Ponderosa Steakhouse Locations Locator Map and Directory

From Wikipedia

Ponderosa Steakhouse(see Ponderosa (restaurant)) and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants. They are two of the most franchised subsidiaries of Metromedia Restaurant Group.

Unlike other chains with two names like Checkers/Rally's, which uses only one of the names in a given region, restaurants in a given region could be named either Bonanza or Ponderosa. This is because Bonanza and Ponderosa were separate companies, which were later merged together under MetroMedia - so the names overlap depending on who had restaurants where prior to merger.[1]

The names of the restaurants are derived from the classic TV series Bonanza, which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch. In fact, the Bonanza chain was started by Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza.[2]

Menu

Patrons have several options to choose from, including steaks, seafood, and chicken entrees. Occasionally, the company will run special promotions, such as "All you can eat shrimp". All entrees come with the buffet, as well as choice of potato.

A lunch menu is also served. While patrons can choose a dinner entree at any time, the lunch menu also includes sandwiches, as well as specially-priced lunch portions of the dinner entrees. The sandwiches typically only come with choice of potato; entrees are served with the buffet.

The chain features Pepsi products and also have a proprietary recipe of steak sauce.

[edit] Buffet

Buffets at the restaurants are typically divided into four different sections:

* Salad bar: Contains fruits, several premade salads, as well as an array of ingredients with which patrons can build their own salad.

* Hot food bar: Has a variety of side dishes such as green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and rice pilaf, as well as several entree items not included on the menu, such as fried chicken and meatloaf. The gourmet chicken wings have been described as among the best in the world.

* Soup bar: Each restaurant offers several different soups to choose from, along with an assortment of crackers.

* Dessert bar: The dessert bar features soft-serve ice cream with appropriate toppings, as well as desserts such as apple crisp and bread pudding. Prior to the mid-1990s, restaurants did not have the hot food bar; instead using a long salad bar referred to as "Freshtastiks".