Table Talk
CHICKEN-FRIED Challenge
Kendall’s Restaurant serves up Oklahoma favorites and celebrates family traditions in Noble, Okla.
WATCH!
OKL’s own Grant Leatherwood steps up to the plate on this episode of “Table Talk.” To see how he fared on the challenge, visit our digital edition at
www.ok-living.coop or click on the icon to access the video when viewing this edition online. You can also access our free app on Apple and Android devices. Look for Oklahoma Living magazine.
Three chicken-fried steaks and two cinnamon rolls are part of Kendall’s challenge. Photos by Hayley Leatherwood
F By Alexis Mellons
or almost 30 years, Oklahomans have been fl ocking to Kendall’s Restau- rant, a Southern-style eatery with fl avors that are both unique and famil- iar. These fl avors, accompanied by a gallery of music memorabilia and the feeling of being home, have made Kendall’s a popular Oklahoma
destination. Kendall’s had a humble, yet ambitious, start. In 1986, Brenda Mantooth opened Kendall’s in Purcell, Okla., with family in mind. Named after her new- born granddaughter, the small restaurant featured dishes close to Oklahoma’s heart. Chicken-fried steak, catfi sh and cinnamon rolls are a few of the many dishes Mantooth knew well and served often. Only three years after it opened, Kendall’s moved to its current location in
Noble, Okla. In 1990, Kim Lock, Mantooth’s daughter, and her family bought the restaurant with a mission to keep the same recipes and maintain the small town atmosphere. Three decades have passed, and Kendall’s is still serving up Oklahoma favorites like grandma used to make. “My mom was a big believer that food was love,” Lock says. Mantooth was passionate about cooking, and she enjoyed the moments when people would gather to eat. Lock uses this passion as a goal for Kendall’s; the restaurant will always be place for friends and family to be together. At Kendall’s, classic recipes made from scratch dominate the menu. “It’s old fashioned, and it’s not for everybody, but the food is good … it’s real food,” Lock says. Cooking it up like her mother and grandmother, Lock owes the restaurant’s success to tradition. Kendall’s iconic cinnamon rolls are one example. Though the restaurant now prepares hundreds of cinnamon rolls each day, Lock’s mother began by making only a couple dozen. It was Lock’s daughter who, as a child, started giving away cinnamon rolls to tables. Now, guests receive a free cinnamon roll to fi nish off their meals, and it’s the same recipe they’ve enjoyed since 1986. While most people who visit Kendall’s leave satisfi ed and overstuffed, some patrons can’t get enough. Lock and her business partner, Dee Downer, have challenged the strong-willed to fi nish what are practically three chicken-fried steak meals. Hundreds have tried, but only 18 have walked away as champions. Three steaks, three side dishes, a salad and cinnamon rolls make this challenge Oklahoma’s fi nest, according to TripAdvisor. The well-known travel company also put this “Chicken Fry Challenge” in the country’s top 10 food challenges. While generous portions of homemade favorites may be Kendall’s biggest draw, the restaurant has more to offer than a full stomach. Oklahoma historians
20
Owner Kim Lock
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144