“The story of the West Texas Millionaires' Burger”
In the year of our Lord 1878, just a hair after the arrival of the telephone, and a glimmer before the invention of the iconic light bulb, Texas cattle baron Sam Caliber was busy working on his on "next big thing." Always looking to expand his empire, Sam had forty head of Hereford Cattle shipped by train to his sprawling West Texas ranch near Langtry. Prior to this time ranchers were running longhorns across the desert from Mexico. Word soon spread throughout the West about this exciting new beef and its soon-to-be-legendary flavor. Barbecues at the Caliber Ranch became the most talked about event, with folks traveling hundreds of miles with hope of merely a taste. Sam realized a burger made with this new meat, mixed with a few secret spices, would bring him yet another fortune. Late in 1882, with the barbecue crowd getting out of hand, Sam decided to head for Tombstone, AZ for some R&R & renewed inspiration. He quickly fell in with some new friends, the Earp Brothers, and an eccentric dentist - one "Doc" Holiday. Of most historic importance, however, was the romance he struck up with local restaurateur & social worker, Nellie Cashman. Nellie had her eye on the newly-arrived Texas Millionaire from the moment he walked into her establishment, the "Russ House," for some of the fine eating Sam heard talk of as far East as Jasper.
The Texas Millionaire and the pretty lady made quite a couple and were quickly the talk of the town. Oddly, life in Tombstone was not as peaceful as Sam had hoped. He was soon encouraged to leave town - some say at gun point, others say of his own volition - but as a parting gift he gave Nellie the recipe for his now famous West Texas Burger. Nellie went on to make, sell, and give away thousands of these mouth-watering burgers to hundreds of ravenous miners, gunfighters, and just plain ordinary folk before packing up suddenly one night under the cover of darkness, and heading to the Yukon, taking the burger and its secrets with her.
The recipe was thought lost forever until just last year when it was miraculously discovered at the Cochise County Court House among long-ago-filed-away eyewitness accounts of the infamous OK Corral gunfight. Many of these witnesses reported being torn between finishing their burger and ducking for cover. Great-great-grandson Sam Caliber IV was soon found in Texas and the newly-recovered recipe was returned to its rightful heir. As tribute to his love of their music, the young Sam granted Dan Simonis of the "West Texas Millionaires" the recipe's exclusive rights. Simonis then turned to The Bisbee Grille to help him resurrect its legendary taste. So, straight from Texas, via Tombstone, and now part of the Bisbee experience, we are proud to introduce to you for the first time in over one hundred years, the legendary West Texas Millionaires' Burger!
"This is the West, Sir. When the legend becomes fact. Print the legend."
-- as relayed by Dan Simonis, 31 January 2011.
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