SIX OF THE BEST
COLARDO
NEW MEXICO
KANSAS OKLAHOMA
MISSOURI
ARKANSAS
KANSAS & OKLAHOMA
TEXAS LOUISIANA
Your clients may travel to the two states primarily for horseback riding, history, Route 66 or fabulous music, but there’s great food and drink to enjoy too! Matt Bates chooses six (actually 12) of the best Kansas and Oklahoma eating places
two states in the very heartlands of the US – lay claim to offering perhaps the finest, homeliest American food served with the biggest, friendliest smiles … and that’s especially true when it comes to Barbecue! Think finger- lickin’, melt-in-your-mouth meat cooked for hours. It’s intensely flavoursome and deeply satisfying. FIND IT: Backfire Barbeque, Kansas City, KS. Don’t be fooled: it may look like a chain restaurant but this eye- popping diner on the edge of Kansas City is a one-off and the real deal. Try the ‘burnt ends’ (ribs) with three kinds of BBQ sauce.
backfirebarbeque.com ONE MORE BITE: Smokin’ Joe’s Rib Ranch, Davis, OK. A no-frills joint that’s always busy – tender ribs and melting brisket.
smokinjoesribranch.com
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American way of life, and home-style cooking is right at the heart of it. In the best of Kansas and Oklahoma’s family restaurants, even the atmosphere provides nourishment for the soul. Locally-reared food (maybe a steak?) cooked properly to order is an unrivalled treat. FIND IT: The Cattlemen’s Restaurant, Oklahoma City, OK. In the heart of the Stockyards (cattle market) this is a locals’ favourite (always a good sign) for superb steak – breakfast, lunch and dinner – and authentic western atmosphere. Those feeling brave should try the calf fries!
cattlemensrestaurant.com ONE MORE BITE: Emma Chase Café, Cottonwood Falls, KS. Not so much a diner, more a way of life. Home-cooked food and great music
emmachasecafe.com
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SIZZLIN’ STEAK Eating out – breakfast, lunch or dinner – is an
BLAZIN’ BARBEQUE It’s hardly surprising that Kansas and Oklahoma –
Burgers and shakes go together like rock and roll, and no more so than along the legendary Route 66. Today it’s food with theatre thrown in, but it started out with a serious purpose all those years ago – fuelling up those intrepid travellers heading across the continent for business or pleasure. FIND IT: Lucille’s Roadhouse, Weatherford, OK. Since 2006, the new Lucille’s has carried on a tradition established in 1927 by Lucille and Carl Hamons – that’s great home- cooked food, hospitality, stories from the Mother Road and great souvenirs, too.
lucillesroadhouse.com ONE MORE BITE: POPS Arcadia, OK. Around 600-plus fl avours of pop from around the world – from cream soda to bacon soda (seriously!).
route66.com
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Kansas and Oklahoma more than fried chicken, and almost everyone has a favourite ‘breading’ (the
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ubiquitous coating). Both states are replete with chicken restaurants and although menus vary by far the most popular remains the deeply traditional chicken and mash, biscuits (actually, savoury scones) with gravy. FIND IT: Brookville Hotel Restaurant, Abilene, KS. Fourth generation, family-style fried chicken dinners, cottage cheese & peaches; coleslaw; creamed corn; mashed potatoes; gravy; ice cream!
brookvillehotel.com ONE MORE BITE: Chicken Annie’s Original, Pittsburg, KS. Established 1934 and still third- generation family-operated today. Wonderful chicken and fabulous sides.
chickenanniesoriginal.com
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LEGENDARY LUNCH
It came to the UK as the ‘Sub’, but the lunch sandwich in the USA is much, much more. Myriad breads from rye to sourdough to muffuletta to pitta, filled to overflowing with turkey, cheese, pastrami and salad, reflecting the cosmopolitan origins of the US population and designed to fill up for an afternoon’s work.
FIND IT: Old Mill Tasty Shop, Wichita, KS. Magnificently constructed (and gargantuan) lunch sandwiches; fluffy pancakes; blue-plate special lunches
www.sellinglonghaul.com September 2013 21
FINEST FRIED CHICKEN There are few things that say ‘ family dinner’ in
ROUTE 66 ROAD FOOD
for the soul, served with the friendliest of family welcomes. Try out the Saturday brunch – you’ll be full until Tuesday! ONE MORE BITE: Cheever’s Café, Oklahoma City, OK. A touch of elegance and a way with sandwiches, salads and desserts. Reservations may be needed.
cheeverscafe.com
complete without a piece of pie (or cobbler) to finish it off? Probably not, and as your clients jump in the car to pick up their fly-drive route, or settle down to watch the Kansas/Oklahoma sunset, they’ll realise – perhaps with some surprise – just how rich the food heritage is here in the heartlands of the USA.
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FIND IT: Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies, Davis, OK. Conceived to fend off the winter cold for cowboys at the turn of the 20th century. Try savoury or sweet – apricot, peach, apple and pecan – fried pies.
arbucklemountainfriedpies.webs.com
ONE MORE BITE: Bradley’s Corner Café, Topeka, KS. Made-from-scratch rolls, fries and 25 different kinds of pie, meatloaf, biscuits and gravy. Simple, down-home value.
A PRIME PIECE OF PIE Is any Kansas or Oklahoma lunch or dinner
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