SADDLE UP FOR STEAK DEALS AMID CHARM OF OLD WEST.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

It's a lot better than bunkhouse food ever was.

Corrigan's Steak House in Thousand Oaks may be a step backward in time, a woody tribute to the Old West as depicted by Hollywood, but it turns out some of the tastiest, juiciest, moderately priced slabs of beefsteak in either the old or new or in-between West, that's for darn sure.

Owners Marilyn and Tom Corrigan - Tom the son of late stuntman-actor Ray ``Crash'' Corrigan, who founded the onetime movie theme park Corriganville - actually began Corrigan's in the Park Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks in 1982. In 1989 the Corrigans jumped at the chance to purchase the property where a French restaurant, Le Normandie, had operated. And there the Western-themed steak house stands today.

If you think it's a stretch, transforming a country French place into a Western steakery, you're dead wrong, buckaroos.

Corrigan's Steak House, with its open wood beams, fully wheeled hanging rig, antlers, horns and loads of cowboy memorabilia, looks like it could have been designed by Luke Short or Louis L'Amour.

As for its steaks, they pass all the requirements.

Even an ordinary steak sandwich ($8.95) at lunchtime offers a thick, oval-shaped piece of charred beef of extraordinary flavor, requisite moistness and not one single strand of stringy gristle.

Add the crunchy house garlic bread, plump ranch fries and freshly made onion rings in a feathery soft batter, and you've got a hands-down winner.

If you're into big steaks, the tops are tops here. The full-pound top sirloin will set you back a mere $13.95 at lunch, $18.95 at dinner. For a 1 1/4-pound steak of the same cut, it's $16.95 at lunch, $22.95 at dinner.

One customer who is very picky about her steaks chose the 17-ounce ribeye cooked rare one night and was as happy as a lark, getting herself a thick, juicy, boneless prime rib exactly as ordered for $18.95.

If an under-$20 ribeye of that size seems like a great deal, how about a just-as-satisfying New York - weighing a full pound - for the same price.

As for accompaniments, because its steaks are generally so good, I personally forgive Corrigan's for leaving foil wrapped around its baked potatoes, something I usually consider an absolute negative.

But Corrigan's kitchen expertise certainly goes further than cooking superior steaks. A bowl of similarly superior chili with a slice of cheese, chopped onions and toasted garlic bread ($3.25) provides a gratifying side dish, appetizer or snack. Corrigan's is one of the few restaurants left that still offers a chili size ($7.95 on the lunch menu), which old-timers will remember as basically a steak-size slab of hamburger topped with chili.

From the ocean-fare side of the menu, there are plenty of choices, too. Shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab legs, clams, whitefish and salmon appear on the bill of fare along with a catch of the day (one day recently it was mahi-mahi).

My favorite is scalone ($10.95 at lunch, $13.95 at dinner), the processed scallops and abalone filet that here is lightly batter-coated and comes forth fantastically fluffy and delicious.

The kitchen puts it with thick or thin fries and one of the creamiest cole slaws you've ever tasted.

As for endings, nothing original in desserts, just a handful of mundane cake options ($3.75 each).

Maybe there's something more apropos, like a house-produced, whiskey- laced bread pudding somewhere in Corrigan's future.

Maybe not.

But meanwhile, those slabs of beef are as big a draw as iron filings to a magnet.

Giddyup steak lovers, giddyup.

CORRIGAN'S STEAK HOUSE

Food: Three and one half stars. Wine: Two stars. Service: Three stars.

Where: 556 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

Hours: Open for breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, for dinner from 5 to 10:30 p.m. nightly.

Recommended items: Steaks (top sirloin, New York, ribeye, filet), chili, scalone, garlic bread, onion rings.

How much: Starters from $3 to $12, entrees from $9 to $23, desserts $3.75 each. Full bar. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Interesting one-page list of low-priced wines with full bottles as low as $11 (J. Roget Brut bubbly) and no higher than $32 for a pouilly fuisse by Louis Jadot. No vintage dates, though. But 16 bottles are ticketed at $20 or less. Wines by the glass run from $3.75 to $5.50. Corkage: $8.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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Photo:

Co-owner Tom Corrigan offers well-prepared steaks for surprisingly moderate prices at his western-themed Corrigan's Steak House in Thousand Oaks.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News