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Archive for June, 2024

Food Friday: Simply Falafel

A wonderful restaurant in Edmond that I always seem to forget about until someone reminds me is Simply Falafel. This is the place to get Mediterranean food in Edmond.

We have been going there since 2017, the first time we ate shawarma (“Anyone ever try shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about 2 blocks from here, I don’t know what it is but I want to try it.”) We loved it. Every visit we try something new and so far everything on the menu has been great. The falafels are good, some of the best I’ve had in the metro area. The hummus is also good, creamy and flavorful. The chicken shawarma sandwich is wonderful, a warm pita filled with seasoned chicken. I love every bite of this when I get it, so much flavor. Same with the standard gyro sandwich, filled with gyro meat on a toasted pita. My favorite has been the gyro platter. Grilled gyro meat, served with rice and pita triangles. You can also get your choice of side salad, the Caesar salad is good but the tabouli salad is better. If you have room, I also recommend the baklava. It’s so good, a perfect sweet treat after a great meal.

The service here is always on point, if you’re lucky you might even have a visit from the owner. He is the sweetest man who has a passion for the food served in his restaurant. It can be hard to find for a first visit, it’s in a strip mall to the west of the Target on Second Street in Edmond. I’m giving Simply Falafel 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 343 Blackwelder Ave., Edmond.

Food Friday: Fish City Grill

I normally stay away from the chains but there is a lack of good seafood in Oklahoma City, so I tried out a small chain to see what they had to offer. They are definitely worth a try even if they are based out of Texas.

We stopped in first thing on a Saturday afternoon. It was lunch time and we all wanted something different. I’ve been craving more seafood after a visit to Maryland and we are just lacking in options. I had heard good things about Fish City Grill, so to Edmond we traveled. We were seated quickly and I immediately wanted to try the oyster nachos. I’m very particular about my oysters, I don’t do uncooked for one and they need to be fried. It’s hard to find someplace that fries them correctly, the way my grandmother did when she was still with us. These came close, they were breaded with cornmeal but it wasn’t overpowering like I have encountered in the past. Each fried oyster was on a tortilla chip with pico de gallo piled on top. I’m not going to lie when I say I was expecting something more like a nacho pile I get at Mexican restaurants but this was really good. I enjoyed the size and freshness of the oyster. For my entree I got a shrimp and lobster grilled cheese with a side of mashed potatoes. This was incredible. The sourdough was perfectly toasted and loaded with cheese, bacon, shrimp, and lobster bites. The bacon was cooked perfectly and added a bit of saltiness to the seafood. The lobster bites were good sized and the shrimp was juicy. I loved every bite of this sandwich. The mashed potatoes were good as well, nice and creamy, easy to eat without gravy. Big K got the hand-rolled fish tacos. He thought the fish was excellent, lightly breaded and nicely seasoned. All of the other ingredients helped bring focus to the fish. The side of black beans and rice was a little spicy but not overwhelming. Miss Mae, who was also with us on this trip, got the shrimp and chicken penne Alfredo. She said the Alfredo was strong on the Parmesan with a hint of garlic. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the shrimp had a bit of heat to it but not much. The chicken was juicy and with a similar heat level as the shrimp. There were also sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes to bring out the flavor of the shrimp and chicken. Her only complaint was that the toast had no butter.

I’m excited to try Fish City Grill again. Many more items on the menu that sound interesting to try. They are based out of Texas and have several locations there but have only branched out to 3 states, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida. I recommend trying them out for good seafood. 5 strips bacon on that grilled cheese sandwich.

Address: 1389 E 15th St., Suite 104, Edmond.