Latest / The Dry Line Podcast / If They Disappeared, Would We Miss Any of the 2026 Best of OKC Winners? Part II with Robert Fightmaster

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If They Disappeared, Would We Miss Any of the 2026 Best of OKC Winners? Part II with Robert Fightmaster · The Dry Line Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to The Dry Line, OKC's purveyor of culture.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Weekly breakdowns of our sacred sports,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: mercurial weather, burgeoning food scene, and damn fine people.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Brought to you by me, I'm your host, Ryan Fightmaster, editor-in-chief of The Dry Line.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Coming up is part two of my dad,
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Robert Fightmaster and I's conversation,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: where we attempt to answer the question,
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Is OKC's past actually better than its present?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: In part one we went decade by decade,
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: over about two hours,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: reliving our favorite memories from the places we miss
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: the most around Oklahoma City.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: All I can say is that after that, I feel like the past around here is criminally underrated.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Find me somewhere as cool right now as the Varsity.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Come at me with it.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm ready, alright?
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Next, in part two, we analyze the OK Gazette's best of OKC rankings.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Who was deserving, who got snubbed, and some of the winners we've never heard of before.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: We also ask each other which, if any,
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: of the current winners would be places we'd miss in 20 years if they disappeared.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm already getting asked when my dad will be back on the show soon enough.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you, soon enough.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: We've already got another walk down memory lane in the pipeline ready to go.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: So expect that coming out in the next couple of months.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: A couple of notes.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: My dad, coming up, he mentions a taco spot that he cannot remember the name of.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: We looked it up afterward.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's called Tacologia in Moore on Eastern.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: He's been raving about this place for months.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very excited to try it because he does not rave about that many places.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Back in part one,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: both of us mentioned an Italian place on Southwestern that used to be next
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: to Capitol Hill Florist.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: And the name of that place was Bella Vista.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Rest in peace to the best calzones in the universe.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Ugh, gotta do anything for one of those calzones.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, here we go.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Part 2, an OK Gazette Best of OKC Breakdown with my pops, Robert Fidemaster.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so August is when the OK Gazette drops their yearly Best of OKC Awards,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: and this year, apparently, they received 95,000 votes.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Did you vote?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: I did not vote.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I did not vote either.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: We need to fix that next year.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're believers in democracy and we didn't even vote on the things that we talk
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: about all the time.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: That are really important to us.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: It is really important.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we talked beforehand and decided that we were going to look through the winners
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: of the Best of OKC Awards and then see which of the restaurants and experiences,
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: say, 20 years from now, if they were to disappear, that we'd be waxing nostalgic on.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: But first, there were a few surprises in there.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: That I know you'll have an opinion about.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that told me, A, because there were surprises.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: One, I really need to get out there more and try new restaurants.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Or two, there was some serious ballot stuffing going on here.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because I question the results.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to say it right off the top.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: So let's run through some of these.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Anything right off the top you want to get to here?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the Gazette is nomination.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to be nominated to be up for an award.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But then I think you can actually buy ads maybe on their social media pages or
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: in their subsequent or magazines coming up to it where you can kind
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: of boost yourself.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and there's, I mean, this is a lot better than some of these other ones.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's some other things in the city, like best places to work.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, basically you paid $10,000.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you get on the best place,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: best CEOs,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: all these different little things
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: that four or five magazine just did one of those.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think this is a little more truer, but it's, it's a popularity contest.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times, um, there's one company that I'm glad I didn't see in there.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's because of politics that it did not make the list at all anymore.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Huh.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Under barbecue.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Say no more.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Say no more.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: That one I thought was interesting because they had won a lot
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: and it's pretty average, but not in there anymore.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: There are actually,
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: there are multiple barbecue companies that I think could fall
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: under what you're talking about.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: But we'll not go too deep.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not too deep.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just going to read you some of the results here.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Best breakfast went to Eggceptional Cafe off of Northwest Expressway.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where is that?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Good question.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Best brunch went to the Harvey Bakery and Kitchen.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Harvey's great.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Makes sense.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Best coffee shop, Elemental.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Best burger in the city of Oklahoma City went to the garage.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Best.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I like the garage.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Me too.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love the garage.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a fun burger.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the burgers
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: are good.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And the prices are.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Their fries are good.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Prices are great.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's like an $8 burger.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have not been to the Paddy Wagon.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, God.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my gosh.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're talking about the freshest beef.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's something about the way they did.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Their buns are just toasted perfectly, hand-cut French fries.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I did see – so they did – somebody did a burger contest last year,
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: and they went kind of through like a bracket, like a bracketology type thing.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: An Oklahoma City bracket of
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: burgers.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And all those were on there.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm excited for them because they're third place, right?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Did they get third?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Who's third on the burger list?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, no.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: I just see there's only the top listed here.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I've got the paper gazette in front of me.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Is the online one?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Online tells you who the winners are.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: So online it says the order.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So our friends over at Paddy Wagon got third.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they did?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So if you pull it up online, you can actually see who won.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can see the full list too.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw a link to that.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think they have a QR code that said like, see where you ranked or something like that.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: I agree though.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: The Patty wagon needs mention for best burger.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because the creativity with their burgers is also ridiculous.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: And as our good friend.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Bryce music.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: The founder no longer with us used to say the magic of the burger is in the bun in the bun.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's in the bun.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, And Bar Arbolada deserves a shout out for best burger.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Bar Arbolada serves a ridiculously good burger.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think they were on the best bar list.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's deserving too.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: So best taco, Big Truck Tacos.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: But you've got a place that I wanted you to shout out for best taco.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Taco Nation?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: And more.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, Taco Nation's ridiculous.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: I like Taco Nation better than Big Truck.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Taco Nation didn't make the list.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Weren't even nominated.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, but that place is fantastic in their service.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Their owner is amazing.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: The quality of the meat they used to in their tacos?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Taco Nation, Willard District.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Got to go there.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I wish I could tell you about this.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even remember the name of this taco place and more.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: I may have to look it up real quick.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: We will put this in the show notes because my dad's been,
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: you've been telling me about this taco place for
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: weeks.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's about, it's north of 12th Street between 12th and 27th and more on Eastern.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's in a little strip center that's got like two or three restaurants in it.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I saw,
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was just kind of playing around and said best tacos and more and boom,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: it popped up.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've been there twice and it is phenomenal.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I gotta, gotta, gotta look it up.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: We will send me the link.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, best sandwich shop, they put Lee's sandwiches down.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Have you been to Lee's?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: I have been to Lee's.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Lee's is a national chain, if you didn't know that.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: I did not know that.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: By the way,
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: whenever I was living in Norwich County and working in the hospital,
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: most people I worked with were huge fans of Lee's sandwiches,
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: so we had Lee's sandwiches all the time in the hospital.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not a fan.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: They make a good bonnie.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: All right, but best sandwich shop in the city, are you kidding?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, sorry.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: I like Lee's.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: I like Lee's a lot.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's like King Jersey Mike's.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: You're just...
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Jersey Mike's.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: They did get bought out by private equity, though.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: They're owned by Blackstone now.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Jersey Mike's is?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Jersey Mike's is owned by Blackstone.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's really disappointing.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: I love Jersey Mike's.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I didn't mean to run your night.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: I got to find you a sandwich shop.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: No Bite Left Behind as best sandwich shop is my winner.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Is that your place in 63rd?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, in the bottom of 63rd.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: What's that cross street?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Kelly?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you go to their website.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's ridiculous.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Their food, does it look, I haven't been there, but you told me about it.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And we were talking at work about, hey, we got to go to the sandwich shop.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: I pulled it up weeks ago.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is not part of this.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Their food online looks like art.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it looks that way in person.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's a sandwich.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So as artful as you can make a sandwich.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: But no bite left behind.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: The flavor, the profile, the way they construct the sandwiches, how big they are.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: The portion sizes are massive.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: The price, the quality.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: It leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to sandwiches.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got to scope it out.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: So Google No Bite Left Behind.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be hard to describe it.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's in the bottom of an office building.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a hidden gem.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: 63rd, almost to Broadway.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Their hours are very tight too.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: They serve breakfast only until 9.30 and then I think they serve lunch only
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: until like 2 or something.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, Google it.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, best barbecue Clark's Crew.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think either one of us is surprised.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I will say that I've Consider myself a little bit of a barbecue guy.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: You are the strongest barbecue person I know.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So King's made the list.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: King's is great.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: George's Whole Hog, George Hog, been there.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: It didn't make it, surprisingly, on the list.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is Rip Crib on the list?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think they did.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think they're on the list, but that's not a place that I like.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's probably a nod to the legacy of Rip Crib, being an Oklahoma company.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But the best one is Edgecraft.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Edgecraft?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Edgecraft.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's down in Linwood, kind of where Penn turns into Linwood, next to Dead People stuff.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's the place I'm telling you we need to go.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we got to go.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is phenomenal.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Edgecraft.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Phenomenal.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they've got a big metal building they built, air-conditioned.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of room to eat.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: They get the food out pretty timely.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just really good, well done barbecue.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I told you,
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: I've been trying to eat more barbecue since we moved back because
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: the North Carolina barbecue...
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: No, you don't like that.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Oklahoma Barbecue is different.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's just better.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Edgecraft is great.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: It did make the list, too, by the way.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's on there?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Clark Crew is big time.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Clark Crew is great.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Another place is pretty good in Moore.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: I sound like Jim Traver saying big time.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Big time.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oklahoma Smoke is really good.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Went into the Old Del Rancho in Moore.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty darn good, too.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was going to mention that earlier that I miss Del Rancho being in the old location
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: because I don't think it's as good anymore because it's not in
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: that old Moore location.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: That was a cool location.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the same.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Del Rancho is still great,
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: but it didn't taste the same as it used to back in
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: that old Moore location off Main Street.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I will tell you that there's a line wrapped around the building now
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: with their new location off I-35 where you can actually see it
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: because you can't really see the other one.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to get to because there was no exit off of Main Street there.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the one off of 12th Street, they were rocking it.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's packed.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's off I-35.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's a tourist destination for Oklahoma City still.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Best pizza place.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: This was one of the ones I had circled as a shocker.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Falcone's.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know they're filing for bankruptcy and closing restaurants all over the place?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Did not know this.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: I read that this week.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Falcone's is closing some places.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: So the Oklahoma ones seem to be fine.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: I've never heard of Falcone's before until this.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: There used to be one right outside the movie theater in Bricktown.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it's still there.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that Falcone.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and there's one on North May.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: They have several.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: They have an ad in this.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: And they have four locations, I see.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've never ate there.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've never ate there, so I can't really tell you.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I have some personal favorites.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I like Joey's.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a pretty good place, and it was not on the list.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: We recently discovered in the Paseo District, What's that one called?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, Sauced.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sauced.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Sauced.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're like pepperoni.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: They're hot pepperoni pizzas.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sauced.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think their pizza's great,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: but that little old school free arcade that they've added to the back of
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: the bar they added, that makes it where it is a really cool place to go hang out.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Cool patio.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Get a beer.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hang out with the kids.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Play some Pac-Man.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Old video games,
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: old PlayStations that you can play if you don't want to do
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: the old school video games.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's cool.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: We got all the good stuff.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: All the good games too for free.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for free.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: For free.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Great family hangout.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And good pizza.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they've made the actual restaurant piece feel like it's a 1970s, 1980s pizza joint.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: That remodel is really cool.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of got like Stranger Things vibes.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: The way it looks in there.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've never been a big Empire Slice.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's never appealed to me.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm more of a pizza purist.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: They do a lot of stuff with balsamic and different sauces.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, I'm a...
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: An old, well, I'm an old Godfather's guy.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Godfather's Pizza was my favorite pizza growing up.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: I like that style of pizza.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seeing it at Hall's.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Hall's.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hall's is really good.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hall's is great.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Hall's is like the most elevated way you could make pizza in the hideaway style.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're looking for a good gluten free, my wife says Halls.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: A couple of other ones of note.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Best Steakhouse, Cattleman's.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: This is a legacy selection.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: This drives me crazy, okay?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you Google best steaks in Oklahoma City, every single website talks about Cattleman's.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: I like steak a lot.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: You do.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: You like steak more than anybody I know.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's the truth.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite steakhouse didn't even make the list.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't even get nominated.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Can I guess the ranch?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: No, The Ranch was nominated.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: I was going to say, The Ranch had to get nominated.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Your favorite steakhouse.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hmm.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Bob's.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Bob's Shop House.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's your spot.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Bob's Shop House.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: In Omni?
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: In Omni.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: But Bob's goes back for me a little bit, too,
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: because I used to work for Dallas-based companies,
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: so we went to Bob's before Bob's was in all the Omnis throughout the country.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I think Bob's is, to me, the most elevated experience as far as the restaurant.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's the nicest restaurant, and I believe their quality is good, and I like their...
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I would probably rank 10 steakhouses in Oklahoma City over Cattleman's.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Cattleman's is neat.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's neat.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's in the stockyards.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: But if I'm looking for...
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm going to go out and get a steak, I want a really, really good steak and...
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always surprised that that's the place.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: We travel quite a bit.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we look up to these restaurants.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I probably go to places like a Cattleman's because it's on the list.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: And all the locals are like, hey, we don't go there.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: We go someplace else.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Google sends you the most popular places.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm sure that people go there.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope they're not disappointed when they come here and go,
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: this is what Oklahoma City Steak is.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because we have The Ranch, Broadway 10, Mickey Mantles, Stock and Bond, Red Prime,
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Mahogany.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Signature grill up in Edmonton.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Symmetry is another one, too.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Symmetry.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's listed as well.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Best restaurant
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: in the city.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was going to ask you if you've been there because I have not been to Symmetry.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've been there.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: It feels a little Vegas-y.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: I liked it.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed it.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it's a higher-end restaurant.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a classic high-end steakhouse, seafood concept.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Cool bar.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's on the edge of Nichols Hills, so it's kind of an interesting location.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of tucked in that little shopping center off of Penn in Britain.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, between just south of the village in Cassidy.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Best new restaurant, Mott.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Best chef, Kevin Lee.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Not surprising.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: He's everywhere.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've seen him a couple of times on Food Network.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: He's now got like a little bit of a YouTube channel thing going on.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: He went and visited another restaurant by Stephanie, Joey Fowler's sister.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: So she's got that sweet shop on Western that she won on one of
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: the Food Network challenges or TV shows.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So he was visiting her restaurant the other day.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I like the fact that he's really embraced Oklahoma City.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: He's an ambassador to our city.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: He's got some stuff going in other places.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's got some stuff going in Austin now.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully we get to keep Kevin Lee because he's got some cool stuff going.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: I hope so too.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I am rooting for Mott.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: I expressed my misgivings about Mott.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to soldier on Mott.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: I was blown away by Mott because of what I ordered.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: There were several things that blew me away at Mott.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have to go all the way into the Mott breakdown.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love what they're doing.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: I just thought if you're going to be a steakhouse,
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: you've got to have steak that hits better than your steak does.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: But everything else on their menu, all the Korean food was, oh my God, so good.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm rooting for Mott, no doubt.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And Kevin Lee's awesome.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Did he end up winning that Guy Frey competition, the grocery games thing?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: He won the first two ones that I've been able to see.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: He was in the Final Four, I think.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I haven't seen it past that.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, any other ones here?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: The best Italian restaurant is Piatto, Italian Kitchen.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know where that is?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's off of 63rd.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: It is, 63rd and...
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Used to be a steakhouse at one point.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen the logo before, but I've never seen the actual location.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen it off the street, but I
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: haven't heard anybody talk about it yet.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it used to be a steakhouse where you could also buy steaks in the front.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember what it was called, but it's kind of out there in front of it.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's not PetSmart, but the other pet place.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: I've never ate there.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a pasta place.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: They're pasta-centric from what I saw.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't know anybody that's ever been there.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, something that did not make the list is Elisabetta.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I didn't even think about that.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Did not make it.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: You think it's recency bias or anti-recency bias just
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: because they haven't been around long enough?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe because they can't get in there.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard to get into this place.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: But Lori and I went and we sort of got in by accident.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'll make the story brief.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: But we decided to go there.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: We heard he couldn't get in.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: We went on an open table.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: We booked it and we're like, wow, look at all these openings.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: We show up there and then they don't have a reservation for us.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we said, well, no, we got it right here.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, so we're not on an open table.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: You booked Elizabetta in Florida.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: It has pictures of the inside of our Elizabetta.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: It said it was in Oklahoma City.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow they got some, there's some crazy thing, but they were awesome.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: They got us a table.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't even have to wait.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: The place was booked.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was a special experience and it was great food.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to go back.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: I've only heard rave reviews about Elizabeth.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Also, Patrono deserves shout out.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Patrono was on the list.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: It was on the list that I saw.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Patrono is awesome.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: I've never had a bad thing at Patrono.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a very, very high batting average restaurant.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Patrono, their chef, I think it's Ryan Parrott.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's the chef there.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds right to me.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, I don't know these things before I actually say who the chef is, right?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: But they have like, to me, the best steak in Oklahoma City is at Patrono.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: The best pork chop of my life at Patrono.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they do it well.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: They do it well.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, last surprise.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I guess we already talked about this.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think Zach's New Place.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that was in the Italian place.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, Malfi.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think Malfi was on the list either.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's amazing.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: The lemon ricotta cake.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's going just for the dessert.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's so good.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, delicious.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: They're homemade pasta too.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: Best restaurant was Paseo Grill, which I haven't been to Paseo Grill in 20 years.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: I imagine it's still a great restaurant,
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: but it's a little surprising to me that that won best restaurant in the city.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's one of those legacy picks because when you think
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: of like great restaurant in the city, which is always in the conversation anymore.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I mean, my favorite restaurant right now in the city is Shish Mahal.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, I'm probably not the right demographic here.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: But, like, best restaurant?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Mott's in the conversation.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth is in the conversation.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Broadway 10's in the conversation.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Patrona's in the conversation.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Cheevers.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Cheevers.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Cheevers was on the list of best restaurants.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Nicest restaurants, too.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: But Cheevers is one that always pops up.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm kind of more...
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: Steakhouse is a steakhouse.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: But what do you do with steak?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do with lobster and fish and salmon?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I like what Mott's trying to do.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's not a kind of steakhouse we have in the city.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I like Paseo Grill.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a really high quality, good place.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I probably wouldn't have even nominated it.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: I would have probably went with Frida's, maybe.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: I like Frida's a lot.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Frida's is amazing.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: Again, it's a different Southwestern concept thing we don't have.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I know you're a big fan of the zoo.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Any thoughts about the OKC Zoo being voted as the best spot to go on a first date in the city?
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I think that'd be a great place to take a date.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was pretty ridiculous.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, my first date with your mom was at a baseball game.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I don't know.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't even think about taking a date to the zoo on the first one.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's an expensive first date.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty expensive and expensive.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: What if it doesn't go well and you're way deep into the zoo and you've got
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: to walk out together?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: At least in the movie,
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: if it's the first date, you can just be quiet and watch the movie or dinner you eat.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: The zoo is like a place you go with kids.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: They do have some stuff at night where you can do wine and sip while you're walking.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Zoo Brew
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: is coming up.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: Zoo Brew?
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to go to that.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Last weekend of September.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: I would like
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: to go to that.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: We'll make that a thing.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Last thing on these,
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: before we talk about and try to ask,
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: before we ask the final question of the podcast,
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's awesome the Super Cow Win got voted the best grocer in the city.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the... That's who won.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Super Cow Win off of... That's funny.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, in the Asian district.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: OKC knows what's up.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: OK, so of these experiences,
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: of these places in the best of OKC list,
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: any of these that you think that you're going to miss if they were to disappear
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: in 20 years?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's really only two.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I'm at too.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about Cattleman's.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: If it was gone, I think that, I mean, again, it's not a place that I think of going.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: You can't replace the history of Cattleman's.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can't replace the history.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can't replace the memories that people had.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the other one would be Flips.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was nominated, I think, for Best Italian.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: But it was nominated.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Flips is just a unique place from the funny little musty smell when you walk
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: to their tablecloths to the quirky bar.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a neat place.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: And you can't, that pie-shaped location that it sits in.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: No doubt.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a great place.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: So Flips to me would be one that if it was gone, I'd miss it.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And Cattleman's, what would you miss?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're in Red Rock Canyon Grill because of its location on the lake.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: Red Rock,
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: the House Smith restaurants, I know they've sold, as you told me that, right?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: Is that true?
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody told me that, but I haven't been able to verify it.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, strike that from the record.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's something I need to do more research on.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: So Red Rock Canyon Grill, yeah, it's just the location and the proximity to the lake.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and you can't beat it like on a Thursday,
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Friday night or whatever when they do the live music because they get
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: that outdoor bar.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: People come in with their lawn chairs and hang out and listen to music and have a drink.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a whole lot of places in Oklahoma City that you can replicate that with the sunset.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think anybody could do it as well as they do there because people have tried.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're not the only restaurant concept on Lake Hefner.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they're the only ones that have been there that long.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's still a really nice restaurant.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: But the only one that I would add is Sushi Nico.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's my favorite sushi place.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's my favorite sushi place.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like we've tried most of the sushi places in the city at this point,
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: and it's still just the best.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Pretty much.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's really funny.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's Oklahoma sushi.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like Halls.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Halls is Oklahoma pizza.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Sushi Niko is Oklahoma sushi.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it just works here.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: So the comment that I always get is somebody's asking me what my favorite sushi place is.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: I say Sushi Niko.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: And they'll go, that's so expensive.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's sushi.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Sushi is expensive.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: You can't expect to eat cheap sushi and eat good sushi, right?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: What are you ordering is the question.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: if you go in there and you order three or four of their specialty rolls at $18
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: a piece, sure.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: But when I go, I get maybe one of those rolls and then I get a lot of like $8 to $10 rolls.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: They still have on the menu.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: The Hawaiian roll, it's got a little macadamia nut in it.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's crunchy.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: The Caterpillar.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's a couple other ones.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Grasshopper.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Grasshopper.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: We get those along with some higher tech roll.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't feel it's expensive.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And sushi is expensive.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about it.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Unless you're getting grocery store sushi, and that's still $12 if you go to Sprouts.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: No doubt.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: I guarantee it's $12 at Sprouts or Whole Foods.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: To get nine California rolls.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Or fake crab or whatever.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a good one.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that location is pretty unique too.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: They've kind of taken over wheels too.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you can eat on the wheels where the wheels bar part is because they've had such demand.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Their little patio on the sidewalk there is pretty cool too on a nice day.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a cool spot.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: They've added that new sign, too, that has the chopsticks and the sissure roll.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: They've done a good job.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think they own Musashi's, too.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: They do.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: And they own the Will Rogers Theater.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Good stewards of the area.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, final question for you, Dad.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: You taking the past or you taking the present OKC after our review here?
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can't go back.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can look back and you can have some fond memories and stuff,
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: but I'm kind of excited more about the future.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Of restaurants in Oklahoma City, of where our city's going as far as just culturally.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: We used to be a city that was so heavily dependent on oil and gas.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's still a big part of it, right?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: But we have so much more to offer than that for young people and jobs.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Our beer scene's great.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't have a beer scene back in the day.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: 2010, we didn't have a beer scene.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: We talked before just kind of about What the problem was in the 80s and the 90s
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: in restaurants, it was that we had these companies that come in from Texas.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when we got to visit them in Dallas, they were really good.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: But by the time they got to Oklahoma City, they were really watered down.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: The franchise, the on the borders, the cheddars, all those chilies.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you name it.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Bennigan's was a great one at one point.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then it kind of went away.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: It felt like we were getting sloppy seconds out of Dallas's food scene throughout my childhood.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I like today about our restaurants is that we have
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: so many locally owned restaurants that are doing something unique.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: They do.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like Sedalia's.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, Sedalia's is such a cool place.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: You got me a gift certificate there.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to get into.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that is like,
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: this tells you that if you do good food,
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: you can do it from anywhere because that is probably one of
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: the worst locations you could think of as far as, it doesn't look like a restaurant.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's not in a happening real part of town.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't get in there on the weekends because they do it right.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they're good people.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Really quality ingredients.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Best oysters in the city right there.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sedalia's.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Without question.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Only place I would eat oysters in the city at and feel like I could go home.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe Pearl's.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Pearl's too.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Pearl's too, of course.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't talk about bars, and I got one that you and I both love that we didn't talk about.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: So are there any other, what is your favorite, what's your favorite bar in Oklahoma City?
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: The Powerhouse.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Powerhouse did not make the list of favorite bars.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: That is, Dad, I'm glad you said that.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: That is the biggest snub on these rankings.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: I love the Bunker Club.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: The Bunker Club is a great dive bar, but we're talking about the Powerhouse here.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the Powerhouse and the Bunker Club, are you kidding me?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great patio, too.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: The powerhouse is like...
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's so unique.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: You feel like you're in some little small town in Arizona or New Mexico or something
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: in the desert.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And great drinks, cool atmosphere, cool outside area.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's so casual.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: you can sit down in there around a candle at night in the winter on the inside
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: and have like an intimate drink with your significant other.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or you can have like a catch up with like 10 of your buddies out back on a summer night.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: They've always got a lot of music going.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just love that place.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's cool.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Again, another district that I'm always rooting for is that farmer's market district area.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know the load of bull just went out, but I don't know.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's some, there's just some, there's some good stuff happening down there.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Urban agrarians still kicking.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, rooting for that area
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: always.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Any other things?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Any other locations?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Did we hit Mexican restaurants?
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about Nino's earlier.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: The best Mexican restaurant was Chilino's.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: I used to love Chilino's because I love the beer.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: The schooner beer, the line with salt and lime.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then I also always loved their fried jalapenos that you could get.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: The Chilino's location off of Robinson's.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: That was epic.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: That was the cool place.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: That was
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: the best.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's still there.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Is it still there?
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's gone.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think Joe Biden is gone.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's not a Tolino's on the canal anymore either.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: I still think the one by Capitol Hill is still there.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: Capitol Hill.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's one on South 89th Street in Western.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: That one's still there.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: I just drove past that one the other day.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: There used to be one on May Avenue.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: I used to go that one when I worked a little further south on the north side.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that one's still there.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: There's not quite as many.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think they kind of probably overexpanded a little bit.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: I also think that maybe some of them might have been owned by one family member
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: and some by the other.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but Chilinos was, was,
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: was my go-to for a while, but I'm kind of over the, um, that style of Mexican food.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Chilinos, Ted's, Alfredo's.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: It all goes.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's all the same, right?
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: It all feels the same.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's all Tex-Mex.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a new place that I tried.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: I told you about it.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that, um, I was kind of stumbled across.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: I met somebody for coffee one morning and is right next door to it.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: And, um, El Coyote?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: El Coyote.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: Have you got to go there yet?
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: I can't believe we didn't talk about it.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad we hung on to talk about this.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: I've walked past it a bunch of times because my favorite coffee shop,
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: Zero Tolerance, is right next door, and I wanted to go to El Coyote.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's where I met the guy for coffee, right?
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like...
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'd heard about El Coyote because it's the same... Off of Britain Road.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Off of Britain Road and Western.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: In the Britain Road Reimagining District.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's happening.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: So...
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: I parked in the parking lot next to it and I look up and I'm like, is that a patio?
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: It had this like metal gate.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: I look inside there and there's a tree with tables around it.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it basically shades the whole patio, an outdoor fireplace.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I got to go to this place.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I ended up going for lunch that day.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the coolest bar part of the restaurant I've seen in a long time in the restaurant.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: They captured everything.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: They got a fireplace in there.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: They've got all this really cool exposed wood.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the food was fantastic.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it's in an old historic building, right?
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's really cool.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's an old, old building.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: That whole shopping complex is still original probably from the 40s, 30s, 40s.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of the new upcoming Paseo slash Plaza type district is that Britain area.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's a Burger Punk over there.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: That was going to be the home of an Italian place that's in Plaza.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's also in the airport.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, Osteria.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Osteria.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it was supposed to be Osteria, and the owner of Osteria pivoted to El Coyote.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: Smart.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: El Coyote is such a good fit right there.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think an Italian concept in that area would have worked.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think so either.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think El Coyote is taking advantage of the grunge.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: There's a cool punk rock feeling to that area right now.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of like how the Plaza District had initially.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think the Plaza has metamorphosis into something totally different now.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's still a great place to hang out, but I think there's some of that there.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: And there is a resurgence happening in Capitol Hill.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I've heard.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be really interesting to see how that all works out.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it seems to be locally generated, not outside investors.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: So they're going to take advantage of what Capitol Hill is right now and try to grow
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: from within.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited about that too.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: So me and you, we are going to El Coyote next and Edgecraft.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I have down.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing Thursday?
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: Just see you there.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Munch at El Coyote.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Dad.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining me.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: We will do this again soon in another breakdown of some food-related thing.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just appreciate you taking the time.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Memory lane.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: We need to start a little food tour.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think I mentioned this one time.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: There used to be a website called Eat Around OKC.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it had the top ranking and 100 best restaurants.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: And a guy from work and I used to.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't exist anymore?
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: Is it down?
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was a free website.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's gone?
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even up anymore?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: God.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: But they had their top ranking restaurants.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would try to go to all of them with this guy from work.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: But they had this thing they called the Shady Restaurant of the Month.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a place that from the outside you wouldn't go in there.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I learned about the best tamale place in Oklahoma City there.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Tamales El Patio.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: I learned about TacoVille there.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: Went there.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: They had all kinds of cool places.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to find some restaurants like that to go try out.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: We've done our time with the chains.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_01: We're going into shady restaurants.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: No more chains.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let's do it.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: All right, man.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, this is fun.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Dad.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: See you.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode of The Dry Line, please, please,
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: please take a second and drop us a review on Apple Podcasts,
• 36:22
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• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: Each podcast is now available in HD video on YouTube and also on Spotify.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like, subscribe,
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: and share our show with anyone who loves this strangely endearing crossroads on
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: the prairie that we call home.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: Also hope y'all enjoyed those precious hours of cooler temperatures on Friday afternoon.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: They got incinerated real quick, didn't they?
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, y'all know where to find us.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: At the powerhouse.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, Oklahoma where the wind comes
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: sweeping down the plains.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, God.