A Walking Tour of Midtown–Oklahoma City, OK

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Steve

From N. Walker Ave. looking south toward St. Anthony’s Hospital

Midtown Oklahoma City, centered around N.W. 10th Street and Walker Avenue, has one of the greatest concentrations of quality restaurants in the city. This is based both on experience (from some past and present restaurants) and the reviews I have read about all the restaurants in the area.

In conjunction with visiting a medical office in the area I was able to conduct a brief walking tour to scout out many of the restaurants I have read about. The purpose of this article is to pass along information I have gleaned from the Internet as well as what I found on my tour. There are only a couple of restaurants listed with which I have first hand experience, but practically all of them are on my “want to try” list.

Stella
1201 N. Walker Ave.

Stella Modern Italian Cuisine

Stella is known as “Modern Italian,” and according to reviews is not the typical red sauce type of restaurant. It has good reviews, is upscale, and is a place you would want to go for a leisurely meal (it is not outrageously priced, but you do want to spend time enjoying what you are paying for).

1492
1207 N. Walker Ave.

1492 New World Latin Cuisine

This upscale Mexican restaurant is located next door to Stella, and it looks as if the biggest issue here is where to find parking. I think they have their own parking lot but it may get full at times.

I recently ate at the new 1492 at Casady Square, and based on this I can give a very good review of the food. This was very good upscale Mexican cuisine, and I consider it to be a type of food that Oklahoma City really needs.

Cafe do Brasil
440 N.W. 11th St.

Cafe do Brasil

Although I did not eat here on this particular walking tour, this is still my favorite Latin American restaurant in Oklahoma City. I was very impressed with not only the flavor of the food but also with the choices. There is ample parking here, and the prices are very good. It is not quite what I would call an upscale restaurant but the food is what I would call upscale for Latin American cuisine.

Brown’s Bakery
1100 N. Walker Ave.

Brown’s Bakery

My next stop was at Brown’s Bakery, which is an institution both in Oklahoma City and with my family. I didn’t pick up any of their goodies, but I know that this is a good place for it.

This particular day part of the area was blocked off for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and one of the musical groups was practicing in Brown’s parking lot. There was still parking for those who wanted to go to Brown’s, and on a normal day there would be more than enough parking for anyone who was thinking about coming here.

Fassler Hall
421 N.W. 10th St.

North entrance to Fassler Hall (from Park Pl.)

Just east of Brown’s Bakery is a relatively new bowling alley, and above the bowling alley on the second floor is Fassler Hall, a restaurant fashioned after a Bavarian beer hall. The main dining area is an outdoor patio with picnic tables, although you can get out of the elements if necessary.

Fassler Hall’s outdoor patio

The menu at Fassler Hall is pretty simple. It specializes in bratwurst and sausages (according to one of the employees who explained the menu to me). There is somewhat of a variety of dishes, including schnitzel and a vegetarian sausage (which I understand is made of falafel). Of course all of these items go well with beer (at least this seems to be the consensus of the diners here).

From Tenth Street the restaurant is located up a flight of stairs, but it is at street level from Park Place (the street that runs between 10th and 11th). There is also parking off of Park Place, including several handicapped spaces.

Bleu Garten
301 N.W. 10th St.

Bleu Garten is Oklahoma City’s first food truck court, with a rotating schedule of food trucks that come daily (see their web site for the schedule).

Bleu Garten entrance

The official entrance to Bleu Garten is on Tenth Street, but parking is located in the back. There are covered areas to sit near the entrance, but they are not enclosed. The trucks are out in the open. There is a drink bar with restrooms operated by the food court (all of this is covered). Thus you can eat in a covered open air area, but the trucks themselves are not covered.

St. Paddy Cakes and Snow S’more trucks

I saw five trucks, and from their web site this seemed to be about the usual number that were parked here. I thought the St. Paddy Cakes truck was a special one for St. Patrick’s Day (when I went), but it turned out to be one in their regular rotation.

I did not see any Asian food here (something I was somewhat expecting), and I was a little surprised that there were only five in total. There are actually a lot more that come here but the schedule is rotating.

Note: The Bleu Garten web site indicates that as of July 2016 they have made some changes. I now see a lunch schedule only on Friday through Sunday, and dinner is Tuesday through Saturday.

Packard’s New American Kitchen
201 N.W. 10th St.

Packard’s New American Kitchen

One block east of Bleu Garten is Packard’s New American Kitchen, an upscale restaurant popular for its steaks and other (New) American dishes. Some say it has the best rooftop dining in town. It seems to be considered as one of the city’s better restaurants.

Tamashii Ramen
321 N.W. 8th St.

Tamashii Ramen in Oklahoma City

Tamashii, located in an almost abandoned neighborhood a couple of blocks from Midtown’s main drag, is the restaurant where I wish I could have eaten but I did not have time on this trip. I have heard excellent things about their ramen, and a restaurant like this is one sure sign that OKC has arrived as a “foodie” city.

Reviews indicated that a special spicy ramen is the best item if you like spicy food. Otherwise, the tonkatsu is very good.

The restaurant is small, and is a place you come for the food and not the atmosphere. Since the area is largely vacant I think this will make it fairly easy to come here and be able to find parking.

The hours posted on the door are as follows:

Tue 11-2 and 5-9
Wed 11-2 and 5-9
Thu 11-2 and 5-9
Fri 11-2 and 5-10:30
Sat 11-2 and 5-10:30
Sun 11-3

Gigglez
1016 N. Walker Ave.

Gigglez

Returning to the northwest, I passed by this rather unusual restaurant and comedy club (although in the daytime it is simply a restaurant). It actually has a highly regarded chef who brought an Asian twist to the food, although the menu is largely American. This looks like a place that would be interesting to try.

Gogo Sushi Express
432 N.W. 10th St.

Gogo Sushi Express and Grill

This restaurant is right next door to Gigglez, and it offers Bento boxes in addition to sushi. Most reviewers say it is a bargain, with good Japanese food at reasonable prices (at least at lunch). According to Yelp it is open 11 am to 9 pm Mon-Thu, open until 10 pm on Fri, and closed Sat & Sun.

McNellie’s Public House
1100 Classen Dr.

On the opposite side of the traffic circle from Gogo Sushi is where Classen Drive angles to the northwest. On the east side of Classen Dr. is the old Plaza Shopping Center that is now a “restaurant row.” At the south end of the center is McNellie’s Public House. Being St. Patrick’s Day when I visited, McNellie’s seemed to be the number one hot spot near downtown Oklahoma City. The concept here is an Irish pub, and I have to say that this is another place I would like to try if I get the chance.

Other Restaurants

View to the east from the traffic circle

Also in this complex is the Prairie Thunder Baking Company (1114 Classen Dr.) and Irma’s Burger Shack (1120 Classen Dr.). Most of the restaurants listed here (and several others) are within a short walking distance from each other, and provide an excellent choice of cuisines, price points, and choice of fast lunch spots or more leisurely restaurants. Bleu Garten and Packard’s are the outliers, being located closer to Broadway than to Walker. Still, though, they are within a half mile of Saint Anthony’s Hospital (the largest building in the Midtown area).

Midtown has seen a dramatic increase of restaurants and other businesses in the past few years. I give credit to Brown’s Bakery (and others) for sticking it out through the good and the bad times, and I am sorry that Boulevard Cafeteria is no longer there, but the restaurants that have moved in have been a definite improvement to the area.

Filipino Food Revisited

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Steve

In my previous post Filipino Food in Oklahoma City I asked a question that had been discussed on the Chowhound web site: “Why are there so few Filipino restaurants in the United States” (and at the time there were none in Oklahoma City).

The Chowhound site I referenced asked whether Filipino food was embarrassing (in other words, Filipino people might be more interested in blending into American culture and eating other people’s foods than in opening restaurants serving their own food). The article rightly asserted that Filipino food is very good, and that there should be more Filipino restaurants in the cities that have a large Filipino ethnic population (which are most cities in the U.S.).

I recently saw a program on Create TV that I believe provides some answers. An episode of Lucky Chow focusing on “Filipino Entrepreneurs” included an interview with P.J. Quesada, founder of the Filipino Food Movement. He agreed that Filipino food has not been as popular in the United States as one would think, and suggested the following as possible reasons:

Filipinos came to the U.S. already speaking English, so they were able to assimilate more easily than other ethnic groups.
Filipinos did not promote their food properly. One aspect of this is that there are a number of regional food styles in the Philippines. Immigrants from one region came to the U.S. and cooked their own style of food, but were not big promoters of other styles of Filipino food.
Americans are poorly educated about Filipino food. Much of it has to do with Filipino food having Spanish terms that mean something different than in other cuisines. In general it is hard for Americans to understand what the Filipino dishes are.

The first point is actually similar to the theory postulated in the Chowhound article on Filipino restaurants. Filipino immigrants quickly became Americanized, and did not go through the kind of adjustment that other groups had to do.

One of these adjustments might be the ethnic restaurants that serve as meeting places and social gatherings for immigrant groups as much as a place where these people like the food. I am speculating about this, but I will say that the points that Mr. Quesada made sound as plausible as anything I have heard about why there are not more Filipino restaurants.

At the same time, though, some people are trying to change things. The Lucky Chow program visited two restaurants in the Bay Area that prove that Filipino food can be successful in the United States. One in San Mateo, California called Jeepney serves traditional Filipino food, and like most similar restaurants has customers making a special effort to go there in order to enjoy this type of food.

A second restaurant in San Mateo called Attic has its mission as serving a type of Filipino fusion that would be popular with Americans. It has modernized the food and makes it with local ingredients. The local ingredients in California are different than in the Philippines, but the experience is the same since the Filipino way of cooking uses locally sourced products as much as possible.

I am especially interested in ethnic cuisine, and I think it helps to understand the food when I visit a restaurant. I definitely feel that this episode of Lucky Chow provides some good insight into Filipino food in the U.S.

I believe that the “Filipino Food Movement” is gaining momentum, and will become more and more apparent in areas other than just the San Francisco Bay Area.

Oklahoma City Filipino Food Updates:

Chibugan Filipino Cuisine opened in April 2016, and is the first of what looks like a new trend in Filipino food in the Oklahoma City area. The address is 4728 S.E. 29th St., Del City, OK. (Open Tue-Sat and lunch on Sunday).

Filipino Fusion food truck started operating in August 2016. The truck goes to various locations in Oklahoma City and Edmond, and may add more locations later.

Some Colorado Springs Suggestions

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Steve

Recently some friends of mine went to Colorado Springs for a vacation, and brought back a number of photos and good reports about the things to see there (many of which I have seen on my own trips there).

My friends also have very good credentials when it comes to reporting on food, so I asked them if they would give me some information to share with readers. I am glad to do this for the benefit of anyone else who may be going there to visit. Some of the restaurants mentioned are not very good everyday choices, but they are very good “splurge” restaurants to visit while on vacation.

I believe my friends are very good judges of food, and in most cases are more critical than I am when it comes to giving restaurant recommendations. It turned out that in about a four day visit there were three restaurants that they recommended, which are listed below:

Garden of the Gods Gourmet
410 S. 26th St.
Colorado Springs, CO
(719) 471-2799

Garden of the Gods Gourmet

This is a popular restaurant any time of day, but my friends went for brunch. The big drawing card was that they had an outdoor patio (which they wanted so that they could bring their dog). They said, though, that it had excellent food, and was the best restaurant they tried in the breakfast or lunch category.

Outdoor patio at Garden of the Gods Gourmet

This is also the only one of the three restaurants that falls in the “moderately priced” category (although I don’t know what they ordered).

Garden of the Gods Gourmet is open for breakfast and lunch daily, and serves early dinner (until 7:30 pm) Tuesday through Saturday (according to Yelp).

Miramont Castle
9 Capitol Hill Ave.
Manitou Springs, CO
(719) 685-1011

Miramont Castle is actually in a large castle (at least large by American standards) and serves English high tea. They serve three courses, and patrons have the option of ordering individual courses or all three.

First course of tea

One of the best features of this restaurant is the variety of teas that are available, and my friends thought all of them were good (each person chooses one kind of tea, but apparently it is fine to share with others so that you can sample the different varieties).

Along with the tea diners get a scone. So far it sounds true to the teas in England (traditionally served in mid afternoon, but at Miramont you can get it any time during business hours).

Second course of tea

The second course consists of finger sandwiches and a piece of bread. My friends thought the bread was much like dim sum (probably meaning it was not too sweet, but just right). In any case, reviews elsewhere on the Internet confirm that it is good.

Third course of tea

The third course is the “dessert” (chocolates and a variety of sweets). Like the other courses, my friends give a good report of it.

With the sandwiches served in the second course, and the sum total of all the food served, my friends stated that it made an excellent lunch. It cost $26 per person, but they were glad they had the experience and enjoyed the food.

Hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The Rabbit Hole
101 N. Tejon St.
Colorado Springs, CO
(719) 203-5072

Located in downtown Colorado Springs, The Rabbit Hole was really the “fine dining” experience out of the three. Yelp rates the cost as $$ (not terribly expensive), but it depends on what you order.

Chef’s Butcher Block

The Rabbit Hole serves several kinds of meat, and all of it is good (according to what I hear). I was told that the lamb was the best, and the striped bass was next (but that all of the meats were good). The Chef’s Butcher Block gives a sample of several kinds of meat, costs $35, and is enough for two people (the fish is not included on the butcher’s block).

More food from The Rabbit Hole

This photo includes the shrimp and seafood “nibbles” plate, fitting in with what is generally the small plate concept of the restaurant (unless you get the butcher’s block or one of the meat main dishes).

Hours are 4:00 pm to 1:30 in the morning, and they serve 250 types of wine.

Filipino Food in Oklahoma City

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Steve

The Chowhound web site (chowhound.com) has been the source of much of my knowledge about food and restaurants, especially since it was one of the earliest restaurant related sites to come on line. I think one of the classic discussions of all time was a topic on the Seattle Board in 2002 entitled “Is Filipino food embarassing?” (sic). The original poster stated that the Filipino community was the number one ethnic minority in Seattle, yet there were very few Filipino restaurants (6 to be exact, three of which had the same owner). The theory was not that people did not like Filipino food, but simply that it was not a priority for Filipino people to open this kind of restaurant (instead they were more likely to operate a Jewish deli or a burger stand).

A similar situation seems to exist in Oklahoma City and in other cities (I think the originator of the discussion on Chowhound believed that this was something that occurred nationwide). There was an Italian restaurant in Oklahoma City (which is now closed) run by Filipino people that I thought did a good job with the Italian food, but of course it was one of many Italian restaurants in the city. I support anyone operating any type of restaurant they wish, but I am a little perplexed as to why there are not more Filipino restaurants around the country.

Bhing’s Cafe on N. Meridian Ave. in Oklahoma City seemed to demonstrate that customers were willing to patronize a Filipino restaurant (although I honestly do not know how many customers they had and whether this had anything to do with the restaurant closing). Evelyn’s Asian Table took over the spot of providing the only Filipino food in the city, but it is now closed as well. All indications are that the lack of Filipino restaurants at present is not because of a lack of interest in this type of food, but I just do not have any information about whether these restaurants were profitable or not.

A number of Filipino cooking classes have been given over the past few years at the Rockwell Campus of the Francis Tuttle Technology Center, and this shows an interest in the cuisine as well. I do not think that any type of cooking class would help me very much, but I am including this information for the benefit of readers who have better cooking skills.

There happens to be a Filipino dinner that will be served this weekend in Midwest City, called the “Spring Taste of Philippines,” sponsored by the Philippine-American Civic Organization. Details are in the Oklahoma Gazette, Mar. 2, 2016 issue (and I think also on their web site). The summary is:

Filipino dinner from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, Sat. Mar. 12
Location: Nick Harroz Community Center, 200 N. Midwest Blvd., Midwest City, OK
Menu: Chicken afritada, pancit noodles, cassava cake

There will also be a bake sale and arts and crafts from 1-5 pm.

Except for these items I think a better title for the article would be “The Lack of Filipino Food in Oklahoma City.” I hope this will not always be the case, though.

Update Apr. 23, 2016: There is good news to report. Chibugan Filipino Restaurant at 4728 S.E. 29th St. in Del City is slated to open today, giving people a new place to try Filipino food. This restaurant has been eagerly anticipated by many people who have missed this type of cuisine in Oklahoma City for several years since the closing of Bhing’s and Evelyn’s.

Also a note about the “Taste of the Philippines” dinners–for the past few years these have been scheduled twice a year (in the spring and fall), and have been at various locations throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Smithsonian Article on Oklahoma City’s Little Saigon

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Steve

The March 2016 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine has a very interesting article on Oklahoma City’s Vietnamese community, with an emphasis on the Vietnamese food served in Oklahoma City’s “Little Saigon.” The area around Classen Boulevard between N.W. 23rd Street and N.W. 34th is officially called the Asian District, but the Smithsonian article correctly points out how the Vietnamese refugee community was instrumental in founding it and turning it into the attraction it has become today.

One idea set forth in the article is that the Asian people have a food culture. A quote in the article by the owner of Super Cao Nguyen Market is illustrative of this point:

We’re all big foodies. We eat, sleep, dream food. When some customer comes to us with an idea for some product we should carry, the first thought that pops into our head is, “That sounds delicious.”

In other words, the people behind the good Asian restaurants and supermarkets work hard to make it that way, and this comes from a very strong attention to food that may even range to an obsession with it.

Another very interesting point in the article is how Vietnamese chefs are at the forefront of innovation in developing Asian fusion cuisine and constantly trying to re-invent what Vietnamese cuisine itself should mean, at least as it exists in America. I had already seen the fusion aspect of it in restaurants like Monsoon in Seattle, and now it is taking hold in Oklahoma City in restaurants such as Guernsey Park. Chef Vuong Nguyen of Guernsey Park has now moved on to open Bonjour, a restaurant that is not Vietnamese but which obviously has a Vietnamese influence along with the French fusion typically found in it.

I like the direction Vietnamese cuisine is taking, because rather than trying to Americanize the food they are keeping the authentic cuisine and adding fusion concepts to it. This is in contrast to Chinese food, which was so Americanized when most of us were growing up that I have a hard time every trying to describe to people what authentic Chinese cuisine is supposed to be. I think Chinese restaurants are now following the Vietnamese pattern though–you can get the authentic version, the Americanized version (there is a little bit of Americanization in some Vietnamese food also), or the fusion version (I have not seen much of this in Chinese food but I know it exists).

I have tried to develop some ideas from the article that I think are important to what I am doing on this blog. People may or may not want to get a copy of the Smithsonian magazine for the article, but I think it is a good read and worthwhile if you can find the March issue.

One subject mentioned in the article is that some chefs from Oklahoma City are thinking about moving to other cities, and maybe even doing a stint in Vietnam to learn some of the finer points of Vietnamese cuisine. If (and more probably when) this happens, some cities will likely see major upgrades in the variety and quality of the Vietnamese cuisine being served.

Foods in Oklahoma City You Need to Try

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Steve

I do not really expect to influence people’s eating preferences or decide on my own which are the best dishes at Oklahoma City restaurants. However, this year’s politics seem to indicate that our message may be better received if we come off as self-confident and a little audacious, so I will be this way in support of a good cause–giving readers the benefit of my highly refined taste in food to impart my vast knowledge of the best dishes that can be found anywhere in the city.

OK, even I do not believe what I just said, but nevertheless I will list some of my personal favorite items at various restaurants. Even though many of the restaurants listed are excellent all around, these are the items I find that are the best to order. I have already started a series of posts along the same theme, including Pollo Guero at El Birrias, Chicken Tawook at Camilya’s, and some of the city’s best Enchiladas. However, this is my first attempt at creating a comprehensive list.

These, then, are dishes I have found to be among the best of the best, and that others may want to try:

Steaks

All natural Oklahoma beef — Ranch Steakhouse (OKC)

A number of restaurants have excellent steaks but this is my favorite

Hamburgers

Hamburger with Johnnie’s Sauce — Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler (OKC and The Village) Veggie burger is an excellent substitute
Onion Burger— Johnnie’s Grill (El Reno)

There are a number of choices in the metro for hamburgers, and for me eating a hamburger is a splurge, but I like these two when I do (but the veggie burger at Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler is something I eat more frequently)

Barbecue

Ribs — Van’s (Shawnee)
Ribs — Swadley’s (Bethany)
Pulled Pork — Billy Sims (OKC)
Chicken — Billy Sims (OKC)

Meat Dishes

Molasses Chicken — Cheever’s (OKC)
Grilled Chicken — Green & Grilled (OKC)

Most of my favorite meats are listed in barbecue and ethnic restaurants

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken — Cajun King (Warr Acres)
Fried Chicken — Olde Orchard (Bethany)
Fried Chicken — Ann’s Chicken Fry (OKC) Only available on weekends
Fried Chicken — Eischen’s (Okarche) Maybe the best chicken, but it is not really in the Oklahoma City metro area

Sandwiches

Turkey Reuben — Ingrid’s (OKC)
Cuban — Cafe 7 (OKC)
Turkey and Guacamole — Cafe 7 (OKC)

Salads

Pear Salad — Boulevard Steakhouse (Edmond)
Apple Spinach Salad — Green & Grilled (OKC)
24 Ingredient Salad — Castle Falls (OKC) Castle Falls is open on weekends and is by reservation only. I am not sure of the status of this salad, and whether it is still being served.

Desserts

Tiramisu — La Baguette (OKC)
Black Forest — Ingrid’s (OKC)

This list could be much longer but these are two of the best

Mexican (Enchiladas)

Enchiladas de Rajas — Casa Perico (OKC)
Enchiladas Verdes — Abel’s (Warr Acres)
Tomatillo Enchiladas — Poblano Grill (OKC) Not on the menu but can be special ordered
Enchiladas Verdes — San Marcos (OKC)

Mexican (Tacos)

Tacos Calvillo — Abel’s (Warr Acres)
Tacos al Pastor — Abel’s (Warr Acres)
Tacos (various) — Taqueria La Original (OKC)

Mexican (Other)

Pollo Guero — El Birrias (OKC)
Pozole — Birrieria Diaz (Bethany)
Flautas — Chalo’s Tacos (Bethany)
Tamales — Chalo’s Tacos (Bethany)
Gorditas — Abel’s (Warr Acres)

Latin American

Pollo Saltado — Zarate’s (Edmond)
Passaro Preto — Cafe do Brasil (OKC)

Italian

Spaghetti with Cacciatore Sauce — Papa Dio’s (The Village) This can be ordered as a main dish or as a side dish with any dinner which comes with spaghetti
Eggplant Parmesan — Vito’s (OKC)
Chicken Parmigiana — Tommy’s (OKC)

Pizza

Lombardy Pizza — Flip’s (OKC)
Margherita — Humble Pie (Edmond)

French

Chicken and Mushroom Crepes — La Baguette (OKC)
Chicken Confit — La Baguette (OKC)

German

Wienerschnitzel — Old Germany (Choctaw)
Chicken Jager Schnitzel — Old Germany (Choctaw)
Hahnchenbrust — Royal Bavaria (Moore)
Haehnchen Chicken — Castle Falls (OKC) Open on weekends by reservation only

The three chicken dishes are very similar and all are good–I’m not sure which is best

Middle Eastern

Tagines — Cous Cous Cafe (OKC)
Ghormeh Sabzi — Travel By Taste (Warr Acres)
Chicken Tawook — Camilya’s (OKC)
Eggplant Casserole — Nunu’s (OKC) Thursday only–served every 2nd Thursday–the Green Bean Casserole rotated with it is also one of my favorite dishes
Ribs — Jamil’s (OKC) Middle Eastern style ribs served as an appetizer with dinner, or you can order it as a dinner

African

Vegetable Plate — Queen of Sheba (OKC)

Chinese

Roast Pork Tofu Hot Pot — Fung’s Kitchen (OKC) added 2-25-16
Szechuan Eggplant — Chow’s (OKC)
Fresh Fish with Ginger and Onions — Chow’s (OKC)
Roasted Pork and Tofu Casserole — Grand House (OKC)
Fu-jjian Tofu — Grand House (OKC)
Spare Ribs and Bittermelon — Fung’s Kitchen (OKC)
Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce — Szechuan Bistro (OKC) added 2-25-16

Chinese (Lunch Specials)

Green Beans with Minced Pork — Chow’s (OKC)
Fish with Black Bean Sauce — Grand Village (OKC)
Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce — Szechuan Bistro (OKC) added 2-25-16

Vietnamese

Vietnamese Pork Chop — Golden Phoenix (OKC)
Chicken and Lemongrass Vermicelli Bowl — Kim Wah (The Village) This is also available at Lido, which uses the same recipe
Chicken Vermicelli Bowl (Bun) — Pho Ca Dao (OKC) More authentic and technically better than the same dish at Lido and Kim Wah, but did not have lemongrass

Vietnamese (Pho)

Pho — Pho Cuong (OKC)
Beef Noodle Soup — Pho Kim Long (OKC)

Thai

Pad Prik Khing — Charm Thai (Warr Acres)
Green Curry — Tana Thai (The Village)

Japanese

Salmon Teriyaki — Tokyo (OKC) Available on the Happy Lunch or Tokyo Box
Tempura Udon — Tokyo (OKC)
Chicken Katsu — Tokyo (OKC)

Korean

Spicy Potato Stew — Fusion Cafe (Norman)
Kimchi Chee Kae — B-Won (Del City)

Indian

Cauliflower Kashmiri — Taj (OKC) Not on the menu but can be special ordered
Channa Masala — Ajanta (OKC)

See my Oklahoma Reviews for more information about these restaurants.

Top Ten Cities in the United States for Mexican Food

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Steve

One of the projects I thought would be good to include in this blog is a list of recommended restaurants in various cities, which I call Steve’s List. Some restaurants listed are based on my personal experience, but most come from reviews I have found from various sources on the Internet. This effort is to find the best restaurants of various cuisines and in various geographic locations, but also to keep the list narrowed down to a manageable size. I hope the list will be of value for those who are looking for interesting experiences that do not focus on tourist traps and the lowest common denominator food.

So far I have published lists for all of the Southwestern states, and based on my research and past experience, I believe that these states are particularly notable for their Mexican food. This seemed to be a good time to create a list of the “Top Ten Cities in the United States for Mexican Food.” It is just my personal list, and I am unsure about the order that some cities should be placed, but it seemed very evident to me about which cities should be the top ten.

The list of top ten Mexican food cities is based on both the quality and quantity of Mexican food available (and is limited to larger cities). The factors I use to determine the top cities include the number of “top restaurants” (which ideally should include both high end alta cocina restaurants and specialized restaurants which provide a variety of foods from certain areas of Mexico). I am also looking for a general Mexican food culture which supports things such as markets, bakeries, and small restaurants. In the end, though, it is not the number of businesses but the quality of them, and for this I turn to my own experience and the reviews I see on the Internet.

It seems to me that no cities outside of the Southwest would qualify as having a general Mexican food culture, although many have a large number of restaurants with a variety of food. My experience is that once you get a certain distance away from the Mexican border the “default” style and flavor of the food is Americanized in a way that gets very far away from the original style of Mexican food. These cities tend to have a few good restaurants and many that have a bland sameness. I do not want to knock people’s tastes for Americanized food, but I think a great number of people like the authentic food once they have a chance to try it (but too many cities do not provide that chance). We can always go back to the old style Mexican “comfort food,” but I think good Mexican food cities should also provide other choices.

The question of the American styles of Mexican food (Tex-Mex, New Mexican, Sonoran, and Californian) is an interesting one. I do not consider any of these to be authentic Mexican food, but they are based on food from Mexico (in contrast, the “Americanized” Mexican food I talk about is some way that Mexican dishes are modified to the point that they have more American elements than Mexican ones).

All of the cities I list as being in the top ten Mexican food cities are in states which have traditionally been home to the Tex-Mex, New Mexican, Sonoran, or California styles of Mexican food. A search of restaurant reviews on the Internet demonstrates that all the cities on my list have evolved from the original Mexican food styles to more diverse styles, as if these four styles are really a stepping stone for people to appreciate authentic Mexican food. People in these cities seem to embrace authentic food from Mexico when these types of restaurants open up, and restaurants find a customer base for what they offer.

My disclaimer here is that I have not eaten in enough restaurants in enough cities to say that I can make a definitive list of the best Mexican food cities. Still, I have some experience, and through scouring the Internet I am able to make some assumptions about the best cities for good quality Mexican food.

Some of the cities I am excluding do have some very good Mexican food. For instance, Chicago is the home of the Rick Bayless restaurants, where many believe you can get the best Mexican cuisine in the country. I have not tried them personally, but I have a pretty good idea that this is not far from the truth. Nevertheless, Chicago does not seem to have a large saturation of taco shops and the kind of small restaurants that I think would be present in one of the “top ten” cities. I believe that Chicago and other very large cities have some very good Mexican food, but it does not seem to be widespread throughout the city and the region.

I will also say that I do not have enough knowledge of some cities which I think could be possible candidates. These would include some cities in California such as San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno (I have been to Fresno but I would not place it in the top ten). Some cities which I am purposely excluding from the top ten include Las Vegas and Denver (I was not very impressed with either one). Some cities in Florida have very good Latin American restaurants, but they would not be in my top ten for Mexican food.

I would also say that Santa Fe should be in the top ten, but while it is one of the best cities in terms of quality, the city is just too small to compare to some of the nation’s metropolitan areas. I am limiting the list to metro areas of about 500,000 population or more with the thought that these are probably the only ones that can provide the variety of different Mexican cuisines that can contribute to its being a “top ten” city.

Oklahoma City is a special case because I think it has some very good low end restaurants, but I would be hard pressed to name any higher end places that are anywhere close to being authentic. I think people can find very good Mexican food here if they want it, but it takes a pretty good search or a good information source to search out the restaurants that serve it. Still I think it does a better job than cities such as Chicago in making good Mexican food widely accessible.

Following are cities which I think would make the best candidates for the top ten best Mexican food cities in the United States:

Los Angeles. Los Angeles not only has excellent Mexican food (I have had the chance to try some of it), but there are so many restaurants here that one person probably could not try them all. I believe that you can pick any state in Mexico and find a restaurant in the L.A. area that serves its cuisine. The variety of restaurants here, as well as the sheer numbers of quasi-restaurants such as supermarkets which serve meals and take-out places, is something that I do not believe is matched by any other city in the country. In fact, even in Mexico it is not common to have many different types of cuisine available as it is in Los Angeles. Mexico City may be the only other city in the world where there is as great a variety of distinguishable cuisines from the various Mexican states.
El Paso. El Paso would be my choice for the number two spot. This is the city where I find the greatest probability that you can walk into any Mexican restaurant at random and have a great meal. Traditionally the style of Mexican food here has been a take-off from the New Mexican food to the north. Like New Mexico, the restaurants in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez make extensive use of locally grown chiles. El Paso started to really blossom about 2005 to 2010 when many high end restaurants from Ciudad Juarez moved to the city to escape the violence which was plaguing Mexico at the time. Many have since closed, which is one reason I would not think of ranking El Paso ahead of Los Angeles. I will say, though, that I think these restaurants were popular, and people demonstrated that they were willing to patronize them (I think there were other factors that cause these restaurants to close). As it stands now, El Paso still lacks in standout upscale restaurants but is replete with very high quality mom and pop establishments (thus it is very good but not number one in the country).
Austin. Having lived in both Austin and El Paso, I do not believe the “everyday” food in Austin is as good as in El Paso. Austin may have gotten better recently, but over the years when I have returned to visit it never approached the level of El Paso. Austin seems to be way ahead of almost any other city, though, when it comes to authentic and high end Mexican restaurants. I think overall Austin has what it takes to be the number three city for Mexican food (but from here to number 7 the cities rank very close to each other and some of the orders could be interchangeable).
San Antonio. I am making San Antonio number four, but I have to say that I have not personally experienced it being this good. San Antonio has always been the number one city for Tex-Mex food (ahead of Austin, Dallas, and Houston). Maybe just as impressive was the fact that on one occasion I had a very good Mexican lunch at the San Antonio city hall where they had a restaurant on the first floor for employees and visitors. The Alamo City definitely has a rich tradition for high quality Mexican food (and I hope to try more of it to hopefully confirm the fact that it should be ranked at least at number four). Like El Paso, the Internet indicates that San Antonio is more of a “taco restaurant” type of city than one that offers a lot of high end dining.
Albuquerque. Some consider Albuquerque to be the nation’s best Mexican food city, but I cannot place myself among them. I have eaten in at least two or three dozen of the Duke City’s Mexican restaurants (some of which are now closed but many of which are still open). I love the cuisine they serve, but I almost always felt that I had better food in Santa Fe or Española. The number of authentic (from Mexico) restaurants has exploded since I was last there, and I think it may be ahead of Austin and San Antonio in this regard (and definitely is ahead of El Paso). For me, though, the problem with Albuquerque is that the number of mediocre restaurants in the city seems to lower the expectation of customers about both the traditional New Mexican cuisine and the recently popular authentic food from Mexico. Still, I have to say that New Mexican cuisine is the best of the four styles of Mexican food found in the Southwestern U.S. One thing that makes this cuisine even more successful is the fact that they are serving it where it originated, and this is a chance to experience a type of food that really does not exist anywhere else.
Houston. Houston is fairly saturated with small Mexican restaurants, and has a number that are high end. I believe that many of the most popular restaurants are that way because people like the traditional Tex-Mex dishes. I do not have a lot of information to determine how good some of the upscale restaurants are, but I do believe its past association with Tex-Mex restaurants still prevails as the norm for Mexican food here.
San Diego. San Diego should definitely be somewhere in the top seven cities, but I just do not know where. It is known for its fish tacos, but has quite a few other types of Mexican cuisine (and not just California style). I think it is kind of in the shadow of Los Angeles, though, and probably has not attracted as many high end restaurants because these types of ventures would rather be in the larger L.A. market. One advantage to San Diego is that it is very close to Tijuana, where there is some very innovative, high end, and very good low end Mexican food (but I am not counting Tijuana in this ranking).
Phoenix. It is somewhat of a guess for me to place Phoenix as the number eight city because I have yet to experience any truly great Mexican meals here. The Internet convinces me, though, that they do exist. Also the great number of restaurants here make it easy to move on to something else. The bottom line, though, is that I am trusting that the online reviews are correct, and the the sheer number of Mexican restaurants here means that there are some good ones.
Dallas/Fort Worth. Dallas definitely has a lot of Mexican food, and a lot of it is good. Like Houston, though, Tex-Mex reigned supreme for a number of years (and I think more than in Houston this is still true for Dallas). When I was there I usually found better taco and low end restaurants in Fort Worth, but I believe over time these have worked their way to Dallas as well. Dallas has some very good high end Mexican restaurants if you can afford them, and the cost may be a negative for some people. For everyday meals I think Dallas is better than most cities to the north but not as good as Austin or San Antonio.
Tucson. Tucson is last on the list for me but certainly not least. I have found much better Sonoran food than in Phoenix, and it has some upscale restaurants as well. It is a relatively small city, though, and I think that although it compares to El Paso in size there is a much more limited choice in the small family run restaurants. I would say that you can find some really great Mexican food here, but the choices are more limited than in larger cities.

The trend toward improvement has accelerated recently across the country, and I think that almost every city has better Mexican food than it did a few years ago. The Internet has helped tremendously both in publicizing restaurants and in educating the general public about authentic Mexican food (also several shows on PBS and other networks have been instrumental in this). I would like to see other cities progress to the point that they can edge out some of these “top ten” cities. Whether a particular city is in the “top ten” or not is really not very critical as long as they have good Mexican food. The question of good food is very subjective, but most of the cities on this list seem to be considered very good by a consensus of people. I have stated a few of the reasons why I think this is so, and it is clear that it is not based solely on the number of restaurants a city has.

Some Enchiladas in Oklahoma City that are Worth Seeking Out

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Steve

On the subject of enchiladas, I think the biggest news for Oklahoma City is how much they have improved over the past 20, 10 or even 5 years. I know that some of the best enchiladas (and Mexican food in general) is found south of Interstate 40. This article, though, is not about the best enchiladas in the Metro, but rather about some interesting ones I have found in the north part of town (and which I think compare favorably to other cities).

Several of the enchiladas mentioned are from restaurants that are known primarily for their American style Tex-Mex food (not in these words, of course, but this is how I think of them). Even in some of these restaurants, though, I have found some gems which I thought should be shared.

The following list is not ranked in any order, but it goes roughly from west to east:

Green Chile Kitchen

12 E. Main St.
Yukon, OK

Review of Green Chile Kitchen

In some ways I thought their presentation of New Mexican cuisine fell a little flat, but the green chile was excellent, and one of the best ways to get this is in the green enchiladas.

Green chile enchiladas at Green Chile Kitchen

Green enchiladas are served just about everywhere in New Mexico, and now they are available at Green Chile Kitchen in Yukon. I thought these enchiladas were special because of the green chile, which has a more pure chile taste than many of the others in the Oklahoma City area. It is not over-the-top spicy, just a flavorful chile with a little bit of kick.

San Marcos Restaurant No. 3

12201 N. Rockwell Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

Review of San Marcos

San Marcos has four restaurants in the Oklahoma City Metro (including one south of Interstate 40), but this location is the one at which I have personal experience. I think the menu is the same at all of the restaurants, but the “authentic” dishes seem to be seldom ordered at the Rockwell location (and I would guess, based on the demographics of the other neighborhoods, that they would be more popular at these restaurants).

Green enchiladas at San Marcos

I have to give the disclaimer that the most authentic enchiladas are not necessarily the best ones, but in this case I think it is worth giving the green enchiladas at San Marcos a try. Like the previous restaurant mentioned in Yukon, you will not get a dish here which is super spicy (but yes, it is a little bit spicy). This is a green tomatillo sauce which I think is popular in central and southern Mexico. For this particular sauce I like to get chicken enchiladas and some sour cream on the side (these are listed simply as “Green Enchiladas” on the menu).

Birrieria Diaz

6700 N.W. 39th Expressway
Bethany, OK

Review of Birrieria Diaz

Still on the far west side of Oklahoma City is a small restaurant serving authentic Mexican food that has made converts of many locals who formerly had Tex-Mex as the predominant choice. Like most authentic Mexican restaurants, enchiladas are not a big part of the menu. Also like most restaurants I have experienced in Mexico, the enchiladas here do not major on the cheese. The root for the word “enchilada” is “chile,” and the dominant flavor of the enchiladas at Birrieria Diaz is the chile (either red or green).

Red enchiladas at Birrieria Diaz in Bethany

The red and green enchiladas are both good, but I like the green slightly better. The photo shows a full order of the red enchiladas (and both types of enchiladas are available in a half order).

Abel’s Mexican Restaurant

5822 N.W. 50th St.
Oklahoma City, OK

Review of Abel’s

Abel’s serves Tex-Mex style enchiladas, but the “Mexican” styled red and green enchiladas are the ones I think are special. The green enchiladas at Abel’s have a sauce similar to the tomatillo sauce found at some other restaurants, but I particularly liked the flavor here (as well as the rice and beans, salsa, drinks, and the entire meal as a whole).

Green enchiladas at Abel’s

Abel’s red enchiladas also make a good meal, and should be added to the list of “enchiladas worth seeking out.”

Casa Perico Mexican Grille

4521 N.W. 63rd St.
Oklahoma City, OK

Review of Casa Perico

I will have to say that I was somewhat surprised to find the next entry to this list at a restaurant that generally does not impress me very much, but I think the rajas enchiladas here are among the best enchiladas in the city. Some rajas dishes seem to have a very odd flavor, but Casa Perico does it the right way (in my opinion, of course).

Enchiladas de rajas at Casa Perico

These have a very robust chile flavor without being overly spicy, and the cheese provides a good balance to it. Some even better news is that there is another Casa Perico at N.W. 122nd St. and Pennsylvania.

Poblano Grill

13593 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

Review of Poblano Grill

Poblano Grill has a green tomatillo enchilada similar in quality to Abel’s (and others), but it is not on the menu. It so happened that I asked the waiter if they could make a tomatillo enchilada, and I was rather surprised that they could! It was even more of a surprise that it was one of the best green enchiladas I have had in OKC.

Tomatillo enchiladas at Poblano Grill

Poblano Grill is now on my short list of places I want to try again because of being able to make special orders, and because what I had was very satisfying. When I said the Mexican restaurants have come a long way in the last few years, Poblano Grill is a prime example of this (most of the menu continues to be Tex-Mex, but it is a very good sign that they now have other items).

Poblano Grill also has a location in Midwest City.

Mamasita’s

1121 N. W. 63rd St.
Oklahoma City, OK

Review of Mamasita’s

I have not been to Mamsita’s for a while, and I do not know if they have changed the menu, but what I really liked was the fact that they served enchiladas with blue corn tortillas. I think Green Chile Kitchen in Yukon was thinking about doing this, but of course it is better if you can actually get it this way when you go.

Enchiladas with blue corn tortillas at Mamasita’s

Overall I did not think this was actually one of the best enchiladas in Oklahoma City, but just the fact that it had blue corn tortillas made it a treat for me.