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Posts tagged ‘Oklahoma food’

Food Friday: Burger Station

Since last Saturday was a good day for a drive, I took off to the northwest corner of Oklahoma to do some exploring and I found a good burger joint in the middle of Okeene.

Right in between two old service stations is a small building that is the home of the Burger Station. Painted a bright blue to catch your attention, it sits on State Highway 51 a block east of the intersection with State Highway 8. Being that was 12:30p, the place was packed but I was lucky to get a parking spot right out front. The dining room was small but not too crowded and we walked right up to the counter to order. For such a small restaurant, they had a big menu that included lots of burgers, sandwiches, and even pizza. I got a bacon cheeseburger with a side of chili cheese tots. It didn’t take long for our food to arrive, everything looked great. The burger was excellent, 1/3rd pound of fresh beef with bacon and American cheese on top. The bun was fresh and soft, didn’t take away from the taste of the meat. This was just a straight up no frills burger, the way it should be. The chili cheese tots were good as well, tots were fried to a crisp perfection and the chili wasn’t out of a can, no it was homemade with the same meat as used in the burgers.

Even though the restaurant is small and in an old building, it was clean and the staff was really great. I loved the old sign decor, lots from not only petroliana but from local places as well. There were even pics of Okeene from the past on the wall. I give the Burger Station 5 strips of bacon, definitely worth the drive to Okeene.

Address- 118 E Oklahoma, Okeene.

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Food, Okeene OK, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

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Food Friday: Del Rancho

For today’s review I am going to talk about an old favorite, Del Rancho. To me this restaurant is the epitome of comfort food in the Oklahoma City metro. The first time I remember eating at one, I was 6 years old and we took our food back to my grandmother’s house in Norman. While eating, I lost 1 of my teeth. It fell to the floor but I remember the panic while crawling on the floor trying to find it. If I didn’t have that tooth, I wouldn’t get a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

Of course, the best thing to order on their menu is what they are known for, the Steak Sandwich Supreme. I know there are other items on the menu, but I’ve only tried a few because I want that huge steak sandwich. Basically, it’s a chicken fried steak slapped on a bun. The steak itself is huge and when covered with lots of breading and deep fried, it becomes massive. There is just something they get right with the flavor, it is truly one of the best chicken fried steaks in town and yes you can order it just as a meal. Back to the sandwich, the chicken fried steak is placed on the bun with mayo (Miracle Whip), lettuce and tomato. Really it doesn’t get much better than the Steak Sandwich Supreme. I have read on their website that the sandwich was perfected in 1964.

They also have some of the best sides in town. I love their hand breaded onion rings. The onions are huge as well and lightly breaded with a similar taste as the chicken fried steak. The tator tots are also good and deep fried to be crisp on the outside. My favorite is the fried green beans. The only way to eat green beans are fried and they do a great job. Lightly breaded and served with a housemade ranch, my favorite side.

There are locations all over the metro area, the first one I ate at was in Norman on Lindsey Street near I-35. It’s still there after opening in 1979. There are some that you can go in and sit down and other where you just drive up. I highly recommend getting the Steak Sandwich Supreme with a side of onion rings. The true definition of Oklahoma comfort food, they get 5 strips of bacon.

Address- Norman- 2300 W Lindsey St.; Moore- 1409 N Moore Ave.; Mustang- 462 W Highway 152; Midwest City- 9411 NW 10th St., 9201 SE 29th St.; Oklahoma City- 5111 N MacArthur Blvd., 2741 NE 23rd St., 16 SW 59th St.; Tahlequah- 4800 S Muskogee.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma food

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Food Friday: Tower Cafe

When you think food in Okarche, your thoughts automatically go to the fabled Eischens Bar and their fried chicken. Yes, they do have good food but if you come into town on Highway 81 from the south, you travel right by the Tower Cafe. They do have some of the best cinnamon rolls in the state of Oklahoma, and that’s why most people stop, they do have a full menu as well. They have burgers, sandwiches, fried chicken, a full breakfast menu, and of course, chicken fried steak.

That’s what I enjoyed on my trip there a few weeks ago. The building has been rebricked in the past few years, but inside it still has that 70’s-80’s restaurant decor. On the Saturday afternoon that I visited, the place only had a few patrons, so I had my choice of tables. A wonderful teenager took my order, chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans along with a warm roll and for dessert a famous cinnamon roll. First up was a fresh small side salad, just enough to start with but not get too stuffed for the main course. Next up was the chicken fried steak, about an 8oz size, covered with cream gravy. The mashed potatoes were also covered in the same gravy and then a serving of green beans with some bacon. The chicken fried steak was a nice size with good flavor. The meat was tender and breading wasn’t too much to overpower the meat and was fried to a golden crisp. The mashed potatoes were good but didn’t quite have the texture of homemade. I felt that maybe they had been powdered at some point. The cream gravy was also good but not outstanding. I did enjoy the green beans with bacon, had a good flavor. The roll was warm and very good, especially after the butter melted. For dessert they brought out a fresh, warm cinnamon roll. I have always enjoyed their cinnamon rolls over the years but served up fresh and warm gave me a new appreciation for them. I do wish they had more icing, but that’s just me. It was warm and buttery with a subtle hint of cinnamon.

I know the Tower Cafe has been in it’s current location for many years. I can’t find much of a history of it but can find that it has been in existence since 1968. The service was great and even though a bit dated, the interior was clean and in good shape. I will give them 3 strips of bacon. It was good but I felt could have been better. I know they concentrate on the cinnamon rolls but they could improve the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. I will stop again to try some of their other menu selections.

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Oklahoma

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Food Friday: Falcone’s Pizzeria

Falcones Pizza

I first heard about Falcone’s Pizzeria many years ago when the owner decided to tell off the Edmond Planning Commission back in 2007. Danny Falcone had just opened a new location in Edmond and the city didn’t want him to put up an awning in the colors of the Italian flag, so he banned them from his restaurant. Hey anyone who didn’t like members of Edmond city government couldn’t be that bad, so we stopped at the Edmond location and visited many times until the location was closed. The only location left is on North May Avenue.

I’ve never been to New York to try New York style pizza but I think Falcone’s is about as close as I can get in Oklahoma. We usually get the 18 inch pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives. This pizza is so big, you can feed a family of four on it easily. The crust is light and thin, the cheese and toppings thick on the top. Now I’m also not going to lie, it’s got some grease on it as well but my dad would always say, “The greasier the better”. You can get smaller pizzas but why? Seriously they do have a personal pizza so you can do your own thing. We always start with mozzarella sticks that are big and chunky. Now unfortunately they have no ranch for dipping but I can get over that. If you aren’t full from the pizza, or even if you are, get some cannoli. Either plain or chocolate dipped, doesn’t matter, these are some of the best in town.

I highly recommend a visit. Service is always good along with the food. I give them 5 strips of bacon.

Address:6705 N May Ave., Oklahoma City; 216 S. Santa Fe Ave., Edmond.

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Oklahoma

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Food Friday: Casa Perico

I drive past this restaurant everyday, in an old Braums building on NW 63rd Street. Every time I think, “You know, I need to try this place.” Took me 4 years but we finally stopped a few weeks ago and now I wish I had stopped earlier, this place is outstanding.

Since it is in an old Braums, it is small inside but they do have patio for outdoor dining. Of course they have the typical Tex-Mex menu, so I went with my favorite chimichanga. They have a large selection of sides so along with my rice, I tried some Mexican corn. First thing that was served were the chips with salsa and queso. Perfect starter for my first trip, the chips were light and buttery. The queso was thick and creamy with just enough kick to give it good flavor. Next up was the main course, the ground beef chimichanga was deep fried to a golden crisp. It was a good size but not too large, I could actually finish it without asking for a to-go box. The ground beef and cheese mixed inside quite well with a bowl of sour cream sauce for pouring over or dipping. The rice and corn were equally good as well.

The service was great, food was prepared quickly and the chips and queso were replenished frequently. Since I no longer eat fast food Mexican, I will add Casa Perico to my list of favorite Mexican places along with San Marcos and Chelinos. They do have a second location near Quail Springs Mall, I just haven’t visited it yet. I happily give them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 4521 NW 63rd St., Oklahoma City; 12219 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Oklahoma City; 505 E. Main St., Yukon.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma food

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Food Friday: Taj Cuisine of India

It’s always a good idea to step out of your box and try something new, so while driving around looking for something different to eat my husband suggested Taj Cuisine of India. I’ve only tried Indian food once before and liked it, so I was up for trying it again.

We stopped on Saturday night around 5p and the place was empty, but there was plenty to choose from on the buffet. I tried almost everything but only remember my favorites. The two most surprisingly good items they had were the vegetable spring rolls and spinach pakoda. The spring rolls were small but packed lots of flavor in them. Normally vegetable spring rolls just taste bland but these had a flavor that was unique to them. I can’t explain it but they were really good. The spinach pakoda was also a surprise in just how much I liked it. The leaves of spinach are covered in a chickpea flour and fried. It was like eating large spinach chips, crispy but good for you. They also serve onion pakoda, it was more of a flour ball with onion in it. Also good but didn’t excite me like the spinach pakoda. Their lemon rice was really good as well, basmati rice lots of different spices with just a touch of lemon. The chicken biriyani was another favorite, chicken cooked with basmati rice and different herbs. I also tried the chicken tikka masala, chicken in a tomato based sauce. I really tried to sample a bit of everything but I will not eat chicken still on the bone, so there were several chicken dishes I didn’t attempt. I also can’t remember the names of everything I did try, I did my best to remember what I liked best.

The service was great but since they were serving buffet, the employees had to handle all of the food. It is an odd experience to tell someone what you want and have them get it for you. I’m ready for buffets to be able to present food like normal. The only drinks were bottled water, so no soft drinks or anything. Now they were good about making sure you had plenty to drink but it was still odd. The downside was everything was served on styrofoam plates with plastic forks. I wasn’t a big fan of that either.

So overall I will give them 4 strips of bacon for the food. I’ll go back and when I can get my own food, I might up that rating.

Location: 1500 NW 23rd St., Oklahoma City.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma food

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2021 Goals

So if you’ve been reading me for a while, I try to support local restaurants whenever I’m out. I really prefer them to the big national chains. If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that the small local businesses are what makes our economy thrive. I’m not going to get into the politics and debate over what has occurred over the past few months, what I am going to do is focus more on these small restaurants who need our help. I’m going to spend 2021 going to as many locally owned restaurants as possible and get the word out about all- the good and the bad. If you have any suggestions, just comment on my Facebook page and I’ll check them out. Also go back through my previous posts, you’ll find some great suggestions and I do update each restaurants status. So get your taste buds ready as I go out and test the waters to see if a restaurant is worth your time and money. Let’s eat our way through 2021 and help keep our small businesses afloat.

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Oklahoma, Oklahoma food, Oklahoma history

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Food Friday: The Garage

the-garageAs you’ve probably noticed by now, there are a lot of burger places in Oklahoma City.  And if you’ve been reading my work, you know that I’ve been to about half of them.  So today I’m going to tell you about The Garage, a local burger chain that popped up a few years ago.

The Garage is an automotive themed restaurant with a dozen locations not only around Oklahoma City but now in two other states as well.  I personally love the theme- with a grandfather who owned a service station, I love old automotive signs and the neon that sometimes surrounds them.  What I don’t like about The Garage are the tall tables that seem to be popular recently.  I’m short and feel like I need a step-ladder just to get into my seat.

As for the food- it’s ok.  They do have a varied menu with different types of burgers.  But the menu isn’t much different from some of the other burger places around town.  On my last visit I tried the Mushroom Swiss.  Not bad, meat was fresh and the taste was good but I just found myself expecting more.  The fries are just ok as well, not great.  My daughter loves the fact that the kid’s meal comes with a bomb pop but then she is easily entertained.

So after a great build up with the décor, I’m just disappointed that the food doesn’t live up to my expectations.  And with that I’m giving The Garage 4 strips of bacon, only because I really do like the service station theme.

UPDATE:  I decided to give them another try.  I’ve heard so many good reviews that after 8 years, we checked them out.  I will admit they’ve gotten much better.  We started with thunder fries.  I loved them, seasoned fries with blue cheese, and bacon crumbles topped with a sriacha aioli.  The flavors blended so nicely, they were addictive.  Our burgers came out quickly afterwards, for this trip we both tried the Sweet Oklahoma burger- with cream cheese, bacon, grilled jalapenos along with a jalapeno relish.  This was the best burger I’ve had this year.  The meat was perfectly cooked and those toppings came together for a sweet burger with very little heat from the jalapenos.  I was really impressed with this burger.  I also got a side of onion rings, enjoyed them as well.

I will be upgrading The Garage from a 4 strip to a full 5 strips of bacon.  The service was great and everyone there incredibly friendly.  I’m happy I tried them again.  So give them a visit again if you haven’t in a while.

 

Address: Oklahoma City- 1024 W. I-240 Service Rd.; 209 Outlet Shoppes Dr.; 1117 N. Robinson; 6900 NW 122nd St. 101; 2900 W Britton Rd.; Del City- 5301 Main St.; Edmond- 601 S. Bryant; Edmond- 1316 W Covell Rd.; Moore- 2060 S. I-35 Service Rd.; Norman- 307 E. Main St.; Shawnee- 190 Shawnee Mall Dr.; Stillwater- 520 W. Elm Ave.; Broken Arrow- 801 E Hillside Dr.; Owasso- 13303 E 96th St. N.; Tulsa Sheridan- 7104 S Sheridan Rd.; Fayetteville, AR- 100 E. Joyce Blvd.; Rogers, AR- 4200 S. 48th St.; Omaha, NE- 7610 Dodge St.; Kansas City, MO- 8811 State Line.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

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Food Friday: Nhinja Sushi & Wok

NhinjaHere is another restaurant my husband introduced me to- Nhinja.  He actually learned about it from the owner, Kang Nhin.  He always likes trying new places, so one night he took Mae with him for dinner.  If she liked it then he knew I would like it.  About a month later we went and even though I really like my Chinese food from a buffet, it wasn’t bad.

They do have a pretty big selection on their menu but I’ve recently been on a sushi trip and they have some of the best in town.  First of all, they list the ingredients on the menu.  I’m real picky about what I have in my sushi- no caviar or fish eggs of any sort, no salmon, light on the veggies.  So it’s easy to order your sushi and it’s made right then, hasn’t been sitting around.  The rolls are huge, so one roll is more than enough for one person.  My two favorites are the Thunder and Geisha, but the others I have had are good as well.  My husband has tried almost everything on the menu but his favorite is the Cashew Chicken.  Once again, huge portions with lots of veggies and rice.  Mae is more predictable, she sticks with her Honey Chicken and then won’t eat the rice.  We do almost always start with the Cream Cheese Puffs.  Crab meat, cream cheese, and scallions wrapped up and deep-fried.

The service is always good, no matter if you are eating there or getting it for take out.  The atmosphere is fun, lots of colors, and bottles of Japanese sodas on the wall.  I give it five strips of bacon.  There are five locations around Oklahoma City, so it should be easy to find one.

Address: Rockwell- 12021 North Rockwell Ave., Oklahoma City;  May- 13905 North May Ave., Oklahoma City;  Broadway- 5 West 15th St., Edmond;  Mustang Rd.-  335 South Mustang Rd.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma food

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Food Friday: Venezia Italian Ristorante

VeneziaI love Italian food but it really can be hard to find a good Italian restaurant in Oklahoma City.  A few years ago we found one right near our house.  Located in the strip mall on the northwest corner of Northwest Highway and Council is Venezia Italian Ristorante.  We had been hearing good things about it from friends and finally had a chance to stop in one night when we didn’t have a child with us.

It was a busy Saturday night but we were seated quickly.  We started with the fried calamari, delivered on a huge plate, this was some of the best calamari I’ve had in a long time.  It’s really hard to get calamari fried just right but they had pulled it off, so now I had high hopes for the rest of dinner.  I wasn’t disappointed.  After a small dinner salad, my fettuccine carbonara was brought out.  Once again the serving was huge.  The Alfredo sauce was perfect- creamy and buttery with ham and peas mixed in.  My husband had the lasagna, also a huge serving, he enjoyed it as did I when I had a small bite.  For dessert we had cannoli, a treat that was almost unheard of years ago when my grandmother introduced it to me.  For a long time the only way to get it was to order it from back east, but now it’s getting to be more common in Oklahoma.

Everything was really good, like I said it’s hard to find good Italian food in Oklahoma so I’m happy to have Venezia close by.  We’ve been back several times and everything is always good- food and service.  I know there is a second location in Del City but I haven’t been there yet, so this review is only for the NW Expressway location.  I give it 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 8109 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City; 201 S. Sooner Rd., Del City.

 

 

 

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma food

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