I would never expect to find some of the best pizza in Oklahoma in the small town of Chickasha but here we are. In an unassuming building on the east end of historic downtown Chickasha sits Ben & Jay’s Pizzeria.
We had been walking around the downtown area, it was getting hot and we were ready to sit down for lunch. We found the pizzeria and decided to try it. We started with the mozzarella sticks. These came out pretty quick and were pretty good. But the real star of the show was the Italian pizza we ordered. Didn’t have to wait long for this delightful treat to come out. A thin crust pizza with Alfredo sauce and lots of salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, and banana peppers. Every bite was full of flavor. The pizza was also easy to pick up, the thin crust didn’t get soggy. This was truly one of the best pizzas I’ve had in Oklahoma.
The service was great as well. The staff was friendly and we never had empty cups. The building is historic as well, built in 1940, it was originally a Trailways Bus Depot. The dining room area was a covered loading area until sometime after 2007, when it was enclosed. Ben & Jay’s Pizzeria looks to have been in Chickasha for many years, for a while under the name BJ’s Pizza. So if you are in Chickasha, check them out. I’ll give the m 5 strips of bacon.
I have been by Blue Moon Chinese Restaurant at least a thousand times over the years but never stopped. Once again another place I should have tried earlier. This isn’t a Chinese buffet (which I do love the buffets), this is a real sit-down family style restaurant.
The atmosphere from the time you walk in is different, immediately hit with a calm. It was a casual environment, very laid back. Plus the decorations in the building were beautiful and calming as well. We had to start the order with their famous egg rolls. We had both heard about the egg rolls and the fact they have won best egg roll in the metro area several times. Truthfully they lived up to their reputation. Full of cabbage and pork, really good. We also tried their crab rangoons. These were also good. Loved the crisp with the creamy crab cream cheese filling. For my entree, I got the butterfly shrimp. These are shrimp, wrapped in bacon and deep fried in a tempura batter. They were huge and tasted wonderful. I actually had to bring some home because they were just so big. Surprisingly, they reheated nicely as well. Big K got the Cantonese chicken. This is cut up chicken with carrots and onion. He really loved it and cleaned his plate. The also brought out fried rice served family style. This fried rice was so good. I could have eaten it all by myself. It was perfect. Family style in Chinese food means it’s for everyone at the table to share.
I wish I would have tried this place much earlier, it is now in my rotation of favorites. I give them 5 strips of bacon.
On a recent trip to Chickasha, we found a couple good places to eat. Savoy 1902 is in historic downtown Chickasha, close to the famous Leg Lamp.
We noticed how busy downtown Chickasha was on a Saturday night and picked Savoy 1902 to try, mostly because the building is historic and they have leg lamp lightshades outside. We got a seat quickly and looked the menu over. They serve not only barbeque but sandwiches as well. Since we had a big lunch, we went smaller for dinner. We started with the brisket deviled eggs. They came out quickly and we took them down just as fast. Loved every bite. I never used to be a deviled egg fan until I was pregnant, now I eat them every chance I get and these were perfect. The brisket on top gave it a bit of a different taste profile that I really enjoyed. For our entrees’ I got a barbeque brisket sandwich with a side of onion rings. The brisket was chopped into small squares, which was unusual but I liked the flavor of the brisket. The onion rings were the big shows, I loved them. Crisp with a great flavor, I could eat a big basket of them just by themselves. Big K ordered the jalapeno popper bacon grilled cheese sandwich. It looked so good that other people in the restaurant were asking him what he had gotten. He loved every bite, said it had a lot of flavor and the jalapeno poppers weren’t too spicy.
We really loved the atmosphere and the food. Now for the history of the building. The building really was built in 1902. It is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Chickasha Historic Downtown District. It seems to have been a hotel at some point in it’s history but has been abandoned for quite a while. The restaurant itself seems to be about a year old. The east end of the Chickasha Main Street area seems to be the heart of the entertainment district with lots of restaurants around. Also the famous leg lamp is there, it attracts a lot of tourists. I’ll give them 5 strips of bacon.
Once again, I don’t often review chain restaurants but I will let this one slide. Donatos Pizza is big in Ohio and came to Oklahoma a while back. We had heard good things about them, so one night Big K stopped by to get takeout.
We started with the garlic asiago cheese bread. This was as good as it sounds. Lots of asiago cheese melted to the top of the bread with a good amount of garlic butter slathered on top of it all. Judging from the bread alone I knew the pizza was going to be good as well. We got a Founders Favorite to try. It is a good pizza. Pepperoni, sausage, shaved ham with banana peppers. I enjoyed every bite. We got it on thin crust which had a nice light flavor. The only thing that threw me off at first was the fact the pizza wasn’t cut like normal, it was in squares. Interesting, didn’t affect the taste. On a second visit we got the hot honey pepperoni. This is an awesome pizza. I’m really starting to like the hot honey trend and it really works on this pizza.
Overall we really liked Donatos Pizza and are looking forward to trying more of their pizzas in the future. I give them 5 strips of bacon.
I don’t normally review chain restaurants but there have been a couple that have come to Oklahoma City that I think are pretty good. If you are a fan of Korean chicken or if you have never tried it before, bb.q Chicken is a great place to try.
We stopped in on a blustery Saturday afternoon. Cold and hungry, we ordered cheesy chicken bites and onion rings to start. These came out quickly. The cheesy chicken bites were good but not overwhelming. The onion rings were perfect and came in a huge basket, way more than I was expecting. The were light with a great taste. For the chicken, we tried the cheesling and Gangham style. I was blown away by both. Now I do always get my chicken boneless, I’m one of those strange people who hates bones in their food. The cheesling was my absolute favorite. Not only crispy fried chicken but with a sweet cheese powder all over the breading. I loved every bite, and it held up later as leftovers. I also loved the Gangham style. It had a bit more heat to it but not bad at all. The crisp fried chicken was covered in a black pepper sauce with garlic and onion. They come in huge portions so it’s easy to share.
The service was great and the atmosphere was nice. They are right in the middle of a strip mall north of Quail Springs Mall. This chain was started in 1995, by a chef in Seoul, South Korea. There locations not only around the country but around the world. I was excited about their food and plan on stopping in again for more juicy but crisp fried chicken. I give them 5 strips of bacon.
A casual restaurant in the Oklahoma City metro to not sleep on is Louie’s. I’ve been a couple of times and the food has always been solid.
I’ve had their burgers many times. One of my last visits I had The Joker burger. This burger isn’t a joke, seasoned patty topped with spicy mac and cheese, bacon, and cheddar jack cheese. Big and juicy with lots of flavor. Since I enjoyed the burger so much, on my next visit I tried their straight up mac and cheese. Same spicy mac and cheese topped with chicken, bacon, cheddar jack, parmesan, and breadcrumbs. So good, creamy with not too much heat. The weren’t stingy with the chicken or bacon either with plenty of both to mix well with the pasta and cheese. I have tried a couple of the appetizers as well. The fried pickles are good, love the type of dill pickles they use. My favorite are the fried green beans. Just love the way they taste, just a bit of a kick to them. Both are served with their chipotle ranch with is also quite good. For some reason, every time Big K goes with me, he gets the beer battered fish platter. He really likes it so I won’t complain too much.
There are lots of Louie’s around. They are part of the Hal Smith Restaurant group which owns a lot of local chains in the metro. I give them 5 strips of bacon. They’ve always been good and consistent with good service.
Address: 1640 N. 9th St., Broken Arrow; 1389 E. 15th St., Edmond; 813 E. A St., Jenks; 6007 SE 15th St., Midwest City; 1601 S I-35 Service Rd., Moore; 3750 W. Robinson St., Norman; 301 W. Boyd St., Norman; 1201 NW 178th St., Oklahoma City; 9401 N. Lake Hefner Parkway, Oklahoma City; 7216 Northwest Expressway, Oklahoma City; 9101 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City; 720 S. Main St., Stillwater; 6310 E. 101st St., Tulsa; 1600 Garth Brooks Blvd., Yukon.
I’ve been seeing adds for a pastry bakery in far NE Edmond for quite some time, since I was in Edmond on business, I decided to drive a bit further and check them out.
Tucked away in strip mall north of Covell east of I-35, Creme de la Crumb is a hidden gem. I was there on a quiet afternoon, the pastry case was still full. They serve up pastries, both sweet and savory. I wanted to try both so I got some of each. For the savory, I got a sausage roll and a ham and cheese croissant. The sausage roll had a breakfast sausage rolled into the flaky pastry dough. Was so light and flavorful. The ham and cheese croissant was a true delight, made with locally sourced ham and cheese. The ham was a black forest type style which had a great flavor, matched with a smooth mozzarella all stuffed into the croissant. For the sweet I got a cream cheese Danish, pistachio snail, and a cookie butter puff. I started with the Danish. I like to judge pastry by how good the Danish is and this one was amazing. The cream cheese wasn’t too thick as to take away from the pastry. The pistachio snail was also really good. Lots of pistachio pieces over the top, covering it. My favorite of all was the cookie butter pastry. Lots of cookie butter slathered on top with a whole Biscoff cookie topping it. Now I’m a cookie butter fan and this was truly one of the best ways I’ve had it in a dessert.
I highly recommend that you make a trip to NE Edmond to try this place out. They had so many other options that I would love to try. They also serve coffee, so you can always stop in for a coffee and pastry as a break from the busy world. I’ll give them 5 strips of bacon.
I have never been a tea person. I don’t mind the sleepytime tea when I need to relax but other than that I don’t drink tea. I don’t like sweet tea either, just never has impressed me. But I am starting to enjoy the Asian milk teas that have popped up around town recently.
A new addition to NW Oklahoma City is Koala Tea. Opened just last year, this is a great new place to stop in for not only a milk tea but they also offer smoothies as well. On my first visit, I tried the wintermelon milk tea with boba. I really loved it, the flavor was like a brown sugar tea. I’m really torn on boba, it can be good and add to the drink but I did eventually get tired of them. Good thing is you don’t have to get boba in the milk teas. I’ve tried more of their teas over the past few months and really have enjoyed all of them. Recently I did get a chance to try their smoothies. I went with a strawberry smoothie. It was awesome as well. Lots of strawberry and very “smooth”.
They do offer small treats at times but they are mostly a drink place. There is plenty of place for small groups to sit and have some drinks while chatting. Or you can just stop in, grab a drink and read. Great service as well, they are so helpful. I’ll give them 5 strips of bacon.
Address: 4236 NW Expressway Suite 112, Oklahoma City; 10400 S. Western Ave., Suite 6, Oklahoma City.
Just south of the corner of NW 50th and MacArthur is an old-time burger place that serves up a classic comfort food. I pass the red and white building all the time but never stopped until a year ago.
When you get there, you drive up to the window on the north side to place an order. Their straight up menu is posted right under the window, so you can decide what to try. I haven’t tried much from their menu yet, I’ve been sticking with the double cheeseburger. It’s a really good burger. Sloppy mess, as all good burgers are, the patties are cooked to perfection with lots of melty cheese and fresh veggies to top it off. I also get the fried cheddar cheese bites as a side. Love them, deep fried to a golden brown, perfect. Big K has gotten the loaded chili cheese fries. These are amazing as well. The fries do need a bit of salt but they are smothered in chili and cheese so it’s not too bad.
I really need to try some of their other menu items such as the footlong hot dog and Indian tacos. It’s close enough for me to stop in anytime I’m ready for a good burger. I’ll give them 5 strips of bacon.
I have been wanting to visit Nunu’s Mediterranean Cafe for quite a while, I love Mediterranean food and get excited about trying restaurants offering it in the metro. Now Nunu’s has been around for a while but is still a great family-owned place to visit.
We went early on a Saturday afternoon, happy we did get there before noon because the place did get busy real quick. I ordered the beef kafta over hashwa and Big K got the sampler plate. You order once you get inside the door, then you take a seat. The guy taking the order was really nice and knew everything on the menu well. It didn’t take long for the food to come out. My meal came with beef kafta, hashwa, tabouli, pita and hummus. So now I will break that all down for those who aren’t familiar. Beef kafta is Lebanese ground beef with different spices added, usually parsley and onion. It is cooked over a fire and served in different forms like a meatball or on a kebab. Hashwa (hashwah) is Lebanese as well. In Arabic it means “stuffing”, basically it’s rice with ground beef, pine nuts, and possibly some veggies (depends on the cook). Tabouli (tabbouleh) is Mediterranean, basically how it’s prepared depends on which version the cook wants to make. There is no one recipe for tabouli, you can get a different version at different restaurants but it can have parsley, tomato, onion, bulgur wheat, mint, with olive oil and lemon juice. Hummus is also Mediterranean and basically consists of a few ingredients, mashed chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. It’s usually served with pita. The tabouli was outstanding, lots of flavor. The hummus was so smooth, seriously some of the best hummus I’ve ever had. It worked well with their pita, which was made in-house. The beef kafta was juicy with lots of flavor. I was also blown away by the hashwa, first time I had tried it and I was in love immediately. The flavors just came together perfectly. Big K’s sampler platter came with beef kafta, chicken kebob, cabbage roll, hashwa, tabouli, hummus and pita. He loved everything. He agreed that was some of the best hummus he has ever eaten. He liked the beef kafta and hashwa as well, thought the chicken kebob was tender and flavorful. He was totally in love with the cabbage roll, said it was one of the best he ever eaten.
We also took home a sampler of Mediterranean desserts complete with baklava made with both walnut and pistachio, and pistachio cookies. This sampler was great as well, loved every bite. The best part of Nunu’s is that they do have a market attached, so you can take home some of that good hummus and pita. The service was outstanding and the staff was incredibly friendly. They are passionate about their food. I give them 5 strips of bacon and ready for another visit.
The Fat Okie 