Sean Cummings–Oklahoma City, OK

Sean Cummings Irish Pub
7628 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 841-7326
Picture of the former restaurant from 2011

The old location at 7523 N. May


Update 2020: Sean Cummings Irish Pub has reopened and is located next to his wife’s restaurant (Vito’s) at 7628 N. May. The interior photos in this article are from the old location at 7521 N. May Ave. Both Vito’s and Sean Cummings Irish Pub have takeout orders available even when the dine-in facilities have been ordered to stay closed during the virus outbreak.

When I was visiting England it seemed that neighborhood pubs were a reliable source of good food, and although it was not fine dining it was enjoyable. For some items, such as fish and chips, I found it better to go to larger restaurants that specialized in that item. Although Sean Cummings’ Irish Restaurant and Pub would not want to be accused of committing the heresy of serving English food, the concept of Irish pubs is very similar to the English variety. At Sean Cummings’ Restaurant the atmosphere is relaxed, drinks are an integral part of the menu, and the food served is what I would call comfort food. Because of this, when I went to Sean Cummings’ Restaurant I felt right at home.

Over my lifetime it seems that American restaurants in Oklahoma City have largely disappeared. There is still an abundance of hamburgers and fried food, but it is difficult to find places that serve food that taste like home cooked meals. Although Sean Cummings’ Restaurant is European, there are enough similarities to the home cooked meals I have experienced to say that this is a good place to satisfy these cravings. Like many European style restaurants, it is not as much the exotic nature of the food that attracts me as its familiarity, and the feeling that this is the type of food that I really like.

Salads and Appetizers

Bread served as an appetizer

Bread served as an appetizer

Meals start out with a serving of bread. At the old restaurant I was not overly impressed with the bread, but now I find it to be one of the highlights of the meal. In fact, this bread is so good that I use any portion that manages to remain uneaten as a supplement to my breakfasts.

Soup and salad

Soup and salad

A soup and salad plate are also available, such as the one pictured. I do not know the full list of soups offered, but the emphasis is on traditional varieties that taste home made. The Clam Chowder was very good, and Sean Cummings’ Restaurant is one of the few sources of it in Oklahoma City (and as at Sean’s former restaurant Boca Boca, seafood items are some the best that can be ordered here).

Irish Stew

Irish stew

Irish stew

My initial visit to Sean Cummings’ Restaurant was at the original location in The Village after Boca Boca had been turned into the Pub. Now after two location changes and a time when the Irish Pub was not open at all, the Irish Stew I tried at the first location is still my favorite item at the restaurant. This is a classic stew with meat, potatoes, and vegetables thrown in, but I have had very few stews that taste as good as this one. Stew is a dish that I commonly associate with American restaurants, but it is one of the reasons I have found most American restaurants in the city to be so disappointing (and Sean Cummings’ Restaurant, by contrast, to be so good). This dish is not a traditional American dish, but I think it is something that helped inspire American cooking when much of it was better than it is now.

Shepard’s Pie

Shepard's pie

Shepard’s pie

Shepard’s Pie is another traditional comfort food, made with ground beef, carrots, green beans, cheddar cheese, and a liberal amount of mashed potatoes. I thought it had a flavorful sauce, and was another good dish. It may also be the most filling dish that the restaurant serves.

Fish and Chips

Fish and chips

Fish and chips

To judge Fish and Chips my standards are primarily the ones I ate in London and secondarily the ones on the Oregon and California coast. I know Oklahoma City should not and probably cannot be held to the same standards, but the ones at Sean Cummings’ Restaurant were quite good nevertheless. They were good fish with a good batter, and this is about all that is involved in the fish. The chips (french fries) were about the same quality, but this is the area where I felt the ones in London were noticeably better. The dish was missing cole slaw or something to accompany it to balance the flavors and to offset eating so much fried food, but this can be ordered as a side dish.

Bangers and Mash

Bangers and mash

Bangers and mash

The Bangers and Mash (Irish sausage links) dispel the idea that Irish food might be bland, with a very spicy sausage and peppery gravy for the mashed potatoes. The sausage tasted a little like bratwurst and the gravy was very much like I would expect brown gravy to be, except that it had quite a lot of pepper. The mashed potatoes were a little disappointing in taste, but at least the texture was good and I did not believe them to be instant.

I am used to spicy Asian food, but I am not used to the kind of spiciness found in the bangers, so they were not quite as enjoyable as German bratwurst or other sausages would have been that do not have as much kick to them (I also do not care for the hot links served at barbecue restaurants). This is just my personal preference.

Other Items
This section is for items I did not order but for which I have had reports that they are very good:

Corned beef

Corned beef

The corned beef looks appetizing, but I have not had a chance to try it.

Desserts

Creme brulee

Creme brulee

Several desserts were offered, and the Creme Brulee I tried was good but I thought was overpriced, and better ones are served at other restaurants.

Takeout Orders

Bread comes with takeout orders

Bread comes with takeout orders

Bread is not only excellent with the meal, but is great with breakfasts at home. The bread was freshly baked, but was still good for three or four days after I had it at home (although it was a struggle to keep it around this long without eating it).

Shepard's pie

Shepard’s pie

I enjoyed the takeout version of Shepard’s Pie with no noticeable diminishing of quality from the dine-in version.

The Pub has been known for its live music and relaxing environment, but at times when you cannot dine in, at least the food seems to be just as good as it is when you eat in the restaurant.

Closing Comments
Sean Cummings’ Restaurant offers a good choice of items, but my favorites are the ones I consider to be the more healthy options such as the Irish stew. Other dishes are available that I have not yet been able to try, and they all look interesting. Based on my experience here and at Boca Boca (Sean’s previous restaurant), I would not be hesitant to try anything on the menu. There is an overall freshness and good quality to everything served that I think makes this an excellent restaurant.


RATING: 23

Cuisine: Irish
Cost: $$
Hours: Dinner only (open daily)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer and Drinks

Most Recent Visit: Jan. 26, 2020
Number of Visits: 5
Best Items: Irish Stew, Bread

Special Ratings
star 5 Irish Stew
star 5 Shepard’s Pie
star 4 Fish and Chips
star 4 Bangers and Mash
star 4 Creme Brulee
star 5 Bread

 

Route 66 at the Texas-Oklahoma Border

I believe that something almost as important as the meals I enjoy and write about are the journeys to get to these various places (and in some cases this really seems to be even more important).

One such journey which has interested me since the days of my youth is the iconic one along Route 66 (U.S. Highway 66) which was gradually replaced by Interstate 40. My family made frequent trips from Oklahoma City to New Mexico to visit relatives as well enjoy the cooler summer temperatures in the mountains, and as a result I witnessed much of the transformation of this roadway to the way it is at present.

The sections of Route 66 which still exist have become quite an attraction for tourists, as well as the entire experience of 1950’s and 1960’s era travel which a growing number of entrepreneurs are savvy enough to try to replicate for visitors today.

I can say with a high degree of certainty that the original sections of Route 66 which still exist are not there by design, but just happened to survive due to various circumstances. I found a couple of examples of this on a recent trip on Interstate 40 at the Texas-Oklahoma border. Through some old maps that I have as well as ones I found on the Internet I have developed somewhat of a timeline for the history of this section of Route 66, but I also have memories of it from traveling in my parents’ station wagon on many of our family trips.

 

Wheeler County, Texas Just West of the Oklahoma State line

From Exit 176 eastbound in Wheeler Co., TX into Texola, OK

South frontage road of I-40 at mile 176 in Wheeler Co, TX

South frontage road of I-40 at mile 176 in Wheeler Co, TX

When I saw this section of road I suspected immediately that it was an original segment of Route 66, and a check of the old maps has confirmed that this is the case. This particular section of road is accessible if you take the Texola exit from Interstate 40 eastbound at Exit 176 in Texas.

This was the original Route 66 from the 1930’s and 1940’s, and now seems far too narrow to have functioned as a two-lane high speed highway, although I know that this was the case. Probably the biggest difference in that time period had to do with the size and number of trucks operating on the highway, but even for cars this seems like a narrow road.

A 1961 map of Wheeler County from the Texas Highway Department shows that this had become the eastbound portion of a now 4-lane divided highway. It is interesting that they developed this portion of the road to a 4-lane version of Highway 66 while the Interstate highway is in development (and was open in 1972 for the entire length of Wheeler County except for the loop around the city of Shamrock which was under construction at that time).

What seemed to save this portion of the roadway was the fact that a Texas law said any property owner along a roadway (including US highways) could have access to the roadway. When limited access highways were developed, including Interstate highways, they had to build frontage roads to provide the property owners’ access mandated by state law. With Texas being an ever so frugal and conservative state, they decided that the existing roadway (the old Route 66) would make an excellent frontage road. In Shamrock, where the new Interstate highway bypassed the city, the old Highway 66 is still in its form as it was in the 1960’s (a four-lane divided highway) now known as Business Route 40.

 

Texola, Oklahoma

The farthest west town in Oklahoma along the old Route 66

Route 66 in Texola, OK

Route 66 in Texola, OK

According the the old highway maps which are available for download at the ODOT web site, this section of Route 66 in Oklahoma was widened to four lanes in 1958, and served as the main highway until 1976 when this section of Interstate 40 was completed. Much of the existing Route 66 in Oklahoma today is this same type of four-lane highway, particularly through cities and towns. Because the Interstate largely did not go through the center of towns in western Oklahoma, this left large portions of Route 66 intact and this is another very good place to explore the old road.

Businesses along Route 66 in Texola

Businesses along Route 66 in Texola

Texola has a few businesses along Route 66 which seem to cater mainly to tourists. I was there late in the day and probably after their closing time, but I did see a few cars parked in front (I think they probably get more business during the day).

Texola is a good example of much of the 1960’s version of Route 66, but the south frontage road of Interstate 40 in Wheeler County Texas was of great interest to me as being an original section of the highway from the 1940’s and earlier.