Ozzie’s Diner is in the main terminal and control tower building at Max Westheimer Airport, 1700 Lexington Ave. in Norman. It’s an old-school joint in several respects. Before or after your meal, you may wander around the building and look at World War II- and Korean War-era photos of vintage aircraft and U.S. Navy pilots […]
doug hill
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Pony up
1/3-pound bacon cheeseburger (Mark Hancock) “Hidden in plain sight” is one way to describe Red Horse Grill. The eatery’s front is angled in such a way that the windows don’t face the busy main drag nearby. “We’re kind of secluded in here,” co-owner Andrew Kabara said. This year, he and his wife, Jane Kabara, are […]
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Chinese sizzle
Gele Mountain chicken. Photo: Mark Hancock The cheapest airfare from Oklahoma City to Beijing presently is around $1,200. One reason for traveling there is to sample what’s arguably the most highly developed cuisine in the world. To avoid jet lag and airport hassle and save some cash, you should consider heading to Ba Shu Legends […]
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Don’t pho around
Photo: Mark Hancock It can be soul-soothing to savor a big bowl of rich broth flecked with scallions and mounds of snow-white rice noodles. Meat choices abound with choices that range from brisket to tripe. Load your bowl with crispy bean sprouts, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, rip some green basil and toss it […]
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All aboard!
BY: Heather Brown Back in the day, Interurban was the popular streetcar people-mover between Oklahoma City and Norman. The system eventually went away as cars and highways took over transportation needs. Norman’s Interurban station survived and was transformed into a restaurant in 1976. Since then, the locally owned and operated eatery has grown to three […]
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Pig out
By: Mark Hancock From the name alone, you wouldn’t mistake Van’s Pig Stand for a kosher deli or Middle Eastern restaurant. But Oklahomans not in the know might not realize the place, which originally launched in Wewoka, is a bastion for barbecue. The Van clan has been hickory smoking ribs, pork and brisket in the […]
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Pizza pizzazz
By: Mark Hancock Sandro Osmani, the owner of Sandro’s Pizza and Pasta, is keeping alive his family tradition. “My grandfather, Giovanni Osmani, taught me how to cook when our family still lived in Roma,” he said. “We’ve always been in the restaurant business.” And business has been good for the first-generation Italian and Albanian-American. So […]
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Curry in a hurry
Spice and Rice is behind a filling station and convenience store on the east edge of Norman’s Campus Corner. Because of close proximity to campus and limited space in the tiny strip mall, parking is a bit of a nuisance, but it’s worth the hassle. Don’t go looking for fancy at this one-room restaurant, which […]
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Fontana Italian Restaurant
Fontana’s Italian Restaurant is not a ritzy joint. In a workaday neighborhood strip mall, its dining room is sparsely decorated with clichéd 19th century landscape prints and plastic grape vines. Dean Martin croons over the PA system. Fontana’s is the kind of unpretentious Italian-American eatery you’ll find coast to coast. There are no white tablecloths […]
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Bagging the bean
“I drank diet cola like a fiend for years,” Steve Howard said. Before he eventually stopped, the Norman resident was drinking a pair of 2-liter bottles every day. That’s the approximate caffeine content equivalent of 10 cups of coffee. “I just made up my mind to quit and did it,” Howard said. “Not easy, but […]