OKC restaurant memories

[escan]

Had lunch at Nova Wednesday...sesame crusted salmon w/ orange sauce...it was excellent. Wish it was a little less done, but it seems everyone around here overcooks fish a bit (better safe than sorry). The entire filet was crusted with black and white sesame seeds...imaginative, tasty and different.

For italian food, don't forget about Caffe Pranzo in the Colonades. The atmosphere isn't wonderful, but I've never (and I mean NEVER) been unhappy. They have professional wait staff who have made this their life's work and the chef/owner never fails to visit your table and chat, just to make sure everything is up to par. It's probably my very favorite place to eat in OKC and I'm sure you can tell I eat out a lot. The also fly their cheesecake in from Carnegie Deli-Yum!

[The Old Downtown Guy]

. . . Caffe Pranzo in the Colonades. The atmosphere isn't wonderful, but I've never (and I mean NEVER) been unhappy. They have professional wait staff who have made this their life's work and the chef/owner never fails to visit your table and chat, just to make sure everything is up to par. It's probably my very favorite place to eat in OKC and I'm sure you can tell I eat out a lot. The also fly their cheesecake in from Carnegie Deli-Yum!

Just sticking your nose in the door of The Carnegie Deli is worth the cost of a last minute first class plane ticket. An unbelievable place and only one of at least three dozen incredible delis in NYC. Salads of every kind imaginable, soups and all kinds of take out entrées. . . It's like the cases at Kamps + Bill Kamps + Crescent Market X 50. Whole Foods is the closest thing that we are likely to see in OKC that would even come close to comparing to the take out from a NYC deli.

I have eaten at Caffe Pranzo a few times, but not lately. You're right about the decor . . . definitely not memorable, but I don't usually eat the decor. It's just hard to get in the ol' buggy and drive that far north on May Avenue, but thanks for the reminder.

[diesel]

Who remembers LA Pizza in Heritage Park Mall?!?!?

[writerranger]

I miss Tony's Italian Specialties on about NW 26th and Penn...it's now Rococo. Mmmmm, Tony used to sit the back booth and as soon as they saw my husband and I walk in, they'd bring us a carafe of red wine...they knew the way to my heart!

Me too! Tony and his wife, Chris, were wonderful people. They have moved to Chicago.

[writerranger]

I remember so many of these places mentioned.

Alamo Plaza on S. Robinson had great fried chicken.

Kip's Big Boy on North May and a few other locations (great to color in their comic books).

Howard Johnson's Best fried clams on the planet.

Holloway's Charcoal Burgers on NW 23rd and Grand (now I-44)

MY PIE Pizza at 63rd and NW Expressway

Polsano's Spaghetti/Italian Deli on North May nest to Simon's Mens & Boys Wear across from Taft Jr. High - Still some of the best spaghetti I've ever had.

Delores's (sp?) on 23rd street near the capitol - great desserts.

Beef 'n' Bun on NW 23rd. Good burgers.

Quicks on Classen - with McDonald's-sized burgers except with hickory sauce.

Bonapartes - Didn't they have the Fried Pickles?

O'Mealey's Cafeteria - One on May and another on 23rd. Great after-church places.

Glen's Steakhouse, of course, but remember Glen's Donuts on 10th? Big elephant sign.

Good memories of good eats in OKC!

[MadMonk]

MY PIE Pizza at 63rd and NW Expressway

It was My PI pizza. I worked there in high school for a couple of years. Best Chicago-style pizza ever and really good marinated steak sandwiches too. Dal was the guy who managed the place for the owner (can't remember his name). Great guy to work for. Damn, we had a lot of fun there.

[writerranger]

It was My PI pizza. I worked there in high school for a couple of years. Best Chicago-style pizza ever and really good marinated steak sandwiches too. Dal was the guy who managed the place for the owner (can't remember his name). Great guy to work for. Damn, we had a lot of fun there.

That's right! My PI. I knew I wasn't spelling it the way they did. Goooood pizza!

[autoMATTic]

der dutchman!!!!!!!! lol

[The Old Downtown Guy]

der dutchman !!!!! . . .

Thanks for jogging the ol' brain cells autoMATTic. Definitely g good seafood spot. formerly at NW Expressway and I-240 if memory serves. some kind of windmill tower thing as an entrance to the building. I think it was owned by the Adair family. Good selection of fish preapared any way you liked & tasty hush puppies. They had a house trio plus a female singer that played in the club four or five nights a week. I used to enjoy sitting in on bass from time to time. A good place for lunch and fun night spot.

[Vintage BMX'er]

How about Roy Rogers.
Another pizza chain that was here back in the mid 80's, remeber Goocheez?

[abb]

I believe the doughnut store on 10th was called Dennis Doughnut There were probably 8 or 10 of them around town in the 60's. They used an elephant as their logo.


I remember looking out of a window there and I was able to see the bottom of the "mysterious" Acme brick pit.

[B]Leach's[/B]Bakery was on May, a few doors down from Polsano's Deli.
They made great cream horns for 7 cents apiece. You could buy a whole home made cherry pie for 35 cents. Mr. Leach did most of the baking and he used to always leave one unpitted cherry in the pie. Kind of a trademark I guess.

There was also a barber shop, a furniture store, and sewing maching store? Also, Veasey's Drug store was right on the corner of 23rd and May.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

There was also a barber shop, a furniture store, and sewing maching store? Also, Veasey's Drug store was right on the corner of 23rd and May.

Thanks for the memory abb. I don't recall either Leach's or Polsan's. Could you put a time frame around those places. I attended Taft in 1955/56 and Vezeys was the hangout. Vanilla Coke was my beverage of choice.

[abb]

I lived on 24th Street about 2 blocks East of May from '60 to '67. I went to Cleveland Elem. '60-'65 , Taft '65-'67.

[writerranger]

Polsano's went out in the mid seventies. The drug store maybe late sixties? It was replaced by Simon's Mens and Boys Wear.

[abb]

I remember the Veasey's being a slot car track for a brief time around 1965 when slot cars were popular.

[Elmofromok]

Papa Dio's on May just south of Briton has a similar menu and share some family background I believe.

I really like that place. I wonderd if there was a connection and I would be very happy to find out that they only moved to a new location instead of closing down.

To me a restaurant is all about the food and more importantly, the owners attitude about the food served. No passion for food . . . bad restaurant, or at least not a good one. Too many places start from a different place and want to serve big portions or have interesting decor or just look at it as another business . . . hence all this corp-speak crapola about it being a "store" or a "location" and their food/ambience/service as their "product". I like to eat where the special is really special and didn't just come out of a box delivered by a William E. Davis truck.

I could not agree with you more. I am so sick corporate food that is barely prepared at the restaraunt.

Also, I would like to hear some reviews of Cafe Nova.

Not familiar with this place...Where is it?

Another favorite haunt of mine, and lots of other people, that just came to mind is VZD's. Good basic menu and consistently consistent. I can't think of the woman's name that runs their kitchen, but she is as good as they come. I also like the kitchen being right out there in plain sight. Good cold beer too.

VZDs is great. Classic place!

[Elmofromok]

I remember when Catfish Cabin was really good and didn't have the lame buffet thing going on. We used to go there so often.

I really miss Casa Bonita as well. That was my favorite place to go eat as a kid. Not as cool as in Denver, but still a treat. I always looked forward to my trip to the little childrens store they had in the middle of the restaurant. I still crave their cheese sometimes... have to go to Taco Beuno to get the closest thing left.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

Cafe Nova is just down the street from VZD's. About 40th or 41st and Western.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

Oops, wrong direction. More like 43rd and Western

[Elmofromok]

excellent, thanks.