Who hasn’t been there? You’re just leaving an evening Thunder game or a movie and you’re hungry. And that popcorn you snacked on three hours earlier just isn’t going to cut it. Breakfast is how many hours away?
Usually, late-night hunger calls for a spin through the Taco Bell drivethru (Mexican pizza, hold the beef, and a medium Dr Pepper, please), but it doesn’t need to be that way. There are other options. Finer options.
All-night joints may be a little thin on the ground here in the metro, but there are a handful of restaurants that keep their doors open way past the standard 9 p.m. They’re open just for you and your growling belly. Here’s where to go to satiate your hunger before hitting the hay.
Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria
5801 N. Western
843-1527
It’s Tuesday night and you’re starving? Say hello to your new best friend, Flip’s. This Italian eatery is open until 2 a.m. every single night of the week, serving food until 1 a.m. daily.
After about 10:30 p.m., Flip’s switches to a late-night menu that includes appetizers, salads, pizza and a few entrées. Look for pasta chips, Italian nachos or manicotti.
The most popular with the latenight crowd, however, are the pizzas.
Hungry diners devour the pepperoni and homemade Italian sausage pizza. Other options include a margherita pizza or one topped with Gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes with a pesto sauce.
Picasso Café
3009 Paseo
602-2002
Picasso Café, in a cool location in the Paseo Arts District, always has a chill vibe, a place to linger over food and drinks. And it’s even better late at night.
Picasso stays open until 2 a.m.
Thursday through Saturday, and serves food until 1 a.m. After 10:30 p.m., look for a late-night menu that includes appetizers and $6 pizzas (normally $12).
What to get when eating late? Check out the popular homemade pretzel, which comes with a blue cheese and bacon cream sauce and a house mustard.
Deep Fork Grill
5418 N. Western
848-7678
Deep Fork Grill, known mostly as a fine dining establishment, caters to the late-night crowd with a special menu.
With diners ranging from younger people to older businessmen, Deep Fork can stay open until 2 a.m. — yes, 2 a.m. — on Fridays and Saturdays. But a note: It all depends on how busy the restaurant is, so that 2 a.m. time is fluid.
Deep Fork’s late-night menu includes $5 pizzas, fried green beans and other easy, snacky stuff, so don’t go expecting a filet. But at 2 a.m., who’s really craving steak?
Beverly’s Pancake House
3315 Northwest Expressway
848-5050
And then there’s Beverly’s, a nearly 90-year-old institution of 24-hour awesomeness.
Beverly’s is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It never, ever closes — even in a blizzard. The menu carries everything from breakfast to steaks, plus salads, fish, burgers and Mexican. That’s what we’d call diverse.
The menu is the same, no matter if it’s 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., and the most popular dishes late at night are the most popular dishes during the day. That’d be the pancakes and the Beverly’s special fried chicken, called Chicken in the Rough.
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2011.