Stetsons and spurs might soon outpace slickers and sou'westers here in America's oldest seaport.

At least, it might happen when Ken Taliadoros' new herd of cattle rustles in the other half of "surf and turf."

Taliadoros is now the proud owner of two locally-renowned bovines that for years have resided at the Hilltop Steakhouse in Braintree.

At an auction Thursday, Taliadoros went head-to-head with at least two other local bidders in competition over nine fiberglass cows that, along with a 50-foot neon cactus, have defined the steakhouse since its inception on Route 1 in Saugus in the 1960s.

"The cows have come home," Leo Sharamitaro, a boomtruck operator for Taliadoros' Great Eastern Marine business, said yesterday as he lifted one of the two fiberglass cows from the bed of his vehicle and deftly lowered it to the ground at the Manor Inn on Essex Avenue. Taliadoros and his wife, Leslie, are the new owners of the inn and plan to open a steakhouse there by the end of April.

The cows - bulls, actually - are part of Taliadoros' advertising plan for the new restaurant. Plus, he has always liked the faux bovines and just wanted to make sure they'd have a loving home. He said he paid $1,650 for the pair, while Chick Luther of Norwell paid $2,700 for five, and Dennis Shannon of Braintree paid $2,150 for the last two of the original herd of nine.

"My wife knew I was going to attend the auction," Taliadoros said. "She was surprised when she found out I'd bought them. She has mixed feelings about whether cows are appropriate in front of the manor or not."

"I think it will make things fun," he said, regarding the cows grazing in front of the manor. "We kind of go against the grain. Everything in Gloucester is seafood. Gloucester needs a good steakhouse."

The 7-foot-long, 4-foot-high cows are a bit worse for wear. Both have holes in their backs where overly excited Hilltop Steakhouse patrons climbed aboard for a ride. A few cracks and chips mar the gelcoat around ears and tails. But while the brown and white Hereford model still has chunks of concrete clinging to rebar anchors bolted through its hooves, it is in much better shape than the Black Angus model, which has no legs below its knees.

"He's an amputee," said Joe Salafin, a fiberglass specialist at Great Eastern Marine who helped unload the cows. "We're going to put prosthetic hooves on him."

Apparently, pulling the Black Angus - Salafin calls him "Stumpy" - out of the ground proved difficult, and Taliadoros resorted to cutting off her legs.

The cows - there were originally 10 of them - have had a history of abuse. In 1981, MIT students stole one of the cows, leaving nine at the Hilltop, and placed it atop the university's Great Dome as a prank, or "hack." The cow, nicknamed Ferdi, was originally returned to the owner of the Hilltop, complete with mortarboard on her head and diploma in her mouth, but was given back to MIT in honor of the school's Hall of Hacks.

Managers of the Hilltop arrived early Sunday morning, July 16, 1991, to discover that six of the seven outdoor cows had been messily decapitated by an electric saw, and a calf had been chopped off at the hocks. One head eventually made its way to the lobby of a newspaper, but the butchers were never found. The restaurant had to replace the cows at $500 apiece.

Taliadoros knows his cows might suffer the same indignation. He said once Salafin has finished rebuilding the cows, concrete and rebar anchors will prevent rustlers making off with the pair.

No word on any plans for a stakeout.



Rawhide

The Hilltop Steakhouse on Route 1 in Braintree has always been best known for its 50-foot tall cactus and herd of nine fiberglass cows. Here is some of their history:

1981: Massachusetts Institute of Technology students rustle one of the cows and place her on top of the Great Dome. Ferdi, as the fiberglass bovine has been named, still lives at MIT, complete with a mortarboard on her head and, at one time, diploma in her mouth.

1991: A gristly scene greets Hilltop Steakhouse managers the morning of July 16. Six of the seven cows grazing outside have been decapitated. A calf has been chopped off at the ankles and spirited away. The restaurant replaces the cows at $500 each.

Thursday: Auctioneers at the steakhouse put everything up for sale, including the kitchen sink (bought for $225). The nine fiberglass cows are sold to three bidders, including Gloucester native Ken Taliadoros, for up to $1,100 apiece.

Yesterday: Taliadoros unloads two of them at the Essex Avenue Manor Inn, where they will reside in front of his new steakhouse.