Numerous Food Activity

Due to school and work I have not had the time to write full reports on every restaurant I have eaten at. From here on out I am only going to write about the dining experience that consist of having full service i.e. a server that takes my order. I am going to use this post to track all of the other food experiences I have with a very small review

Mcdonalds-It was 9 in the morning and I just needed food, blah
Chick-fila-Took a break while studying on campus, terrible, blah
Sonic-Once again needed breakfast, just as bad as Mcdonalds, blah
Crossroads-Awful, one of the worst breakfasts I have ever had, blah
Schlotzsky's Deli-Not terrible but overpriced
Panda Express-American Chinese Food to the T. Orange chicken is amazing

Blu Fine Wine & Food

           To begin with, do not let the name fool you, Blu is not a fine dining restaurant. This does not mean that the restaurant is terrible, it only means that the name can be a little bit deceiving. In order for a restaurant to claim to serve fine wine they need to offer, well, fine wine. The most expensive bottle on the menu is the Merryvale Starmont Cab at a whopping $50. I am not saying that wine needs to be expensive to be good, but you still need to offer some high end wines if you are going to claim to feature fine wine. For "fine food" the highlight of the menu is the Select Angus Beef Filet. Select? Really? that is anything but fine food. Luckily my wife and I were not looking for a fine dining experience.
           I decided to take full advantage of Blu's happy hour special featuring $5 dollar pizzas. I ordered the chicken, sun-dried tomato, and pesto flatbread pizza. The pizza was good but not great and it definitely was a little skimp on the toppings, but for five dollars you can not complain. My wife ordered the Chicken and Portobello Sandwich, it is not on the menu, they have it as a quesadilla but the chef was able to make it a sandwich for her. Her sandwich was little bit dry and could have used some kind of sauce or dressing. All of the food was descent and at a total price of $14 it was a great value.
           Blu is the type of restaurant you go to for appetizers and drinks. It kind of has a douchey atmosphere with a wanna-be upscale vibe. It is the type of place where if you are a girl, you have to be careful no one puts anything in your drink. Luckily the happy hour is not terrible especially since you avoid the night time crowd. 

Rating 5 out of 10
$ 5-20
201 S. Crawford, Norman
http://blufinewineandfood.com/index.html

105 degrees

          For the last week or so my wife has been on a special diet to help out with her stomach problems. Her diet consists or organic food, no red meat, and nothing acidic. This obviously limits the options to choose from, luckily I found a gem of a restaurant in OKC called 105 degrees. The concept of 105 degrees is living food. The food is raw and minimally processed with nothing on the menu being cooked higher then 105 degrees. This concept is perfect for my wife's diet.
          The decor of the restaurant is very modern and it reminded me of the many bistro style restaurants in California. One of the first thing that pops out is the very elaborate juice bar where a normal bar would be. Another feature of the restaurant that stands out is the cooking academy located inside the restaurant. 105 degrees also serves as a culinary academy teaching chefs the skill of the living food concept.
         With the snow finally melting and spring arriving we decided to sit on the patio and enjoy the nice weather. It was around 3 pm and the patio was empty except for what appeared to be a manger/owner who was doing work on his laptop on one of the tables. One of the only complaints of our lunch experience was when the manager decided to take a call on his speaker phone that lasted around 15 minutes. I find it very rude for a customer to talk on a phone during lunch, but for a manager to take a call on a speaker phone is ridiculous. This one careless mistake almost ruined our dining experience.
           To begin our meal we started with an appetizer and ordered the "Mezze" which consisted of Hummus, Hemp Seed Tabbouleh, Falafel, and Citrus Marinated Olives. I especially enjoyed the Kale Chips that were provided for dipping. For entree's I ordered the open-faced Portobello Slider prepared 3 ways, Avocado, Barbecue, and Blue Cheese. The flavor in this dish was fantastic, my only complaint was that the "bun" was made out of some kind of hard grain that I was unable to cut through with a knife. My wife ordered the Thai Vegetable Wrap which consisted of Rice Paper, Kelp Noodles, Mango, Sprouts, Heirloom Carrots. Her dish was basically a larger version of Thai Spring Rolls but the flavors were excellent in the dish.
           Our server was very knowledgable about the menu but lacked any kind of personality. At one point I asked her which appetizer she liked more the Mezza or the Crushed Avocado. She then told me everything that was in each item but did not give me any kind of opinion or recommendation. I have always found that managers beat menu knowledge into their servers but it takes a lot more then just memorization to describe a dish to a guest. 
            The overall experience of the restaurant was excellent. Even if my wife was not on this limited diet we would very much like to frequent this establishment again. I have always been pro-meat but I was very satisfied with the creativity and use of flavors at 105 degrees.


Rating 8 out of 10
$ 9-12
5820 North Classen Boulevard, Suite 1
Oklahoma City
http://105degrees.com/

Republic GastroPub

       It is the morning of Super Bowl Sunday. I have no plans. I have no idea where I am going to watch the big game. My first thought was Buffalo Wild Wings, but I wanted more. I wanted good food and great beer. I also did not want to be around 100 obnoxious Steeler fans that regularly frequent Bdubs. After much research about where to go in OKC the Republic stood out as "the place to be."

       Located on the Classen Curve, the Republic features one of the best television set ups in all of Oklahoma. Not only are there 3 giants televisions that can be seen anywhere in the restaurant, each booth also has its own private TV, as well as each urinal. The first thing I noticed as I walked into the restaurant was the vast amount of beers being displayed behind the bar. The Republics beer menu features 100 beers on draft as well as over 250 by the bottle. I can not even begin to list each of the beers we tried that night, but one of the highlights was the Rogue Double Dead Guy. This 750 ml american strong ale had a very delicious apricot caramel flavor to it. The beer menu also featured the ability to make your own flights, which our party took full advantage of. We probably tried at least 25 of the beers on the menu.
     To begin our Super Bowl experience we ordered appetizers for the table to share. We ordered the hot onion & bacon dip, the lollipop chicken wings, pulled chicken nachos, and truffle potato skins. All of the appetizers were bar style food but prepared in a very classy way. The highlight of our food experience was when my wife ordered the "knife and fork BLT." She had ordered it with no cheese, but when it arrived there was cheese on it. Our waitress, being the awesome person that she was, let us keep the sandwich for free and had another one made. I was not planning on ordering one for myself, but after taking my first bite of the sandwich, I was very glad the mistake had been made. The BLT features hand cut bacon, fried green tomato, avocado relish, white cheddar, arugula and herb vinaigrette, served on an open faced toasted sourdough. This sandwich was freaking amazing. The only downfall we discovered in the menu was when our friend Sara ordered the Ahi tuna tartar. It was not served with the usual wontons that you find at most restaurants but instead it was served with tortilla chips. Tortilla chips and Ahi just do not go well together.
     The service at Republic was stellar to say the least. Although our waitress did make a few mistakes, she was able to correct them in a way that made the experience even more enjoyable. It also felt like every two minutes one of the staff was there to refill our waters or clear a plate. The ticket time on our food was less then 5 minutes per order which was amazing considering how busy the restaurant was.
     All in all our super bowl experience was excellent. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburg Steelers. The commercials were entertaining. My one very serious complaint of the entire evening had nothing to do with the restaurant. That half-time show was HORRIBLE!

Rating: 8 out of 10
$ 8-20

5830 N. Classen Boulevard, OKC
http://www.republicgastropub.com/

El Chico Cafe

    It was day 4 of snowpocolypse and my wife and I were getting hit very hard by the cabin fever. We needed to get out. My wife wanted to buy some galoshes and a trip to Target was the consensus. Unfortunately Target had been raped clean of anything snow related. The mall was next on our list of  destinations. After finding the footwear my wife so desired it was time to fill our bellies. Since the weather was so bad we figured a nice tropical drink would be soothing to the soul and a margarita sounded just right. This brought us to El Chico cafe located in the Sooner Mall.
    We were sat in the back of the restaurant, somewhat between the restroom and the kitchen. My wife was complaining about a smell and in hindsight we probably should have moved tables right away. Our server was very knowledgable but he appeared like he would have rather been anywhere on earth except at El Chico waiting tables. For margaritas I ordered a 32 oz house margarita and my wife ordered a frozen strawberry margarita. They were good, but drinking frozen drinks when it is snowing outside probably was not the best idea. For dinner I ordered the chimi combo. It consisted of a steak & cheese chimichanga, a chicken tostada and a steak chalupa. The chimichanga was amazing with the melting cheese inside complimenting the steak superbly. The chalupa was ok and I did not have any room in my belly to finish the tostada. For $8.99 it was a good bargain.
     The ambiance of the restaurant could best be described as a scene out of the movie Waiting. Because we were sat near the kitchen we got a wonderful view of the staff interaction. The manager was clearly an a-hole and at one point the kitchen manager came out and started yelling out for a food runner. This came across as being very unprofessional considering we could clearly view and hear everything. I can't really blame the staff for hating life because it was snowing and business was very slow. All in all I would not recommend El Chico Cafe. It is a poor version of Chevy's or On the Boarder and I would suggest choosing one of those places instead.

My Rating: 5 out 10
$: 6-15
http://www.ElChico.com/
 

Burger King~Riverwind Casino

So I am going to make this short and sweet since fastfood is not worth wasting much time on. It was 1am and I had a few drinks in me and before i took a cab ride home i decided to venture to the BK at the casino. I ordered the BK stuffed Steakhouse. It was surprisingly really good, however i was drinking. It was stuffed with jalepenos and cheddar cheese and it had a very nice spice to it, but once again I most point out that I was drinking. The fries were good and the soda was pointless and I did not nothing to help my health.

My Rating: 1 out of 10, Fast Food Rating 6 out of 10
$ 1-8
http://www.bk.com/

IHOP

          It's 1230 am in Dallas. The night was just coming to a close and it was time to make the 3 hour drive home. We had just saw NOFX in concert and we were beat up and exhausted. Before we make the long trek home we needed to get some food in our bellies and some caffeine in my veins. There are not many options at this time of night so anything will do and the first thing that we see is an IHOP. As we walk up to the door the first person to greet us is not a hostess, but a security guard who opens the door for us. I'm not sure if this makes me feel safe or if I get more worried that this place needs a security guard. As we take are seats we are told by a lady who works their that our server will be right with us.  A little bit of time goes by when the same person who sat us asks us for our drink order. I am not sure if she needed to finish talking before she helped us, or if whoever was supposed to help us was not doing their job and she was stepping in to take care of us. Either way i proceeded to order some coffee. IHOP features a coffee setup where when you order coffee, not only do you get a cup, but they give you an entire thermos so you can refill your coffee as often as you want. For food I ordered the Cinn-a-Stick French Toast Combo. It was 2 pieces of french toast that was smothered in a cinn-a-bun style gooey sauce served with 2 pieces of bacon and 2 eggs. The french toast was epic, It tasted exactly like a cinn-a-bun ordered from the mall and I was very pleased with it. For food and coffee after midnight IHOP definitely fulfilled my needs. Although the service was terrible, can you blame anyone who had to work at IHOP after midnight?

Rating: 4 out of 10, After midnight rating: 8 out of 10
$: 5-8
http://www.ihop.com/

Gators

          Downtown Dallas has the vibe of an area that once was. You can imagine walking down the streets 10 or 15 years ago with the streets thriving with business and activity. Because of crime, the economy, and the success of uptown, downtown Dallas is now loosely scattered with restaurants that need to be renovated. One of these restaurants is Gators. Gators seems like it would be a good place to be late on a Friday night or maybe during a Dallas football or basketball, not such a good place to be for a Thursday lunch. The first thing that pops out about the place is their abundance of frozen drinks with random names like "Lets get Naked." These drinks would have been appealing if it was not 20 degrees outside. They were also featuring a beer special that consisted of domestic drafts for $2.75 which does not seem very special at all. The menu was your standard bar menu with the only uniqueness coming from the fried gator and crawfish on a few of their items. I ordered the Gator Po' Boy Sandwich, I figure if the place is called gators I should at least give it a try. When my meal arrived it was very clear that I would not be able to eat it as a sandwich. The fried gator that was in the sandwich was very large,  it was impossible to pick up the sandwich and take a bite out of it without all of the gator falling out. I was forced to eat it more like an appetizer by picking out the fried gator and eating it one by one. My first impression of the gator was ok, it was gamey and with the fear of sounding cliche, it tasted like chicken. While my first couple bites were decent I quickly got very sick of the meal. As it started to cool down it became very chewy and almost inedible, it was also heavily fried which was too much to handle. My wife ordered the Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich. Randomly on her plate was a piece of fried crawfish. Trying to solve the mystery of how a piece of crawfish ended up in her meal was a big distraction to the enjoyment of her lunch. Our server lacked any spark or excitement and was very straightforward about the service. I would not recommend Gators to anyone looking for a good place to eat lunch in Dallas, it might be an ok place for late night bar hopping where fried food would be much more appealing.

Rating: 3 out of 10
$: 7-15
http://www.gatorsdallas.com/
1714 N. Market Street Dallas, Texas 75202

The Diner

          Breakfast options in Norman are very slim. For my first breakfast experience of the year my wife and I ventured to The Diner. If greasy spoon hometown feel is what you are looking for, The Diner is the place for you. It is a hole in the wall diner with maybe ten tables and counter seating. The Diner has gained fame after being featured on "Diners, Drive-In, and Dives," and it lives up to all the hype. I ordered the Eggarito served with home-fries. It is a simple dish served with eggs, cheese, onions, and tomatoes all wrapped in a flour tortilla and topped with a very tasty salsa verde sauce. My wife was not in the mood for breakfast and was looking for something a little bit healthier, she was in the wrong place. She ordered the BLT sandwich served with french fries. The service was what you would expect from a small breakfast spot, nothing special but not terrible. I highly recommend The Diner to anyone who finds themselves in Norman after a long night of drinking.

Rating: 7 out of 10
$: 5-8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5D20pzPeLE
213 East Main Street
Norman, OK

The Deep Deuce Bar & Grill

           My wife and I have been on a mission to find things in Oklahoma that, well, don't suck. This week we attended the Second Friday Art-Walk in the Plaza district. We arrived around six o'clock not realizing that it did not begin until after seven. With an hour to kill we decided to get a bite to eat and headed over to the Deep Deuce Bar & Grill. While walking up to the entrance the first thing i noticed was the amazing fire pit on the patio. Although it was too cold to eat outside I could only imagine how great this patio would be during the summertime. The restaurant's atmosphere was laid back with more of a bar feel to it. It is the type of place you meet your friends after work for a beer and a bite to eat. The menu featured much more then your average bar-food selection. I ordered the Tilapia Filet served over a bed of spinach. The fish was good but not great with the sauce being a little on the bland side. The entree was served with your choice of a side, I feel like this cheapened the dish and that the side should be paired by the chef to match the entree. My wife ordered the Penne Pasta with grilled chicken, squash, asparagus, and tossed in a garlic sauce. The chicken was very juicy and definitely highlighted her dish. The one major disappointment was the service. Our waitress was not at all knowledgable about the menu and when we asked what beers they had on draft she looked at us blankly and replied, "You guys ask all the hard questions." Despite the lack of good service I would recommend The Deep Deuce to anyone looking for a good beer and good food.

Rating- 6 out of 10
$- 10-20
http://www.deepdeucegrillokc.com/Restaurant.html
307 NE 2nd St, Oklahoma City

Dixon's Grill @ Choctaw Casino

         It was almost midnight at the Choctaw Casino, my wife and I had just watched the BCS championship game in the high rollers bar and after quite a few $2 margaritas we needed some food. The only place serving food in the casino at that time was the Dixon's Grill. It was a fast food burger joint. Since it was the only place open it had a very long line, and with only one cook and one girl at the register it took a while to get our order in. I ordered a corn dog with garlic fries and my wife ordered the grilled chicken salad. The corn dog was delicious but that might have been because of the alcohol. The garlic fries were gross, I am not sure what they put on the fries to classify them as garlic fries but it seemed more like a garlic goop. The chicken salad consisted of a chopped up chicken sandwich minus the bun. All in all the place was ok and for food at midnight you could not really complain.

Rating: 4 out of 10

$ 5-7

http://www.choctawcasinos.com/Durant/Dining/DixonsGrill.aspx

Blue Moon Cafe @ Choctaw Casino

      Well I am going to post about every place I eat at this year, even the bad. The Blue Moon Cafe located in the Choctaw Casino was basically the only option we had for lunch that was not fast food. It had a 50's diner theme and pretty much looked exactly like the inside of a Mel's Diner. The menu did not have many options unless you wanted a milkshake which they had around 10 different choices. I ordered the Black & Blue burger which had mushrooms, caramelized onions, and blue cheese. The bun was over toasted and almost burnt which completely ruined the entire burger. The burger came with sweet potato fries that were quite mushy and not very good. My wife ordered the Buffalo chicken sandwich without the buffalo sauce. It was kind of annoying that they did not offer a regular chicken sandwich. She got hers with waffle fries that were ok but got cold very quickly. The only plus side was our server was very friendly and very attentive refilling our drinks quite often.

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars
$ 8-10
http://www.choctawcasinos.com/Durant/Dining/BlueMoonCafe.aspx

Picasso on Paseo

        Every first Friday the Paseo District has an Art Walk featuring over 20 art galleries. It is similar to the Second Saturday Art Walk in Sacramento except not overly crowded and everything is walking distance. My wife and I attended the Art Walk for the first time and while we were there we ate at the Picasso on Paseo. It is a Bistro style restaurant featuring an American Cuisine. The restaurant had a very modern decor which was a pleasant surprise for what I am used to in Oklahoma.
        My original intention was to order off of the dinner menu but when we heard about the Happy Hour special it was to good to resist. The Happy Hour featured half off appetizers and half off Pizzas. For appetizers we ordered the Spinach/Hummus/Tapenade Trio and the Ahi Tuna Tartar. At a combined total of $9 dollars it was a steal for how good both of these dishes were. The trio was simple and to the point, my only complaint would be that it came with a cheesy bread and I would have preferred it to come with a baguette so it would not distract you from the flavor of the spread. For our pizza, my wife and I split the Spinach pizza with Chicken, Bacon, Mushrooms, and Alfredo Sauce. The pizza was excellent and not small at all, the $6 price was a great bargain. Our combined total for food for the evening was only $15 and we had more food then we could finish.

My Rating: 8 out of 10
Price: HH $3-$6
3009 Paseo, OKC, OK 73103
http://www.picassosonpaseo.com/

Othello's

       To begin the year we chose Othello's as our first restaurant to dine at. Known as Norman's Little Italy this quaint restaurant is located in Norman's famous Campus Corner. As opposed to most of the college orientated spots in Campus Corner, Othello's has much nicer homely vibe to it. We chose to eat in the bar so we could also watch the Fiesta Bowl(BOOMER!). We started out with an order of Garlic buns which were very tasty but I was a little disappointed when I discovered that you get free garlic bread with your entree. I ordered the Tortellini with pesto sauce and my wife ordered the Chicken Florentine. My entree was a bit plain but it was good. I would probably recommend adding chicken to it to liven it up a little bit. The Florentine that my wife ordered was not really a Florentine at all but more of a pasta with chicken, spinach, mushrooms, and red peppers. It was very good but not at all what i expected. The service was lacking with it being very difficult to find our server when we needed him. Our server did however double check with the chef about cheese on my wife's dish and box up our food for us when we were done, this did make up for the lack of attentiveness. All and all I would recommend Othello's to anyone eating at Campus Corner when you want to avoid the college feel.

My rating: 6/10
$=10-20
http://othellosnorman.com/
434 Buchanan St., Norman OK, 73069 — (405) 360-2353

My New Years Restaurant Resolution

     2011 has arrived and for my resolution I have challenged myself to eat at as many different restaurants as possible. My plan is to see if I can go the entire year without eating at the same restaurant twice. I will be posting about each restaurant I visit and give each one a small review. Wish me luck!