The Barn Door has been serving San Antonio for more than 50 years; we’re not quite sure why. So let’s tick off some possibilities. First among them is the place: it sprawls, it rambles, it changes levels and thematic direction, it boasts a chest full of pies, another of serious-looking steaks…Those steaks might be reason number two—assuming you get a big-butt cut and order it no more than medium rare. Tradition surely ranks number three: San Antonio is notorious for latching onto a place and never letting go.

But someone stepping in off the street for the first time might be excused for expressing skepticism once the super-chilled (but fresh) salad and warm (but unremarkable) rolls hit the checkered oilcloth. The salad is colorful, the house green-garlic dressing passable, but there won’t be much time to dwell on its merits; service can be of the I’m-eager-to-get-out-of-here school. So, wham, bam, there’s the day’s ribeye special with “Burgundy” mushroom sauce. The aroma that emanates is of jug-quality wine not cooked long enough; the mushrooms seem canned. Since this steak is not one of the beauties on display, its lack of heft mitigates against the requested medium-rare, but the flavor’s not bad once the sauce is 86’ed. The potatoes are very pale and very puréed, the steamed vegetables punitively plain, but a side of chunky hashbrowns redeems the meal. If it’s pecan pie you want next, make sure the server doesn’t heat it to magma. Coconut cream is safer.