The Fat Okie

We just got back from our annual family vacation and the rule while we are traveling is that we can’t eat anywhere that we have back in Oklahoma.  So we get to try many different places and get to try chain restaurants that aren’t in Oklahoma City yet.  After a week away from the great state of Oklahoma, I’m back with my requests for new restaurants to move here.  Now we have done pretty good recently- we did get Zaxby’s and Dairy Queen has come back to the Oklahoma City market.  But there are still plenty of others that need to enter the metro to take my money.

The biggest of them all is In-N-Out.  I am more than willing to sacrifice the governor and other crooked lawmakers just to bring one to Oklahoma City.  Their restaurants are clean and nice, as are their employees but it’s the burgers that make you drive 4 hours across state lines just to get.  If you haven’t been to an In-N-Out, then you need to know it is just a burger place.  Simple as that- you can get a hamburger, cheeseburger, or double cheeseburger.  There is a “secret” menu, that’s where you’ll find the double-double animal style (my favorite).  It comes with fried onions, pickles, and more sauce.  The only drawback is that they don’t have bacon, but it’s really not that big of a deal.  The only side available is fries.  So yeah, this place is simple and they only do one thing, but damn they do it right.  Right now you have to risk your life and go to Texas but I’m hoping that some day they will realize that half their Texas business comes from Oklahoma and move to the Sooner state.

Another chain that needs to come to Oklahoma City is Fuddruckers.  I know back in the 1980’s we had a few in town but I guess there were problems in the upper management, and they went away.  There is one in Tulsa and several in the Dallas area but it’s time we get one here.  I can even pick out a few good places out here on the Highway to Hell (NW Expressway if you haven’t been keeping up with me).  Fuddruckers is more of a fast casual, better than Chili’s or Applebee’s.  Their burgers are killer good as well with so many different options that you can get it just about any way you want.  They also have hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, and salads but I only go for the burgers.  Big thick burgers with whatever you want topping them, then a trip to the burger bar to add your own condiments.

Now we also ate a few others that were ok, but I can live without.  One place that I found, that is not a chain is in Las Vegas, New Mexico.  Yes, you read that right- not Nevada, New Mexico.  Located northeast of Santa Fe, it’s on I-25.  This is where we found Charlie’s Spic & Span Café.  Not just a restaurant but bakery, this was singlehandedly the best place we found this year.  All day breakfast, Mexican, and American food on the menu, which was all really good.  The enchiladas were the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant (my husband makes some that would make you understand why I’m married to him).  My husband had a burger on jalapeño bread with fresh jalapeño’s in the melted cheese.  But as good as the food was, the bakery had the really good stuff.  I mean cinnamon rolls the size of my husband’s hand.  These were better than the ones at the fair.  And they lasted all the way home.  The apple fritters were easily the size of 2 softballs and the doughnuts were covered in dark chocolate.  It is my recommendation that if you are heading out west on I-40, get off on US Highway 84, head about 30 north to Las Vegas, New Mexico, and find this wonderful place.  I know from now on, we’ll be stopping every time through.  (If you are a history nerd like me, the town is so cool and has so much to look at, really worth a stop).

So maybe we’ll get lucky and get some new places to eat in the future.  In the mean time, I’ll just keep trying other new places around town.