For some people, and especially those new to the Oklahoma City area, I’m sure City Bites is a little mundane. It’s a pretty large local chain with over 15 Oklahoma City locations. It’s lived past its days of being exciting and new and is now just a common part of the Oklahoma City life.

But I grew up just a couple of blocks from the original City Bites location and I was there when it first opened in 1986. For about four years, this tiny little shop in a strip mall on NW 23rd Street just east of Council Road was the only City Bites location, and man was it something. It overwhelmed you with zany interiors including mismatched paint and clever props like road signs that said “Keep Right” but had an arrow pointing left. And it satisfied you with a style of sandwich that was completely unique.

City Bites was quite possibly my first introduction into the value of a quality, local, neighborhood restaurant. At age eleven, I was pretty struck by the hard work of the owners who, legend has it, painted in mismatched colors because they were stretching their dollars by using whatever paint they could find laying around. And I was pretty smitten with the BBQ beef sandwich (grilled sirloin steak with grilled onions, green peppers, BBQ sauce and provolone) which they still serve today. I hadn’t had anything like that before.

Through my high school days at Putnam City West just down the road, City Bites was a staple of our “open campus” life. I also had several friends who worked there. It was just all an all around great place.

So, of course, City Bites has a lot of great memories for me, but the question now is, how has their growth impacted what they offer? Their 17 locations are, all but one, still in the Oklahoma City area, so they are very much still a “local” restaurant, though they are a chain and opening up to franchising. So, do they still offer something unique to our city?

I think they do. I still visit City Bites semi-regularly. The quality of their food remains high, in my opinion. Their pricing has gone up, naturally, and now you don’t get as much value as you used to in the early days, but they still serve a great, unique sandwich in their signature zany style.

I still love signature sandwiches like the Philly Cheesesteak with grilled sirloin, grilled onions and green peppers, crushed cherry peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. I know it’s not not an “authentic” version, but I don’t mind so much when it is so good. Another, healthier option is the California Club with fresh alfalfa sprouts, bacon, turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and sliced avocado. They’ve kept items like these consistently good from the beginning, while adding and inventing new sandwiches and new items like loaded salads and potatoes over the years.

And of course, every sandwich comes on that amazing bread. I remember first trying the City Bites bread and realizing I’d never had anything like it. Fresh baked, sub-shaped, but flatter and easier to get your mouth around. Their bread just seems perfectly engineered to hold a ton of sandwich contents. They’ve added some neat bread options over the years, like sun-dried tomato (my favorite), and jalepeno … etc. But all of them relate to the classic City Bites style. The bread alone is worth the visit.

They’ve also got giant cookies and brownies you can’t find anywhere else. And, they’ve recently equipped all of their restaurants with reliable, free wifi. This last point has driven me back to City Bites more than anything as I know I can get good food, some good iced tea, and free wifi whenever I have the need for a working lunch or dinner.

Though my personal feelings for City Bites are influenced heavily by my long history with them, I still feel they continue deliver a quality, unique Oklahoma City dining experience almost 25 years later. I’m sure many of you have tried City Bites at one time or another. Tell us what you think in the comments.

Editor’s note: This is the final post written by Andrew Littleton, the founder of our Shady Restaurant series. Andrew wrote this before he left town but I have waited until now to publish it so that it will still seem like he is here. Enjoy his farewell words and a final tasty find.

By now the word is out that my days as shady writer for eataroundokc.com have come to an end.  I have decided it would be fitting to end my shady posts where I started them — on SW 29th street, almost literally next door to Sydney’s, the one that started it all.

This review is about the best Mexican-style tamales in town.  I say that with absolutely no reservations. No ”I think,” no “possibly,” — absolutely no trepidation.  I speak with confidence because I believe I have eaten at every authentic-ish Mexican restaurant on the south side of Oklahoma City and, unfortunately, at my fair share of Okla-Mex places in town as well.

Before I get to talking about Tamales, I would like to offer a brief homage to SW 29th street.

Ever since the day I had a $3 breakfast for lunch at Sydney’s and helped to unplug the fan so they could plug in the cash register to complete my purchase, I fell in love with this stretch of road.  Sure, there have been moments of fear. Like the time the drug dealer dudes started ramming their $40,000 tricked-out Cadillacs like they were bumper cars. Or, the time the meth lady accused me of stealing her car (my custom Volkswagen Beetle) and then chased me back to my office. Or, of course, the time I ate at the Golden Touch Grill.  But those moments are fleeting as I think of all the great food.  Flautas and enchiladas at Los Desvelados, dollar tacos at Max Burger, the burger I got carded to eat at the place that turned out to be a shady beer bar, and the time my friend Dirk nearly died from the heat after shouting “muy caliente el diablo!” about how hot he wanted his pork chile verde from the place across the street from Los Desvelados.

Yes, I have many fond memories of SW 29th street, and I leave you with one final recommendation.

Tamales may well have a more complete name, but I’m not sure. There is a bit of a language barrier.  I asked once what hours they were open and got a “yes we are open, you like tamales?”  To which I replied, “As a matter of fact I do!”  So this I know — they are open seven days a week for lunch and at least until 6 or 7 or so.  I say this 6 or 7 deal because I have sent many people there after work to take a dozen home for dinner.  These tamales pair especially well with the marinated flank steak you can purchase at the mercado across the street if you want a complete meal.  They also serve menudo on the weekends.  I bet it’s awesome, but I haven’t tried it.

The menu consists of tamales, chocolate covered bananas (with sprinkles), and nachos.  They also serve raspados (Mexican snow cones).  I have only had the tamales, so you will have to supply your own reviews the other other offerings in the comments. I’m not big on raspudas or chocolate covered bananas, sprinkles or no sprinkles.

You order your tamales by the dozen, spicy or . . . uhm . . . not spicy. A dozen tamales costs $13. The spicy pack a punch, as they are full of chopped jalapenos, but they are, by far, my favorite.  These tamales are silky, moist, perfectly steamed, and by no means dried-out gritty corn mush pockets like you would get at most places in town.  In fact, I have had many people who don’t even like tamales say these are great.  The problem is, these people probably had their first and only tamale experience from Taco Bueno.

Take my advice, block out past memories of fast food tamales and Okla-Mex tamales, go get a dozen of these, take them back to work (they will stay hot, trust me), and go change the lives of your co-workers.  They really are that good. I work with a large number of people from Austin who swear there is nothing close to these down there, and they are a good seven hours closer to Mexico than us.  The door to the back room is usually cracked open where you can see a lady with a stack of corn husks rolling up and steaming them as fast as she can go.  It may bring tears to your eyes, but fight through the emotions and yell out, “One dozen tamales . . . uh . . . spicy!”  It works every time.

Well, there’s not much more to say about Tamales, so let me just say this. It’s been awesome, and humbling, to see how our shady reviews have changed the dynamic of these deserving restaurants and brought them patrons that might have never ventured into them before.  I have had owners of a few of these places come out and give me hugs. I’ve seen the comments as our faithful readers give great feedback on these shady wonders. Recently, I’ve even seen a couple of these spots hit the national food scene on TV.  The only negative has been watching some of my favorite spots become so popular that they are hard to get into now.

Thanks, Oklahoma City, for all the shady memories. I can’t wait to hear what you all think about Tamales.  While Nashville has a great meat and three, spicy chicken, and soul food scene, there is no replacing the Mexican and South American food scene we have here in OKC. So keep them busy for me while I’m away, and  if you are ever in Nashville, I’ll meet you for some hot chicken.

Even if not everyone in your family is into Italian, I would be willing to bet all tastes can be satisfied at Primo’s.  They have all sorts of seafood, steaks, pastas and pizzas; they also serve a great brunch on Sundays; and they even have a good selection of vegetarian items. They have also recently started a lunch-time buffet for $7.95/person, which is a delicous value. It includes two varieties of soup, several different kinds of salads, and about five entrees.

I made sure I tried this place several different times so I could sample lots of different things and share my thoughts with you.

On my first visit, we had a couple of problems, but nothing terrible. Mom had the 8″ Margherita Pizza ($9.99).  She requested a different sauce, which didn’t happen, but she still enjoyed it.  I ordered the special of the night, which was Pavarotti Shrimp:  tortellini, Gulf shrimp, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, fresh tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil and cilantro ($12.99). Now, the last time I checked, tortellini was a circular-shaped, cheese-stuffed pasta.  And instead of the tortellini, mine was served with linguini, which I usually don’t care for.  To use the words of QE2 (Queen Elizabeth II), “I don’t care for the long, stringy noodles.”  The dish could have used a little something more as far as flavor and spices go. I found it lacking in taste, though the presentation was nice.  My husband’s parmesan-crusted halibut was very nice ($14.25).  He had no complaints.

The next time we went was for brunch, which is served 10am to 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. My husband’s parents tried the Strawberry Crespelle ($4.99), which are thin, Italian pancakes layered with vanilla custard then folded and covered with fresh strawberries.  They are still raving about it, and, as a matter of fact, we have been back three times with them for this dish.  My husband always gets the stromboli benedict ($5.99) for brunch, which is stromboli stuffed with portobello mushrooms, Canadian bacon, poached eggs, asiago cheese, and a dollop of Hollandaise.  He loves it.  I tried the southwest breakfast pizza ($5.59), which I found to be a little dry.

On our next visit, Mom and I split a New York style veggie pizza, which was pretty darn good.  Not as good as Papa Angelo’s, but a close second.  If you go with the 8″ specialty pizza ($9.99), I would definitely recommend each person get their own house or Caesar salad.  These side salads are small, and I find the Caesar to be a little better.  Now, if you’re a salad-only type person, the chopped salad ($9.49) is very tasty and more than you can eat in one sitting.  It contains chopped Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, crumbled gorgonzola, green onion, sundried tomatoes, all tossed in a house dressing.  It can be found under the vegetarian section of the menu, along with a lot of other entree-sized salads and dishes.

Our next visit was with friends and I tried the Baked Roman Pasta ($12.79) which is a blend of Italian sausage, grilled chicken, bell peppers and onions tossed with penne pasta in meat sauce, then topped with mozzarella cheese.  This was as good as it sounds, and it was served in a bowl the size of a basketball, leaving me lots to take-home.  My friend tried the Signature Peach Bellini, which pretty much tasted like a peach icee, but was made with Peach Schnapps, champagne, peach royale, vodka, and fresh peaches served frozen ($4.99).  My other friend always gets the ribeye steak ($15.99), which looks delicious from across the table.  Like I said, there’s something for everyone.

So, the last time I went was with eight other friends, and I split the Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken Breast ($11.79) which was covered with honey balsamic glaze and served with asparagus and broccoli. Kudos to Primo’s for serving an entree with less than six fat grams and 500 calories!  It was very tasty and the portion is perfect.  It’s rare these days to find something like that, especially in an Italian restaurant.

I think Primo’s offers a great value at lunch with two specials offered every day. First, there’s the “Endless Pastabilities” which gives you any pasta, with any homemade sauce, as much as you want, served with their fresh-baked bread for $6.99. They also offer bottomless soup, salad and bread for $4.99.

Also adding value is the fact that as you exit the restaurant, there is a basket of their homemade, day-old bread, free for the taking as long as it lasts.

The service has almost been too good when I’ve been with a small party.  I believe there is such a thing, although rare, as too much attention from your server, and this has happened to me at Primo’s more than once.  On the other hand, with large parties, the service starts out great, but by the end of the meal it is severely lagging.  Surely there is a place to find a happy medium here. That said, these minor inefficiencies will definitely not keep me from returning.

At each visit, I seem to find something new on the extensive menu that I had not found before, and only one time have I been even slightly disappointed. Another good thing is that they take reservations, which is especially nice for your larger parties and out-of-town guests, as they get quite busy at dinner time on the weekends.

I think Primo’s is a great, local find in the metro, and I urge you to explore their menu as I have to see what surprises you discover.  Let me know if you find something I haven’t found. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Editor’s note: this month’s shady restaurant feature is a special contribution from Chef Ryan Parrott. Chef Parrott is a leading chef and restauranteur in Oklahoma City and we’re delighted to have his contribution here. For more about Chef Parrott, please see his author page.

As a chef, I am constantly searching for the next great meal, combing the planet for a new flavor, new technique or new ingredient. As of late, I have found more enjoyment seeking out the little, out of the way, family owned ethnic places — the ones that are truly displaying and sharing their culture the best way they know how — through their food.

Recently I was directed to El Pollon by a close friend. He casually told me about a nice little Peruvian Restaurant at SW 44th and Penn. Being a northsider, I find myself, at times, not really getting out my “bubble,” so I had no idea that this place existed.

Upon entering, I was warmly greeted and directed to the rest of my group. This was nice but unnecessary as they weren’t hard to spot in this very small, 35-seat dining room. The décor is unassuming, with generic tables and chairs — think 1970’s era Pizza Hut, but renovated and updated. The walls are adorned with cheesy, Peruvian-style rugs, wall hangings, and a large flat screen that plays old Peruvian variety show DVDs. There appears to be one server that takes care of the entire dining room, and on my several visits, it has been more than adequate. The menu verbage is very easy to read, offering detailed descriptions of each dish in clear English. Sometimes I find that true ethnic restaurants have a hard time conveying the dishes to those not versed in their culture or language, but this is not the case at El Pollon.

First off, the beverages. They offer the standard lineup of sodas and iced teas, but if you order one of these you are missing out on a great part of the experience. Instead, try a canned Peruvian soda called Inca Kola ($2). This popular soda is sweet with a bubble gum flavor and a cream soda finish. Another option is the Chicha Morada ($2.99), which is made from purple corn. It’s reminiscent of clove and pineapple, with some sweet earthiness of corn mixed in. This drink is quite refreshing, and pairs well with most of the flavors in the dishes I have had there.

Now, onto the food. The selection is pretty good, with several different offerings and even a lunch menu. Although there are several main characters in the plot of this menu, the star of the show, though not but by much, is the rotisserie chicken. The manner in which they prepare it is exceptional. As a chef, I certainly won’t be giving a standing ovation to a simple, ordinary bird very often, but this one truly deserves a repeat performance. Seasoned to perfection and slow roasted, the skin is perfectly golden brown, with meat left tender and juicy on the inside. Ask first if it’s available, as they seem to have issues keeping up with the demand on this item.

The wonderful supporting cast of menu items are certainly nothing to shy away from. One of my favorites, although I haven’t encountered anything yet I didn’t love, is the Papa Rellana ($4.99). It is perfectly-prepared mashed potatoes enveloping a filing of ground beef, seasonings and raisins. The addition of the fruit in this one really adds a new dimension not regularly found in most American dishes, even the American adaptations of popular Peruvian dishes.

The sauce de Aji — a mixture of roasted peppers, milk, cheese and Peruvian seasonings — repeats itself throughout the menu and can only be described as beautiful. The rich velvety texture and the “slightly sweet at first, slightly spicy finish” is perfect with the not-so-heavy-mouth feel of this sauce.

The Papa a la Huancaina ($4.99) features this sauce over blanched potato slices and garnished with olives and hard-boiled egg. I can promise you that this vegetarian dish will leave even the biggest carnivore a happy diner. The sauce is also used in the Aji de Gallina ($6.99), which combines their rotisserie chicken, walnuts, raisins and more potatoes. This item is listed on their lunch specials and leaves me speechless every time I consume it.

Among the other offerings that we enjoyed are Chicharron de Chancho ($8.99), which combines fried pork loin with a salsa criolla and sweet potatoes; the Bisteck a lo Pobre ($9.99 – their version of steak and eggs) with fried egg, plantains and avocado; and another crowd favorites, the Jalea De Mariscos($10.99), which features deep-fried calamari, mussels, shrimp and fish, and is also served with the salsa criolla and fried yucca.

They do offer desserts, but I have never had the room to try any one of them, so I may have to report back on these at later date.

I have to say that owners Juan and Niel do an impeccable job of making sure their diners are happy. Their food and flavors are to be cherished. They stay true to their heritage and cooking style, and it is very refreshing to experience this heritage as a diner.

I know I missed the Shady Restaurant of the Month for April.  To make up for it, I am going to make a strong recommendation for this month’s shady offering. I’m even making a bold proclamation that you won’t find better authentic tacos anywhere else in the city.  I have probably eaten at every authentic taqueria in town and there is none better than Los Comales.  It lies on South Agnew just south of the Stockyards.  They are cash only (note: they now accept visa and mastercard), but if you are in a pinch, you can go next door to a particularly shady gas station where there is an ATM and some slot machines.  Does anyone really know what goes on with these gas station slot machines that say “for entertainment purposes only?” There is no way these dudes are in here on Friday’s spending their paychecks unless there is a chance to win some malt liquor … but I digress.

Los Comales is a taqueria, in true form.  That means no chips and no insulting cheese jelly.  While I am on the subject of insulting cheese jelly, why do Okla-Mex restaurants all over town serve this mysterious, watered down, clearly-not-cheese-based, jelly-like substance?  I would prefer they just come out and say “we don’t serve cheese dip for free you cheap-skate, pay for some good stuff” rather than to serve up these ramekins of puke-orange-colored flavorless goo. Oh, look, I digress again. Ok, back to the restaurant.

Los Comales has tacos, burritos, gorditas, tortas, enchiladas, quesadillas, and a few other specials that sometimes change.  I made a claim that they have the best tacos in town, and I think I am mostly correct.  Max Burgerprobably has the best “al pastor” tacos, but Los Comales has the best asada and lengua, plus their breakfast tacos are out of this world.

That’s right, I said breakfast tacos.  You don’t know what you are missing until you try some chorizo, potato, and egg tacos from this place.  What’s even better is that they serve them all day.  The breakfast burritos are fantastic as well.  Seriously, how can you top fried potatoes, onions, cheese, chorizo, and egg wrapped up in a tortilla?  I’ll tell you how — by dousing it in their delicious red sauce.

Tacos here price out a bit higher ($1.50) than the taco stands that occupy shady corners all over town, but hey, they have to pay rent, you know.  Plus, you get air-conditioning, cool tile floors, and graffiti-covered bathrooms, all of which come in handy on hot summer days when you don’t feel like standing in the hot sun to get your lengua fix.

The quesadillas here may be my favorite in town as well.  It’s hard to beat tasty carne asada chopped up, smothered in cheese, and fried on a griddle in a fresh tortilla.  I know, quesadillas may not be what you think of when you think authentic Mexican food, but who cares, these are good.  The only quesadillas in town that can compare are from Max Burger, and also Chef Parrott’s at Iguana Mexican Grill.

The gorditas are my favorite in town as well.  Theirs are on the thin side versus the thick and crispy side — more like what you would see from a street vendor or Tacos Los Desvelados.  I really like this style, though.  There isn’t anything here that isn’t good.  Just pick your meat (carne asada, pollo, lengua, chile verde or rojo, carnitas, or machaca; your method of delivery (taco, torta, gordita, etc.); and your garnish (red sauce, green sauce, lime).  I had not heard of machaca before. I discovered it is actually a re-hydrated, shredded beef and it is very tasty.  Thanks to my Hispanic food expert and friend, Aswado, for educating me on this one.

Los Comales is worth the trip to Stockyard City for those wanting a good taqueria experience.  If you are tired of being insulted by other “Mexican” joints in town offering bland flavors and “cheese” jelly, this will be a breath of fresh air (assuming there isn’t a cattle auction going on down the road, in which case you shouldn’t breathe too deeply).

Well I found myself cruising around SW 59th again looking for some shady wonders and stumbled upon a not-so-shady but wonderful place called Jimmy’s Roundup Cafe.  There are lots of shady spots in the area around here. In fact, we had a gun pulled on us just down the road a few days ago, but that’s another review.  Jimmy’s lacks too many shady qualities to be part of the prestigious Shady Restaurant club, but it does have a lot of qualities that make it a fantastic place to eat on the south side of OKC.  Jimmy’s is family friendly, work lunch friendly, and very friendly to your stomach and taste buds.

Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe has apparently been around for years and at multiple locations.  He had a few locations on the north side that are no longer there but has since consolidated to just one location.  Our first experience was fantastic.  We were immediately recognized as non-regulars, and that prompted a visit from Jimmy himself.  Jimmy was not afraid of his food or the quality.  He proceeded to sell me on the selection I should have and offered to buy it back from me if I wasn’t completely satisfied.  I respect that in a restaurant owner.

The decor has that good-ole’ country diner feel.  Dark wood beams cris-crossing around, decorated plates, plus a load of cowboy and country decorations.  They also have a crane machine to tempt you into spending several dollars in hopes of scoring that awesome 50 cent toy. And, of course, they have a couple candy dispensers.  My favorite non-food items in the place however are the fiber-optic ball caps!  That’s right, get your OU, OSU, or even Texas fiber-optic hat right at the register.  If they start selling Jimmy’s Round-Up fiber-optic merchandise you may see me sporting a new hat around town!

The food offerings are actually pretty diverse.  You have your standard country diner options (catfish, chicken fried steaks, burgers, and sandwiches), a fairly good-sized BBQ offering (claiming the tenderest ribs in town), and now some Mexican dishes as well.

I’ll start with what Jimmy sold me on.  It was a dish that consisted of tender cuts of beef covered in his signature BBQ sauce.  I was a little nervous, especially after the last couple of recommendations I’ve had, but this was a winner!  The cuts of beef in these types of dishes are usually left over from the previous “special” and drowned in a sauce to hide the flavor and help you break down all the un-chewable connective tissue.  Not in the case of Jimmy’s special.  This was fantastically tender, full of flavor, and accompanied by two home-style sides (I had fried okra that rivaled Pappy’s and mashed potatoes with gravy).  You also get a basket of homemade dinner rolls with every meal.  I like to dip my rolls in the little puddle of grease at the bottom of the cup of fried okra, but that’s just me.

As good as my meal was, however, the shining star at Jimmy’s is the chicken fried steak. I will put myself out there and claim it as the best in OKC.  I think it’s the best value in town, not to mention the best taste.  For $4.99 you get chicken fried steak, two sides, and a roll.  This chicken fried steak uses a very light batter, and it’s fork tender.  Amazing.  Too often the chicken fry’s in this town are heavy, thick batters — thicker than the cut of meat hidden inside. They also tend to be Texas-sized with a Texas price, and infused with all the flavors of the kitchen that have been dipped in the same grease. Not so here (oh, and don’t leave nasty comments about how Ann’s Chicken Fry is better until you have tried Jimmy’s).

There is a lot to try at Jimmy’s. There are other great deals including a Super Bowl Special for ribs (seasonal, of course) and all you can eat catfish for $9.99.  I may never get past the chicken fried steak again, but if you do, you may want to try the cinnamon rolls that are the size of my head.  And I have a big head.

There is a guy who sits right next to the cash register who is there every time I’m there, and apparently there for breakfast too.  Don’t take my word for it, ask him.  He will be happy to tell you about the great food offerings here.  Plus, if you can’t decide on what to eat, Jimmy will be happy to make personal recommendations and back them up with a guarantee.  The wait staff here is fantastic as well.  They are sold on what this place has to offer. The waiter we had last time spent so much time telling us how we should be bringing back friends and spreading the Jimmy’s Round-Up gospel that we accused him of being the owner and having the other Jimmy as a stunt double.  He said he was simply a loyal waiter and loved his job.  Refreshing huh?

Our only complaint comes from a friend who went there and had some serious confusion on the bill.  They have a lot of specials, and apparently can get confused on when something is on special price or not.  He really had to go around and around a few times with his bill to figure it out.  I have not had a bad experience personally.

Go try Jimmy’s Round-Up.  Take your family, take your co-workers, or take me!  You will find something here that you will find time to go back for, I guarantee it.  Like I said, I may never make it past the chicken fried steak, so please let us know what else is good here and any other thoughts on Jimmy’s in the comments.

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.

I’m not much of a dessert guy, so dining at an ice cream shop generally isn’t my first choice. That, plus the fact that the outside temperature is often below freezing this time of year, is enough to keep me away from anything with “frozen custard” in the name. But I heard about Bodensee Frozen Custard and the fact that they serve much more than sweets. I also heard that this single-location cafe runs a very clean shop so when I found myself meeting a friend for dinner on the south side of town the other day, I decided to give it a try.

I discovered that Bodensee offers a nice selection of sandwiches, soups, salads, sides, and a full espresso and coffee selection. Not only that, but I found an incredible value in the $5 lunch combo. This selection (which managing partner, Lloyd Tidwell, tells me they actually offer any time of day, not just at lunch) gives you a choice of any full sized sandwich, choice of side, drink (with free refills), and a taste of custard, all for $5 even. I can tell you that if I lived or worked anywhere near this restaurant, I would definitely take advantage of this value regularly.

I had the Prussian Cheese Steak sandwich. It’s $4.69 by itself but you can get it, in its full size, as a part of the $5 combo described above. This seems like a crazy price discrepancy to me, but hey, I’ll take it. The sandwich isn’t huge, but it’s certainly an adequate portion. Neither is it amazingly unique, but it is very tasty and fresh. The bottom line is, I wouldn’t be head over heels about this sandwich at $4.69, but at $5 with everything else included, I’m in awe.

My friend had the club ($4.59 on it’s own). It was pretty basic, but again, tasty and fresh. That seems to be the standard here. You’re not going to be writing home about the sandwiches you discover, but you’re going to get something fresh, healthy, well prepared, and at a terrific value.

On every sandwich, you get to choose your bread, dressings, veggies and cheese. It’s actually a lot of choices to make and a little awkward (in my opinion) when you have to spend so much time setting the specifications for your order, but if you’re into customization, this is the place for you.

Of course, the calling card of Bodensee is the frozen custard, so I had to try some. It was about 10 degrees outside when I was there, but I sacrificed for the sake of this review and ordered a parfait ($2.99 small, $3.49 regular, $3.99 large). There are about fifteen to choose from and I got the Bodensee. It’s sweet creme custard, banana slices, and strawberry topping in a parfait glass. I’m no custard expert, but still I can tell you it’s very good. It’s so creamy it’s almost hard to believe. The place obviously knows what they are doing as a creamery and, naturally, this is where the heart of their business lies.

You can get the custard in a bunch of other forms like mixes, sundaes, malts, shakes, floats, freezes, cones, smoothies, and the like. Again, tons of choices to make in flavorings, toppings and mixins. They also make a no-fat, no-sugar-added frozen yogurt that you can substitute into most of their selections.

One thing I really like is the “taste” of custard that comes with the $5 lunch special. It literally is a taste — a very small paper cup barely bigger than what you’d get as a sample most places with a little scoop of custard. But honestly, this is about how much dessert we all should really eat. It’s nice that they include it on the combo so that you can get a taste of their specialty, which of course may entice you to come back and try something else.

The one thing I’m not really fond of at Bodensee is the atmosphere. The interior of the restaurant is really disjointed and doesn’t give the impression that they really spend much time on environment. There is a front room that is done up to look like you are outdoors in Vienna somewhere. A painted mural on the wall and patio tables with umbrellas (though you are indoors) establish the motif. Now, it’s not super well done, but it still provides at least a bit of decor.

The problem comes when you move into the back room, which is almost completely bare and features a hodgepodge of coffee tables, benches, tables and chairs with no decoration whatsoever. This is a room you can reserve as a meeting room for many different party and group meeting options they offer. There is a ventless gas log fireplace in this back room, which would have been great on the cold day I was there, but there was nothing really cozy about it. It was just kind of stuck in the corner. There is so much more that could be done to the interiors to make this place more inviting. I also feel that adding free wifi connectivity could really help as they are promoting themselves as a cafe and coffee shop.

That said, I can’t render too much judgment on the “feel” of the place as I was definitely not there in their peak season. I imagine the mood is so much more lively on a hot summer night when lots of people show up to enjoy the cool, refreshing, and excellently prepared custard.

The bottom line for me is that Bodensee is a great value. I’m not sure the $5 lunch combo (which I’m told is available all day) can be beat anywhere, by anyone. It’s so much better than fast food — it’s fresh, custom made, healthy and tasty — and yet they are delivering it at prices that beat most fast food restaurants. Seriously, where can you go to get a complete meal, drink included, for $5 even?

This amazing value, plus the uniqueness of their dessert offerings, make Bodensee worth a try for those who live nearby. Please let us know what you 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.

Southwest 29th has long been a shady destination of mine.  It all started just east of Portland with Sydney’s Restaurant, and then continued east to the corner of May with 50′s cafe and El Regio Loco (which has since been spotted all over town).  Venturing further east, I found Max Burger off Western.  There are countless contenders for the shady honor along this stretch of road, dotted between the used car lots promising easy financing and the pawn shops offering to buy your gold fillings.  I owe it to a friend of mine for introducing me to Taqueria Los Desvelados, the latest purveyor of shadiness.  He is actually the same guy who introduced me to Nic’s Grill, so he will be automatically inducted into the shady hall of fame once it is created.

Taqueria Los Desvelados is in a very convenient location.  It is next to a Volkswagen repair shop and across the street from a rug and carpet store.  Further down the road on each side are used car lots, used tire and wheel swaps, and pawn shops.  It’s the perfect location because you were probably already driving by looking for an easy, no-hassle financing option for a used El Camino, which always stirs up a mean appetite.  Tacos Los Desvelados (as they have etched into their long bench tables) is full of flavorful ethnic authenticity, and surrounded by ultimate Oklahoma City shadiness.  What a perfect combination.  For all you real adventurers, try visiting late on a Saturday night while celebrating an OU victory.  You will find them serving delicious food until 3am on the weekends.

The decor is what you would expect in an authentic Mexican restaurant.  Bright orange and purple colors, pictures of Mexico, and cool chairs.  They have these big, picnic-table-style benches that have etched graffiti all over them in the front room, and in the side room a couple tables with cool chairs that look like this.  Also in this room is a ridiculously huge Mexican headdress.  Think this but 10 times bigger.  It is very light, though, as one of the waitresses showing it to us was able to lift it with one hand.  They also have a candy dispenser with a Mexican version of an M&M character, and one of those crane machines that you pay 50 cents to try and fish out a 25 cent prize.  You know, typical shady restaurant stuff.

The menu offers standard taqueria fare — tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, flautas … etc., stuffed with your favorite meats.  They have asada (steak), lengua (tongue), pastor (a seasoned pork meatloaf of sorts), chicken, barbacoa (beef head), and of course, buche (stomach), tripas (intestines), and chorizo (sausage).  Like any respectable taqueria, the tacos are traditionally served on corn tortillas with onion and cilantro and rolled up individually with a little parchment paper.

The gorditas are much bigger and thicker than those at the other taquerias in town.  I’m not sure if I like that or not.  I kind of like the thin gorditas as they seem easier to eat.  These are thick-cut corn “shells” (for lack of a better term) and according to those familiar with San Antonio street food, just like the gorditas in San Antonio.  They are made to be able to hold their fillings like a little fried sandwich and are absolutely packed with meat, beans, and flavor.

The enchiladas and flautas are topped with shredded lettuce, slices of tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.  The enchiladas have a tasty red chili sauce of some sort, and the flautas have a green tomatillo sauce.  In my opinion, they could both use a little kick so I usually sprinkle on some of the salsa that they bring out in those cool little Mocajete bowls with the little feet.

But unlike your typical taqueria, this is a full service restaurant. There are several dinner plates (with rice and beans on the side) including my new favorite dish — tacos derados. These are fried tacos.  They are stuffed with your choice of a crumbly goat cheese, or mashed potatoes (you read that right).  Not since those brilliant carnies at the state fair introduced fried mashed potatoes on a stick have I been so excited about a dish.  Now, if only they could stuff a taco with macaroni and cheese and deep fry it.  I wonder if they would take suggestions?

I always make a big deal when a restaurant serves one of my favorite meats, and yes, you can get goat here.  They serve a goat soup.  No, I haven’t tried it, mainly because soup isn’t my favorite means of sustenance.  I will try it when it gets colder. I wish they would serve goat tacos.  Finding goat, or even lamb, in this town is not easy.  Heck, I can understand squirrel (by the way, I have honestly thought of opening a fried squirrel restaurant — you think fried onion burgers are all the rage, wait till metro OKC sees the squirrel fries sweeping through the city) but lamb and goat are a main meat group in nearly every heavily populated culture in the world.  For now, you will have to settle for small morsels found in soups, stews and masalas in the ethnic eateries dotted across our metro.

One other thing — there is a pretty steep language barrier here, but that doesn’t stop them from being highly accommodating.  First off, we got an awesome tour of the restaurant and didn’t really even ask.  We got samples and descriptions of several items.  Also, my Bangali friend who was a little disturbed at not being served chips with our meal once brought this up to the waitress.  She asked, “Chips?  Like nacho or like tortilla?”  He said, “like tortilla.”  Next thing you know, she brings us out a basket of freshly cut pieces of corn tortilla that they fried up for us on the spot. Amazing!

Beverages range from the Mexican bottled coke (which tastes WAY better than American coke.  I think it’s sugar cane like the Dublin Dr. Pepper), cans of other beverages and cervezas, and flavored waters.  I find it interesting that these Mexican restaurants call what we call fruit juice “flavored water.”  Anyway, they have cantaloupe, a purple one that no one has been able to translate, and horchata.  If the assortment of beverages isn’t enough to provide relief to your taste buds still smarting from that pickled jalapeno, go next door to their paleteria (popsicle shop).  Our hostess gave us a tour of the place and a lot of samples from the paleteria.  She gave us a cup of what she called “crazy water.”  It was cucumber water and was surprisingly good, and very refreshing.  She also had celery water which I will never try because I hate celery, and a variety of other fruit waters.  These really are flavored waters.  They are not sweet like a juice.  The paletas were available in walnut, rice, mango, chocolate … etc.

Taqueria Los Desvelados is not the shadiest place I have ever reviewed.  Sure, from the outside it stirs up fear and uneasiness with the best of them, but inside you feel pretty comfortable except for a more difficult language barrier than many other Mexican restaurants in town.  As with all shady restaurants, I recommend to our shady novices to stick with daylight hours, but for the more experienced shady adventurists, Taqueria Los Desvelados lets you adventure late into the night.  After all, desvelados translates as “kept awake.”  So if you are “kept awake,” make sure you are not “kept hungry” and go have a late night burrito.  I can’t wait to hear what you think in the comments.

As someone who lives in Moore, but works in the Nichols Hills area, I have the opportunity to sample fare from all across the metro. Historically, for the most part, if I ever wanted anything for dinner other than chain food I had to make the trek back up north or to Norman. The food landscape has changed recently and as a lifelong Moore / SW OKC girl, that makes me very happy.

The Mediterranean Grill represents a great example of this. It’s located in a traditional strip mall just south of I-240. I noticed their sign advertising gyros and kabobs and wanted to give it a try. The eatery has become a favorite of my mother and my niece, and the three of us visited for dinner last week.

As I mentioned, the restaurant is located in a strip mall. Therefore, the outside isn’t really anything special. On the inside, the owners have decorated the eatery with earthy tones of oranges and yellows. Classy drop pendant lighting hangs from the ceiling, taking away the traditional fluorescent lights you might normally see in a strip mall restaurant. The owners of Mediterranean Grill keep the place spotless and obviously take great pride in their little gem.

My mom and niece both chose gyros ($5.75) which come on pita bread with lettuce, onion, tomato and tzadziki sauce. They ordered the gyros accompanied with small Greek salads, but could have had French fries, Persian salad, tabouli or rice. The gyro meat was about the most tender I have ever eaten. Usually I’m not crazy about gyro meat because it can be a little tough but this was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very flavorful. On the way home, my niece said the pita bread was so soft and fresh that “if it were a pillow I could take a nap on it.” She also complimented the full flavor of the feta cheese on her Greek salad.

My favorite part about Greek-inspired menus is the appetizers. I just love good spanakopitas (spinach pies), hummus (chickpea dip) and falafel (split pea fritters). Throw in some tzadziki dressing with plenty of cucumber and dill and I’m a happy girl! I decided to order the combo platter ($10.50) from the appetizer menu. The Combo Platter comes with 2 dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), 3 falafel, 2 sambosa (Greek spring rolls filled with spicy meat), 2 spanokopita, 2 tyropita (fried cheese pies), spicy yogurt sauce and pita wedges. I also requested some tzadziki sauce. I was most impressed by the spanakopitas and tyropitas. Both had just enough tasty filling on the inside with flaky crusts on the outside. The falafel were also very good and looked like little miniature breakfast sausage patties. The spicy yogurt dip had a little kick to it and really complimented the falafel. The tzadziki sauce is about the best I’ve tasted. Sometimes restaurants try to pass off what tastes like ranch dressing with a few little pieces of cucumber and some salt as tzadziki sauce. Not at the Mediterranean Grill. The cucumbers and dill blend together with the yogurt base and go perfectly with just about anything on the menu.

My mom, niece and I didn’t really care for the dolmeh or sambosa. We found the sambosa to be too sweet for our liking and the dolmeh was nothing special. Of course, you might like them better than we did, so give them a try for yourself sometime.

I’m quite impressed with The Mediterranean Grill and their menu. In addition to the gyros and appetizers, they have several kabobs from which to choose. On my first visit a few months ago I ordered a chicken kabob sandwich with tabouli. The chicken was well seasoned with hints of citrus. They also have several dinner platters and even tilapia and calamari. Of course, they also have baklava that my niece and mom really liked.

If you’re looking for a fairly inexpensive but very flavorful meal, I highly recommend you give The Mediterranean Grill a try. Let us know what you think in the comments.

The goal of every shady pick is to find a tasty bit of food at a location the average person may never have the guts to try on their own.  This month’s pick, Macy’s Pancake House, was actually recommended by one of our shady-lovin’ readers. The only thing is, Macy’s Pancake House was sold, and the name changed.  It is now 44th Cafe Pancake House.  Actually, I think it’s really only called 44th Cafe, but Pancake House still is pasted down the pole so that is what I will call it.

I had been to 44th Cafe about a year ago (when it was Macy’s) and remembered it to be pretty good.  I decided to go back and try it again.  Sure, it’s pretty shady.  You will find 44th Cafe nestled snuggly among a long line of pawn shops and cash advance joints.  The pawn shop next door actually outfitted my Volkswagen with a new stereo not too long ago.  So, how shady is this stretch of road, you ask?  Well, Sydney’s Restaurant, the famed inaugural Shady Restaurant of the Month, chose to move just down the road at SW 44th and May.  I will miss the old location with its leaky awning and its requirement of unplugging the fan to plug in the credit card machine, but even places like Sydney’s are looking to advance themselves.

As nearly every shady restaurant does, 44th Cafe likes to proudly put pictures of their food on the sign outside.  I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind this is.  You would think the words “Cafe” and “Pancake House” would be enough to clue people in that there are delicious greasy morsels inside.  Maybe they simply want to be sure that the image of their food can transcend language. Who knows.

Inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the well-lit, air conditioned environment.  Smokers are segmented in a separate room and unsurprisingly, that room was full.  There was no one in the non-smoking area except for myself and my shady companions.  Also, if you were thinking about borrowing the proprietor’s phone for personal reasons, you’d better think again.  There is a big sign on the counter plainly stating “No More Personal Phone Calls.”  Lucky for me, I had my cell phone for emergencies.

After we looked over our menus, our waitress approached and broke down the options for us.  I appreciated her candid honesty.  “Breakfast is great!” she said.  I asked about the daily specials and she said, “Oh, they are all good!”  I asked if that was really the case given that all of the specials were under $5 and she clarified that wasn’t really the case.  She said the chicken fried steak is terrible, a frozen parts-is-parts patty.  She raved about the spaghetti, though.  We all decided to play it safe and order breakfast.  I say we played it safe, but a couple of my shady friends ignored my sage advice and ordered the breakfast steaks along with their eggs and home fries.  Please, hear my plea — never order a steak that costs less than $10.  $4.99 is seductive, but it’s bad news.  The breakfast “New York Strip” looked like a thin shave of arm steak, but I could be wrong.  Whatever it was, my repentant friend informed me it was terrible and tough.  On the other hand, the eggs, home fries, biscuits, gravy, and pancakes were all fantastic — and very affordable. 44the Cafe also offers diner staples like meatloaf, pot roast, beef tips, catfish, and burgers … etc. I think I’ll stick with breakfast, though.

One thing that stood out was the fact that everyone who came into this restaurant was known by name.  Clint (who I called “Mr. Suspenders”) came in and ordered while he walked into the smoking chamber.  He ordered like this — it was brilliant:

waitress: “Hi Clint, be right there with your coffee and the usual.”

Clint: (nods head and says something unintelligible while pulling on suspenders)

waitress: “Ok, I’ll make that iced tea.”

This was an amazing exchange of verbal and non-verbal communication.  I can only hope that one day I can go into a shady diner, mumble and tug on my sagging pants, and find that my waitress hears my message — which will inevitably be “extra gravy and Dr. Pepper please” — loud and clear.

I love ordaining a diner with the shady honor, especially when it is a reader recommendation.  44th Cafe is a particularly shady location with big flavors and personalities inside.  One of the waitresses swears that if you come back for dinner and order the ribeye, you won’t be disappointed.  She says you can cut it with a butter knife.  That proposition is too shady even for me, but if one of you dares to try it and survives, please post your comments.  Until next time, keep the shady requests coming, and don’t be afraid to visit some of these places for yourselves.

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.

This one’s a “must try.” In fact, you may want to stop reading right now and make your way to Bella Vista. Alright, I’m getting a little carried away, but I just get so excited whenever I find a new “hidden gem” to share with you. I have to thank a friend at my workplace for recommending Bella Vista. I had never heard of it before, but I know I’ll be going back soon.

Bella Vista is a small, family-owned, family-run Italian restaurant in Southwest Oklahoma City. It is humble, casual, and the food is incredibly fresh. They claim that everything is hand-made daily, and I believe it. They have a special olive oil bottled for them from Vasiliko Di Kalamata (I don’t know where that is, but it sounds impressive). They bake their own bread. Every sauce is cooked fresh each day. This is Italian comfort-food and I have not experienced anything else like it in Oklahoma City.

The place is very casual. Come in jeans, shorts, or whatever you like. From the outside, the building doesn’t look much like a restaurant. Inside, they have made an effort to add some Mediterranean ambiance, but it’s definitely nothing to write home about. Yet, it’s comfortable and warm.

The food is what I would imagine home-cooking is like in Italy. It’s nothing fancy, but it is so extremely fresh and flavorful. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs ($8.95 at dinner). It’s common, I know, but I really like to judge any Italian place by this staple because you can tell so much from the way they handle their marinara sauce. I also ordered a dinner salad ($1.25 extra with a dinner) with homemade Italian dressing.

The salad dressing was absolutely perfect. Whatever special olive oil they claim to use was extremely effective. The dressing was so light, yet with a great mix of spices and some Parmesan cheese mixed throughout. Though the salad itself could have used a little more interest (it was mostly iceberg and a couple of tomato / cucumber slices), it pretty much just serves as a canvas for the dressing, so perhaps plain is better to really let the dressing stand out.

After that, my pasta came out. A very plain-looking plate with a heap of noodles covered edge to edge with sauce and two meatballs sitting on the side. When they placed it in front of me, I was overwhelmed with the aroma of fresh vegetables from the sauce. Now, the sauce was completely smooth, but you could still smell every bit of produce that went into it. It was unbelievable. Not sweet and overly heavy like a lot of commercial sauces. This is so light and so fresh. I can hardly describe it.

They say the meatballs are made fresh each day and slow-cooked for four hours. They were so tender and smooth. Again, nothing fancy, just basic Italian food done extremely well. I could eat it at least once a week, I think. Too bad it’s not closer to my office.

At lunch, they offer a special. For $6.95, you can choose from any of their basic pastas such as spaghetti alla marinara, arrabiata, bolognese … etc., or other favorites like baked ziti, manicotti, lasagna, eggplant parmigiano, or chicken alla parmigiano. The price of lunch includes a salad and their homemade bread. I consider this a tremendous value and I wish I had the time to get down there for lunch more often.

I have heard that if they get crowded at lunch, the food can take a while to come out. I didn’t experience this at dinner, but thought I’d pass it along. One thing my friend recommended is to call ahead at lunch time and they will start preparing your order in advance. I may have to try that some time as the drive, for me, would take up a good chunk of my lunch hour.

The menu has even more to offer than I’ve mentioned here. There is a large selection of appetizers, salads, soups, pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, and specialty dishes like chicken picata, marsala, scaloppini and a host of other specialty sauces. With so much to try and food that is so fresh and fabulous, I look forward to becoming a regular here.

I hope you’ll give Bella Vista a try soon. It’s local, unique, and very, very good. Let me know what you think in the comments.

I know, March came and went without a “Shady Restaurant of the Month” award. I’m making up for it with a particularly strong April recommendation that was actually brought to me by a loyal Shady reader. Please keep the suggestions coming! You never know when your favorite place could get the honorable Shady Restaurant of the Month award making you the envy of all your friends.

I got the email yesterday that I should give Choice Cafe a try. Luckily, I had no other shady plans and decided to go give it a shot. Choice Cafe sits on South Shields Avenue in Southeast Oklahoma City. As we neared the restaurant it became clear that it had some strong shady characteristics. We passed the Dreamland Motel, a couple pawn shops, a large bingo hall, and just before you reach the Swank Hotel (you can’t make up a name like that) you find Choice Cafe.

Like many of its shady cousins, Choice Cafe has a big, blue awning with jumbo letters advertising its name along with its phone number. A large portion of the awning was torn off on one side. Honestly, though, with these 78 mph Oklahoma winds, I’m not sure how anyone maintains a decent awning in this town. The parking lot was packed. In fact, we “made up” our own parking space. A full parking lot is always a decent sign, but Western Sizzlin’ also typically has a full lot so take that with a grain of salt.

Inside, it was very clean, although it did still maintain some shady interior characteristics such as water-stained, multi-colored ceiling tiles, and cinder-block walls. There was a large menu over the counter and as we walked up to order, we were told that we could sit down and that they would bring us menus. The menus were surprising. I’m used to a grease-stained menu at these places, but this was a nice, bright, laminated menu with great pictures and graphics, plus a large ad mentioning their catering business. There wasn’t the slightest bit of ketchup, meatloaf juice, or burger grease to be found lingering from the last guy. Our beverages were brought to us in nice, clean, sturdy glasses. Again, very surprising. I’m used to those beady, red, plastic cups with a worn-out Dr. Pepper or Coke logo on them. Also, in true South Oklahoma City fashion, they boast enough signed OU footballs, plaques, and framed snapshots of all the glories and traditions of Sooner Football to classify this place as an OU museum.

There are lots of food options here including burgers, gyros, baked potatoes, several varieties of chicken, and then a host of diner meals including meatloaf, roast beef, catfish … etc. I asked about the burgers. I was prepared for the “all beef patty” speech that can be translated as “frozen, all beef — but not the parts of beef you would normally want to eat — patties.” Instead, our waiter surprised me by saying how they hand-weigh the fresh beef every morning for their burgers. I figured I’d better try one. My shady lunch companions (no, they won’t mind being called that) got gyros and a roast beef dish.

The burger came exactly as advertised. It was an all beef, hand-made patty. I was impressed. A little under-seasoned for my taste, but I added some salt and it was quite enjoyable. It came with hand-cut curly fries. They were fantastic. The chef must have some mediterranean / middle-eastern influence. I say this because of the gyro offerings, plus the seasoning on the fries had a strong hint of garam masala or something similar. It was all very good. The roast beef came in typical diner fashion with mashed potatoes and gravy, and bland green beans.

I was quite surprised at the quality we experienced here. They have a very friendly waitstaff, good quality food, and prices that are in line with shady spots everywhere. I got in and out for $5. Not bad for such a quality meal. Oh, and like every good diner, they also provide a large display case of oversized slices of homemade pie. This is a tradition I rarely get to experience. I’m just not a big dessert fan. Sure, pie is good and all, but why waste that stomach space when it could be filled with meat, cheese, and gravy?

There may be shadier places in town, but Choice Cafe combines great taste with plenty of shady surroundings to provide an all-around great experience that earns it the prestigious Shady Restaurant of the Month award for April. Try it, and let us know what you think.

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.

December’s “Shady Restaurant of the Month” award winner epitomizes everything that those who love shady spots look for in an eatery. I have chosen El Regio Loco and will implore anyone who reads this to work up the nerve to eat somewhere unconventional and try this place. This place is a road-side stand, not unlike many taco stands you see throughout the Hispanic community. What is unlike most road-side stands, however, is that El Regio Loco has rented space inside the convenience store with which it shares a parking lot to give its patrons a place to sit and eat, sheltered from the elements.

Before we dive into the savory edibles, it is important to understand what El Regio Loco actually is. Gerard (pronounced herard) came from Mexico to start his own “American dream” and open a chicken stand not unlike the places he grew up working in Mexico and in Austin, Texas. El Pollo Loco is a familiar place to anyone from Northern Mexico and all along the bordering American states, and that is where Gerard got his start in roasting chickens.

Gerard hails from Regio, Monterrey or simply “Regio.” It’s not uncommon to refer to yourself as “from the Regio,” or ask fellow Mexican nationals if they are “from Regio.” Regio, Monterrey is a mountainous region (English for regio) in north-central Mexico with its own culture, food, and industry. One of the regional specialties is cabrito, which is baby goat cooked over mesquite coals. Unfortunately, El Regio Loco does not serve cabrito but, lucky for us, they do serve a roasted chicken that rivals any chicken you can get anywhere else in town.

Gerard is a very accommodating guy and wants nothing more than for you to be pleased with your experience. He is setting up a kitchen and grill inside the convenience store, but until then he is more than willing to run back and forth to the mobile kitchen and serve you while you wait inside at one of the three booths he has prepared for his patrons. If I have anything to do with it he will be expanding soon. Currently he cooks in the little roadside stand, but his new indoor grill will cook 100 chickens at a time, he says. If you have ever eaten at a little BBQ place that shares space with a convenience store then you can picture what he is doing inside this place.

Currently, you choose either a whole or half chicken. This chicken is marinated in herbs, spices, and citrus juice and then roasted over wood and coals until golden brown and delicious. The whole chicken is $13 and it comes with sides of rice, beans, or this very tasty Mexican goulash substance (I’m not really sure what the goulash is, and Gerard was unable to put it in English terms, but it contains elbow macaroni, bits of ground beef, onions and other spices, in a soup stock of some sort. Looking back on that sentence, the choice of words could probably have been more eloquent, but I’m not sure how else to describe it). You also get a stack of warm tortillas.

The chicken is cut into pieces for you before being served. One chicken is enough for 2 or 3 people, depending on how hungry you are. A half chicken costs $7. Gerard is about to start serving Carne Asada as well which he says will be equally satisfying. I also recommend eating with someone who enjoys the opposite type of meat as you so that there is no fighting over those succulent dark meat pieces.

Drawbacks? It’s as shady as it gets. Southwest 29th is not exactly the safest street in Oklahoma City. Plus, you buy your food from a roadside stand and eat it in a shady little convenience store that has to be a front for some sort of questionable money making venture because they don’t serve gas, they don’t have an ATM, they have limited merchandise, and they are across the street from a 7-11 that offers all those things and more, and yet somehow they pay their electric bill month after month. Perhaps Gerard will one day kick these guys out and turn this place into a full service restaurant pleasing the Oklahoma City masses and fulfilling his American Dream!

The good of El Regio Loco far outweighs the bad. So please, take a friend during daylight hours and go visit my amigo, Gerard. Tell him you read about his place on EatAroundOKC.com. He was very excited to hear that he would be on the internet so your encouragement will make his day.

As you are all aware by now, I typically frequent the shady, unknown places that most people wouldn’t set foot in without seeing if I come out alive first. I went into Pappy’s thinking it would be the same thing. A shady little diner, greasy food, but hopefully, a quality breakfast. What I found was good, old fashioned, country cookin’ and a great atmosphere. I don’t like to call it “home cookin’,” but rather “country cookin’,” because what is home cookin’ anyway? At my house it’s usually pasta, a meat product, and a cream sauce, but I digress…

Pappy’s is located on the corner of Reno and May next to Pappy’s World-Famous BBQ. Some may say it’s shady, but it lacks some key shady qualities:

1. I would not feel unsafe alone.
2. Prostitutes are across the street at Ray’s and seem to stay over there.
3. There is actually some ambiance (pardon my French).

I have eaten at Pappy’s BBQ a few times. It’s OK, not sure about the world-famous bit, but you will never see a review by me on it. I made a promise to never review a BBQ restaurant. BBQ seems to stir up deep emotions in BBQ Nazis everywhere, and they often become violent and angry if you mention the wrong thing about wood, sauce, rubs, or smoke rings. Since I am not an expert in any of these areas, and have no interest in having the wrath of the BBQ Nazis aimed at me, I choose not to review BBQ. I will, however, review diners, greasy spoons, and shady eateries, and that is what brings me to review Pappy’s Diner.

Our first time into Pappy’s, we were a little concerned. Pappy’s does not serve breakfast past 11am. “Only one grill to cook on,” is what Doris said. This is the first time that has been explained to us. We always thought the reason was laziness. The last time we ate at a diner that didn’t serve breakfast it was a disaster (see Golden Touch Grill). Thankfully, for the sake of my digestive tract, this was not a disaster. The lunch menu included lots of diner favorites: pork chops, chicken fry, meatloaf, burgers, and more.

Pappy’s has an ambiance that is distinctly different than the shady joints I frequent. The place is clean and inviting, well lit, and friendly. It looks like a Coca-Cola museum. Coca-Cola ceiling fans, curtains, metal tins, and posters. Also, a lot of Dr. Pepper signs, which I have a great respect for.

Did I mention that the food is amazing? I haven’t had a really good fried pork chop in a long time. Sometimes you just need a good fried pork chop. Pappy’s Diner fulfills that need. It also fulfills your need for fried veal cutlets, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, goulash, catfish, and burgers. Mashed potatoes are real, not fake like what can be found at Oklahoma City’s over-hyped chicken fry houses. Other sides are equally good except for the green beans which were disappointing. The chicken fried chicken was moist, tender, and delicious. The desserts are different every day, and equally tasty. Meals are accompanied with freshly baked rolls. I find it interesting that a place that costs, on average, $6.50 a plate gives you free bread, and a place that costs, on average, $18 a plate makes you pay for it (see Royal Bavaria).

Pappy’s food is unlike any other diner I have visited in OKC. I hope to try it for breakfast soon, but that would require me to either skip out of work, or wake up early. Neither of these options are very likely to happen.

Another thing about Pappy’s is that they are accommodating. For instance, goulash was the special of the day, but my friends and I had our hearts set on fried food (no jokes about hearts and fried food, please). They asked if they could just have a small cup of goulash as a side item so they could try it. Our waitress said, “sure!” without hesitation. Now that’s great service. I like a place that lets you go off-menu every now and then.

One thing you should know before visiting Pappy’s — you can sign your name to the bottom of the ticket and they drop your name into a bowl. If they draw your name and write your name on the white board later that week, your meal is free. It has already happened to one of the members of my lunch crew. Today his name was on the white board. He described it as a feeling like no other when you walk into Pappy’s and your name is written in lights. What a great way to enjoy a lunch. Free!! The danger in this is that you find yourself wanting to go to Pappy’s every day in hopes that your name is on the white board.

Maybe we should start sending out scouts first so we can continue to try other places in town.

It’s time once again to bestow the honor of “Shady Restaurant of the Month” to another questionable establishment serving good food to Oklahoma City’s food adventurists. There were several nominees that had compelling arguments as to why they should be chosen. Rays Country Cafe, nestled between two strip clubs, was not only dangerous but paired a couple of shady staples with their gyro-meat omelet. Tacoville has excellent gringo “Mexican” food in a very shady part of town. And Mariscos Mi Lindo De Mazatlan has fantastic fish tacos and burritos if you aren’t scared by a few mistrusting stares from the locals grooving to Mexican polka at ear-bleeding levels. In the end, however, I decided to move away from these shady wonders in favor of 50′s cafe on SW 29th and May.

A couple of things put 50′s Cafe over the top and they have nothing to do with the food. Rather, the y are all about the experiences surrounding the food. For example, along the street outside 50′s Cafe I saw my first real life bumper car match between two angry drivers and also had a lady accuse me of stealing her car. There has to be an element of danger to win the “Shady Restaurant of the Month” award, and cars ramming each other on city streets pretty much takes the cake. Please refer back to my original disclaimer. Also, 50′s Cafe is out of place in its location. Next door you can send your Western Union money order to your Uncle in San Salvador, and two doors down you can buy fresh tortillas and other Hispanic groceries. 50′s Cafe refuses to move from a predominantly Hispanic area and boldly continues to cater to the working-class folk who like an affordable breakfast at all times of the day.

Once inside 50′s Cafe, the first thing that sticks out is all the Marilyn Monroe pictures. Aside from the pictures on the wall, I’m uncertain what makes it “50′s.” When I think “50′s Diner,” I imagine milkshakes, burgers, coney’s, and John Travolta dancing awkwardly. While there were burgers on the menu, I did not see milkshakes, and no John Travolta or even John Travolta look-alikes. There were a couple Elvis look-alikes, but I’m pretty sure those weren’t intentional. I’m also pretty sure Elvis washed his hair.

Of course, it isn’t living up to your restaurant’s name that wins you the award. It’s all about shadiness and flavor.

We all ordered breakfast. Fried pork chops, biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, sausage, chicken fried steak, and grits. I didn’t eat all of this, I ate what was dubbed “OKC’s favorite.” It was a biscuit topped with a scrambled egg, covered in country gravy, and served with sausage. This may be hard to believe but I have had a similar dish at Classen Grill, and this was not too far off in flavor for a third of the price. I really think their claim of homemade gravy could actually be true. One other thing, a place like this is more than happy to give you a little extra gravy if you desire. In contrast, I was in McDonald’s today and a poor guy asked for a little more gravy for his biscuit and was told quite harshly that the portion that comes with his meal is plenty, and any additional gravy would cost him 75 cents. What a travesty. I like to think we still live in a world where a guy can get a little extra gravy when he needs it.

Anyway, my shady companions enjoyed the other breakfast items and delivered rave reviews. The chicken fried steak was obviously a frozen patty. I would never order this, but my friend eating it didn’t seem to complain.

A couple warnings:

1. The menus are saturated in cigarette smoke. Not sure why. Kinda weird.
2. Don’t get the owner started about the cost of Coke and Pepsi products. Apparently his Pepsi rep is ripping him off and he wonders how a guy is supposed to make an honest living. He turns red when talking about this. Apparently, the cost of Pepsi goes up next week too for you investors out there looking for some inside info according to shady restaurant owner guy.
3. They will try to tempt you with a $5.50 sirloin steak offering. Don’t ever fall for this trick. It even tempted one of my companions. Luckily I intervened before something terrible happened.

So until next month, 50′s Cafe now holds the esteemed title of “Shady Restaurant of the Month.” I like seeing the competition heat up. If you find a restaurant shady enough to be considered for nomination, please comment. In the meantime, go have breakfast for lunch at 50′s Cafe. You’ll be glad you did.

Since I feel it is my duty as an American to notify the public when my lunch time adventures cause me to stumble across a tasty hidden treasure, then it would also be my duty to inform the growing legion of Shady Restaurant fans of those places they should avoid. This week, my fellow lunch pals and I decided to try a place we have passed many times, but wisely had never stopped at before. The Golden Touch Grill sits along Meridian on the way to the airport inviting recent travelers to enjoy “the best home cooking in town.” They lied.

When you first walk into the Golden Touch, you are reminded of other Oklahoma City shady favorites. The menu has a variety of burgers as well as hot lunch specials. The clientèle has that special quality about them that makes you wish you had your license to carry a concealed weapon, you know, just in case. There was the guy wearing the short sleeve button up, that forgot to button up. There was a 20 year old TV playing soap operas. The tables were a hodgepodge of mismatched furniture lined up in long rows so you could eat with all your shady friends prison style. There was a white board with a drawing of peach cobbler commanding patrons to try it. In other words, your typical shady restaurant. In fact, to get the full effect of this place I have included two pictures.

The atmosphere was perfect, the location was scary, the entrance was intimidating (see picture), so all that was left to be a contender for the prestigious “Shady Restaurant of the Month” award was for the food to be good. We immediately realized that breakfast was only served until 11. That was a little concerning, but then we looked over and the guy with the unbuttoned shirt was smiling and nodding, with a little gravy collected in his mustache, as if to say “don’t worry, you’ll love the roast beef and burgers.”

I asked the waitress what I should order and she recommended the Golden Touch Burger. “Why not?” I thought to myself. After all, it is its namesake. My two shady adventurers decided to try the roast beef and beef tips and gravy respectively. The meal was plated and in front of us in less than 2 minutes. I remember remarking that was a little TOO fast. The burger had swiss cheese and a slice of ham on top and was accompanied with onion rings. It looked and smelled pretty good. It wasn’t horrible, started off pretty good, but got progressively less and less tasty the longer I chewed on it. The onion rings mysteriously tasted like fried whitefish. Not really a bad flavor in itself, just not what you really want your onion rings tasting like. I glanced over at mustache man and he was still smiling and nodding. I felt like at this point he knew something I didn’t. Meanwhile my friends were working on their beef and gravy concoctions. They described them as bringing back memories of bad TV dinners, fake grill marks and all. Not one of us was able to finish. We passed on the peach cobbler.

It is a shame breakfast hadn’t been served. It’s hard to mess up eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns, and can make one of these places worth coming back to. The price is right at a place like this if the food quality is decent. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this place for lunch. It’s a shame we were unable to try the breakfast options. We left, but not completely unsatisfied. Another shady spot can now be marked off the list and our adventures can continue elsewhere.