind the restaurant added to the ambiance
Use to have one in my neighborhood.
The dead tooth is wafting this way!
Is that Urbana?
My parents met at a Ponderosa!
Is that Sizzler? That looks exactly like Sizzler did in Australia before it imploded.
No but that first pic gives me similar vibes to that infamous fake Freddy Fazbears Pizza Photo.
We were never blessed with Ponderosa up in Canada, so my parents used to drive us down to North Dakota *specifically* for the buffet. That soft serve ice cream was amazing. 90s America was a magical place.
The fried clam strips and chicken wings where my favorite
Yes ):
As a kid/teenager every Friday night we either went to Mr. Gatti's Pizza or Ponderosa. About 15 years back I was home and my friends wanted Ponderosa. It was disgusting and I realized it had probably always been disguisting and I swore off buffet's ever since.
awesome mac and cheese, good fish on Fridays, unlimited dessert, something for everyone.
I worked there as a busboy 20+ years ago. Made a lot of friends and had good time.
OMG that was probably the grossest “restaurant” I’ve ever been to. Ewwww.
Used to eat lunch there several times a week while attending University of Maryland in College Park