Sam's Southern Eatery

[Thomas Vu]

I'd recommend it. It's really good and you get a lot of bang for buck, if you care about that.

[Easy180]

One opened up on Hefner and Rockwell. Looks like it overtook the Freddys that was there.

Freddy’s is still open. They took the building just to the east of Braum’s that has contained at least 5 different failed restaurants in the past 10 years. The restaurant is not visible at all from the intersection so not sure why folks keep giving it a shot.

[RadicalModerate]

A few days ago, c/o OKC Talk, I was telling a coworker about this place. Yesterday, he handed me a menu, said he had just visited it, and told me that I definitely needed to check it out.

So, last night we did. I ordered the Four Piece Catfish dinner with Fries and Slaw on the side. My wife chose the Crabcakes with Okra and Slaw. It was Friday, and between the dine-in customers and the call-in orders, the place was fairly busy. About an hour after ordering at the counter our food arrived at the table (except without the okra my wife had ordered). Yes. An Hour. I suppose that's the price you pay when nothing sits under heat lamps and everything is cooked fresh to order.

The first thing I noticed was that my order of catfish had apparently been miscounted: I ordered the Four Piece and there was a massive pile of about EIGHT large pieces of perfectly cooked fish on my plate. That is not a complaint. Two of the leftover filets and the rest of my fries will make a very good lunch today. I also noticed that, as a langiappe, they put one of their famous Jumbo Shrimp on the plate with my wife's crabcakes. I gave her about half my fries while we waited for her missing okra to arrive and she gave me the shrimp.

Long story short: The food--especially the fish, crabcakes, shrimp and dipping sauces--was VERY good. The ambiance was average. The service has some room for improvement. My wife suggested that maybe they were a little short-handed in the kitchen because nobody on the front end was doing anything but work as hard and fast as they could. We will certainly be going back. Maybe just not on a Friday night. Or, if so, we might phone in our order before we leave the house and cut the wait time in half.

[Thomas Vu]

A few days ago, c/o OKC Talk, I was telling a coworker about this place. Yesterday, he handed me a menu, said he had just visited it, and told me that I definitely needed to check it out.

So, last night we did. I ordered the Four Piece Catfish dinner with Fries and Slaw on the side. My wife chose the Crabcakes with Okra and Slaw. It was Friday, and between the dine-in customers and the call-in orders, the place was fairly busy. About an hour after ordering at the counter our food arrived at the table (except without the okra my wife had ordered). Yes. An Hour. I suppose that's the price you pay when nothing sits under heat lamps and everything is cooked fresh to order.

The first thing I noticed was that my order of catfish had apparently been miscounted: I ordered the Four Piece and there was a massive pile of about EIGHT large pieces of perfectly cooked fish on my plate. That is not a complaint. Two of the leftover filets and the rest of my fries will make a very good lunch today. I also noticed that, as a langiappe, they put one of their famous Jumbo Shrimp on the plate with my wife's crabcakes. I gave her about half my fries while we waited for her missing okra to arrive and she gave me the shrimp.

Long story short: The food--especially the fish, crabcakes, shrimp and dipping sauces--was VERY good. The ambiance was average. The service has some room for improvement. My wife suggested that maybe they were a little short-handed in the kitchen because nobody on the front end was doing anything but work as hard and fast as they could. We will certainly be going back. Maybe just not on a Friday night. Or, if so, we might phone in our order before we leave the house and cut the wait time in half.

Them miscounting isn't out of the ordinary. They're worse, or better pending on how you look at it, than Chicken Express

[RadicalModerate]

^^^ I did have a couple of pieces of the leftover fish for lunch, yesterday. For lunch today I had a "One Slice of Bread" fish sandwich, followed by a "Fish Burrito" (while waiting for today's supper Chuck Roast ala John to finish cooking).

The best chicken place in Minnesota is a little place, north of Cambridge, on Highway 65, called The Brass Rail (broasted chicken that even the trains stop for).

There's a really good BBQ place, called The Boundary (at the Intersection of Old Route 66 and Indian Hills Road).

Both require patience on the part of diners. Just like Sam's Southern Eatery does.

I guess it's true that "Good Things Take a Little Longer." =~)

p.s. I/We committed a faux pas regarding the tip jar by the register (based on comments on this thread). I did not put any cash in the jar nor did I add a tip to the ticket (I never tip in advance).

My wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed and Usually Carries Cash) compounded the offense as she did not have her wallet with her (after we finished our delightful meal). It was a little awkward.

I promised our waitperson (I hate the word "Server") that the next time we visited we would make up for our error. I'm thinkin' at least five bucks at the register and maybe ten left on the table. It really was that good.

[Plutonic Panda]

I just want to give a shout out to these guys at Penn and I-240. Great place with great food and amazing people!

[Harbinger]

Former manager of the Chickasha location arrested on arson charges. Location is a total loss.
https://www.chickashanews.com/commun...0bf1bb05b.html

[Midtowner]

Alright, I read the last few pages of this thread and decided it was worth a shot. I tried them out when they first opened, and I was pretty unimpressed with their offerings. I thought it was greasy to the point of seeming dirty. So the day marking the second week after my second shot, I tried an Oyster Po'Boy and it was as good as I've had. They did throw a couple of extra side oysters in there and they were great. I'll be back. It's apparently under new ownership and it shows.

[Plutonic Panda]

I do appreciate they often throw in some extra goodies like shrimp or other protein.

[TheTravellers]

Looks like the location on NW 23rd/Villa-ish has closed and become a car dealer lot?

[baralheia]

I think Norman is the only location left... I know they've closed almost all of their locations in the metro and though their website still shows the Moore and Norman locations, the Moore location recently closed too. Even though consistency was all over the place, I'm still sad they closed because I loved their fish and their crab cakes.

[PaddyShack]

I had no idea of how many locations they had. We have been to the one in Clinton, Enid, and El Reno. They go from Texas all the way to Missouri. I wonder why the OKC metro ones closed. Looks like Tulsa's is still open?

[Pete]

The ones here were crazy erratic.

The one on 23rd opened and closed a couple of times.

Maybe a local franchisee who couldn't get it together.

[sooner2000]

I think Norman is the only location left... I know they've closed almost all of their locations in the metro and though their website still shows the Moore and Norman locations, the Moore location recently closed too. Even though consistency was all over the place, I'm still sad they closed because I loved their fish and their crab cakes.

I’m not surprised the Moore location didn’t make it. We find The Catch is a pretty similar concept producing superior food.

[G.Walker]

The Norman location is in a great location, in downtown Norman. The upkeep is great, and has outdoor seating. The Moore location was in a bad spot.

[Plutonic Panda]

I really liked their shrimp po boy

[Bullbear]

The 23rd location never looked complete. I had went in when it first opened and assumed they were still working on things. but the outside for sure never looked done or in order or appealing for anyone to stop in.

[OKCDrummer77]

I really liked their shrimp po boy

I recently had my first shrimp po boy at Hook & Reel. I really liked it, but it's the only one I've had, so I don't know how it compares to what Sam's offers.

[Plutonic Panda]

I recently had my first shrimp po boy at Hook & Reel. I really liked it, but it's the only one I've had, so I don't know how it compares to what Sam's offers.

Haha I’m actually in the same boat regarding Shrimp Po Boys or Po Boys in general so the only I’ve had so far was at Sams Eatery.

[TheTravellers]

Haha I’m actually in the same boat regarding Shrimp Po Boys or Po Boys in general so the only I’ve had so far was at Sams Eatery.

Y'all need to go to NOLA, Acme Oyster House's po' boys are fantastic. I haven't done any po' boys here, so can't recommend any places, but Mexican Radio's shrimp po' boy taco is pretty good.

[Plutonic Panda]

Y'all need to go to NOLA, Acme Oyster House's po' boys are fantastic. I haven't done any po' boys here, so can't recommend any places, but Mexican Radio's shrimp po' boy taco is pretty good.

Yeah I’ve been through New Orleans and stopped at the French Quarter but didn’t really get a chance to indulge. I need to make it back there. Yes that shrimp taco at Mexican radio is fire!

[Pete]

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

[Plutonic Panda]

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

Those are both fantastic places and the owners at Cajun Corner are great people.

[Pete]

Those are both fantastic places and the owners at Cajun Corner are great people.

Agree.

They seem to be doing very well which makes me happy to see.

[baralheia]

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

I LOVE the seafood etouffee and the gumbo at Cajun Corner but I was very underwhelmed by their fried fish basket. The fish fillets were quite a bit smaller than the ones we used to get from Sam's - though they were still pretty tasty. They also don't have crab cakes, which was another item I got from Sam's on the regular... definitely going to miss those, the ones Sam's had were really good. I still need to check out The Catch though, I've heard great things and the pictures I've seen make the portion sizes on the fish fillets look much closer to what Sam's had. Also intrigued by the boudin balls too.