Cybellas
6062 S. Western
605-5353
Its hard not to associate Italian cuisine with good old-fashioned comfort food. Start with deep-fried mushrooms ($3.99) or an antipasto salad ($5.99) with ham, salami, pepperoni, olives, waxed peppers, tomato and cheese on a bed of greens. Spaghetti to rigatoni chicken dinners ($8.99) and any kind of pizza ($9.99-$16.99) you can imagine is the perfect stay-in-with-movies meal. Or dine in at the buffet ($3.49-$5.49).
Flint
15 N. Robinson
605-0657
Serving breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, try the lemon ricotta pancakes with papaya chutney ($8), or bagel and cured salmon with capers, onions, tomatoes, lemon, cream cheese and chopped eggs ($12). Grab the Thai beef salad ($8), complete with soba noodles, a Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The duck tacos ($5) with mango relish will rock your taste buds, and the pan-seared scallops ($29), with a celery root and pistachio purée and cranberry reduction, are flown in daily and cant be missed.
Chuys
760 N. Interstate Dr., Norman
360-0881
Start off with the Queso Compuesto ($6.89), with seasoned ground sirloin, guacamole and pico de gallo. Get one of the famous Big As Yo Face burritos ($7.89-$9.29) with beans only, ground sirloin, oven-roasted chicken or fajita meat. The Chuychanga ($8.99) is a house specialty and comes with chicken and all the traditional fixings, as well as cilantro and green chiles. Eating light? Opt for the Chuys Lite Plate ($5.99) with one taco, guacamole and queso.
Custinos
2724 W. Britton
608-4420
With its dishes made fresh daily and sporting a drive-through, this place is going to be difficult to stay away from. Pick up a tray of lasagna ($15) that feeds six to eight people or some quarter-pound meatballs ($1.50 each) to add to spaghetti youll cook at home. Two-topping pizzas ($7) will satisfy the kids for a Friday night, and regular or chocolate cannoli ($2.50), a traditional Italian pastry thats been deep-fried and filled with sweetened ricotta, will make everyone happy.
Grouchy Sams
Mobile
412-3554
First things first: cash only! Ever thought about putting peaches on a quesadilla? Now you dont have to do it yourself, just order The Dixie Chicken ($7), which comes with one side. Options are carrot salad, potato salad and coleslaw, which can also be purchased separately for $1. If youre a breakfast type, the chilaquiles ($6) come with your choice of pork, chicken or eggs and topped with crumbled Cotija, a traditional Mexican cheese.
Taste of Egypt
3604 N. May
843-3344
Cant make it to Egypt this week? Get a taste of the cuisine. If youve a hankering for stewed vegetables, try the couscous dish, piled high with garbanzo beans, zucchini, carrots and stewed tomatoes. The pork and lamb dishes are fresh and sourced locally. Finish off your feast with fetter, a traditional Egyptian dessert. Its buffet-only here ($10-$13.99) and Lamb Day (Friday) or Cultural Day (Saturday), with foods from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
Clay Pot Thai Fusion
2903 N.W. 36th
946-1066
This spot is reopened and has a completely new menu that fuses American and Thai cuisines. Start with the Doty Won ton Tacos ($6), fried won tons filled with slaw, teriyakimarinated chicken and glazed in a honey-balsamic vinaigrette. Keep it light with a kung pao chicken wrap ($7.25) thats full of chicken, almonds, cranberries and sprouts with a green curry aïoli, all in a spinach wrap. Craving something exotic? Get the curried lobster salad sandwich($9).