OST (Old Spanish Trail) Restaurant - Bandera, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 43.475 W 099° 04.268
14R E 493120 N 3288269
An old neon marquee on top of the O.S.T. (Old Spanish Trail) Tex-Mex restaurant in the heart of Bandera, Texas.
Waymark Code: WMRTWK
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/04/2016
Views: 7
The city of Bandera, situated in the Texas Hill Country, is known as the "Cowboy Capital of the World". Per a Texas historical marker not too far from this establishment: "The tradition of the Texas cowboy originated from northern Mexico with the vaqueros, individuals mounted on horseback who herded livestock, mainly cattle, through the open prairie. These men became legends in Bandera County. The City of Bandera became known as a cowboy town for recreation and obtaining supplies. Boys learned how to ride horses and drive cattle at a young age to earn wages on the ranches. The Western Cattle Trail extended from Mexico through Texas and up to the Canadian border and from 1874 to 1894, it is estimated that thirty thousand cowboys drove seven to ten million longhorns and one million horses through the trail using Bandera as a staging area."
It is therefore not surprising to find references to the "Old Spanish Trail" within this city, including this particular Tex-Mex diner in a historical building: the "OST" was a proposed route designated by civic leaders across the southern U.S. who wished to improve highway access in 1915.
This restaurant is one of the last remaining original eateries along the route and, despite the construction of IH-10 which became the de-facto Old Spanish Trail route about 20 miles North of here, the O.S.T. Diner still draws hungry crowds daily, particularly for lunch. The quirky “John Wayne Room” is a favorite sit-down section as are the saddle-topped counter stools where you can enjoy your chicken fried steak without ever having to exit the stirrups.
Here is one of several good reads about this restaurant available online, per "
Texas Bob Eats".