Packard's

[Pete]

This is a photo of the pastrami sandwich from their FB page:

[betts]

Looks yummy. Maybe I'm not enough of a foodie to know a different definition of "caul". The historical one you don't want to eat.

[soonerguru]

I can vouch for the pastrami. It was just excellent.

[kelroy55]

That reminds me, I need to make some pastrami soon.

[Martin]

chicken salad sandwich was amazing (they were out of pastrami)... shredded chicken, house made bread, grapes, walnuts, celery... one of the best i've had. i ordered it with onion rings. the onions were cooked well but the batter didn't really have any flavor and in general it was a tad greasy. overall, though, it was a great place. -M

[Pete]

Photo of the roof-top deck at a recent event...

Suddenly, OKC has a pretty darn good collection of outdoor spaces:

[CCOKC]

They are having events regularly up there. It is really hard for me to be in my office working until all hours of the night realizing that people are actually having fun out there. Oh well, this should be my last late night at work until next year.

[metro]

Ate here for lunch on Friday, I will post a review soon.

[IBLEEDRIMSON]

OKC needs more rooftop dining and nightlife experiences. I've been to some amazing places simply because they had rooftop's in KC, St. Louis, Chicago and the Twin Cities and they don't have the weather that Oklahoma does. All of these restaurant's were considered "hot" because of their rooftop even though there was a better food option right next door. I hope to see the rooftop trend continue in OK because I think we're suited for it. Who are the other full service (food and alcohol) rooftop options in OK?

[dankrutka]

OKC needs more rooftop dining and nightlife experiences. I've been to some amazing places simply because they had rooftop's in KC, St. Louis, Chicago and the Twin Cities and they don't have the weather that Oklahoma does. All of these restaurant's were considered "hot" because of their rooftop even though there was a better food option right next door. I hope to see the rooftop trend continue in OK because I think we're suited for it. Who are the other full service (food and alcohol) rooftop options in OK?

Off the top of my head - Cafe do Brasil/Bossa Nova (Midtown); Nonna's (Bricktown); El Guapo (Blue Dome in Tulsa)

747 (Norman) and the Hunt Club (Brady District in Tulsa) kind of fit the bill, but aren't true rooftop bars.

OKC Art Museum is capable, but probably doesn't count.

What places am I missing?

[PhiAlpha]

Coming soon to OKC: the ambassador hotel rooftop restaurant.

[Pete]

There is also a roof-top restaurant coming to Auto Alley.

And we've added tons of other outdoor restaurant / bar space just in the last couple of years.

[onthestrip]

Is aloft going to have a top floor bar with a rooftop patio? Thought I heard it was..

[Pete]

Is aloft going to have a top floor bar with a rooftop patio? Thought I heard it was..

No... Their bar will be on the 1st and 2nd levels.

There will be meeting rooms on the top and a terrace on the far west end, but nothing on the roof.

[BBatesokc]

Tried this place today with some friends. They had been there a few times already and warned me none of them thought is was anything special.

We got there today at noon. Was decently full, but we were seated right away.

The location is great and there is plenty of reserved parking across the street.

The decor and atmosphere were very nice and the staff were all very friendly and professional. Unfortunately that's were the good news ended.

Even though it was only 12:10 we were told they were out of pastrami.

I ordered the chicken salad sandwich with onion rings.

It took about 30 minutes to get our food, which was about 15 minutes longer than it should have taken.

The chicken salad looked fresh and appetizing, but was completely void of any flavor. The only bright spot was the bread, which seemed fresh, but was a bit greasy.

I'm a huge fan of onion rings of all types - thick, thin, crispy, doughy, you name it. However, these rings had even less flavor than the sandwich. To top it off they were served with some sort of watered down marinara sauce. We asked for plain old ketchup but were told they were out (how are you out of ketchup?).

By 1:20pm the restaurant was only 1/4 full.

I still have hopes this place can get its act together, but I don't know that I'll be back anytime soon.

[Dustin]

I'm a huge fan of onion rings of all types - thick, thin, crispy, doughy, you name it. However, these rings had even less flavor than the sandwich. To top it off they were served with some sort of watered down marinara sauce. We asked for plain old ketchup but were told they were out (how are you out of ketchup?).

The onion rings are indeed disgusting... Does the chef and the line cooks taste the food?

[Mel]

You had me at pastrami.

[BBatesokc]

The onion rings are indeed disgusting... Does the chef and the line cooks taste the food?

We joked it was like a gourmet restaurant in a Hospital - totaling lacking in salt, herbs and flavor. While the photos posted by others above are accurate, you could probably just print the photo and eat that and the flavor would be the same.

Fortunately, that is something they can fix and still have a successful restaurant. Or, maybe its just not for me and my lunch circle.

I can tell you this, I'm not taking my wife there..... With Kitchen 324 so close by she'd kill me if I tried to feed her "blah" when she could have had "wow."

[Martin]

We asked for plain old ketchup but were told they were out (how are you out of ketchup?).

when i ordered the rings, they came with homemade ketchup... that probably explains how they could run out. -M

[soonerguru]

Bates, you should call ahead some day and ask if they have the pastrami. If they do, give it a shot. It compares very favorably to Kitchen 324's.

[metro]

No, Packards Pastrami isn't even a Pastrami, it tastes more like a BBQ pulled pork sandwich than a pastrami.

[pickles]

No, Packards Pastrami isn't even a Pastrami, it tastes more like a BBQ pulled pork sandwich than a pastrami.

I thought it was overwhelmingly sweet.

[metro]

It reminded me of a pulled pork sandwich, it was good, but NOT a pastrami, which is what I anticipated and ordered. The quality was good, but they should rename the sandwich, it's not a pastrami or even an interpretation of one.

[BBatesokc]

when i ordered the rings, they came with homemade ketchup... that probably explains how they could run out. -M

I literally asked if they had bottled ketchup and he said yes. Then came back and said they were out. If you know you're out and lunch hasn't even started, you send someone out to get bottled ketchup - IMO.

If you make it homemade - then how can you be out before your day has even begun?

[RadicalModerate]

If you took some Heinz or Hunts and a can of petite diced tomatoes . . . maybe some "secret herb" and/or exotic vinegar . . . and threw all of it into a blender or food processor for about five seconds, would it then technically be "homemade"?

Let's face it: There is no excuse for a restaurant running out of catsup. Or ketchup.
(although the only thing I ever put the stuff on is french fries and maybe a little on a hamburger)

btw: I think we would all agree that "pastrami" should be about 180 degrees away from "pulled pork" . . .