EATING OKLAHOMA
Friday, February 06, 2004
Pat, I'll pick the letter 'P', please...
Mazzio's
405-799-9999
1425 Gateway Plaza
Midwest City, OK. 73110
This particular place has been a regular rally point for the Taskforce even before there was a Taskforce. Pieces of Mazzio's pizza too plentiful to count have found there way into the deep dark bottomless pit that is my stomach. Well, maybe I could get a rough estimate with a little pontificating... I've been at my present place of employment for 7 plus years and on average I eat there about once a month and each visit to Mazzio's pizza buffet requires about 10 pieces before I'll say "Uncle". 7 x 12 x 10 = 840, so, if you factor in the times when I went more than once in a month or had more than my usual 10 pieces, I could safely say that 900 pieces isn't too far off the mark. It's good stuff. Not great, not incredible, but steady. However, as is the case with many chain restaurants, not all stores are created equal. I've partaken of Mazzio's pizza that crossed my palate and I was pretty perturbed to find that the quality of the location turned out plenty poor. The location that we go to in Midwest City is good and I've never had anything less than a feast there. I recommend it even though at times, they get a bit behind in restocking the buffet (such as this last visit). When this tragic event, known as a Pizza Phamin, does happen, things can and do get interesting. Any time you've got 85 pizza starved people with a one hour lunch break and there's no pizza to be seen, things happen. Things like the inevitable 'Pizza Wall'. That's where the angry pizza mob stands around the buffet waiting for the Pleasant Pizza Proprietor to promptly place another pie on the plate. This always leads to much groaning and sobbing from the back of the wall when delivery number one is devoured by the crowd. The back of the wall always has to wait for round 2. Now, on this fine day in pizza-ville I was unfortunate enough to be a member of round 2 for my second trip. As I got up to the buffet and selected my first slice (Cheese with that funny white sauce) another pizza-pie-picker-outter stepped in front of me. The nerve! I had visions of smacking her hand with spatula as she scooped up her pizza prey or shouting, "Drop the Pizza now and no one gets hurt!". However, at this point in the game, I'd already had 4 pieces so I wasn't in a pizza starved craze, so I politely let her step in front of me, choose her slice and then I quietly and overly politely said, "Oh, that's the one I was going to get". Hoever, the subject of my pizza prank didn't bite. With the pizza firmly on her spatula she placed it on her plate. She was a rock... A proverbial pizza pro. I barely heard her say, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even see you there." Drat! My pizza plan foiled by a prim and proper patron of the female persuasion. Oh well, not to be deterred, I stocked up and headed back to the rally point and proceeded to partake. All in all it was a plentiful visit. Today my count went to 912...
Here's a look at my pile of plates
Friday, January 30, 2004
An International Incident
La Greek Restaurant
(405) 733-4444
2839 South Douglas Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73130
"I'm game, if for no other reason that to have something to write about on EO"
Those very words slid through cyberspace sometime Thursday morning as I did the Friday lunch destination negotiation. Little did I know that by lunchtime today, they would come true...
There was a bit of confusion as to who actually wanted to eat where today. As I look back, I'm wondering how we wound up where we did. Kenna mentioned an unknown place that a) used to be on 29th, b) had moved to Douglas and c) had a Russian guy that worked there. I was thinking she meant Super Sub but that has the "Asian Lady you know from Aerobics", not a Russian guy. She was thinking Napoleons, but said Akropolis when she remembered that the guy was Greek, not Russian. So, when I asked a coworker what Greek places he likes to visit, he mentioned Akropolis and La Greek. Somehow, we decided on La Greek. It was a chore just getting everyone there; taking two cell phone calls on the fly from Kenna to talk her in for a landing. Once we were there the real fun began.
While standing in line, I began to check out what La Greek had to offer. Yeah, I know the main staple of a Greek place like this is a Gyro Sandwich, but I wanted to see if I could make this trip and not consume the staple (lamb) which I've always had the bad habit of calling goat (Here Billy, Billy, Billy!). I know that it's really lamb and plenty of people eat it all the time and there is nothing wrong with it, but I figured I had a 32 year streak going for not eating lamb and today wasn't going to be the end of it. That all changed when I saw two items on menu that are one of my many benchmark dishes.
SIDE NOTE - OK, by now you know I'm a tad bit neurotic about eating. Here's the deal with benchmark food. There are certain dishes that I really like, things that when I go to a place I find myself ordering time and time again. They become a benchmark, a standard to judge other restaurants. For instance, when I go to a new mexican food place, I'll usually try either the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (Benchmark #1) and some Rice and Beans (Benchmark #2). If the new place can make that as I like it, then I might go back and venture to parts unknown on their menu.
OK, the benchmarks that I found on La Greek's menu were a Philly Gyro (Philly Cheese Steak is a definite benchmark) and Onion Rings. Benchmarks Found - The choice was made - That's what I was getting, period, end of internal discussion. Oh, sure, the Lamb Alarm was going off in my head (as in to the tune of 'Mary had a ...'), but I had found the benchmark, there was nothing left to do but wait my turn and order.
And order I did. 1 Philly Gyro, 1 Order of Onion Rings, 1 Coke. The total came to $7.29. "A bit steep," I immediately thought, but then again, I did order Onion Rings, Beer Battered, no less.
The moment of truth arrived. The nice Greek Lady brought out my food. First Reaction... "I've been had!" The Sandwich (Philly Billy as I had begun calling it) was about what I expected. The onion rings... well they were onion rings, good ones even.... all six of them.... for $1.99.... and I'm not talking huge, hand size, onion rings, I'm talking average to small ones.... 33 cents a piece. Not worth it in my opinion. The Philly Billy was OK. Not something I'd order again, but decent, even if it did have Feta Cheese on it. I know some people really go nuts for Feta Cheese, but to me it's like past due Cottage Cheese, which while Cottage Cheese is good, it's also just one step above curdled milk. Anyway, this whole tragedy was further compounded by the refill policy of La Greek.
SIDE NOTE #2 - Restaurants can be classified by their refills policy. At one end of the spectrum, you have the Mazzio's and Taco Bell's of the world - Drink all you can for one price. Heck! Get a refill to go right before you leave. They really don't mind at all. Somewhere in the middle is the place that charges a nominal fee (25~35 cents) for a refill. Super Sub and La Greek are examples of this. Just past this is the place that doesn't offer refills because they don't have to. Places like Niño's and Ron's Hamburgers serve their drinks in a 55 gallon drum, so if a refill is requested they're usually so impressed that you drank it all and didn't wet your pants that they'll get you another one just to see if you will. At the far end of the spectrum is the place that has no refills whatsoever. You want a refill? You buy a whole new drink - Period.
Back to the sad tale of La Greek. It was tasty enough, but just not enough of it. I would have had to spend my lunch money for the next two weeks to eat myself into the proverbial food coma. I finished my meal mostly without incident. I ate every last morsel. I mean, at $7.29, leaving anything on the plate would be like throwing at five spot on the floor before I left.
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Return to Ron's
Ron's Hamburgers and Chili
(405) 733-7667
351 N. Air Depot Rd. Suite A
Midwest City, OK 73110
I know, I know...
You're saying "Didn't you say that you liked Don's better? Didn't we already cover this?" Well, mostly. When we last saw our Super Hero he was talking about the uber-thin patty at Ron's and the onion rings at Don's. However, I could not get the mental image out of my head about what I saw at Ron's as I walked out that day. Yeah, you remember... The Chili Burger.
The rest of my friends on the Taskforce agreed to go with me to Ron's today. I'm pretty sure they didn't know the full reason for me picking Ron's, but I had to put this thing to rest. From the moment I saw that Chili Burger, I knew it. I knew that I would seek, find, acquire and devour a Sausage Chili Cheeseburger, sooner rather than later. I felt it deep down in my bones.
We arrived in two groups as usual with my group bringing up the rear as usual. Now, when we arrived, the place was jam packed with Burger Seekers. Every table was either occupied or a wreck from the Burger Carnage that had just taken place. After a bit of standing on our part and a bit of table cleaning on Ron's part, we sat down and ordered. Someone got 'just a salad', but I won't name names... The others got plain burgers of some variety. I took a deep breath and very plainly ordered the Sausage Chili Cheeseburger. I was taking no chances. I could not let this burger slip away, uneaten by me because of a mix-up with the wording. It was too important. Too much at stake...
Everybody at the table heard what I had ordered, but having never been there before they hadn't yet seen this 30 Mega-Ton Burger and as such, they just weren't prepared. My Sausage Chili Cheeseburger wasn't the first order to the table which made it even funnier to see the looks on the other Taskforce members faces as they looked to my plate, then theirs and back to mine.
Here is a picture of my quarry... This is the mental image that has haunted me so.
I think I remember hearing someone say "Holy Huge Hamburger!" but I was already in the zone. My transformation from 'Burger Eater' to 'Burger Eradicater' was already done. I will spare you the graphic details of my kill but I can tell you that I will be reliving this moment for some time to come. This was very close to 'Burger Nirvana'. It was the best Chili Burger that has ever had the pleasure of residing in my stomach. Because it was a sausage burger, it was almost like a humongous flat Chilidog, but much, much better. I can not say enough good things about this burger. Words simply can not do it justice.
Words, however, were plentiful for other aspects of this mission. The most notable phrase to come from today's outing was "Mouthful of Bacony Goodness with each bite" to describe the unique way that Ron's makes a Bacon Cheeseburger. Another fine choice of words included "Mountain of Goo" in reference to the Burger Freak Show that was happening on my plate. An honorable mention goes to "Man Salad"; make your own story up for that one...
I'll be back for another one someday. Definitely.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Battle of the Burgers - Ron's vs. Don's
Ron's Hamburgers and Chili
(405) 733-7667
351 N. Air Depot Rd. Suite A
Midwest City, OK 73110
Don's Alley
(405) 677-9049
4601 Southeast 29th Street
Del City, OK 73115
OK, if you know me very well, you know one thing about me. I Love Burgers. I'm sure some would classify it as an addiction, especially after my "Week of Sonic". "Hi. My name is Rob and I'm a Burger-holic"
Well, just last week, I had the opportunity to visit two different places for two different types of burgers. See how they fared in this round of the Battle of the Burgers!
Ron's Hamburger and Chili
This place is the epitome of Burger Joint. Simple furnishings, with a touch of the nostalgia thing. Plenty of locations - I counted 23 on their website. Plenty of burger varieties on the menu, plain jane tables with a roll of paper towels on each. Wimpy would be right at home here. For this visit, I decided I'd try a sausage cheeseburger. Yeah, you read that right. They mix Owens Sausage in with their hamburger meat, make a big thin patty of it and serve it up as a cheeseburger (with grilled onions no less). As if I didn't have enough onions on the burger I opted for the 'Spanish Fries' which are a big heap of your regular old french fries with grilled onions and jalepeños on top of it. As this was my first go at a Sausage Burger, I didn't really know what to expect. It had a good flavor to it. Tasted like a good old greasy burger with just a bit of zip to it. The whole time I was eating it I kept singing 'With a Moo Moo here and a Oink Oink there...'. Now earlier I said a thin patty and that's just what it was. Thin. The thinest patty I've ever had. I don't know if they do it that way because of the sausage or what, but I prefer something at least as thick as a Quarter Pounder. Still it was tasty and what it lacked in thickness, it made up for in diameter. This thing was hanging way off the bun. One of the guys in our group actually ate his with a knife and fork. The Spanish Fries were interesting. Spicy to be sure, but with the right amount of ketchup quite edible. I'm not sure I would want a steady diet of them though. The only reason I got them is Ron doesn't serve Onion Rings. Seems strange to me that a place that serves burgers with grilled onions doesn't serve onion rings. Anyway all in all a good burger. As I was leaving, I saw that I had made one mistake when I ordered. I should have taken Ron up on what the sign says... Ron's Hamburger and Chili. As I left the place, I saw a guy digging into one of the chili burgers. It looked just like the burger I started out with, but with a ladle of chili put right on top. Definitely a knife and fork experience.
Don's Alley
Don's is not so much a Burger Joint as it is a diner. As far as I know, there's only one location. Menu items range from breakfast stuff, to soups, salads, sandwiches, good old burgers and dinner plates. The wife and kids could find something to eat here. I can't say the same thing for Ron's. My trip this day called for a double cheeseburger and Tater Tots. Normally I would have gotten the Onion Rings because they are excellent but seeing as how about 24 hrs earlier I was consuming a Sausage-burger and Spanish fries, I figured I'd give my stomach (and my family) a break. The patties on this burger didn't hang off the bun like Ron's but they were thicker. This was your good old fashioned burger. It was just right. Not too flashy, but oh so tasty. Don's cheeseburgers come the way I prefer them, which is to say with mustard. I'll never understand those places who operate under the 'Hamburger gets mustard, Cheeseburger gets Mayo' policy. Oh, I'll eat it how they want to fix it. I'm not really that particular. I'd rather eat it as they intended it, but to my taster, mustard is better. Anyway, this one hit the spot. I could very easily have ordered several more and eaten myself into a food coma. And, while the Tater Tots weren't anything special, they were plentiful. Seems like Don has the Quality/Quantity thing figured out. If you can't have both, go with quality. If you can't get high qualilty, make sure it's edible and then bring lots of it.
And the winner is... For this round I'll choose Don's. Both places are good, but the deciding factor was my urge to order more and head for the coma ward. That and the super thin patty at Ron's just weirds me out... Plus you can get onion rings at Don's.
Real Men of Genius
Here's to you Mr. Pizza! Pizza! Toga Guy...
Mr. Pizza! Pizza Toga Guy-uh
We fell in love with your two for one pizzas
Love the Two for oneeee
Then came $3 mediums on Mondays
Just right for Monday Night Football
And now it's $5 One Topping Larges... Any day. Any time.
$5 for a pizza... Oh Look at you!!!
Mr. Pizza! Pizza! Toga Guy. We salute You!
Friday, January 16, 2004
Bang for the Buck
Whilst our family (one dad, one mom, one son, one daughter) doesn't go out to eat often, due to time, money and effort, one thing we have enjoyed many times is the $5.00 Large pepperoni Pizza Ready to GO at Little Caesars. Okay, so it's not officially going out to eat, but it sure suffices the hungry mouths and the sparse wallet at our house.
Here's how the scenario plays out...
I'm heading home from work; its close to 5:30pm; I'm thinking what can I fix for dinner. I really don't feel like cooking which invariably includes cleaning. ring, ring, i call my honey and tell him i'm making a quick stop by Little Caesars. Pizza for dinner! What a great idea. I don't have to call in my order and what the 30-45 minutes for the delivery. I get the immediate gratification of my impromptu decision... and it's nice and hot and Ready to GO!!
Little Caesars Pizza
(405) 722-2828
6000 North 122nd
Oklahoma City, OK 73142
This is the one close to my house, find one near you: Little Caesars
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Fazoli's - Mamma would be proud...
#5218
408 S. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK
73110
tel. (405) 737-1400
fax. (405) 737-1448
For the regular Friday lunch yesterday, we went to Fazoli's - "Italian Family Restaurant and fast-casual ambiance".
To clarify, the regular Friday lunch consists of myself and usually 3~4 other people who eventually will post here as well. We meet at some local grub serving establishment to eat and talk tech and laugh and generally get louder than is socially acceptable. This has been happening every Friday for roughly seven years and so far, no one's asked us to leave. This particular Friday however, was just us guys (Shawn, Paul, Rob). The gals (Kenna, Vicki, Chani) each had their own reasons not to attend. Kenna was turning a year older and went to town to spend her birthday money that all her relatives had included in their cards. Vicki had one of those days where there is a tear in the space-time continuum and she just so happened to walk through that tear into an alternate dimension. Chani moved to Alabama a year ago, but that's no excuse... Strangely enough, even though the gals weren't there, the tech talk was minimal. The highlight was the 157 times Paul tried to beam a contact from his Pocket PC to mine before we figured it out.
Fazoli's is one of those places that actually does a fair job of a "Fast Sit-Down" type of place. It's fast food, but it's not a place where you feel like you're part of the herd being driven towards the register. The food is good old Italian. The kind of hearty stuff that makes me want to say "Mamma Mia!". Be forwarned though that unless they make some major changes to the menu you're not going to see any 'Atkins Diet' people in here as a repeat customer. Which is OK with me. When I want to eat, I'm not one to stop and think "Gee, it sure looks good, but I bet it's got a lot of calories", or now I guess the "In" thing is low or no carbs - whatever. This fine day I chose the 'Classic Sampler with 6 Layer Lasagna'. Good stuff. Good, hearty, clog an artery type meal. For under $6 you get a plate loaded with Spaghetti, Fettucine Alfredo, and their 6 Layer Lasagna. All this plus those big, soft, chewy, dipped in a vat of liquid butter Breadsticks. They start you out with two Breadsticks and then come around to your table to see if you want more. Want more? I Need More. Those things are good enough to make you eat yourself right into a food coma. When the waiter dutifully came by with his offer of more breadsticks, alas, my plate was already clean... I took two more anyway!
Now when I say it's a hearty meal, I mean it...
CLASSIC SAMPLER NUTRITION INFO
Carbohydrates (g) - 108
Cholesterol (mg) - 40
Fat (g) - 25
Saturated Fat (g) - 9
Sodium (mg) - 1250
Total Calories - 810
Fiber (g) - 6
Protein (g) - 32
Sugar (g) - 12
BREADSTICK NUTRITION INFO
Carbohydrates (g) - 18
Cholesterol (mg) - 0
Fat (g) - 6
Saturated Fat (g) - 1
Sodium (mg) - 310
Total Calories - 140
Fiber (g) - 1
Protein (g) - 4
Sugar (g) - 1
I was glad that my breakfast had only consisted of a small bowl of instant oatmeal. Dinner wasn't necessary either considering that, not counting my breakfast, I had just consumed 1370 calories, 180 (g) carbs and 2490 (mg) sodium.
Knowing all this nutrition info, will I go back? You bet your sweet bippee!
Sunday, January 04, 2004
El Chico - The old standby
Oklahoma City Esplanade Shopping
3903 South Western
Oklahoma City, OK 73109
El Chico's. What's there to say? They've been around here forever and for the bigger part of my life I didn't care anything about eating there. As a child, it was "Take me to McDonald's". In college mexican food meant either a frozen burrito or a quick trip to Taco Bell. El Chicos didn't register on my 'Sit-down' restaurant scope. So, why after all these years, have I gone back? Two Reasons:
1) My wife said that's where she wanted to go
2) She had a coupon for buy one enchilada dinner, get one free.
So, off to El Chico's we go. Usually, we visit the location in the Sooner Fashion Mall in Norman, which is pretty much the only El Chico's I've known as an adult. Well, as you can see from the address above, we weren't at the mall. We were running errands in OKC so we decided to go to the location in South OKC. When my wife told me where it was located, my first thought was "It's not that far to Norman." As shown in the address listed above this particular spot is located right on the edge of 'Little Mexico'. It's not a particularly bad part of town, but it's not the best. I had visions of a cramped run down spot with bars on the windows. This image was further enhanced by the route we took to get there. We were coming from west side of town, so we got off I-44 on SW 29th and went over to Western. If you've been by that way lately, you've got the mental picture already. If you've not been that way, then you're missing out... Just go in the day time. But I digress. We got to 30-whatever S. Western and what do you know, but the place is in the old Redding Shopping Center. I know the address listed online says Esplanade Something-or-other, but the signs out front still say Redding.
Now that I'm pleasantly surprised that it's not a complete hole in the wall, we get out of the truck and make our way inside. No bars on the windows, small compared to the mall, but big enough. The big plus is that they've got three TV's tuned in to the bowl games. I've never seen a TV at the mall location...
Our waiter, Rodney, was friendly and brought us our drinks and chips quickly. When it came time to order, before I could ham-handedly say, "Uh, we've got this coupon..." Rodney spies the coupon and excitedly says, "Hey a coupon! You can get whatever kind of enchiladas you want". We order. Two cheese for my wife, 1 beef, 1 chicken for me.
Usually, when my wife and I dine out, she brings an ice chest and as soon as the meal arrives, she asks for a to-go box. She then proceeds to cut their gargantuan sized meal in half. She eats half there ate the restaurant, and the other half goes home for my lunch the next day. However, on this day, we are without ice chest and it's unusually warm for December, so rather than let the extra half go to waste, I take one for the team. Yeah, that's right, I ate all of my two enchiladas and rice and beans, and then finished off her extra half. But it's OK, I had Subway.
Rodney stops by to parade the dessert tray in front of us but there just ain't no way I'm stuffing anything else in and after watching me gorge myself, my wife has pretty much lost her appetite. Soon after, Rodney brings us our check and with the coupon, it's a whopping $11 and change. Yeah!
