Candy canes are truly the answer to the question, What if this peppermint thing was harder to eat? All sane people know that the best way to take down a candy cane is to snap it into pieces, which is what we’re doing in this week’s restaurant roundup. We’ve got pepper. We have mint. You’ve got seven new restaurants to try out this week.
— by Greg Elwell,
photos by Garett Fisbeck and Mark Hancock
Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs and Burgers
1400 NW 23rd St.
525-3647
If you like piña coladas or getting caught in the rain, that’s great. Good for you. But if you like a filling, flavorful, spicy meal in a bun, then go to Mutt’s and order The Pitbull. The 100 percent kosher beef dog is covered in grilled onions and serrano, habanero, jalapeño and poblano peppers with melted cheese and a cilantro-lime aioli. Grab some napkins, too — this one is tasty and messy.
Argana Cafe
2908 NW 23rd St.
602-6938
Four out of five dentists agree: Moroccan hot mint tea is not a replacement for toothpaste. Yes, the signature tea at Argana Cafe is minty and gives you a little tingle. It certainly couldn’t hurt your breath. But do everyone at the restaurant a favor and brush your teeth before you go, okay? Nobody wants their lamb tagine or steamed couscous and vegetables ruined by chronic halitosis.
Crabtown
303 E. Sheridan Ave.
pearlsokc.com/restaurants/crabtown
232-7227
Few people know that squid have incredibly sensitive stomachs. But that’s because so few of us get to work in places like St. Ink’s or Our Lady of Perpetual Tentacles Hospital, where squid are taken when they eat something spicy. One of the only treatments for these poor squids is at Crabtown, where they make them into hot and spicy fried calamari. The squids don’t survive the process, but they sure taste good.
Credo House
109 NW 42nd St., Edmond
748-4288
Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a frosted mint latte from Credo House in Edmond and he’ll say, “Wow. This is some great coffee. Wait … who are you?”
Run away from that man and he will continue to drink the coffee because it’s quite good, but he’ll always wonder why you didn’t just give him a fish like everybody else.
West
6714 N. Western Ave.
607-4072
A word of advice: Do not tell your massage therapist that you have “tender loins.” That’s a quick way to get the cops called. Instead, just tell him or her that you brought an extra sandwich from West and that you’re happy to share. Because the beef tenderloin sandwich with roasted red peppers and red pepper horseradish is going to be a real happy ending for everyone. Wait. Do not say that to your massage therapist, either.
Sara Sara Cupcakes
7 NW Ninth St.
600-9494
Girl Scouts are so stingy with those cookies. Once a year? Are you kidding? How is a man supposed to survive in this cold, uncaring world without a sleeve of Thin Mints on demand? That’s what’s so great about Sara Sara Cupcakes and its creation, the Girl Scout. A mint cake with chocolate frosting, graham crackers and chocolate shavings isn’t exactly like a Thin Mint, but you also don’t have to buy it outside a gas station.
Wahaha Cafe
801 S. Broadway, Edmond
285-8888
Beef — it’s what’s for dinner. Unless you go to Wahaha Cafe — the Asian restaurant that sounds like maniacal laughter — because that’s where you’ll order the peppered beef. It’s a little sweet with a little heat and that tender beefy taste that our Hindu readers might likely never experience. If you don’t want to spice up your spiritual life with the many arms of Ganesha, perhaps you can spice up your diet with this dish.
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2015.