Here at EatAroundOKC, it has long been established that there is one and only one “best” burger in Oklahoma City, and that is Nic’s Grill. Ever since we published our review of Nic’s in 2008, we’ve encountered nothing but positive comments from our readers and we’ve watched as Nic’s fame has spread across Oklahoma City and, literally, the world.

But Nic’s is a very unique burger joint and one that just can’t fit for all of your burger dining needs. His limited hours, cramped dining space, and the fact that you have to get there at 10:45am to avoid the lunch rush can make Nic’s impractical for many occasions. Plus, those of us with small children realize you’re not going to have much success with a family meal at Nic’s (unless you can somehow hang your kids from the ceiling). So, I am continually on the hunt for other burger places that offer something unique but with a little more room to spread out or bring the family along.

Irma’s Burger Shack has always been a solid choice for family burger dining (especially at the roomy midtown location), and now we bring you another contender — Flatire Burgers.

I’m not sure how I’ve gone so long without trying Flatire Burgers. It’s likely the location, which is way up in the heart of Edmond, right next to the UCO campus. That’s a bit of a drive for me, but I’ve made a couple of trips up there in the last month to check them out (their website says new locations are on the way, so maybe one of those will be more convenient for me).

The stand alone building has an intentionally run-down look on the exterior, really going for that shabby, hole-in-the-wall, college-esque vibe. Inside, it’s a nice but very live space. It can be difficult to have a conversation in there when it’s crowded. They have a pretty nice, two-story patio it appears, though I’ve never seen anyone eating out there.

The parking situation is terrible, and is really my biggest complaint for Flatire. There’s a paved lot which can hold a tiny number of cars, then you have to loop around into a very bumpy, skinny, gravel lot where it’s basically a free-for-all to grab the next 10-12 spaces. Beyond that, it’s all restricted UCO parking, so I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do when all the spaces are full, which can happen easily. I have ended up just circling around, backing up, doing three-point turns, all the while reducing the life expectancy of my car until a space opens up. I suppose they get a lot of walking traffic and students who can use the university lots so maybe parking isn’t a priority. Or, maybe, this is intentionally designed to enhance the “flat tire” theme?

The strength of Flatire is not the burger patties themselves as they are not made fresh at the restaurant but brought in from a supplier. They have a good flavor and texture, but, you know, you’re not going to make waves in the burger world by cooking up someone else’s patty.

No, the strength of this restaurant is, instead, in the creativity and variety they offer. They have nineteen different burger configurations including things like the Maui Burger ($7.39) with grilled ham, pepper jack, pineapple jalepeno relish, lettuce and bbq sauce. Or the Green Chili Burger ($6.59) with green chiles, pepper jack and chipotle mayo (I had this one and it was great). Plus, every burger can be made with the beef patty, veggie patty, chicken or tilapia filet and you can choose from a white, wheat, or jalepeno bun.

They also offer sweet potato fries. They weren’t on the menu yet when I went, but they are available as a special order. Let me tell you, these fries are delicious. They are $2.59 per order, but you can have them split an order between two people if you wish. Personally, I will require a full order of these every time I go.

I also really liked the fried pickles ($6.99 appetizer). These are the same pickles they put on the burgers and they are very thick and very good so you can imagine how they are even better when they are battered and fried.

They’ve got quite a few other options on the menu as well. There’s a selection of tacos which many of you have told me are very good. I haven’t tried them yet. There are coneys, salads and desserts, including a make your own s’mores kit which is fun for the whole family. Lots of kids meal options here as well, though at $5-$6 each, these are on the higher end of kid’s meal pricing.

Speaking of pricing, it’s not cheap to eat here. I’ve often complained about the high prices at Irma’s and Flatire suffers from the same price range. If you compare Flatire burger pricing to Irma’s regular burger pricing, they are roughly the same. Irma’s charges even more for their “no name” beef but that’s a higher-quality, hand-made patty so it’s more fair to compare Flatire with Irma’s regular burgers. I mean, you’re basically going to spend about $12-$13 (with tax and tip) for burger, fries and a drink. I’m very cheap and probably living in the past, but that seems high. I mean, I can get the best burger, fries and drink in the world at Nic’s for $8.75, tax included. So, I’m still waiting for the great, family burger place that offers me a burger combo in the $7 range. Oh, hey, there’s McDonald’s, right ??

Anyway, bottom line — I like Flatire Burgers. If I lived or worked in Edmond, I’d likely go there pretty regularly. Since I don’t, I’ll probably only make an occasional trip out there. Though it’s very comparable to Irma’s regular burgers in price, quality, and family friendliness, I think I prefer Flatire just because of the added variety. But on the other hand, Irma’s offers the no-name beef, which is higher quality, though you’ll pay up for it as well.

What do you think about Flatire Burgers? What other family burger joints do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below.

“Wow! That’s a nice tv!”

That was the first thing my friend and I said when we walked into Republic. You can’t miss it. It measures 23′ (yes that’s feet!) diagonally and is powered by a Christie theater-quality movie projector that costs about the same as a well-equiped Mercedes. Now add the other 4 plasma TVs at 6′ apiece and the 20 or so LCD TVs placed all around the place and you have a room perfectly suited for any sports fan.

Oh wait! This is a food review website isn’t it? Then again, we review restaurants, so I guess it’s relevant.

“A contemporary American Public House bridging the gap between beer bar and upscale eatery,” is how Republic describes themselves. Looking at all the steel, glass and high-end video displays used in the restaurant’s design, I agree that this place is definitely a contemporary and modern approach to the typically rustic images of the European pub. The wall display that features bottles from around the world and anchored by the line of taps below it reminds every guest what this place is really all about: beer.

Republic has around 100 beers on tap and if that’s not enough to quench your beer thirst, they also have around 250 beers in bottle form to choose from. If beer isn’t your favorite libation, they also have a nice selection of wines and cocktails. Although Tapworks in Bricktown has a larger selection of beers on tap, Republic is cleaner, cooler and has a much better menu.

“So what exactly is a ‘gastropub?’” you ask. Well the name is a combination of pub and gastronomy and a gastropub concentrates on quality food. With that in mind, let’s talk about the food.

I heard that this place was all about its burgers so I decided to get the Republic Burger ($8). All of their burgers are made with natural Black Angus meat that’s handmade into patties every morning and they are served in on toasted pretzel buns — very tasty! The Republic Burger is made with caramelized onions, apple wood smoked bacon, relish, arugula, blue and gruyere cheeses and topped with a fried egg. “A fried egg?” you say. Yes, a deliciously fried egg.

It was love at first bite.

My friend and I both agreed that this was one of the best burgers we’d ever had. The gruyere helps neutralize the strong flavor of the blue cheese. Towards the last few bites, however, the cheeses became a bit overpowering. My suggestion — if you come with another person, order the Republic Burger and something else like the fish and chips and just split both between the two of you.

Now, for people who don’t have an affinity for foreign cheeses, the Republic Burger might not be the burger for you. So, another option is to stick with the Just-A-Burger ($6), which is the same great burger with more traditional toppings.

Adding to this burger goodness, I tried a side of elbow mac and cheese with bratwurst ($3) and it was equally delicious, though not as hot out of the kitchen as I hoped it to be.

Although I haven’t tried anything else on their menu, I’m looking forward to trying the fish & chips ($12) and their ale braised & glazed ribs ($19) during my next visit.

With so many food and beer combinations I see myself dining at Republic pretty regularly. Although the place has more dining space than bar space (I feel it could benefit from more bar space considering the place is called a pub), the Good Egg Dining Group has done a good job with Repbulic, creating nice, new addition to the OKC dining scene and the developing Classen Curve area. Once the new Whole Foods opens up across the street from it, it will be very hard for me to avoid stopping by Republic every time I decide to go food shopping.

What’s your experience with Repbulic? Leave your opinions in the comments below.

Editor’s note: many of you will remember our former contributor, Andrew Littleton, famous for his reviews of OKC’s tastiest and shadiest restaurants. This review was written by Andrew before his move to Nashville but never published until now. I have added impressions of my own to this review as well.

I’ve been meaning to write about Barry’s Grill for months now.  Barry’s is nestled along that shady strip of North May that sports pawn shopping, tobacco, “herb” shops, and “adult” shopping.  Sure, Barry’s has a lot of qualities that constitute shady dining, and could in fact be called shady.  I’m not going to make it a “Shady Restaurant of the Month,” however.  First off, there are shadier spots with equally good burgers, and ever since they fixed the hole in the wall from an apparent confused driver it has become much less shady.  Barry’s does, however, serve a pretty good meal in a convenient location for a quick lunch. They also feature quite possibly the largest outdoor burger sign in all of Oklahoma City (see picture).

Barry’s Grill has the look of a typical neighborhood hamburger joint with a big, ugly green awning declaring that they serve old fashioned burgers, window paint begging you to try a mushroom burger, plus the aforementioned giant burger sign. However, they are mysteriously absent of the lingering smell of burgers in the air like many other burger joints in town. In fact, inside you don’t smell much either, which is kind of weird. They also have these huge faded pictures of tropical paradise on the walls inside.  Makes me wonder if this place used to be something else before Barry bought it.  If you know about this, please let us know in the comments.

At Barry’s, you sit in mismatched tables and chairs, and throw your food away in the biggest trash cans I have ever seen.  Plus, they share a building with a pawn shop and an adult novelty store.  Say, maybe this place is a little more shady than I first thought.

Part of the reason I have not reviewed Barry’s yet is because nothing in particular really stands out here.  They make good, old-fashioned burgers in a variety of forms plus hand cut fries and other grilled sandwiches.  It’s not the best burger in town by any means, but every time I eat here I hear the voice of Jules in Pulp Fiction declare “That IS a tasty burger.”

Barry’s is not an onion burger.  You can ask for a grilled onion burger, but his specialty seems to be just regular griddle-fried burgers with raw onion slices and garnishes.  The patties here are more along the lines of a typical thin onion burger style patty, not the big, thick, juicy variety that Nic serves. Still, the flavor is good, and the price isn’t too bad.  A meal here will cost 6 to 9 bucks depending on how many patties you get, how big of a drink you get, and whether you split fries or tater tots with someone else. They also offer daily special “baskets” with come with fries (or tots) and a drink in the range of $7. Problem is, there is only one basket special available each day. You can see the daily specials, and the rest of their menu, on their website.

Barry’s, like nearly every other burger joint in town, makes hand cut fries.  Here is my complaint about the hand cut fries in town.  Everyone, except for Nic’s, serves up a flimsy, brown french fry.  Flavor isn’t terrible, but texture is horrible.  The thing is, no one else seems to care.  Everyone always goes, “ooh, hand cut fries.” But this isn’t necessarily a good thing if you don’t have time to double fry them to get that golden-brown, crispy texture.  Again, Nic’s somehow turns out a fry that is golden-brown and delicious without double frying or burning his fries.  This may be one of the 7 culinary wonders of Oklahoma City.  Anyhow, if you like these flimsy brown fries, you will love Barry’s.  Apparently most people in town do, so this is probably not a problem. Of course, Barry’s tots are another option and they are much crispier.

If you are looking for a pretty good, convenient burger, Barry’s Grill is a good place to go. It may not be drop dead amazing like Nic’s, but it’s still nice to have a handful of spots like Barry’s in your OKC culinary quiver to pull out when your co-workers can’t decide where to go for lunch. Oh, and Barry’s takes credit cards which can really come in handy.

Check out Barry’s for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Memorial Day for me means the annual drive in the covered wagon to El Reno with Mom and my husband to tour the cemetery and look at all of the dead relatives (sigh).  Mom has to check the fake flowers on top of all the headstones that she places when she drives out by herself, and to see, if by chance, the ugly ones that somebody else placed are gone. “I can’t believe this desolate place is where I’m going to end up someday,” I think to myself.  But at least I’m getting a good onion burger out of the trip.

Yes, this trip to El Reno also means touring my second onion burger joint in the hometown of the original onion burger.  Robert’s Grill is small — there are 14 stools at the bar and that’s it.  If you can fit, you stand right behind the people who are sitting and breathe down their necks in hopes they’ll finish really soon.  The place is a little warm, temperature-wise, and very crowded, probably due to the fact they’ve been in business since 1926. 

Edward Graham, the current owner, says they serve about 300 burgers a day.  He’s developed a scientific technique to squashing the handmade balls of hamburger into patties, globbing on the onions, then flipping everything at the right moment.  The burgers arrive in front of your face might tasty and piping hot.  Mom was glad the fries came out first and pretended she was eating some sort of elaborate appetizer as she mixed the mustard and ketchup on top. She also held court and got to know the life story of everyone within shouting distance.  She knows this drives me crazy and therefore, continues to do it at every restaurant we patronize.

Anyway, Robert’s pricing is easy to remember — $2.45 for a burger, a coney or an order of fries (which was easily shared by two people).  The burgers are a nice size — not really small like some onion burger places, but not huge and unmanageable.  The chili coneys also looked really good. I got a glimpse as the man next to me was feasting on them.

The pricing on burgers is a little cheaper than at Johnnie’s Grill, which is just down at the next corner. This, plus the fact that Robert’s burgers are a little bigger makes a pretty compelling case for Robert’s. On the flip side, Johnnie’s has more space in their dining room so it’s a good option if you’re claustrophobic or looking to breathe a little easier in your space.

Robert’s Grill is definitely a contender for your onion burger patronage. They’ve got plenty of that old Route 66 atmosphere and all the home-grown people who go along with it. Next time you’re in El Reno, I recommend you check it out and compare it with your other favorites. When you do, leave us a comment and let us know what you think. And also be sure to let me know if I haven’t hit on your favorite onion burger spot yet.

The wonderful thing about Oklahoma City (and its truly remarkable lack of zoning structure), is that you can find shady eating all over — sometimes literally a block away from what would be considered “the good part of town.” I have been enjoying shady dining all over town these days, mostly thanks to you readers who faithfully recommend new shady places for me to try. This month’s shady award winner is going to come again from the East side. There are a lot of places I have yet to try on this stretch of road, but the bright orange trailer / shack where Geronimo’s lies just screamed out to me that shady dining could be found within.  Well, it may not have been an audible screaming voice, but with hand-painted, large, black, graffiti-esque, exterior signage saying “Fish” and “Donuts,” Geronimo’s voice might as well have been audible. I was too intrigued to pass it by.

That’s right, Geronimo’s is a small, bright-orange shack of a building beckoning passers-by to come try its donuts and fish. I have to admit, even I was a bit nervous walking into this one. The door is like a hinged patio screen door that has been replaced with rusty steel and bars. It doesn’t look like a mere mortal would be able to push it open as you approach it, but it swings open with ease. The always-packed parking lot eased my tensions and I busted on in, with a few shady companions. The first thing you see is an archaic display case that doubles as a serving counter.  Inside this case is a fairly large assortment of donuts, including some fairly large (read: huge) donuts. The menu is the old school ripple board with the little stuck-in letters advertising burgers, fish, and donuts. There are several fliers hung up advertising local fund raisers and Douglass High School sporting events. The other thing you immediately notice is there really isn’t anywhere to sit. There are a handful of chairs to sit in while you wait for your food, and there are a couple of stools that you can sit at along a very small bar by the window — room enough for maybe 3 or 4 people.

It’s worth sticking around and eating there at the bar. Have you seen the movie “Barbershop”? In the movie, there are the same dudes sitting around at a barber shop all day, chatting about who knows what, right?  Same thing here. You have a couple guys that are always there hanging out and just shooting the breeze, commenting on everyone that comes in and out (nothing negative, but quite often funny), and making your wait for a tasty burger pretty entertaining.  In fact, the last time I was there I learned all about the Douglass High School Football coach and how he is apparently one of the finest coaches in the country and also about how this girl who walked in apparently has lost a lot of weight since last time. There is a place to sit outside on what I like to call “patio seating East-side style.”  Very similar to the patio experience at the former Tom and Jerry’s except there is no fountain, no bistro furniture, and no mosaic-tiled walkway.  OK, I guess it’s really just a couple of picnic tables under a carport.  Regardless, on a nice spring day it’s probably a nice place to enjoy a Geronimo burger.

Speaking of the Geronimo burger, it is a burger with a slice of ham on it.  Nothing fancy, but it’s tasty.  These are little thin patties (probably frozen), but he does them up well.  His burgers are cheap, ranging from 2.50 to 3.50 depending on how you specify it.  He also has fried catfish which seems to be pretty fresh, and everyone agrees it’s pretty good.  You can of course get fries, fried okra, and jalapeno poppers.  Not a lot on the menu. Just very affordable burgers and fries. It’s nothing fancy, but they are rock-solid good burgers for just a couple of bucks. Don’t misinterpret what I am saying, please.  These are no Nic’s burgers that explode with flavor and shave a year off your life. They’re just good old-fashioned affordable burgers served in aluminum foil and a paper bag.

I also really like the donuts.  I’ve had his Texas-sized donuts as well as the regular size. I think they are fantastic, and they are fresh every day. They are fluffy and light and have a hint of lemon. My wife doesn’t like the lemony essence, but I think it’s a nice touch.

There isn’t a lot to write about regarding the food — I mean, it’s burgers, fish and donuts — but the atmosphere is as shady and wonderful as it gets.  You may see me sitting out on this patio, East-side style, once the weather warms up a little.  If you listen to anything I say, go get a donut, get a burger, and enjoy the conversation.  It’ll only cost you a couple of bucks, and you will have some awesome stories when you go back to the office after lunch. Please leave comments on your experiences. We are bound to get some good stories.

Having a penchant for trying all things shady, I’ve been excited about a couple of suggestions I received lately. The first was a recommendation of a place that serves fried pig ears, pigs feet, and Mexican donuts. That one will definitely be reviewed soon. The second was Big Johnson’s Highway Grill, home of the Big Johnson World Famous Trucker Burger! That name and claim had me anticipating lunch so much I barely got any work done all morning.

Big Johnson’s Highway Grill is joined to a gas station. When you walk in you get a great, shady diner feel complete with stained, tile floors and creepy, unsanitary bathrooms with malfunctioning soap dispensers. There’s a long bar where you can sit on a stool and make friends with other shady eaters that have a hankering for trucker burgers. If communal bar stool dining isn’t your thing, there are also tables and booths. We chose one around the corner with a good view of the nice, large, flat panel TV.  I’m starting to feel sorry for myself since I don’t have a flat panel TV at home. Even the shadiest spots in town are starting to broadcast news and sports in HD-capable, flat panel glory. Anyway …

The nice thing about shady spots joined to gas stations is that if the food is no good you can always go next door for beef jerky and an energy drink. Unfortunately, you may be more satisfied with the beef jerky than the menu items here at Big Johnson’s. The menu is typical diner fare — hot plates with various warm meats and sides, several fried options slathered in gravy, a handful of sandwich options, and its namesake — the Big Johnson World Famous Trucker Burger.

There is a danger in heaping praise on yourself. Declaring yourself as “world famous” is setting yourself up for undue scrutiny. I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about a shady place serving a frozen patty if it hadn’t been declared “world famous.”  Big Johnson’s uses one of those weird, uniformly mis-shapen patties.  You know, the ones that are neither round nor square, but rather created to be oddly asymmetrical in an attempt to fool the rubberneckers at neighboring tables into believing they are hand made. They’re not. So much for world fame.

I actually didn’t order the burger myself. My shady companions were already getting burgers and I was skeptical in the first place because mustache man from the Golden Touch Grill was eating one.  Big red flag.  Of course, I did get to observe them on my companions’ plates. They were paired with ordinary orders of fries.  Not bad looking plates, just not deserving of a world famous title.

So, what did I order since I didn’t go for the burger?  Well, I broke one of the rules of shady dining.  I took advice on what to eat from a truck stop waitress.  Believe me, I paid for my mistake. When I asked her what was best and heard, “Oh honey, the hot beef sandwich is unbelievable,” I should have resisted and ordered a corn dog.  Instead, I not only placed my order but also found myself anticipating my meal. The anticipation only increased the disappointment when I tasted it. It was obviously reheated from frozen meat.  The whole thing was completely covered in a dark, salt-jelly that posed as gravy and it was all served on top of a piece of soggy, white bread.  It really was terrible. On the bright side, I did play with the gravy for a while and was amused by the way it bounced.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of Big Johnson’s is the pricing.  It seemed pretty high considering its shadiness.  If dishes were three and four dollars, you could probably find some value here. But the food here is pricey by shady restaurant standards. I spent over $8 on my hot beef sandwich.  Chicken fry rings in at over $10, catfish for $8, and most everything else for $6 or $7. With prices like these, I just can’t recommend it when one can go to Nic’s Grill and experience a burger worthy of world fame with fries and a drink for around $7.

When it comes to shady atmosphere and quirky names, Big Johnson’s really has it all going on.  I just wish it offered a good value of flavor and price. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t love to announce to their coworkers, “I’m headed to Big Johnson’s for lunch, you want anything? Burger? Skoal? Jerky?”  I know that would make my day.

It’s possible that the breakfast at Big Johnson’s is good. Shady places often do breakfast right. I’ve just never tried it. Have you? Let me know what you think in the comments.

After eating lunch here last weekend, I had to take two showers, wash all of my clothes, and put a deodorizer in my car. Yep, all that just to erase the onion power clinging to me and everything I owned. Moral of the story — don’t eat lunch here if you have a blind date for dinner that night.  However, if you’re a regular Okie lookin’ for a great onion burger on a Saturday afternoon, this is your place.

I’ve never had an onion burger piled this high with onions. It was simply delicious. In contrast to most other onion burger places, Bunny’s doesn’t smash the onions into the meat. They’re grilled first, then piled high on top.  Mom and I had a discussion today as to whether adding cheese helps keep the onions in place.  She thought cheese made the onions more slippery, and she had trouble keeping her onions on her burger.  I actually thought the cheese acted as a coagulant to help keep the onions in place.  You, too, can have a fascinating discussion like this as you dine in onion heaven.  As usual, my husband — the plain man — had meat and bread only. No onions.  It just kills me.

Anyway, as if we didn’t have enough onions on our burgers, Mom and I also ordered onion rings. They had to be the softest onion rings I’ve ever had, and they were great piled high with ketchup. The husband had the “peels on” fries, which were also tasty.

Burgers here are priced according to how many toppings you order. A basic onion and pickle burger is $3.75, with a basket at $6. Burgers are also available with double meat, but take note — the onion burgers here are larger than the ones at the Yukon and El Reno places. My husband, the carnivore, ordered double meat and even he said it was too much. He even de-meated part of his burger (a first).  Now, that being said, these burgers are not as big as the ones at Nic’s Grill. And rightly so as, in my opinion, onion burgers are supposed to be smaller, yet packed with more taste.

It doesn’t seem that new owners Bobby Hawkins and Bill Burnett have changed the place much since they purchased it on September 20, 2008. And that’s good. Previous owner Bunny Biggers had a good thing going since she took the place over in 1990 (for a complete history on the building and location, see their website).  Bobby did tell me they are planning to become a chain by opening another location at NW 23 and Hudson in about two months.  This new store will operate the same hours as the current location.

We happened to be in the restaurant eating lunch on the day of the big Bedlam football game, and Bobby said they can gauge business on game days according to who’s playing, if it’s a home game, and whether or not it’s on TV.  He said in about ten minutes, they would have another rush right before closing, and sure enough, the place filled up as we were leaving.

It had been several years since I had been to Bunny’s, and I was glad to see several chicken dishes on the menu (around $7), along with a dinner salad ($2.75).  Hot dogs ($2) and conies ($2.25) are also an option, as is homemade chili ($3.25).  A kid’s menu is listed for $3.75.

I’m glad to see that Bunny’s will continue as a part of the OKC onion burger landscape under the new management.  They’ve got a good thing going, so try ‘em out and let me know what ya think in the comments!

Hot dog. Is there any other two-word combination in the English language that triggers more memories and food emotions? Probably, but it is hard to deny the importance hot dogs have played in the culinary history and tradition of our country. Unfortunately, Oklahoma City does not have a lot of places to get a good coney, in my opinion. We just lost Dawg House to apparent lack of interest by the Oklahoma City masses, so Coney Island is one of the only predominantly hot dog establishments left in the metro.

Coney Island can be found in downtown as well as on Capitol Hill. According to their signs, they have been serving “red hot wieners since 1924.” I have heard they have been around longer, some say since 1918. Either way, there’s plenty of nostalgia here. Inside, you feel like you have hit a time portal. Coney Island takes you back to a time where there were no credit card readers, where air-conditioning was never set below an almost-comfortable 75 degrees, and where napkins and utensils were apparently a luxury.

You can’t deny that these guys are good stewards of their money. I have seen them take unused napkins off the tables and stuff them back into the dispensers. I’ve also watched them wash their plastic utensils by hand in a big sink (this creeps me out a little, so I just eat mine with my hands). To further their cost-cutting efforts, they frequently turn the lights off on sunny days and get by on natural light alone.

The walls are decorated with big jumbo pieces of paper that have every year’s Oklahoma University football schedule and each game’s results hand written in marker (ruler-lined in pencil so all the lines are nice and straight, of course). These date back to the 1930′s. They serve cafeteria style as you line up and tell them what you want. Be ready please, they are impatient.

When it comes to the food you have very few options. There are hot dogs ($1.25) that can be decorated with mustard, ketchup, onion, chili, and cheese (10 cents extra). Then, there’s the Greek spaghetti ($4.15) in the tradition of the Cincinnati chili fanatics. It’s a bowl of overcooked spaghetti with chili, onions, cheese (20 cents extra), and, in the case of the Coney Island guys, a couple of red hot wieners. There’s also a Frito chili pie ($2.15).

The chili here is really interesting. It’s served the Cincinnati way (allspice, cumin, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and no beans). Calling it “Greek spaghetti” is weird because everything I have ever read is that it was a Macedonian immigrant that brought this chili recipe to Cincinnati, not a Greek immigrant, but I digress.

Anyway, that’s about it on the food options.  You can also get a bag of chips, a fountain drink, or a cold beer. If you want more choices, you are out of luck.

So, how does it all taste? Eh … it’s ok. The hot dogs have bright red casings. Again, I think this is a nostalgia thing. Some people think if the casing is dyed red, it tastes better. I don’t get it. In fact, I think it’s weird. Aren’t there enough unnatural ingredients in hot dogs already? Why inject the casing with red #6 and #4? And didn’t we determine in the 70′s that this causes cancer?  I have never been a big fan of the flavors of anything here, but it’s not bad, and there’s plenty of nostalgia to go around. It is what it is — a place to get cheap hot dogs.

One of the members of my shady restaurant crew wants to visit Coney Island weekly and always cites times he went as a kid and how it used to be across the street in another building and so on. I think Lance (another shady companion) put it best when he said, “You aren’t going here to eat good food here, you are going to eat memories.” Pretty profound for a shady restaurant guy. I’ve had the spaghetti with hot dogs, and it’s really not bad, but then again I cover it up with cayenne pepper to mask the flavor. It’s messy and you’ll also end up announcing to the world that you just ate it with that inevitable chili stain on your clothing and the horrendous Greek onion chili breath.

The biggest fans I have found of Coney Island, though, are my kids. Kids aren’t picky when it comes to hot dogs, and they remember you taking them to the “hot dog store” as you build memories they can “eat” later in life. It’s worth choking down a few mediocre hot dogs for them, and it’s cheap, too. Just remember your cash, remember your kids, and leave time to stop by the pawn shops and Volkswagen part stores in the area. It’s actually a pretty good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Sliced or diced? Sliced or diced? Hmmm … when considering where to partake of my next onion burger, I must first ask myself if I want my onions sliced or diced. It really boils down to whether or not I want a neat onion burger or a messy one.  And when I choose neat, I head to Little Mike’s Hamburgers in OKC.

The first question I asked owner Mike Laham is why he dices his onions instead of slicing them.  He said the person who taught him to make onion burgers always diced them — makes for neater eating, he says.  And this is true.  Little Mike’s is a family-run business, and his kids are always on site. In fact, I missed Mike the first time around for an interview, and the middle son said I needed to come back and get my quotes “straight from the mouth.”  Mike and his kids know most of their repeat customers by name, and if they don’t know your name, they know what you always order, as in my husband’s case (he’s one of the few people who orders an onion burger, hold the onions).  And in my case, Mike says they “specialize in well done burger combos for special customers.” The fries are thick, so if you want ‘em crispy, order ‘em well done.

Laham has been in the burger business since 1978. He fresh-cuts his fries each day and said if he had known I was coming, “he would have used today’s meat.”  The barbs usually fling a mile a minute in this place. Laham doesn’t hesitate to make his opinion known on the two most important things to many Oklahomans — football and politics. There are plenty of choice quotes to read as you stand in line to place your order.

Sometimes, to offset my onion burger, I’ll order a side salad in place of fries (kind of like using a diet coke to cancel out a Snicker’s bar).  But this only works if you order the low-fat, packaged dressing, which is not near as tasty as Mike’s homemade Caesar dressing. Yummy!

Another special feature at Mike’s is the pickle bar, featuring big vats of dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, onions and peppers.  I can eat as many pickles as I want, piling them high on my plate and my burger, and Mike doesn’t mind. In fact, sometimes before my burger arrives I’ll mix the dill and sweet pickles together to light up my taste buds.

The sole reason my co-taster and work friend, Beth, goes to Little Mike’s, is for the squeeze bottle of vanilla syrup which she pours into her Coke. Yep, right by the soda fountain sits a bottle of cherry syrup and a bottle of vanilla syrup. While writing this review and eating our onion burgers, Beth filled up her cup halfway with vanilla syrup three times. I’m surprised Mike didn’t kick us out, or at least charge her extra for all that she used.

Little Mike’s burgers seem to be a bit larger than the normal onion burger, and maybe that’s why his prices are a little higher, with a regular burger costing $3.79.  The combo seems like a pretty good deal with a burger, small fries and drink for $6.99. My compadre and Shady writer, Andrew, likes a lot more meat than what a normal onion burger offers, but for those of us who can’t take much meat, these flat little burgers are just right.  Mike’s also offers coneys, veggie burgers and chicken if you’re in the mood for something else. Plus, he has just recently expanded next door to serve breakfast and other lunch specials from 7am to 2pm each day. Pork chops and chicken fried steak are just a few of the specialties next door.

So, the next time you’re in the mood for a “neat-eating” onion burger with some crusty city folk, head to Little Mike’s, then let me know what you think in the comments.

I love a good burger, and am actually pretty picky when it comes to burgers. I also like shady, hole-in-the-wall-type places.  Nic’s combines the best of both worlds with a fantastic burger prepared in a little building, a shack actually, just off NW 10th on Penn.

I like my burgers thicker than onion burgers, greasy, and full of meaty flavor. The problem with griddle-fried burgers is that often times they are very bland when they are not squashed down to typical onion burger thickness. In fact, I hate watching Oklahoma City’s onion fry chefs (I hear they are better in El Reno, but I don’t know from personal experience) get their big spatulas and then squish every last morsel of juice out of every patty they fry. I also hate watching friends do this when they are grilling burgers at home. My favorite part of a burger is all the flavorful beef juice that explodes into a cholesterol and fat-laden flavor bomb with every bite. Nic has figured out how to serve a big, beefy (dare I say manly?) burger without murdering it while it cooks.

I have actually been meaning to experience a Nic’s burger for myself for a long time now. The problem is that every time I drive by there are people lined out the door and there is no place to park. There are only 15 seats in the entire place — nine at the bar, where you get a front row seat to all the cooking action, and 3 two-seater tables along the back wall. I went at 11:20am and had no trouble claiming 2 bar stools, although Nic did say it was one of his slower days in quite some time.  By the time we left, it was standing room only. My advice is get there early, before the big lunch rush.  Apparently there is major to-go and call-in business here as well, so you have options.

Before I dive into the burger and fries I experienced, let me go over the menu.  Breakfast, burgers, and chicken fried steak.  No frilly salads, no fruit cups, no yogurt and raisin parfait, just different slabs and hunks of meat and eggs thrown on a griddle. That’s my kind of place. He does have a daily special of pork chops, meatloaf, or fried chicken, depending on the day. I can’t wait to say that I have tried them all. I love a griddle or pan fried chicken fried steak, so I can’t wait to try Nic’s. He seasons, lightly flours, then throws it on the griddle. Once it’s done it is plated, and then he goes around to a back room where he finds mashed potatoes and white gravy to cover everything in.  I have to admit, my eyes started to well with tears of joy when I first saw him do this.

The burgers are thrown on the grill in what appears to be 1/3 to 1/2 pound of meat.  I didn’t ask the exact weight as I was feeling a little verklempt after watching the chicken fry and the precision with which Nic fielded orders from patrons in seats, over the phone, and from standing, waiting to-go orders. The burger was covered with cheese, grilled onions, dressed to my specifications, and then piled onto a toasted bun. It was huge, sloppy, and extremely hot.

He also has hand-cut curly fries that are fried to each order. Sure, lots of places serve hand-cut fries, but Nic’s look better. They aren’t mushy and brown like you so often see.  They are crispy, golden, and fresh.  He doesn’t care about letting them sit and drain. He believes that hotter is better and throws them straight from the grease directly onto your plate.  The portion of fries is the size of a small child, and when paired with a burger it is a daunting task just to finish everything.

Nic, always looking to help curb coronary disease, does not serve a double burger.

A few comments I and my lunch companion made really help to sum up the experience.  My companion thanked me for making him experience a place like this. He had no idea the treasures you can find if you just take a risk and jump into some of these little dives to experience true Oklahoma City culture.  He is obviously not a regular shady companion, but after this experience, he may well be. My reaction to Nic’s was equally sincere. I believe I muttered something about this burger changing my life as I wiped tears from my eyes.

I would call Nic’s shady, but not so shady as to deserve the prestigious designation of “Shady Restaurant of the Month.”  To me, it has shady characteristics, but falls more into hole-in-the-wall status. We don’t want to cheapen the title given monthly to those truly shady places, so let’s just call Nic’s a great hole-in-the-wall with fantastic food.  Prepare yourself properly before going so you can maximize your experience. Arrive early, skip breakfast, and be prepared to either sneak a nap at work afterwards or to at least have access to a highly caffeinated beverage. I have a feeling you, like me, will agree this is the best burger in town.  Let us know what you think in the comments.

Ahhhh … the smell, the taste. If you’ve ever made the short trek west of Oklahoma City to partake of an original El Reno onion burger, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t leave with your hands, hair and clothes reeking of fried onions for the rest of the day, you’ve missed it. El Reno is the onion burger capital of the world, and they even host an annual burger day festival every May where crowds swell up to 25,000 people.

Legend (actually, internet lore) has it that the first onion burger was created back during the depression, when meat was expensive and onions were cheap.  By smashing half an onion into a small meat patty, one got a larger-looking burger along with a phenomenal taste.  And the rest is history.

The first original onion burger joint was known as Bob’s White Rock.  In 1946, W. J. Siler opened Johnnie’s Grill (the J. stands for Johnnie) in El Reno.  The original restaurant had only nine bar stools.  Johnnie ran it until 1967 when Otis Bruce bought the place.  Steve Gallaway took over in 1995 when the place seated up to 29 people.  In 2005, he expanded to seat up to 100, and he still owns it today.  Gallaway was more than happy to talk history with me.

The atmosphere is one-of-a-kind. I’m talking the kind of place Hollywood directors dream of — with crusty ol’ Oklahomans fresh off the farm and Route 66.

Plus, the food is terrific. Onion burgers are traditionally smaller than the usual big-mouth restaurant burgers, but the taste they pack beats anything you’ll get from a chain. I’ve had onion burgers made two ways — with sliced onions and with diced onions.  I prefer sliced onions because they look better and you get more taste.  They’re usually served on a small, real plate (not paper) with one onion slice hanging over the plate’s edge.  And when you bite into it, you need to have onions hanging down your chin to get the full effect.  That’s why I started my great onion burger tour at Johnnie’s — I knew I would get the atmosphere I wanted and the onions hanging out of my mouth.

The only other thing on the traditional onion burger is pickles.  Then, you can add your own mustard, mayo or ketchup.  Personally, I like to add so much mustard that the meat usually ends up sliding out of the bun.  But talk about a knock-out taste!  You can also order your burger with the other standard veggies, but if you’re a beginner onion burger student, just start with the pickles and onions for $2.70.  A half order of fries, tots or rings is an additional $1.95.

For an onion burger joint, Johnnie’s has quite an extensive menu.  If someone in your party is not in the mood for an onion burger (gasp), then there are also salads (chicken or ham, $4.75), coneys ($2.70), dinner specials ($6.50), frito pies ($3.75) and a variety of sandwiches ($4).  They even offer a breakfast menu in the mornings.  Another specialty I noticed at Johnnie’s was a really tempting dessert display.  Steve said that Everett Adams makes fresh desserts for the restaurant every day.  Adams is a retired cook from the local prison, and boy did his coconut pies look tasty!  You can even purchase whole pies for $11 if you’re in the mood to take one home.

I love it that part of our state is known for onion burgers.  I was in a local restaurant last week and the owner said her Philly cheese steaks were the best in town.  I told her I’d never had one, and she about fell over.  I said, “We’re not in Philadelphia! You wouldn’t go up to Philly and order an onion burger, would you?” She said that made sense, and I tried one of her pizzas instead.  When you’re in Rome …

Anyway, that does it for part one of the great OKC onion burger tour. Johnnie’s is definitely a must-try if you want to experience onion burger history. We’ll see how it stands up against the others to come on the tour.  I plan on reviewing the other two famous places in El Reno as well as several in OKC.  If you have been to Johnnie’s please leave us your thoughts in the comments.  Or, if you have your own favorite onion burger place, let me know!

One of my favorite things in life is a really good burger. One of my other favorite things in life is lunch. Every now and then I get real crazy and think, “I wonder what would happen if I had a really good burger at lunch?” That’s when I head to Johnny’s.

Johnny’s is the perfect place to marry these two great loves. It’s not shady (but there are several questionable stores in this same shopping strip), like a lot of the lunch spots I frequent, but they do make a good burger.

Johnny’s sits in a shopping strip on south Meridian, in between the interstate and SW 15th. Johnny’s has been around for quite some time, and it has recently changed ownership … for the better. The previous owner made a decent burger, but more of the thin, onion-fried sort. The previous owner was also a quirky, not-so-friendly guy, who swore he made the best gyros on the face of the Earth. In fact, he said he served them at some local Greek festival and won prizes. Who knows, it might be true. I just know he didn’t like jokes.

The new owners, however, can handle a few jokes in the line and will fire right back at you. In fact, we were making fun of a friend of mine for looking particularly rough one day, and the lady taking our order started joining in and asking him if he had even gone to bed the night before. I like a hostess that can have a good time in line.

The restaurant interior has changed as well. The walls are brighter, and I believe the service is faster. The best change, though, is that the burgers are bigger and better.

The menu here is pretty typical for an Oklahoma burger joint. Burgers of different sizes and varieties abound. You can find burgers showcasing cheese, jalapeños, bacon, onions, chili, and of course, there is a “theta” burger. I had never heard of a theta burger until I moved to Oklahoma City. In fact, no one can tell me where it comes from, what it means, or anything. If you know the origins of this burger, please let me know. I think it is an Oklahoma City thing. Maybe it originated as the 8th item on a menu, and the inventors named it “theta” after the 8th letter in the Greek alphabet. The theta symbol is also a symbol of death, and theta.com is a link to the Church of Scientology. I’m reaching here, I know, but there has to be a meaning somewhere.

Anyway, they also serve hot dogs with various toppings, a few salad offerings, sandwiches with various fillings (fried and un-fried), and now they even have a few BBQ offerings, introduced by the change in ownership. I still refuse to review BBQ, as I stated in my Pappy’s review, in an effort to ward off the BBQ Nazi’s. However, I will say that friends of mine who have ordered the BBQ offerings here haven’t been impressed. They say, “stick with the burgers.”

The burgers here are really good. They feature hand-formed fresh beef, very similar to what you would find at Jamie’s Grill. These are pretty large and thick patties as well. I went the other day with a Johnny’s first-timer and warned him that a single would be enough. He wouldn’t listen. I’m sure visions of paper-thin onion burgers were dancing in his head as his soul weighed my sage advice against the hunger pangs he felt deep in his gut. Sure enough, he ordered a double with a side of tater tots (which is a side big enough for four people to share). Needless to say, he couldn’t finish his meal. By the way, the onion rings are hand-battered and they run out on occasion. So, if you are dead-set on onion rings, get there before the big lunch rush.

Any drawbacks, you ask? I wish you could get a burger cooked medium or medium rare, like you can at Irma’s. But alas, every burger will be cooked thoroughly. Also, some of the tables have had the laminate removed from the fake wood-grain picture top, leaving behind a weird, sticky film. These tables are easy to identify as they are the longer, four-seaters that have duct tape around the edges to hold down the fake wood-grain picture. I avoid these tables. Something about a sticky table seems to scream hepatitis.

My other complaint is that the side items are too large. The daily special usually includes a burger of some variety, a drink, and side item for around $5.99 – 6.99, depending on the offering. I would cut it down a buck and cut the fries or tots in half. Seriously, who needs 2 pounds of fries?

Johnny’s Burgers and More is, in my opinion, the best Johnny’s in town. Go try it out for yourselves, avoid the duct tape tables, and let me know what you think.

PLEASE NOTE: The Red Brick Restaurant is no longer open.

I first heard about the Red Brick Restaurant in Oklahoma City’s Downtown Magazine. The photography of the food at this place was over-the-top spectacular, plus the write-up was very favorable, so I was excited to check it out. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Red Brick is a decent restaurant and I give them credit (as I always do) for bringing it to downtown, but I found their menu offerings about as plain as their name.

Red Brick is in a red brick building right across the street from the new federal building downtown. It’s a quaint little spot, which even has a free parking lot to the south (always a welcome surprise in downtown). The interior of the building is interesting. The funny thing is, I can’t remember too many specifics about it. I remember it being brightly lit and sort of reddish. It feels clean and new, and a bit nicer inside than the exterior would suggest.

But let’s talk about the food. I guess my main complaints are that the options are so limited, and not-so-healthy. Their lunch menu pretty much consists of a hamburger and a chicken-fried-chicken sandwich. That plus the buffet, which stands right in the center of the room. The buffet appeared to be a limited selection of southern-style “home-cooking” type foods. The day I was there, fried chicken was the only meat option, then there were a couple types of beans, mashed potatoes … etc. I think perhaps the buffet changes from day to day, but it seems to be centered around the southern-style (and not very healthy) cuisine.

I didn’t get the buffet because I know that an all-you-can-eat serving of southern-fried foods would leave me feeling like I swallowed a boulder. But, as I scoured the menu for something a bit lighter, I came up short. I did see a couple of salads (chef and garden) on the menu and asked about them, but the server told me they were pretty much just iceberg lettuce with a few other “salad things” mixed in. That didn’t sound all too great.

So, I opted for the burger. I know, not very healthy either, but at least it wasn’t all-you-can-eat burgers so there would be a limit to the amount I could take in. Plus, with the burger and fries I could get out for a couple dollars less than the buffet which runs $6.99. At least two waitresses came by and told me how good the burger was, so I figured it was a good bet. I really did hope it was good because it seemed they were pretty much dependent on it with such a limited menu. The verdict? The burger was pretty good. It was extremely greasy, though. I got mine with grilled onions and cheese. The grilled onions were a bit thick-cut for my taste. Onions and cheese are the only two options you have on the burger. Of course, it comes standard with iceberg lettuce, tomato and pickle.

So, they have a decent burger. I’ve had better any number of places. If you like all-you-can-eat southern-style buffets, then perhaps that is good as well. But, the bottom line is, this place isn’t putting anything out there to really stand out — that is, other than their location. And that might just be the most unique thing about the Red Brick Restaurant. I don’t know of any other southern-style home cookin’ places in the downtown area.

One final thing that I found odd. The pricing on the “combos” and the burgers is very strange. Usually, when you get a combo, you expect to save a bit of money off of what the individual components would cost when purchased separately. But, in most cases at Red Brick, you don’t save anything. In some cases, the individual prices are actually less than the combo price. Just be sure to check the pricing carefully before you order.

Bottom line, the Red Brick restaurant is bringing something new to downtown, but I’m afraid they’re not quite hitting on all cylinders. I would like to see a few “healthy” options on the menu, plus the use of more quality ingredients (like an interesting and actually “green” salad). In general, a few more menu options, and more consistent pricing across them would help this place take things up a level. If they can implement some changes like these, I would give them another shot.

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Shady Restaurant lovers everywhere, I’m extremely pleased to present you the latest Shady Restaurant of the Month … MAX BURGER!! That’s right, the epicurean purveyors of one of my favorite places in town, Max Pollo, decided the world, or at least south Oklahoma City, needed another Max restaurant.

Shady restaurant adventurers will be glad to know that Max Burger is in a particularly shady location just North of SW 29th on Western Ave. Across the street is one of those “we finance anyone” used car lots (I’m pretty sure the Fair Credit Act is ignored in places like that) and just down the road from one of those used wheel stores. You should definitely read my disclaimer from the inaugural shady review, which will be particularly important for your excursion to Max Burger.

I have known for several months that Max Burger was opening and I have been driving by often, just waiting for it to finally “go live.” Our first time to catch it was a real treat. They have taken over a building that was probably an old bar of some sort. It’s not a real big joint, but big enough to seat 30 people or so. The building is bright blue and orange. The sign features the Max Pollo chicken holding a burger high for all to see. It’s not quite as disturbing as the same chicken waving a chicken leg around at Max Pollo (that one reminds me of that classic Saturday Night Live commercial, “Clucky Chicken“). As we walked up to the front door, we found a flyer posted advertising a booty-shaking contest down the road. Our excitement soon turned to disappointment, however, when we saw it was last week. Oh well, maybe next year.

Inside Max Burger, we were instantly hit with the smell of hamburgesa de carbones (grilled burgers). What a great smell! The color mosaic was kicked up another notch on the interior with bright orange, purple, and blue plastered everywhere. The bathroom was an interesting experience as well. First, there is graffiti everywhere. I’m assuming it’s left over from the last owners. Second, you get your soap out of a ketchup squirt bottle. Awesome! At first, we were the only ones enjoying a Spanish version of Judge Judy on the flat panel displays, but soon a few tables of local blue collar workers, who also enjoyed a satisfying Hispanic take on the American classic, filed in.

At Max Burger, you order at the counter and then sit down while your food is prepared. The menu consists of the Max Burger, the Max Max Burger (double the meat), max papas (french fries with various toppings), plus several types of tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, taquitos, and more!

Let me begin by describing the Max Burger. It’s a grilled all-beef patty on a toasted bun, and between each patty a thin slice of grilled ham, yellow cheese, and white cheese. It’s topped with mustard, shredded lettuce, tomato, and a smear of what appeared to be mashed avocado. It’s a sloppy masterpiece with a really unique flavor. I just got regular papas, which were pretty boring crinkle cut fries. I should have gotten the Max Papas where they cover the fries with everything in the kitchen including jalapenos, cheese, sour cream … etc. The Max Papas look like a meal unto themselves. I didn’t get them because I just wanted to keep from spending over $10.

The tacos al pastor (pork-ish taco) were on special. They are served on a couple warm corn tortillas with onions and cilantro. Nice, simple, tasty, and only $1 … the way tacos should be.

Also, they brought out three squirt bottles of sauce with our meal. The first was a green tomatillo-looking sauce that had a hint of avocado taste in it and just a little bit of heat. The second was an orange-colored sauce with a little more heat that tasted kind of like a thousand island hot sauce. I know, bad description, but it was the favorite of our table. Finally, there was a dark red sauce full of visible chili pepper seeds. It was quite warm.

You know what I just realized weren’t on these burgers? Onions. Weird. You would expect onions on a Hispanic burger. I didn’t miss them, though. Maybe Max realized that every burger place in town does an onion-fried burger and he just wanted to stand out.

Great food here. It really is a unique burger unlike any other burger in Oklahoma City (to my knowledge). The ham adds a nice smoky flavor, and the white cheese (I’m not sure what it is — maybe Queso Blanco or Quesadilla, or just a simple Mexican farmer’s cheese) was a real compliment to the grilled flavor of the burger. I also really liked the avocado on the burger. Good idea, Max Burger! In fact, Max Burger is full of great ideas. I really want to try the taquitos and a few types of tacos, but not sure if I’ll ever get past the burger. If I could offer them any tips it would be to invest time into developing a hand-cut french fry, but until then I’ll just squirt that orange-colored hot sauce all over them and eat them anyway.

Max Burger really does sit at a less than desirable location. You probably want to stick to keeping this a lunch spot. But hey, that just adds to the fun right? It’s what shady restaurant dining is all about.

I’m not sure what Max has in store for us next. Maybe Max Pizza? Or perhaps Max steakhouse? I don’t know, but I would wager that whatever it is, I’ll be writing about it when it comes along.

The Red Pin Restaurant and Bowling Lounge opened recently in Bricktown, bringing an upscale spin on the traditional bowling alley. While I’m not too much into bowling, I was intrigued by the Red Pin’s claims to offer gourmet food alongside the bowling experience. In fact, they even bill themselves as a restaurant in their title, so of course, I had to check it out. When I did, I found a unique and interesting experience, but one that is more about concept than it is about cuisine.

What I mean by “concept over cuisine” is that you can’t really appreciate the food they offer separate from the concept of the entire experience. In other words, this isn’t the type of place you’d want to go for a typical restaurant dinner. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fun evening with the activity of a bowling alley but with food that is way better, the Red Pin definitely has something to offer.

The atmosphere at the Red Pin is lively and fun. The bowling lanes are on one end of the facility, there’s a bar in the middle, and then an area on the other end for sit-down dining. The bowling facilities are top of the line, with huge televisions spanning across the lanes providing sports entertainment while you roll your own fun.

The food at Red Pin can be ordered from anywhere in the facility, and it consists of clever variations on the types of foods you might find at a bowling alley. Familiar items like pizzas, hot dogs, hamburgers and the like are fancied up and served on nice plates. Most every item is served family-style and intended to be shared. This is why it’s not a real “sit-down dinner” type of place, because instead of ordering a meal and getting a main dish and a couple of sides, you’ll be ordering several different types of “finger foods” and sharing them around the table.

You can see why Red Pin would set it up this way. For one thing, it makes it more like a bowling alley. Also, the food is intended to be eaten while doing other things like bowling or hanging out at the bar. So, finger foods are a good choice.

On the other hand, it confuses me a bit that they set up part of the facility like a full-service restaurant. It just feels a little awkward to sit down at a table for dinner and conversation and pass around plate after plate of snacks. I feel that if they truly want to bill themselves as a restaurant, they should put together some menu offerings that can be ordered and served individually as a complete meal. They could still offer the family-style options, but adding some additional dining options couldn’t hurt. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the food is bad. In fact, it’s quite good (more on that below). I’m just trying to give you the proper expectation. There is a bit of disconnect if you go in expecting a restaurant dining experience.

When I ate there, I tried both the house and Caesar salads. Even the salads come in two sizes ($3.50 and $6) and are intended to be shared. It’s a bit tricky to share a salad, but that’s how they set it up. Both salads were very fresh. The house salad had nice, thick vegetables on a bed of spring lettuce.

I also sampled the powerhouse pizza ($13) which is a big old pizza with a ton of toppings. It was good for fancy pizza, but I think you can find better at any number of brick-oven pizza places.

What I really liked were the Red Pin Sliders. These are small hamburgers or chicken sandwiches made up with some interesting and gourmet toppings. I tried the beef version which comes with either two or three on a plate ($7.50 or $10 respectively). I tasted three. One was made up with roasted garlic and blue cheese, another with grilled onions, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, and the last was with center-cut bacon and cheddar. I have to say the garlic and blue cheese was my favorite, but all three were really good. The sliders are definitely a specialty that is worth trying at Red Pin.

For dessert, the Red Pin features some selections from local confectioners. I sampled the Chocolate Lava, which is a warm chocolate cake served with a light cream. I also had a bite or two of the cheesecake. Both desserts ($5 each) were very good and pretty affordable for what you get.

Speaking of affordability, I expected the Red Pin to be a bit more expensive than it was. It is somewhat pricey compared to normal bowling alley food, but I really think you get a pretty good value for the price. The trick is just in figuring out how to put together a meal out of the various finger food options. For what it’s worth, I recommend that you at least get a salad to start because it’s just about the only vegetable dish on the menu.

In summary, the Red Pin Restaurant and Bowling Lounge has a lot to offer Oklahoma City as a fun destination and an upscale twist on a favorite pastime. From a culinary standpoint, the food they offer is high quality and even provides some unique and interesting flavors, but it is presented in a family style, finger-food manner. This is consistent with their concept, but it doesn’t provide a great option if you are just looking for a nice restaurant dining experience. So, make sure you go first for the concept and while you’re there, enjoy the cuisine.

Irma’s Burger Shack is fairly well-known around the Oklahoma City metro. Their flagship restaurant near 63rd and Western is generally packed during the lunch hour as hoards of hungry people from Chesapeake Energy and elsewhere crowd in to grab a lunch. I ate at the original Irma’s restaurant once a while back and enjoyed it, but I became even more interested in Irma’s when I saw they were opening a second location at Plaza Court in midtown OKC. Since I live in a historical neighborhood near this area, I am very happy to see new restaurants moving in. So, I had to give Irma’s II a try.

First of all, I just have to say what a great location, and what a great renovation they’ve done. Credit is due to the developers of the property as well as the folks at Irma’s. If you haven’t been to this area of our great city, you really should check it out. The whole area around Plaza Court is getting built up with restaurants and the Plaza Court building itself is a real architectural treasure. Irma’s corner space, in particular, is so inviting as huge windows seem to wrap around the whole restaurant. Come on down and check out a piece of history sometime.

Ok, on to the food. I took up a special mission on this trip to Irma’s. I wanted to find out if their famed “no name” beef really made a difference. You see, at Irma’s you can get a burger made with special beef from a private herd of cattle at the No Name Ranch in Wynnewood, OK. On their website, they make a big deal about this special breed of cattle and that it is raised naturally with no pesticides or hormones or any of that stuff. Sounds great, right? Well, I wanted to find out for myself. Does “no name” beef really make a better burger?

In a word: yes.

I tried them both side by side in an effort to bring you my official verdict and, in my opinion, there is a huge difference in texture between the two. The “no name” patty was cooked all the way to well done, yet still moist and juicy, with an almost crumbly texture that sort of melts in your mouth. The regular patty, cooked similarly, was much more dry and the meat was a bit compressed. Both burgers had great flavor, but this texture really made the difference. My wife, who runs screaming at the site of any pinkness on a piece of meat, was really pleased that she could get a well done burger that still had some life to it.

It’s this type of commitment to quality that really makes Irma’s great. They’re not trying to be fancy, but whatever they do, they do it very well. The onion rings are hand-breaded. The fries are fresh cut in-house. The burgers are seared first on a griddle to lock in juices, then flame-grilled the rest of the way. Whenever possible, you can bet that Irma’s is taking the extra steps to add just that little extra touch of quality and flavor to all of the simple foods they serve.

All this extra attention to quality comes at a price, though. The basic, “no name” burger is $6 ala carte. Add cheese for $0.50 plus a side of fries for $2, a drink for $1.50 and you’re at $10 for one person, plus tax and tip. Now, I’m pretty cheap and spending upwards of $10 on a burger meal stretches me a bit, but what I really care about is value. Does the quality of the meal justify the higher price tag? In Irma’s case, I’d have to say “yes,” and judging by their history of long lunchtime waits, I’d also have to say that a lot of people agree with me. I tell you what, I’ll drink water, split some fries, leave off the cheese, and focus my funds on the “no name” beef and the all-around quality you can only get at Irma’s.

PLEASE NOTE: Dawg House is no longer in business.

Ever really craved a hot dog? You know, a real hot dog, like you would get at the carnival, or ballpark, or that hot dog you remember from your childhood? I do. In fact, I get so desperate sometimes that I hop from gas station to gas station hoping to find one on rollers that hasn’t been cooking for two weeks, or at least, isn’t green. Thankfully, for the sake of my lower intestine, there is a new dawg in town!

Hot dog’s have a rich history that spans many culture’s. Germany, which has introduced us to some of the worlds finest meat products and sauces, introduced to the world the frankfurter, or is that “introduced the frankfurter to the World?” Whatever the proper wording, the hot dog was born back in the 15th century and has pleased the masses ever since. It wasn’t until an innovative German entrepreneur paired these “franks” up with buns to make quick sandwiches to peddle on the streets of New York in the mid to late 1800′s that the actual hot dog was born. Ever since, hot dogs, and the proper ways to consume them, have been richly debated. How should you eat your dog? Ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, boiled, grilled, steamed, blended up in a meaty shake? People eat hot dogs every which way and believe their way is the only way. Luckily, the Dawg House has come to Oklahoma City to teach us about hot dogs, and how to eat them.

When you first walk in to the Dawg House they will ask if you have ever eaten there before. They then proceed to describe the different types of hot dogs and how they should be eaten. As a salesman, I appreciate a place taking control of the ordering process immediately and teaching you what you need to know to have an amazing experience. They have the Nathan’s Famous dogs (and will be quick to let you know the difference between these Nathan’s and the ones you find in the anemic Oklahoma City grocery stores), real German-style bratwursts flown in from Wisconsin, hot links, and other varieties of sausage. Get them decorated with kraut, mustard, ketchup, have them on buns or toasted hoagies, and pair them with a bag of chips and a can of Dr. Pepper. Its hard to find a better place for a quick lunch. Speaking of bratwursts, have I mentioned before that Oklahoma City’s pathetic excuses for grocery stores only sell the coarse ground “sausagy” style brats, not the smooth textured European style that you can find at the Dawg House or Oma’s Pantry.

Another thing I appreciate about the Dawg House is that the owner is more than happy to educate you on each selection that you choose so that your choice is truly a masterpiece you will enjoy. For instance, say you can’t decide between the Dusseldorf mustard and the spicier horseradish mustard, he will bring out a couple spoons and allow you to sample each just as you would if you were sampling fine wine. There is just something American about having a serious, perhaps even too serious, conversation about different types of hot dogs and mustard. I mean, heck, if you are going to be burping up hot dog burps all afternoon you might as well have a great time eating it. I ate there with 4 other guys and found that we were able to have a 30 minute conversation about hot dogs and condiments. What a great lunch!

I applaud a place that can take an ingredient like a hot dog, and really make it an art. Hot dogs may have come from Germany, but they have become as American as…uh…pizza. I can’t imagine going to a football game without having a hot dog. I can’t imagine July 4th without Kobayashi downing 50 dogs. And now, with the Dawg House in town, I can’t imagine ever going to a gas station for a hot dog fix again.