Doing DDD in the "Sooner State"!

After finishing in Denver I caught a flight to my next stop, the capital of the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City.  I arrived on a Thursday evening and decided to save a few bucks and get my rental car the next morning.  After getting my car I headed out for what became a long day of driving.  When I do these visits, I use Flavortown USA site and Google Maps to plan out the travels.  In Oklahoma there are 9 places with 6 in the Oklahoma City area and two that are within about an hours drive of OKC and one that is almost 3 hours away, about an hour north of Tulsa.  That place I wasn't sure if I would get there, it would be as they say a "Game Day Decision"!

Oklahoma is an interesting place!  The people are very friendly, the big businesses seem to be farming, cattle and oil.  In fact there are working oil derricks all over the place, even on the property of the Will Rogers World International Airport in OKC!

I got the car and headed northeast out of the city to a place that as soon as I saw the DDD episode I knew I wanted to get to.  I headed about an hour out of OKC to a place in the small town of Stroud and located on the 'Mother Road', Route 66.  "The Rock Cafe" is an interesting place that lives up to it's name, the building is totally made of rocks. 

The Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma

The Mother Road, that's the Cafe behind the sign

One of the reasons I really wanted get to this place is because on the DDD episode it just looked like a really fun place with great food.  In fact on the episode while they were filming a big guy entered the cafe, saw Guy and said; "Holy Moly It's the Dinner Diners Boy!"  I arrived during breakfast hours so I chose the Ham and Cheese Crepes.  They came with Hash Browns and was very good, although I would describe them more as stuffed pancakes.

Ham and Cheese Crepe at The Rock Cafe

While I was eating the owner, Dawn came it and I was really excited to get her to sign my book, which she did.  Dawn is the inspiration for the female car in the Disney Movie "Cars".  I picked a good day to get there as the weekends are very busy there.  After finishing up I got back in the car and looked at the distance to Vinita, which was the place that was really far and said to myself, "Why not!" and headed northeast.  The drive would be about 2 hours and I would pass through Tulsa on the way.  the drive was scenic but the thing that really surprised me was the rolling hills, I had the impression that the state was really flat, NO WAY!.  I was reminded of driving at home from the DC area to Lynchburg, very hilly and pretty.  Oklahoma has been going through a terrible drought and most of the grass areas were were yellowed and burned.  Another thing that I do (call me a big kid or just kind of crazy) whenever I pass a herd of cows or cattle, I honk the horn, don't know why, I guess just having some fun and trying to break he monotony of the trip.

I arrived in the the town of Vinita, not too far from the Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas border.  I arrived just before noon to a really cool place called "Clanton's Cafe".  They had a really good lunch crowd when I arrived.  I sat down and was greeted by the server who noticed the book and told me that they serve free samples of their famous Calf Fries, if I wanted to try.  I remember the episode well and was game to try.  How do I describe Calf Fries?  Let's see they are the "male" parts of the cow that are deep friend and look like Popcorn Shrimp.  When Guy tried them he used the classic line, "MOO, MOO, Buck-a-roo!" 

Clanton's Vinita, Oklahoma

Clanton's Calf Fries - MOO MOO Buck-a-roo!

They are served with Seafood Cocktail Sauce and the "Guy" Sauce a very spicy mix that includes Onions and Bleu Cheese chunks, very good and very spicy.  Thee fries were pretty good and if I didn't know what they were I would have them again (and who knows I may just get them again in the future!).  I chose the Chicken Fried Steak lunch special and it came with Mashed Potatoes and choice of 2 sides, I picked just one, I knew it would be filling.  It was possibly the best Chicken Fried Steak I have ever had.  The batter on the meat was great, not dry and hard like you find at so many places.

My Clanton's Lunch - Chicken Fried Steak

After finishing up I was able to get the owner of the place to sign my book.  I also signed their book and away I went.    The next place would be a 3 hour drive through the center of Oklahoma.  I need to say that y travels are impossible without my GPS.  I pulled up the name of the joint and the name came up so I figured that it would take me right to it, well this time it was not the case.  After the drive I ended up a pretty sketchy neighborhood at a house that looked a bit like the salvage yard on "Sanford and Son".  I manually put the address in and I was 9 mile north of the place, oh brother!

I finally arrived at "Eischen's Bar" in the town of Okarche.  Eischen's claims to be the oldest bar in Oklahoma and this place really is a bar!  Their specialty is Fried Chicken, but you can only buy a whole bird and they sell alot of it!  I knew I couldn't eat a whole bird so I tried the other thing that was prepared on the episode, a Frito Chili Pie.  It was really good and the chili had just the right kick. 

The Pride of Okarche, Oklahoma

Eischen's Frito Pie

Eischen's  not Chik-fil-A!

I headed back to the Oklahoma City area and had a much shorter drive, only about 45 minutes.  I was a bit fearful being a Friday afternoon, but there were no delays or problems whatsoever.  I drove into the center of Oklahoma City, very near the State Capitol Building.  I drove up to an odd yellow and brown building sort of all by itself.  "Mama E's Wings and Waffles" specializes in Soul Food.  I entered and met a very friendly staff.  When I told them about  my travels they recommended the DDD special which is Chicken Wigs and a Waffle and it includes a side, salad bar, Bread pudding dessert and drinks, all for $11.99 , a really good deal.  I passed on the salad bar and only tried a small taste of the side of Collards, which were a bit bitter for my taste, but I think that Collards fans would really like them. 

A Colorful Soul Food place - Mama E's

Wings and Waffles at Mama E's

The staff gave me the remote for the TV in the dining room and guess what was on?  That's right, "Diner's Drive-ins and Dives" what a great way to enjoy a meal!  Good food and good TV!  The other interesting thing about Mama E's is the owner and chef is also a ordained minister with a local congregation, he wasn't in but that is pretty cool!  The walls are filled with signatures of patrons and as they signed my book, I signed their wall, which was really cool!

My signature on the wall of Mama E's

I headed back to the hotel to rest up as my Oklahoma adventure was only half over!

I got up early and headed to the nearby home of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.  I headed to a small diner simply called "The Diner".  It is located on Main Street and it really doesn't look like a college town but like a small town like on The Andy Griffith Show.  The specialty at The Diner is their chili, which is famous as being 2 time Oklahoma State Chili champion.  The Diner is open only from 6a to 2p, so they serve both breakfast and lunch all day which is great for me as I am not the biggest fan of traditional breakfast foods.  I decided to get a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and a cup of their award winning chili.  As I sat down I was approached by an employee who noticed my DDD book.  She told me that her father was the chef that cooked with Guy.  She signed my book as her father had passed away a short time ago.  Her father, Mark, had really outdone Guy on the shtick and really made that episode memorable.  The chili was really good and had a unique flavor and a real spicy kick to it. 

The Diner in Norman, Oklahoma

Grilled Cheese and Chili - A GREAT Breakfast!

I left and headed over to the University of Oklahoma to sort of drive around and check out the place.  At the football stadium there is a small area that celebrates the different Heisman Trophy winners that the University has had.  After a short visit to the University Bookstore I headed back into Oklahoma City.

The Press Area at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium - Home of the Sooners

My next stop was in the downtown area.  "Ingrid's Kitchen and German Bakery" features German meals and bakery desserts.  I arrived about 1030a and had to wait for about 20 minutes to order a sandwich as breakfast was still be served.  The desserts are presented in 8 display cases and there are dozens of delicious choices.  As the lunch time came I decided to try the Wiener Schnitzel sandwich.  The sandwich was very tasty and hit the spot.  I found the staff to be pretty unfriendly, although the food was good, I don't think I would frequent Ingrid's again. 

Ingrid's Kitchen in Oklahoma City

Wiener Schnitzel Sandwich

My last stop on this Oklahoma City stop would be later in the afternoon so I decided to stop at the Oklahoma City Memorial.  This memorial is dedicated to the victims of the April 1995 Terrorist Bombing of the Albert Murrah Federal Building.  There is a field of chairs dedicated to each of the 168 victims.  It is a very solemn place.

My last stop was "Cattlemen's Steakhouse" in the historic stockyard area of Oklahoma City.  I met with my friend Jacqui, who I knew form High School and has lived in the area for a long time.  Cattlemen's is a well known place and is popular with tourists and locals alike.  We had to wait for about 15 minutes before being seated.  Our first order was Lamb Fries, which is the Lamb Version of what at Clanton's were Calf Fries.  They serve them with a tasty red sauce that really made the fries taste good.  I ordered the Top Prime Rib-Eye steak and it came out really good, the meal was complimented with the Cattlemen's salad topped with their famous salad dressing.  The dressing had a nice garlicky flavor with a slight spicy kick.  the meal was topped off with a slice of their famous and delicious Coconut Meringue Pie.

The Assistant Manager came over and signed my book and really made me feel at home there.  I really had a great time with an old friend and great food!  Thanks Jacqui!  I headed off to St. Louis after two busy and full days with my DDD count at 290!