Best Burgers and Italian Food in OK City?? (Oklahoma City, Norman: home, live)

[Rasero]

We're moving to OK City in a few months from San Antonio, and in addition to us having to get used to the lack of quality grocery stores (just commented on another post), we're going to miss some of the great burger joints here in San Antonio / Austin (Burger Tex, Longhorn Cafe, and Bigz Burgers). We are also hoping to find a good Italian restaurant up in OK City (we never found one here in San Antonio). They had a bunch of good ones up in Dallas.

So, what is the best place to get a good, thick, Angus patty burger up in OK City? Any place that sells sweet potato fries instead of the regular starchy french fries as well?

Any good Italian food places, AUTHENTIC Italian, I mean so authentic that the restaurant is family-owned and is either from Italy, (or Poland!), where the customer service is lousy and they yell at you but the food is to die for!! (I say that because in Dallas, our 4 favorite Italian restaurants were always owned by foreigners who could make wonderful food but weren't so great at customer service. It never bothered us because the food was so good!) Fazoli's and Macaroni Grill don't cut it, we're looking for smaller, authentic establishments.

I guess while I'm on the topic of food, any Ethiopian restaurants up there for that matter? That is some good food, and again, we only had it up in Dallas, not here in San Antonio.

[Jen_OKC]

You will NEVER find a burger as good as Longhorn in S.A! Yum! I am having flashbacks now from when we lived there. I have been told that Irma's BurgerShack is considered to be the "best" by the locals here though. As for Italian, I am interested in seeing the replies you get. There is a place out in Edmond called Othello's that is really good.

[Rasero]

Originally Posted by Jen_OKC

You will NEVER find a burger as good as Longhorn in S.A! Yum!

Well I had better get my share in before I leave! I don't think OK City would allow a "Longhorn" establishment.

[fromdust]

irmas has pretty good burgers. i wouldnt say they have the best, tho. republic just opened, a pub, and they have really good burgers also. mcnellies pub has sweet potato frys.
queen of sheeba.Queen of Sheba Restaurant (405) 606-8616; 2308 N. MacArthur Blvd; Oklahoma City, OK 73127 only one i know of in the city. cant give a review since ive never been.
i will let other people comment on the italian.

[debzkidz]

Irma's is okay, but I wouldn't call them the best either. We prefer Flat Tire Burger in Edmond as well as Rons Hamburgers and Chili. Neither has sweet potato fries, but Flat Tire does make the best homemade potato chips I've had. McNellies has pretty good burgers, and they do come with sweet potato fries. Wednesdays is $3 burger night. You can't beat a burger and fries for $3.

Othello's is pretty good Italian. I believe they have a location in Norman as well. We've eaten at a few other places in OKC but nothing I've ever liked well enough to even go back to a second time. I haven't found anything like you'll find in Dallas. I miss Campisi's like crazy!

[cindycat]

Try Patsy's in Norman. Patsy used to own the Norman Othello's. He sold it but didn't stay out of the business too long. The food is great and the patrons are interesting. We were there one night with Barry Switzer, Bart and Nadia, Coach Paul Ziert (?) and David Boren.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

I agree with the other posters on Othellos. Pretty good stuff. It's not going to rock your world or anything.

As for hamburgers, I really don't get the pay $7-$10 a burger when you can go to Braums and get a 1/3 lb. (with bacon and cheese!) for around $4. To me a burger is a burger....not really into the gourmet stuff.

[osugirl2]

I will be back home for a visit on Thursday, and the first stop I'm making is to Braums for their Bacon Cheeseburger! I also love Johnnies (several locations in the OKC metro) as well as Flat Tire. Ron's sausage/cheeseburger is pretty hard to beat as well. Flips in OKC is supposed to be really good for Italian. I've never been, but I have an Italian friend that likes to go there . It's a long drive, but you should also check out Pete's Place in Krebs Oklahoma (near McAlester) It was started by an Italian immigrant that came there to work the coal mine. Also try the Choc Beer which is one of my favorites. Petes Place

[osugirl2]

I forgot to comment on the grocery store issue. Check out www.oklahomafood.coop . They have amazing products and everything is made in the state. You can also try Akins in NW OKC

[istillhatepeas]

I think Nic's Grill has the best burger in OKC. You have to get there early (10:30) or later. Very busy and very small. At Nw 10th and Penn. Close to the fairgrounds...so good!

You might like Bella Vista on the South side. They definitely have the cranky thing going on. I think their Eggplant Parm is good, but I'm just not a huge fan of the pasta. I prefer al dente and I've never had an al dente noodle there.

Meiki's has excellent alfredo, as does the Pepperoni Grill in the mall. Pepperoni Grill has a special place in my heart because I grew up eating there. It is not as good as it was back in the day, but we still go occasionally. I think the problem is that it can be inconsistent. They have good pizza though.

We have a new seafood place in town called The Shack. I can't believe we tried it because it had two things going against it.

1. Open for only 15 days.
2. Seafood in a landlocked state.

They still have some kinks to work out. However, the staff was super friendly. The crab bisque is deliscious. My Mom and I spilt a cup because we figured it would be rich. Pricey at $6.95, but it was full of lump crab. We had a the stuffed flounder and crabcakes. Everything was wonderful. We definitely had a crab heavy meal. We went for dinner and some things like the flounder were al la carte. (Aprrox $25) So, not an every day place, but tasty. They also have a lunch menu with typical lunch prices. We are looking forward to exploring this new gem further.

You might find this website helpful.

www.eataroundokc.com