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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

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.

Food Friday: Taco Empire

If you’ve been reading my food Fridays, you know that I love Mexican food. A new taco restaurant opened in NW Oklahoma City and I had to check it out.

We went on a quiet Friday night, there were quite a few people there but it wasn’t crowded. We shared a platter of steak nachos to start. Piled high with chips, steak, veggies, topped with queso. These were awesome, the chips were fried flour tortillas. The steak had a great flavor and was tender. These queso had a tang that I really enjoyed, brought out so many of the other ingredients. What I found funny is that when I ordered these, the girl asked if I liked spicy. Yes was my answer, she then explained that there were jalapenos on the nachos. The fresh sliced jalapenos weren’t that hot, they actually had a great fresh taste as well. Next up were our tacos. I got a fried shrimp taco and a quesabroso with steak. First of all they come in blue corn tortillas, different, added a bit of color to the plate. The shrimp was perfectly fried, covered in a spicy aioli that was delightful. The quesabroso taco was a blue corn tortilla with cheese fried onto it, then filled with steak and beans, topped with a guacamole. I don’t normally like guacamole but it was great mixed with this meat and beans on this taco. I also loved the tiny baked potato, it was covered in spices and easily eaten by hand. Big K had a fish taco and barbacoa taco. He loved both, said they were both quite flavorful.

Apparently Taco Empire had been a food truck before having a brick & mortar location. The restaurant is in a small strip mall at the SW intersection of NW 122nd and Rockwell. This is getting to be a good place to go if you’re a foodie. Several other restaurants have also opened in this area. A trip to Taco Empire needs to be on your list to try if you haven’t already. I give them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 7000 NW 122nd St, Oklahoma City.

Food Friday: Jo’s Famous Pizza

I am very picky when it comes to pizza, needs to be done right. There are some good pizza places in town but I have been driving by one for years and never stopped until recently. Big K told me about a sign outside the Jo’s Famous Pizza restaurant in Edmond, they had pickle pizza. I love pickles but not sold on them being on pizza yet Miss Mae has tried pickle pizza and loves it. She was coming home from OU for the weekend, so I thought it would be a good place to try.

The building on Kelly is cool to begin with, built like a log cabin. It has a huge dining room with high ceilings. We decided to try a sampler platter for appetizers. This came on a large pizza pan with the three different appetizers- cheese bread, rollers, and boomers. The cheese bread is squares of pizza dough piled high with cheese. The rollers are Canadian bacon and mozzarella filled pizza dough, cut into slices. The boomers are grilled jalapenos, halved, de-seeded, filled with mozzarella cheese, and topped with bacon. All three of the appetizers were great but my personal favorite were the boomers, they just really brought my taste buds to life.

Now for the pizzas, Miss Mae got that pickle pizza. The official name is the Okie Chip and comes with a side of ranch. She got a small all to herself, since I still wasn’t sure about it. For me and Big K, we got an Italian with alfredo sauce. Even though the menu says the wait time is about 20 minutes, it didn’t seem that long. Miss Mae absolutely loved her pizza. I tried a bite, it was good. The pickles were a sweet dill that on it’s own I wouldn’t have liked but they worked well on the pizza. The Italian has pepperoni, Italian sausage, black olives, mushrooms, pepperoncini, and feta. We got ours with alfredo as well. This pizza was amazing. I loved the lightness of the crust, almost didn’t notice it with all the fresh toppings.

I really feel bad that I overlooked Jo’s for so many years. I know that they are a staple in Purcell where they started in 1962. The Purcell location is still serving up hot pies but I haven’t been there myself. This review is only for the Edmond location that has been there since around 2013. I’m giving them 5 strips of bacon. Everything was great, the appetizers, the pizza, and the service.

Address: 900 S Kelly, Edmond.

Food Friday: Some Like It Tot

Update: They had a fire a few months ago, so the truck hasn’t been out. Don’t know when they will be back, follow their social media to find out.

I don’t really do food trucks often. I know I should but I still like a physical place to go into instead of eating in the car or at home. I will try the food trucks at different events around town though. Usually I can find a place to sit and enjoy my meal. In March the Myriad Gardens held two events with food trucks, I tried some food I haven’t tried before and found a new favorite, Some Like It Tot.

The first event we attended was the St Patrick’s Day festival, Big K wanted to try this food truck and got their special for the month, the Reuben. I tried a bite and it was awesome. So this past weekend at the Tulip Festival, they were there and I got my own Reuben bowl. Not going to lie, loved every bite. The bowl has a layer of perfectly fried Tator tots on the bottom, with a generous amount of corned beef, shredded Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing drizzled on top. Every bite was an explosion of flavor. The crunch of the tots mixed well with the meat, cheese, and sauerkraut. The bowl itself was also huge, but then I did get the large. Since he had tried the Reuben on the previous trip, he tried the shrimp etouffee. He liked both but said his favorite of the two was the Reuben.

Since it is a food truck, they go around to different events and locations all the time. Best bet is to follow their Facebook page to find out where they will be next. So check out Some Like It Tot, I give them 5 strips of bacon preferably on some tots.

Food Friday: Great Himalayan Indian Cuisines

I know I just reviewed an Indian food restaurant a few weeks ago but I got an opportunity to try another Indian buffet in Moore recently. We were right across the street from the strip mall the restaurant is located in, so we went to check it out.

They had a huge buffet set up, lots of food. I went for my favorites, of course, the samosas and pakora. The samosas were huge and flavorful but not to spicy. I loved the pakora here as well, filled with veggies. Their chicken tikka masala was great, some of the best I’ve had in the metro area. The sauce was heavier on cream than in other restaurants. The naan and rice were perfect. Really enjoyed their palak paneer as well, once again, more on the cream side than I’ve had before. They had lots of fresh veggies out on the buffet to compliment the prepared foods. Big K said his two favorite things were a red chili chicken and something with chickpeas (he couldn’t remember the names of either). He said they both were spicy.

Overall the Great Himalayan Indian Cuisines buffet is something to try. They do have a regular menu most of the time, the buffet is only on the weekend. Not hard to find the restaurant, it’s located in the big strip mall right to the west of I-35 south of NW 12th Street in Moore. They have been in business since 2021, so a newer addition to Moore. The service was great, kept our water cups filled and the buffet well stocked. I give them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 709 N Moore Ave., Moore.

Food Friday: Mt. Everest Cuisines

If you are wanting to try something different from the Mexican, Chinese, and American foods around the metro, stop in at Mt. Everest Cuisines to try some Nepali and Indian food. They have a regular menu most of the time but on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, they feature an all you can eat buffet. This is my go-to when I visit them. I love the buffet option because you can try a bit of everything and if you like something, you can get more.

We usually visit on the weekends for lunch, there’s a steady stream of patrons but never too busy. The buffet stays well stocked the whole time. Some of my favorites consist of the huge vegetable samosas, the palak paneer, and the vegetable pakora. The samosas are huge, I’ve had smaller ones but none this large. The palak paneer is loaded with the cheese paneer and creamy spinach. Now the vegetable pakora is absolutely addictive. I tried something new on this trip, the aloo tikki. These are little fried potato and green pea bites that were really good. The various rice dishes are great as well. The chicken tikka masala is also really good, not too spicy. Their garlic naan compliments everything on the buffet, but they also have plain naan as well. No dinner is complete without some dessert and I am in love with their version of gulab jamun. This is an unusual dessert consisting of milk solids mixed with flour and deep fried in clarified butter then soaked in a rose water – cardamom syrup. I really love this stuff, different.

I haven’t been to Mt. Everest for their regular menu that consists of way more than what they have on the buffet but if you are new to Indian food, try the buffet first, better way to find out what you do and don’t like. Five strips of bacon.

Address: 1169 E. Second St., Edmond.

Food Friday: El Quetzal

I absolutely love trying new places to eat and I love it more when it’s from another country or culture. So when Big K mentioned a new Guatemalan restaurant in Warr Acres, I said let’s go.

It wasn’t very busy for a Saturday night, so we were seated at a huge table. First thing to order were the fried plantains, I discovered I love these about a year ago and was so happy to try them. They were delivered quickly and so good. Now plantains are basically a banana and when they are fried, they are great. The flavor is something that’s hard for me to describe, they are a bit sweet but not overpowering. I ordered the shrimp tacos with purple tortillas and Big K got the churrasco con chimichurri. His meal has a long title but isn’t complicated, it’s a thin cut steak, pan fried with chimichurri spices. It was served with rice and black beans along with a salsa that honestly could have set the table on fire. He loved every bite of his dinner, loved the chimichurri on the steak. My shrimp tacos were really good, served on homemade purple tortillas, they were two-hander tacos. So full of veggies and grilled shrimp, the tortillas just topped them off. They were also served with rice, which had a nice buttery taste.

Guatemalan food is very similar to the Mexican food we are all used to but different enough to try. The service was great and as a bonus, the food was delivered by a “robot waiter”. It would flash lights and sing a song as it brought our food, it was really cute. I am excited to visit them again, 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 5805 NW 50th St., Warr Acres.

Food Friday: Babble Coffee & Boba Tea Bar

I love trying out new coffee shops and to find one close to home is a bonus. I guess Babble Coffee and Boba Tea Bar has been in it’s location at Hefner and Rockwell since 2017 but I never noticed it (and truthfully I’m at that Crest once a week). So I picked a nice late morning to get some writing done while sipping a coffee and enjoying a croffle.

They have a huge menu so it took me a few minutes to decide what I wanted but after I did order, I got my food quickly. I had an iced peppermint mocha latte with a Oreo croffle. The iced coffee was good, I really enjoyed it. The croffle was amazing. Basically a croffle is a combination of a croissant and a waffle. I loved mine. It was served warm with lots of whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and an Oreo on top.

This is a really good place to go if you need to work in silence, now there were plenty of other people coming in but everyone stayed quiet for the most part. The had lots of coffees and teas on the menu, I could visit everyday for the next year and not try them all. They also had more than just the croffles to eat, such as chicken nuggets and French fries. I loved the quiet atmosphere as well. The space is large enough to meet with friends but not be too overwhelmed by others. I will give them 5 strips of bacon, on a croffle of course.

Food Friday: Brownie’s Hamburger Stand

Last weekend I decided to head up to Tulsa for the Darryl Starbird car show. Now the show itself was totally worth it, loved seeing so many wonderful custom autos in one place. After walking for 4 hours, it was time for dinner so about 5p we stopped at a little burger joint and we were not disappointed.

Brownie’s Hamburger Stand is in a small building on the west side of Harvard just south of E 21st St. We were lucky to get a parking spot but had to wait for a couple minutes for a table to come open. Once we were seated, we looked over the menu. They had been so busy that day and were sold out of some things, so we didn’t order the burgers we wanted to try so we chose differently. Big K went with a classic Theta burger and I tried the smothered onion burger with an extra slice of bacon, for sides we ordered cheese fries and onion rings. The onion rings actually came to the table first with the cheese fries not far behind. Now when we were waiting, I watched one of the chefs prepare the onion rings. He took a handful of fresh cut onions and tossed them in the breading mix, from there right into the fryer. I absolutely loved these onion rings, the breading was light and flavorful. They were addictive and before I realized it, the big basket was empty. The cheese fries were also really good, the fries were perfectly cooked and covered in melted cheese. These went quick as well. As we were finishing the fries, the burgers came out. The smothered onions with lots of melted cheese were perfect on this burger along with the bacon. The meat was juicy and the buns buttery. Big K liked his Theta burger, loved the way the barbeque sauce brought out the flavor of the meat.

They were so busy that they did actually shut down after we were seated, they had no place to put anyone and the kitchen was behind. But their service was great and the girls were friendly. Brownie’s has been in Tulsa since 1956, there are lots of mementos from their history around the restaurant. They have tables or if you want to go old school, there is counter seating as well. I will definitely be back whenever I’m in Tulsa. 5 strips of bacon along with some onion rings.

Address: 2130 S Harvard Ave., Tulsa.

Food Friday: Hibachi Supreme Buffet

So last weekend was the Lunar New year and I always like to celebrate by enjoying Chinese food, so we took a short road trip to the south side of Oklahoma City to try out the huge Hibachi Supreme Buffet.

Even though the parking lot was full, the restaurant wasn’t too packed. We were seated quickly and started in on that buffet. They had some things that were different but they mostly had the same stuff you find at most Chinese buffets- the sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, shrimp prepared in different ways, and sushi. I had a bit of everything on this trip but my favorite was their seafood lasagna. This is a cheesy casserole type dish with different types of seafood such as shrimp and crab. I also loved their tempura fried vegetables and their tempura sushi.

Overall I liked their food but I’m only giving them 4 strips of bacon. Why? To be honest, the building was in poor shape. The carpet is coming up and filthy, the tables and chairs could have used some love as well. So the condition of the restaurant itself brought down the enjoyment of the food.

Address: 1012 W I-240 Service Road, Oklahoma City.