Thought I would comment on some of the eating places but definitely not a definitive dining guide as there is so much we didn’t try. These are just a few places that stuck out in my mind from the last couple weeks.
There were a couple real highs and at least one low as far as “best I’ve ever eaten” to “so not worth the money.” On a personal note (although my blogs are all personal), I have to be careful what I eat having been diagnosed with, and suffered most of my life from, IBS, GERD, gastritis, and kidney stones. I have some food allergies, including all beans, artificial sweeteners, and I’m not supposed to have food that is highly processed.
I’ll start with the low. My son and his wife took me out to a steakhouse restaurant called Saltgrass.
Sounded great but I have just eaten one of the best dinners I’d ever had the evening before. My review of Saltgrass — “meh.” My main course was unforgettable and overpriced. I ordered the tenderloin medallions with chimichurri sauce and seared mushrooms. My son had the rib eye, and my daughter in law had the Chicken Laredo. Both my son and I commented that our steaks were not seared the way we like it, in fact, not at all. And my mushrooms were more like boiled. Maybe the chef was in a hurry although it was late lunch and there were only 2 other tables being served when we were there.
Chimichurri should have a strong parsley flavor but mine seemed to be mostly onions with too much black pepper. I ended up scraping most of the mushrooms and sauce off. The tenderloin medallions were tender but, as stated before, weren’t seared and a very small portion for the price. The side was not impressive — just plain sweet potato fries. They could have been dressed up a little with seasoned salt or parsley and an infused oil.
Now on to the GREAT. My son and I were on our own for dinner as his wife works the night shift at the hospital so we did some googling and came up with Hollie’s Flatiron Grill. Visiting OKC for one week, of course I wanted to try at least one great steakhouse. This was definitely it. I eat out a lot and not even exaggerating, this was the best steak dinner I’ve ever had.
Hollie’s Flatiron Grill is an unassuming restaurant in a strip mall but was I surprised. My son and I both got the top sirloin at a very reasonable price. He likes his medium rare and I like mine medium well. They were both cooked to perfection. In fact, I asked my son how they could get each individual steak so perfect all the the way through just the way the customer ordered.
https://holliesflatirongrill.com
Not only was the steak perfect, but the side was so good, I ordered another side to go home with me. I had the fried green tomatoes and my son had the garlic mashed potatoes, both served with pan fried corn bread. Everything was simple but definitely not ordinary at this restaurant — just melt in your mouth, mmmmmmmm, good. My son said I left too much tip but I was so impressed.
Second best meal in memory — the catfish po’boy at Bourbon Street Cafe in Bricktown. They don’t have a huge lunch menu and the andouille sausage po’boy that’s mentioned on the website has been taken off the menu, but I was so glad I ordered the catfish. Maybe best I’ve ever eaten. It was flakey and tender and cooked to perfection. The fixings were just about perfect too.
https://www.bourbonstreetcafe.com
I consider myself a sandwich person and usually have to special order or change things when I get my order to get it to my liking but not with this lunch. And a side you don’t see everyday but so perfect with this sandwich — homemade crisps (potato chips). I had a new drink too that I really enjoyed — a “mule” made with lemon infused vodka and ginger beer.
Some notes on fast food
Smashburger — ate here twice for lunch. You get your choice of various speciality burgers with either beef, turkey, or vegetarian. I had the Oklahoman with turkey twice — comes with egg bun, deep fried pickles, and haystack onion rings. Mmmmm!
Baum’s — had the Black Forest Sunday in a single. The lady working the counter was new and didn’t even know what I ordered was on the menu but that’s ok. Kind of an In-n-Out burger for ice cream.
Chicken Express — This would be a pass if I had a choice again. My son was going to take me to Chik-fil-a, but it was Sunday and they were closed. We went down the road to this place. He told me it was quintessential OK food. Fried chicken fingers with gravy no less. I made the mistake of ordering the fried okra not realizing I don’t like fried okra. LOL. Surprisingly, the chicken and the gravy were both rather tasteless — needing salt and some cayenne pepper or something.
There were some other fast food chains I never got a chance to try but saw them everywhere, including Taco Mayo, Raising Cane, Taco Bueno, and Whataburger.
Animals Aboard 