Most Missed OKC Restaurant

[tburn]

I haven't done a proper introduction, sorry.
I read the forums here alot and recently found myself wanting to chime in!



I miss Nicholosi's (?) from my youth - it was on 10th street, west side of town.
They had tall red booths so the kids could have a "private" dining experience away from the grownups that just wanted to talk and talk!

also Bahama Breeze. so sorry to discover it closed.
The best Plantain Nachos (Tostones) & Tortilla soup ever!

Kip's Big Boy on Reno

Papa's Little Italy on I-35 was a real treat

Eddy's.

Larry's? Diner on 39th & Ann Arbor (before it became a KFC/A&W)
they had plate warmers and individual jukeboxes at each table.

Cajuns Wharf. @ Reno & Meridian
before it became a country / rodeo bar.

[y_h]

Hell, yeah! Tony's Via Roma was the best!

With all due respect, I believe you may be confusing similarly named restaurants. The Tony's referred to in the first post was on the east side of N. Penn just north of 23rd (I was partial to the spaghetti aglio e olio, myself). Tony's Via Roma was located on NW Expwy. I recall it being on the north side near MacArthur, with a previous incarnation further east, close to May if I recall.

[soonerborn1958]

HANS BARBEQUE!! Does anyone hava a recipe for their sauce??

[soonerborn1958]

Great memories of my daddy taling me to the CELLAR restaurant in the Hightower building downtown on my 16th birthday.

[metro]

Can we take Iguana Lounge off the poll? As we all know, it reopened in downtown about 2 months ago.

[metro]

tburn, Larry's is the now Taco Bell on NW 39th. There is no A&W on 39th, but there is a KFC just a few blocks east.

[Brett]

My mom was crushed when she learned that Maggie's Cafe in Bethany closed and the property is up for sale. Maggie's Cafe was a hidden gem. The best and possibly the only Polish cuisine to be found in OKC. Maggie's Cafe had the best cakes that I have ever eaten. It is a sad day for all. I would love to know why Maggie's Cafe closed.

[Dustin]

I REALLY miss the Harry Bears that used to be in Oklahoma City.. :'(. So sad it went bye bye. At least there is still one in Moore

[Larry OKC]

There were many in the Poll list that i miss, but Casa Bonita was the one I miss the most. My dining room is decorated in "Mexican Restaurant" with some decor items from Casa, Taco Bueno and a "No Smoking in the Game Room" sign from the Crystals Pizza that was on NW Expressway (all originally owned by the Casa Bonita folks). Have a question that I will post over in the Casa Bonita thread...

[metro]

I REALLY miss the Harry Bears that used to be in Oklahoma City.. :'(. So sad it went bye bye. At least there is still one in Moore

There is also a knock off one in more, it's like Harry's All American Grill or something like that, but the foods about the same.

[metro]

I miss the ambiance of Crystals, Shotgun Sams, and Casa Bonita and the Fritters from Applewoods ( about the only thing good there), miss the food at Blue Corn seemed to be the only New Mexican food around here, Terra Luna was great, I miss the hush puppies at Der Dutchmans or Zider Zee's, but you can still find the puppies around town. I also miss the fried peaches from Harry Bears, but as stated, you can still get that, so it's not a total loss. I do wish Nikz wouldn't have been kicked out.

[ljbab728]

[QUOTE=metro;434394]I miss the ambiance of Crystals, Shotgun Sams, and Casa Bonita and the Fritters from Applewoods ( about the only thing good there)/QUOTE]

I always liked the individual size pot roasts at Applewoods.

[HOT ROD]

2nd that about Nikz. I also miss Steak N Ale!

Applewoods was our 'destination' restaurant, imo.

[rcjunkie]

Hollie's Drive In @ Western and Sheridian

[Plutonic Panda]

I don't really remember any of those.

[ljbab728]

I don't really remember any of those.

That's cause you're a baby, plupan.

Nostalgia for you is last week.

[bchris02]

I remember Steak and Ale. They were around in Texas as recently as 2008. There was another restaurant called Black Eyed Pea, that used to be here but is now gone. They are still all over Texas.

[bchris02]

I seem to remember Garcia's of Scottsdale being decent Mexican food. Maybe it wasn't good but as a teenager it was one of my favorite places to go. They had a short run at Penn Square Mall and Quail Springs Mall in the late 90s/early 2000s. The Penn location is now Cantina Laredo and the Quail location is now El Chico.

[Urbanized]

I'm pretty sure Garcia's was a Val Gene's joint.

[Motley]

When I was at OU in the early 80s in the summer, we would eat at Sooner's BBQ on S. Western all the time and then go to see the 89'ers. Loved the sides and the all you can eat nightly specials.

[SoonerDave]

I remember Steak and Ale. They were around in Texas as recently as 2008. There was another restaurant called Black Eyed Pea, that used to be here but is now gone. They are still all over Texas.

Black Eyed Pea was caught on the leading edge of the health-food craze that's basically teaching everyone if it isn't a leafy vegetable its going to kill you. They were very much a traditional Southern offerings restaurant, fried chicken, chicken fried steaks, chops, and while it was good, it was never (for us) quite as good as it always seemed it could be. They did have an excellent codfish and wild rice dinner that I enjoyed frequently.

They tried to reinvent themselves at a corporate level by adding the "Grille" moniker to their name, and many of their restaurants in Texas still have it in some fashion, but they just never hit stride here in OK and their franchise holder, as I recall reading or hearing third hand (at least LOL) just gave it up. The location on SW74th and I-240 was empty for a year or more until Joe's Crab Shack went in, and its just nasty. My wife likes seafood a great deal more than I do, and we went there a few times when they first opened, but as their food quality dropped and greasy/nasty quotient increased, even she gave up on them. Obviously plenty of other folks like them as they're still around, but they're not among our regular visits.

There was a time back in the late 70's early 80's when Steak & Ale aspired to be an upscale dinner/steak house. Quiet, dimly lit, slightly higher-than-average pricing, upscale environment with cloth tablecloths, I remember it being a "big deal" to go there - then, somewhere along the way, they shifted their target somehow and became much more mainstream - and the quality went down with it.

As for OKC steaks, the one name whose departure I will forever lament is Glen's Hik-ry Inn. Just won't be another place like that again.

[ctchandler]

As for OKC steaks, the one name whose departure I will forever lament is Glen's Hik-ry Inn. Just won't be another place like that again.

SoonerDave,
Don't you think your memories are overriding common sense. I loved Glen's, went there after the prom (twice) and I went there with my late wife as well, but it didn't really hold a candle to the other places here in OKC. Jamil's, Christopher's, Junior's, Haunted House, Eddie's, Jaques', and I know I'm leaving out quite a few others. Great memories, yes, good food, yes, but there were a lot of other's that were better.
C. T.

[Jim Kyle]

Great memories, yes, good food, yes, but there were a lot of other's that were better.
C. T.

But no other steak place had my ham radio buddy Wally Brown at the organ, or served such a wonderful smorgasbord at noon most every day!

I'll grant that Junior's served a great steak the only time I was there, but I could have taken my wife out more than 10 times to Glen's for what I paid for that one anniversary dinner at Junior's -- and Wally wasn't there to give us "Tico Tico" as soon as he saw us walk in... Dub Farley in the piano bar was good, but no replacement!

[SouthSide]

Finished reading the Life On the Line today. It made me miss Dodson's fresh veggies & rolls. Does anyone remember Across the Street restaurant? It was on SW 59th street. Great chicken fried steak.

[SoonerDave]

SoonerDave,
Don't you think your memories are overriding common sense. I loved Glen's, went there after the prom (twice) and I went there with my late wife as well, but it didn't really hold a candle to the other places here in OKC. Jamil's, Christopher's, Junior's, Haunted House, Eddie's, Jaques', and I know I'm leaving out quite a few others. Great memories, yes, good food, yes, but there were a lot of other's that were better.
C. T.

No, not really, CT. Christopher's was closed by the time I found out what it was, and I never visited Junior's. Been to Haunted House, and while it was a very elegant atmosphere, I wouldn't say it was arbitrarily better than Glen's - besides, I think that's a little apples-to-oranges comparison. HH is/was a destination/theme place. I used to imagine/hope to take a date I really wanted to impress to Glen's, but it was gone before that era of my life arrived

Eddy's in its heyday was great, so yes, I'd put it in that Glen's category, What disappointed me about Eddy's was when I took my family there during their "going out of business" era that last couple of weeks, and I should have known better - it was very much reflective of the status of the restaurant (going out and not very good).

I realize all of these preferences are subjective, so if some folks don't like Glen's, c'est la vie. I remember it fondly, and wish we had it back.