What is your OKC restaurant
home? If you don’t have one, here are a few that won’t mind being
considered for the honors.
Junior’s
2601 Northwest Expressway
848-5597
Owner
Jim Shumsky gets a daily adrenaline rush from his Junior’s that began
in 1973. Some of the major oil deals were made at Junior’s in the ’70s
and ’80s. Watch the Anita White Trio on YouTube, or catch them live
every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Enjoy the signature pan-fried
chicken, delicious Caesar or Syrian salad and wash it all down with a
brandy ice.
Ol’ Time Diner
8433 S. Western
634-8806
It’s
been 29 years in business for this burger place, and all done by word
of mouth. Thing is, they haven’t changed a thing in those 29 years. Dan
and Annie Dunsmore opened it; when Dan died some 17 years ago, Annie
carried on and now operates it with her new husband, Dewayn Newton.
Chelino’s
4320 S. Walker
636-1110
The
original Chelino’s on Walker opened in 1989. When owner Marcelino
“Chelino” Garcia first came to the U.S. he began work as a dish-washer. Today, he juggles a bakery, factories that produce ice cream and
tortillas, several restaurants, two Mexican import stores, a meat
processing plant and real estate investments.
right, Gladiz Nieto holding lunch plates at Chelino's No. 1
Around the Corner
11 S. Broadway, Edmond
341-5414
The oldest
restaurant in Edmond, with more than 57 years under their apron strings,
Around the Corner even has the Seal of Edmond displayed on a wall. The
place is almost always crowded, with omelets sailing out of the kitchen.
It’s no wonder that present owner Charlotte Worsham and the food rank
pretty high with Edmond residents.
Big Ed’s Hamburgers
12209 N. Pennsylvania
755-2108
Cyrus Naheed has
owned this Big Ed’s since 2001, although the concept began with the late
“Big Ed” Thomas back in 1982. These days, when in Oklahoma, travelers
make a point of stopping by for a burger. People request Oklahoma
Original Big Ed T-shirts that Naheed has mailed all over the globe.
Twelve Oaks Restaurant
6020 N. Midwest Blvd., Edmond
340-1002
Manager Kristi Jolly said Twelve Oaks has been the site of “lots and
lots of proposals and marriages performed both inside and outside.” This
romantic restaurant operates in a house built in 1896 and moved down
from Guthrie. In December of 2010, a couple — Ken and Toni Snow — was
married under the gazebo outside. Delight in the farm-raised quail and
almond-crusted shrimp.
Van’s Pig Stand
516 S.W. Fourth, Moore
793-8267
Owner Jev Vandegrift
said that nobody knows that his grandmother, Thelma Vandegrift, did
something outstanding. “She invented the twicebaked potato.” The story
goes that she was tired of having so many leftover baked potatoes, so
Thelma created a potato that could be done in advance. The Van’s Pig
Stand’s twicebaked potatoes are old-fashioned but delicious.
Photos by Mark Hancock and Shannon Cornman
