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Decades before chefs like Ronnie Killen, Chris Shepherd, and others perfected the art of steak in Houston, Sonny Look's Sir Loin locations were the place to dig into a small slab of beef in style for a special occasion, or a night on the town.

Check out the prices on one of its menus from 1968, seen below. The cost of high-quality of food in Houston has gone up quite a bit since Sir Loin House's heyday. These days a steak dinner done right for one person at most high-end Houston steak churches like Pappas Bros. or Vic & Anthony's can cost hundreds of dollars.

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Look's Sir Loin, complete with a British motif inside and out, had two locations. One in the 6100 block of Westheimer where The Palm Houston is currently located, and another in the 9800 block of Main which appears to now be a vacant lot. Real white horses stabled nearby were used out front to entice customers, and set the medieval mood with knights mounted on them.

Photo: LostWorldPaper On EBay

The steak portion of the menu even features estimated cooking times for each side of meat. A 16-ounce "Sir-Loin" would run a diner just $8.95. A so-called "Ladies"-sized steak was just 8 ounces while a "Man's"-sized steak was 12 ounces.

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All entrees came with pumpernickel or French bread, five kinds of whipped butter, a romaine salad, and potato side of the diner's choice.

The kid's menu even had a tiny, four-ounce filet mignon for $1.75. According to one recollection kids could get special certificates if they cleaned their plates. Family photos could be taken in the lobby and would be mailed to the family later, compliments of the house.

Photo: LostWorldPaper On EBay

The beverage menu notes set ups for liquors starting at 50 cents because "liquor by the drink" was not made legal in Texas until April 1971. If a diner wanted to drink the hard stuff at the table they had to bring it themselves in a brown bag.

The vintage menu is currently on sale on eBay by the LostWorldPaper store.

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Also in the eBay store are menus from Sonny Look's Depot Restaurant and Parlor Car, which was a restaurant in old Market Square at 212 Milam that was housed inside a real train car that Look had hauled into downtown Houston. This location is now a Chase Bank drive-thru.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

On the menu is a spectacular "Lobsteer" item -- a broiled African lobster and a six-ounce tenderloin steak, lemon butter, romaine salad, and a baked potato for just $8.95.

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As for Sonny Look he remains known as one of Houston's finest restaurant owners and champions of the city itself, even jumping into the hotel industry. Look was also one of the founders of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau a lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

A former cook in the U.S. Navy, the Brenham native would reportedly loan customers the sport coat off his back so they could be in dress code at his restaurants. Other Look projects included Don Quixote, and several Bar-B-Q Barns. All traces of the restaurants would be gone by the '90s.

Houston History Magazine published an excellent profile on the late restaurateur in 2012.

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message