The Cattlemen’s is where the cowboys go. It’s all Stetsons and boots, lean legs in jeans, and buttocks so hard you could bounce bullets off them. The customers here are sun-baked and sinewy: when they’re not sipping a cold one at the Cattlemen’s long counter or in one of its dark-red booths, they can usually be found back on the ranch, roping cattle and wrestling steer. Shake their hands and you’ll hear your own bones crunch.

Located in Stockyards City, three miles west of downtown Oklahoma City, the Cattlemen’s is just round the corner from the largest stocker and feeder cattle market in the world. Anyone wishing to catch themselves a cowboy should stroll by on a Monday or Tuesday for these are market days and, after a hard day’s trading, the Cattlemen’s is packed. Ranchers, horsemen, cattle haulers and auctioneers all congregate here for a chilled 22-ounce bottle of Double Deuce beer or a plate of prime steak.

The fathers and grandfathers of the cowboys that prop up the bar would once have come here too, for the Cattlemen’s is the oldest continually operating restaurant in Oklahoma. It opened for business in 1910 and soon became popular as one of the few joints in town that stayed open after sundown; during the years of prohibition   the place became known for its 'liquid delights'.

Then, in 1945, the Cattlemen’s changed hands in spectacular fashion. Its owner was a gambling man named Hank Fry. One night, in a smoke-filled room at the old Biltmore Hotel in downtown Oklahoma, Fry was playing dice with a local rancher, Gene Wade. Down on his luck and desperate for money, Fry told Wade that if he could throw a “hard six” he’d hand over his business. Wade staked his life savings in return, then rolled two threes. The Cattlemen’s was his.

Since that momentous night, all sorts have rolled through the doors. John Wayne came here once; so did George Bush senior and Reba McIntyre. The walls are crammed with pencil portraits of rodeo greats and country singers, movie stars and politicians who have bent an elbow at the Cattlemen’s, alongside sepia photographs of the stockyards in bygone times. And if you fear you lack the cojones to drink among such famous faces and ranch-hardened roisterers, don’t worry: you can order them up from the kitchen. Together with the calves’ brains with scrambled eggs and the aged steaks for which the Cattlemen’s is famous, the menu features lambs’ fries – that’s to say, deep-fried, breadcrumbed testicles. Trust me, they’re delicious.

Getting there: The Cattlemen’s Steakhouse is at 1309 S. Agnew Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73108; tel: +1 405 236 0416. It’s also well worth a visit to the cattle auction round the corner. Go to www.stockyardscity.org for more information. Cattle auctions take place every Monday and Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. The public are welcome – just make sure you sit very still. You don’t want to find yourself trying to fit twenty steer into your luggage on the way home.