The Time Has Come...Awkwardly Amazing Food

As a general rule, I am not a food critic nor do I partake in writing restaurant reviews, mainly because I am content with anything from Indian round steak, tuna in a pouch to MREs; so the fact that I am taking the time to tell you about this restaurant is a big deal! For those of you who don't know what Indian round steak is - it is the only meat that doesn't have a first name. If you still don't know, message me and I will tell you.

A co-worker of mine wanted to try something new for lunch and we wanted fish and that is how we ended up at Fish City Grill in Edmond. If you want an amazing meal this place is a must! I have personally been there three different times and have not been disappointed once.

Today we were given a sample taste of Oyster Nachos. Yes, that's right, Oyster Nachos. Two words or food items in this Okie's mind that should never go together, but surprisingly they go together wonderfully! A fried oyster (so there is no slime), with chipotle tartar sauce and fresh pico de gallo topped on a nacho chip...crunchful of flavor! They are so confident you will love them, if you don't, they will buy them! And bonus is Nacho Typical Wednesday where you can get them for $5, dine in, all day.

Oyster Nachos - Please note: I am not a food photographer either.

Today we received a free appetizer for my birthday because I am in the club! If I would have known the Oyster Nachos were so good, we would have ordered those as our appetizer, but we went with the Redfish Quesadilla, which was also surprisingly delicious. Another awkward combination that this Okie would never put together.

Isn't Redfish in the form of a quesadilla just beautiful?

On to the main dishes for the day, sit down because I am getting ready to shock your socks off! Again, who in Oklahoma would dare to combine catfish with chicken fry? Only the Fish City Grill! Chicken Fried Catfish perched on top of mashed potatoes and smothered in jalapeno gravy, yes, you read right...jalapeno gravy and corn on the cob...plain...surprisingly plain, but delicious. It must have been awesome because there was none left.

This set up can make a grown man cry! So bring tissues.

Now, let me introduce you to Blackened Oklahoma Redfish which may be disguised as Blackened Texas Redfish on the menu, but since we are in Oklahoma we will refer to it as Blackened Oklahoma Redfish. It comes with caramelized onion mashed potatoes, grilled veggies and topped with bleu cheese herbed butter. Shocking, I know! Isn't she beautiful?

A feast of flavorful yumminess, your taste buds will be jumping.

I have also tried the Roasted Jalapeno Soup, which you will want the bowl and not the cup. Don't embarrass yourself by ordering the cup and then asking for seconds! I have also had the awkward combination of Salmon Enchiladas, which almost made me take up residence in the restaurant. Finally, the other dish I have tried is the Searin' Fish Tacos, which are known as the "Best Fish Tacos in Town" which is fried tilapia, tangy cabbage, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and a ranchero sauce, rolled in a flour tortilla and grilled. After three visits and sampling off my neighbor's plates I can say everything I have had is amazing! I have been told I need to try the Shrimp & Andouille Mac & Cheese maybe next time!

I can't complete this blog without telling you that Fish City Grill takes part in First Tuesday. The First Tuesday Benefit came about after the tragedy of Sept. 11, through this initiative Fish City Grill and Half Shells have donated over $350,000 to various local organizations.

Finally, for my Louisiana friends, I will be your best friend after I let you in on this little secret...they have a Louisiana Crawfish Boil when they are in season. Also for you Crab Leg Lovers they are currently having an AYCE (all you can eat) Crab Leg on Saturdays.

And for those of you who are glutton free, I mean gluten free, they have a gluten free menu too!

Their tagline...Friendly Folks. Serious Seafood. We say, yes, true, and amen! You can't go to Edmond, Oklahoma without a stop in at the Fish City Grill.

Just for you:

Spring Creek Shopping Center

15th and Bryant in Edmond

1389 E. 15th Suite #104
Edmond, Oklahoma 73013
405-348-2300

Hours:

Mon – Thurs: 11am - 10pm
Fri & Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 11am – 9pm

Part Rancher - Part Money Saving Queen

As I traveled home from work yesterday evening there was a guy standing in the middle of I-35 in the median, waiting to finish crossing the interstate. While we have lots of snow and slush, people still drive fast and it was rush hour – I wonder how long he stood there before he actually made it across. Even more so, I wondered why he didn’t walk over the bridge to cross over the interstate. Gee, maybe that would be the smart and safe thing to do and Oklahomans don’t always pick smart and safe. When I see things like that I keep wondering, here it is Saturday and I wonder if he made it, I guess it is the public safety and injury prevention side of my brain that keeps me reflecting on that image.

However the stupidities of people don’t keep me from my sleep. I slept hard last night, waking up energized and boy am I glad because I needed that as I faced a day of shopping, which requires great skill and agility when facing 50,000 other stir crazy sufferin’ from cabin fever Oklahomans, these people are serious about gettin’ their eggs and milk. Darryl drove and I tucked and rolled out the passenger door and into the stores. We make a great team!

We spend the day sloshing from store to store with pants legs tucked into our boots, cashing in coupons and replenishing our supplies. I felt part rancher and part money saving queen with my jeans tucked into my cowboy boots and toting my coupon box. We got a lot of good deals, but the purchase I am most excited about is a love story…Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond.

I actually didn't mean to wear my pants like this, but once I stepped out in the slosh I was glad I did!

Shopping can work up a mighty appetite so we went to Sandro’s in Norman, this time to try something other than the pizza. I had a chicken dish, Jayden pizza and Darryl a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and they were deeeelish! I highly recommend the pasta and sandwiches. Pizza. Well my favorite still is Pizza Hut, but the pizza at Sandro’s is good too. You should check it out, the owner is super friendly, great food at a great price but don’t go on a Sunday, they are closed. They are on Main Street in Norman right across the street from the high school. Let me know if you do!

Chicken Sandro! Enough for two meals or two people! We say it is better than Olive Garden.

Darryl's Philly Cheese Steak Sub, that I personally thought was better than those from Philadelphia.
Any way I say cheese whiz doesn't belong on sandwiches.

I love Saturdays and working from home, not just for the comfy clothes and PJs but because I get to spend time together in prayer with my husband. Today was no different. First thing is first before starting our day and that is stepping into the throne room of God. Have you been there? It is full of love, compassion and mercy! Today as my husband prayed he thanked our Heavenly Father for the snow. I know most people are tired and complaining and are dreading the next storm expected to roll in on Wednesday. There are pleas for summer, sand and sun; but you won’t hear my husband complaining. He truly exhibits the life of Christ, not for show or pats on the back, but because he truly has opened himself to be controlled by the Spirit of God. He loves me as Christ loves the church. He is content, rejoicing in all things, and always points me to Christ even through the Snowpocalypse. As you look at the white snow may it turn your thoughts to the glorious news that though our sins be as scarlet because of Jesus they are white as snow!

Restaurant Ramblings - Rut-Row Style!

Pops on Route 66

We had high hopes as we traveled north to Arcadia to check out Pops. We arrived and put our name in and were told the wait would be about 40 minutes. Typically restaurants tell you longer than what the actual wait time is, so that you will be happy when they get you in earlier. Well, ONE HOUR later, I inquired how much longer the wait would be. Our name was the second from the top of the list with about 15 names below us that had already been marked off and obviously seated. If we weren’t so hungry and with high hopes we probably would have just left. We were seated shortly after my inquiry. The hostess who led us to our seats did not say one word to us as she tossed our menus on the table, boy we felt welcomed. Soon the waitress came and she spoke! Thankfully. Since we had waited an hour we already knew what we wanted to order.

The drinks arrived with soda pop dripping all over on the outside and needed a serious wipe down. Then the waitress couldn’t count and did not give us enough straws and didn’t come back until she had the food, not sure why we ordered the “bottomless drinks”. The kids had chicken strips and cheeseburger with French fries, of which they said, tasted bad. Have you ever had something fried in old grease? Well that is how their food tasted and arrived cold. Darryl and I ordered Buffalo Burgers in honor of all things native and after all it is in our culture. Not sure were they found those buffaloes but they were not the best we’ve had, don’t forget we’ve been to reservations! During our meal we had to swing our arms around our food to keep the gnats away.

The best part of the entire trip was seeing the large pop bottle, the red round barn and the controversial Welcome to Arcadia sign. If you don’t live in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area you are probably unaware of the “worse nightmare big o sign” that has hit all the news channels. Basically a sign company has put a “big o sign” (40 foot metal sign) up next to the historic red round barn that says “Welcome to Arcadia” and the Arcadia Historical Society is fightin’ mad! Why there are even town hall meetings happen!

Just in case you miss the Big O Sign they give you directions, it is "east of the round barn".

In case you're wondering...the outhouse is for display only.

Overall it was a "Rut-Row" experience, in case you don't know what a "Rut-Row" means it is what Scooby-Doo says when things don't go as planned...Rut-Row. Our recommendation is just go for pictures and to try a new soda pop flavor, that is if you can choose just one out of the 500 flavors they have. In our opinion it is definitely just an Oklahoma Route 66 icon, but at least we can now say we’ve been there done that…but probably won’t do it again.

Darya and Hannah, not sure what the big deal is about the sign?

Anything Battered & Deep Fried Can't Be All That Bad, Huh?

What do you think about Frogs? It is no surprise to anyone who knows me that frogs scare me to death! In fact, just recently I had a full fledged nightmare, woke up screaming and heart racing as if I was being chased in some horror flick by the villain, when in fact it was a big mastiff dog lying on top of me with a frog in his mouth and the frog was touching my face! Wait, I just had to shake the chills off again! I know you are probably thinking I am a wimp. True, but I think we took care of that fact right off the bat with my blog title! But here is a large, massive, symmetrical dog that was used by Caesar to fight alongside British soldiers and even with human gladiators and I’m worried about a little frog? Yes, absolutely yes! Spiders? No problem, but frogs gross me out, they are nasty, slimy, and they jump! Not to mention they have a sticky tongue that flips in and out with great speed! I John says that fear involves torment (4:18) and believe me, I was being tormented by that mastiff with a frog in his mouth!

Now to really confuse you, I have eaten frog legs! Only once though and only because they were on a buffet, which means I really did not order them. Plus, I was doing my best to face my fears, actually it was good old “you ain’t an Okie until you’ve tried frog legs” peer pressure. At that moment I seriously thought about changing states, but I figured anything battered and deep fried couldn’t be all that bad. To this day, I can’t believe I even sunk my teeth into a frog! Ewww. Truthfully it wasn’t that bad it did taste a lot like chicken and I can wear that badge of accomplishment! So I thought it would be fun to share that experience with the kids over our fall break.

Upon announcement that their dad and I were taking them to The Hungry Frog Restaurant for them to try frog legs, they begin to bend and twist in ways I didn’t know they could! For a moment I thought I might be able to take them to Vegas to star in a show! Jayden announced, “Mom, you are confusing me!” I asked, “Why?” He boldly stated, “Because you hate frogs!” I told him, “but these frogs are okay, because they were a special breed and fed only the best of flies and insects and therefore very tasty! Just for the record, I don’t see the difference between a frog and a toad; to me they are all basically the same creature.

It was a lot of fun! No, we didn’t make them eat real frog legs, but it was fun watching them think they were going to! They opted for the cow instead! In my research to keep my enemies closer I learned that some frogs emit toxins that can be used as natural painkillers and others have chemicals that have shown promise in fighting HIV! I think these frogs should be rounded up and protected somewhere, like a big green frog farm. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see medical science make some sort of breakthrough in fighting disease using frogs! If these frogs show promise; I say – breed them and let them live, but let them live far, far away from me.

I am so thankful that there is nothing too silly or crazy, that I can not cover in prayer. After all Exodus 8:8 says, “Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me”. I know it is crazy, that I fear frogs, when I serve the God who created them! After all, God does not give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7) It also says there is no fear in love, that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) and guess what? I am perfectly loved by my Father above, who in my weaknesses He is strong. The only FROG I like other than Kermit is the one I seen in Mardel’s that said “Fully Rely On God”…I think I will do that!