La Luna.
La Luna.
Newcastle is better than downtown.^^^^
I love Tarahumara's in Norman.
Tahahumara in Norman IS delicious. Ted's is overrated. So overrated that it can be (and is) a good place while still not deserving the cultish following and outsized reputation. The things that are better-than-average about Ted's: 1. service 2. flour tortillas 3. employee hand wash practices. That's it. Beyond that it is run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex. the reason people think it is awesome is because they had to wait in line for it. Nobody wants to admit to their friends that they waited in line for average, or that they can't taste the difference that everyone else seems to taste.
Well, there's no accounting for taste, and there's generally enough varied tastes concerning Tex-Mex food in these parts to fit in at a street fair.
I thought they were fine. I know the breadth of authenticity that concerns Mexican food about as intimately as an Oklahoman can get, and they weren't it. But the food was good in its own right, and they had a nice church bulletin discount. There's a measure of memories with this as well, from childhood to my adulthood. I'll miss them.
Mmmmmmm, El Chico's food was right up there with Casa Bonita! LOL
We eat fajita's at the N May location a couple of times a month. They are always nice to us there and the food is actually pretty decent. Maybe not the best Mexican place in the area, but it's close by and reasonably priced.
My mom & I go to the southside location on Western frequently. They recently "refreshed" their interior (for the worse) using mostly the tables/booths/decor from the now closed NW Expressway location. They have painted the walls a glaring too-bright-white (the previous wall color can still be seen around the hand-painted sign on the wall over the restrooms). While some of the changes were improvements (newer tables and booths) the "decluttering" (as the manager put it) of the decor stripped the place of it's character. They need to replace the carpet and ceiling tiles (according to the manager they are going to ...sometime...eventually..but don't hold your breath as the manager said she personally repainted the place..instead of having pros come in and do it).
I know I am in the minority, but I enjoyed the El Chico on Northwest Highway, so now I am going to the one on South Western and am enjoying it as well. Their Atomic salsa is so good, and the rest of the selections are not so bland as other Tex-Mex places in OKC. I also like the one at May and Britton, but the other two I mentioned are just handier for me.
We hit the one in Norman every once in a while just for a change of pace from Alfredo's. It is pretty good grub, but it is a notch below some of the better joints like Alfredo's and Perico's
Count me as one who will miss the NW Expressway El Chico. No it wasn't great food, but back in the day, it was really the only option we had and because of that, it was always like comfort food for us. For the most part, it was the same, day in and day out for at least 35 years. My wife and I had our first meal together there when we started dating way back in 1984, and I ate there for several years before that. In recent years, it had become my grand-daughter's favorite restaurant. She wanted to go there every Sunday for lunch after church. In fact, she wanted it for her birthday on Valentine's Day so we had to go to the N. May location. I hated to see the NW Expressway location go. Many of the staff had been there for years, and they knew us by name and orders. It will be missed.
Does anyone remember the name of the Mexican Restaurant that was on NW Expressway and Rockwell before it was demolished back in 2002-3?
I've always put El Chico's (and for those from around Ada/Ardmore, Polo's) as one of those restaurants that seemed good until you've had something else. Growing up it was the only option, but once you had something else you saw what you were missing.
Norman is something of short list as well looking at the ones in town when I rolled up a bit over 27 years ago.
The Diner
Ozzie's
O'Connell's (took me a bit to warm up to the new location)
Service Station
The Mont
Legends
Greek House
Hassler's
J-Pat's (maybe called something else these days)
Tulio's (but I am a bit uncertain if they top 25 years)
El Chico in mall
There may be others, but no more come quickly to mind using a 25+ year criteria.
My lovely and I both agree, we still miss Po' Folks that was on W Lindsey back in the day.
I've been thinking about the El Chico on NW Expressway and remember
that it was pretty good. Of course, Nino's was far, far better which is why I
didn't go to El Chico unless whomever I was with wanted to go there.
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