Being a Norman resident, I will try to update each week letting you know my suggestions for the weekend (meant to last week…forgot…bad blogger I know…).  Please…whatever you do….do not let me catch you eating at Chili’s or McDonald’s.  Save those for another time and another town.  We have GREAT food in Norman, so take advantage!  Use these recommendations as a departure from the normal bratwurst, hot dog, or burger that you can grab at your tailgate.  Honestly, I need a little diversity from time to time, so while I love a good brat every once and awhile, I can only do that every once and awhile!

Fajita Beef Taco

If you are in the mood for a quick lunch on your way to the tailgate of your choice, I would suggest grabbing Los Dos Compadres, Norman’s local taco truck.  This is located in the parking lot of Bill’s Used Furniture (if you have an extra hour…go to Bill’s too…very cool place) at the corner of Alameda and Porter.  The food from this truck is classic tacqueria tacos, or classic taco truck tacos.  Each has great flavor and fresh ingredients.  I will personally recommend the barbacoa or the fajita beef tacos.  We also tried the nachos and they were quite good.  They are a bit heavier than the tacos, but still, very tasty.  This is a great alternative to normal tailgate food as it is decently healthy (tacos were…nachos, not so much).  You can grab this to-go or you can eat at one of the handy-dandy picnic tables outside the taco truck.

If you want to grab dinner, or even lunch (WARNING: You will smell like sweet bbq goodness for the rest of the game if you eat here at lunch), you just have to try one of my favorites, Van’s Pig Stand.  Joe has written a great story about Van’s, so check that out, but its a must try in Norman.  It is some of the best bbq in Oklahoma and in my opinion is the best in Norman.  I highly suggest the hot link or rib dinner.

Hot Link Dinner from Van's

These are just a couple of places to grab a quick bite while you are in town.  Check back next week for a couple more recommendations.  Feel free to find me on Facebook (search for Okie Foodie) or on Twitter (@OkieFoodie) if you need any more suggestions of some Norman food to grab while you are in town.

Most of all… BOOMER SOONER!  I hope our Sooners kick some Florida State ass, just like we did in 2000.  Have fun in my town and eat well!

P.S.  Big Truck Tacos, a Oklahoma City staple, is in the running to be in a Food Network show.  Can you take just a second to vote for them?

I, of course, in the excitement of the evening forgot to take pictures of the food, but I assure you, it was fabulous.  The specials tonight (doing this off the top of my head..hope I don’t screw up!) were Wild Mushroom, Roasted Vegetable, Quail with peach chutney, and Pork.  I, being the Okie Preggie, just chose to stick with the vegetable and a couple of beef tacos.  They were of course delicious.  The rest of my table ventured out with the rest and all had great things to say about all of the food.

All of this reminds me of another story involving an Oklahoma small business and a large corporation.  As many of you know, I hail from the sprawling metropolis of Marlow, OK (population 4500).  There was a clothing boutique there that was a very small, family owned business called Coco’s.  Well a few years back, some way somehow, Chanel got wind of this business and wrote a letter stating that the name “CoCo” was trademarked and they were not allowed to use this name for their business.  Now forgive me if I am wrong, but this small clothing boutique would NEVER infringe on any of Chanel’s clientele.  Most Marlowites have never even heard of Chanel and certainly will never be able to afford it.  It reminds me very much of tonight’s debacle.

The story to take away from the evening is not necessarily the awesomeness of the food/company/atmosphere/etc., but that we Oklahomans band together when someone steps in and shakes their corporate finger at us.  We are proud of our local businesses and all this has done is made us support Iguana THAT much more.  So, Thanks Taco Johns for helping boost our Oklahoma economy.  We Taco Tuesday attendees will still continue calling it that even though it will not be the official name of every Tuesday night at Iguana and now have an army of angry, hungry Oklahomans behind us supporting the cause too.

So…let the cravings begin.  I’m ready to eat for two!

Stay tuned…

This past weekend we ate at one of our favorite BBQ places in the city, Oklahoma Joe’s.  You may know this place for being the BBQ joint in a gas station with the packed parking lot and almost always has a line out the door.  

The people standing in line aren’t crazy, they just know what awaits them at the end.  If you have never stood in the line yourself you are truly missing out.  Honestly I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone there to buy anything other than BBQ.  We got there around 3pm on Saturday so luckily the line wasn’t out the door but it was darn close.

Aside from being an award winning BBQ joint, Oklahoma Joe’s was my grandfather’s favorite BBQ, and in the last couple years my parents and I have realized why.  Oklahoma Joe’s isn’t a place to grab a quick pulled pork sandwich while you’re rushing through your lunch break nor is it a place to pick up a slab on the way home for dinner.  It’s an experience all on it’s own.  

Standing in line with a hundred others waiting for your turn to order you favorite, or if you’re like me you spend that whole time contemplating what you will order and always end up getting the same thing anyways.  Then getting up to the window and always being amazed how the workers can take so many orders at once, and get them all right by just yelling it back and forth.  Then trying to find a table in the small and crowded sitting area, or piling in with complete strangers who are all brought together by the tradition of Kansas City BBQ.

This visit I happened to notice that the star of one of my favorite shows had been here and left his mark.  Anthony Bourdain famed cook, author food critic and star of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” named Oklahoma Joe’s one of the “Top 13 place to eat before you die“, Oklahoma Joe’s made the cut with some of the top restaurants in world.

People may disagree on who has the best BBQ. Here, the brisket (particularly the burnt ends), pulled pork, and ribs are all of a quality that meet the high standards even of Kansas City natives. It’s the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world.

Now let’s get to the food.  My go to meal is the pulled pork “Carolina Style” (pulled pork with Bubbas sauce and spicy slaw on top) and a pint of spicy slaw.

While this visit I spent my wait in line trying to choose between in and the “Z Man” (Provolone melted on beef brisket with 2 onion rings on top on a Kaiser bun), I once again went with my usual.  

My mom ordered beef “Carolina Style” and my dad went with the short end and a couple bags of fries for us to share.  Needless to say we were all very full in the end.

I know there is lots of debate about where in Kansas City the best BBQ can be found, but as anyone will tell you it all depends on what type of BBQ you’re looking.  There is a reason we are the BBQ capital of the world.

With that being said Oklahoma Joe’s is the hands down winner of the best pulled pork title.  The meat is a perfect moist and smokey  compliment to the sauce, and when you add the spicy slaw on top it just doesn’t get any better.

Now my dad swears ribs are the best, and Anthony Bourdain agrees with him.  The ribs are a perfect blend of smokey flavor and moist pink insides, no sauce needed but if you choose to add it no worries because Oklahoma Joe’s sauce was named the “best sauce on the planet” a well deserved title.

So if you’re in Kansas City head on down to Okie Joe’s, but you better hurry the line may be around the block by now.

Joe's dad with the big smoker!

BBQ, Barbecue, Bar-B-Cue, however you spell it. The cuisine should bring about strong emotion if you were raised anywhere in the rural south. Where I was raised; there was only two kinds of food served on the picnic table at family reunions, fried catfish (noodled) and BBQ. Yes from a young age I was taught the fine art of real BBQ and corrected if I ever referred to grilling as Barbecuing. Most of the teaching came from the family pit master, my uncle Rick Peters. I have revered this man from a young age for his ingenuity and culinary expertise. He just recently fabricated one of the largest mobile smokers I’ve ever seen (see photos), from which to serve friend and family alike. After many years of hands on training, he has passed down to me the smoking techniques and recipes needed to create great BBQ. So, needless to say I’m born and bred BBQ, and I know a good rib when it hits my taste buds.

I travel ALOT and I can tell you that some of the finest BBQ in our great country is served in Oklahoma. One such establishment is Van’s Pig Stand in Norman, OK (original Van’s is in Shawnee). Occupying a former service station of Highway 77, it has the vintage BBQ look to match the taste. I always order the rib plate and “make it a van” which means, add a side of fries. Throughout my travels, I’ve found this to be an Oklahoma BBQ thing. The ribs never fail to exceed by high BBQ standards by falling off the bone and having just the perfect char on the outside, not to hide the beautiful, pink, flavor filled pork underneath. In addition I could write another whole entry on the sauce itself. It’s the kind of BBQ sauce that is good enough to put on a piece of bread and just eat by itself. It’s has the perfect smokey/spicy mixture. The BBQ served at Van’s pig stand is second to none in the country, trust me I’ve tried it all.

Hot Link Dinner from Van's

Van’s (as Norman locals call it) also holds a special place in my heart. It’s sentimental value came about after countless mid-day lunch meetings with my then girlfriend and now wife, Cassi Peters (the Okie Foodie!). Over a plate of ribs and smoked sausage we discussed our days events, trials and tribulations. Van’s tasty dishes clang to mine and Cassi’s stomachs through mid-term tests and over time football games at Memorial stadium. For these reasons, nothing comes close to Van’s Pig Stand for me!

Rib Dinner from Van's

Yummy

For those of you that don’t know…I travel… ALOT.  I went to New York City (one of my favorite places on Earth) this weekend for about 18 hours.  It was a fun little trip, complete with Joe almost running over John Legend (yes the famous singer, and yes it was really him!).

We ate at Lombardi’s, one of our favorite pizza places on Earth.  We tend to eat here each time we go because it is so yummy.

We also stopped by the new Brgr and it was delicious.  Very much like Oklahoma’s own Republic, but a more fast food type restaurant.

Quick trip to the greatest city on Earth.

This place is HOPPING on Saturday and Sunday mornings for the All-You-Can-Eat breakfast.  It’s like 5 bucks for all the bacon, sausage, panckaes, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, eggs, etc. you can eat.  I have to watch myself because I could get carried away with the biscuits and gravy and the bacon.  Let’s just say both of these are not good for the waistline!

Joe and I hopped over there on a Saturday morning when his parents were in town.  We all ordered a plethora of breakfast food and believe me..this is so worth the money and heck its all you can eat! This is a great little diner and you get to watch the airplanes while you eat.  Airplanes+allyoucaneat bacon= Good time for Cassi and Joe.

Chicken Parmesan

I remember when I was a little girl scrounging up my change so I could walk down Main Street in Marlow to get a slice of pizza from DiCintio’s. My neighbor Jamie and I would do this on a weekly basis. It was just a little hole in the wall pizza joint that sold pizza by the slice. We thought we were the bees knees going out on our own to grab our own lunch without our moms. That was one thing I loved about small town living. I grew up wandering the little town on summer days and my mom didn’t have to worry.

A few years after, Giuseppe’s opened up in the old bank next door.  This was all the rage in the area.  We really don’t have a wealth of fine dining establishments in my little country town.  I remember being impressed as a young’n, but it still impresses me today.

I could drink this stuff... Pesto

I order (every time without fail) the chicken parmesan.  I also get a side of pesto sauce for a dipping sauce for my bread.  While I was in high school, I would go here for lunch and grab a side of pesto, a meatball, bread, and salad.  Such a great lunch.  I love Italian food and try to eat it as much as possible, but Giuseppe’s has hit the nail on the head with chicken parmesan.  It is such a simple dish that doesn’t really push any boundaries, but it is that simplicity that keeps me going back every time.  My mother orders the light portion of garlic shrimp.  This is great.  It’s a yummy white wine butter sauce and is packed with flavor.  My dear grandmother sticks to light portion of vegetable lasagna.  I’m a big fan of vegetable lasagna’s and wish I could find a good Italian market much like Vace which I used to frequent in DC for a good prepared vegetable lasagna.  I honestly don’t have the patience to make it!  Back on track…

Garlic Shrimp

The Italian food here is delicious.  Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realize you are in rural Oklahoma.  The atmosphere of the restaurant is great.  White table cloths, vintage exposed brick, old original ceiling tiles, mafia type music playing in the background.  Like I said, this used to be a bank back when Marlow was a boomtown.  It definitely maintains that old west feel.  Giueseppe’s has put Marlow on the map.  It is a must stop when driving through town.  I sometimes tell people where I grew up and they instantly ask me if that is where that good Italian restaurant is.  Yes, we are proud of our little hometown Italian restaurant.  The only thing left for improvement is the wine list is scarce.  I’m a big fan of wine with my Italian food and there isn’t a large selection.  And yes, you can still order the pizza here I was so proud to buy as a little tot.

Vegetable Lasagna

One of my favorite things about Oklahoma is the cultural pockets of our state.  Because of the nature of frontierism, we are blessed with rich cultural pockets throughout the state.  Giuseppe’s isn’t trying to cook good Italian food, they DO cook good Italian food.  It’s a must eat in Oklahoma.

Giuseppe's

Republic Burger

We arrived at the prime lunch hour to the swanky little spot and there was of course a wait (remember…i said talk of the town).  We decided to grab a couple of spots at the bar.  I was immediately stricken by the LARGE amount of beers on tap (100 on tap…250 bottled!) and the giant tvs everywhere.  This bar seems like it would be a great place to watch a game.  I wasn’t there to watch a baseball game or the Thunder (PLAYOFFS…YEA!) play, I was hear to try these great burgers I have heard about.

I am a big fan of the slightly “flared” up (think Office Space) or “fancy” hamburger for all you non-movie fans out there.  The burgers at this place slightly remind me of Ray’s Hellburger in Arlington, VA.  The plus about Republic is that you also get a great, swanky atmosphere with a fabulous atmosphere to go with it.

Belle Isle Burger

Jed ordered the Belle Isle Burger.  This a burger with grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, and Jed said “an interesting cheese sauce that surpringly works.”  He was pleased.  I wanted to try it, but he was being totally greedy and didn’t let me!  I ordered the Republic Burger.  This burger was SO yummy.  This had some bacon yumminess, gruyere cheese, bleu cheese and wait for it…. TOPPED WITH AN EGG.  Now I was telling some friends about this burger and apparently it isn’t a rare thing to find a burger topped with an egg.  Well it is in Okie Foodie’s world, so I was completely excited about this.  It was a great burger.  I’m a huge fan of anything with gruyere cheese (well….cheese in general), but this prooved to be an amazing lunch.

I definitely fed into the buzz about this new restaurant at the Classen Curve.  It is easily one of the best restaurant atmospheres in Oklahoma City.  It makes you want to pinch yourself because no…you aren’t in some swanky restaurant in LA or NYC, you are in the Sooner State.  If we continue to produce restaurants such as Republic, we are definitely on the up and up.

I also heard the donuts were amazing.  Save room next time because I definitely didn’t!

How about the Thunder!!!!  Thunder UP!