I only eat red meat occasionally, except when I'm getting ready to donate platelets. Then I go on a 2-week binge to get my iron up. I have sickle cell--the trait, not the disease. I'll thankfully never get the disease because it's only on my dad's side of the family. But my mom has naturally low iron, so it's a double-whammy, and therefore my iron is really low. I don't like needles, but giving blood is good for you and platelets are always in high demand because they only last 5 days. If the blood people had their way I would be there weekly. No chance on that one, mainly because I'd have to live on iron pills and I don't want to do that. Oh and the needle is in your arm for about 2 hours. So I go every 2 months, and for the 2 weeks leading up to donation I take the pills, and eat lots of red meat, oatmeal, shrimp, and green leafy vegetables. The part that stinks is there's no home test for iron levels, and I have to drive to OKC or Tulsa. So I drive an hour, having no idea if I've made the cut. And if you get denied, you can't try again for another 24 hours. I've been denied for being one point too low. So annoying.
My next appointment is tomorrow, so I've been binging hard. Once it's over, I'll cut way back on the red meat for another 6 weeks. Last week I had a lunch appointment with a club seat holder who lives near Yukon, OK. This was a first, and my first trip to Yukon. It's about 30 miles west of OKC. We went back and forth on options, and finally decided on The Miller Grill. It looked like a total dive, which was perfect for me. I love places like that. So much character, and the food is usually awesome and often homemade, and it's normally locally owned.
Yukon is a cute little town, about half the size of Stillwater. That means I could never live there, even though it's closer to OKC. I decided after I moved here that I would never go smaller...and I'm sticking to that.
The restaurant is in a strip mall behind the flour factory
You definitely can't miss the factory! It is massive. Once you turn into the strip mall you also can't miss The Miller Grill, with its distinctive windowsYukon is a cute little town, about half the size of Stillwater. That means I could never live there, even though it's closer to OKC. I decided after I moved here that I would never go smaller...and I'm sticking to that.
The restaurant is in a strip mall behind the flour factory
The menu isn't that big. They've got sandwiches, burgers, entrees, just one salad, a couple of specials, and appetizers. Our server asked if we wanted an appetizer. We were going to say no, and then I saw the onion ring tower. I'm a sucker for those
These were so delicious. And massive. I bet each tower is a whole large onion. The breading was light and extra crispy, and the onions were perfectly cooked. We each had 2 and that was more than enough.
As we ate the onion rings, we perused the rest of the menu. Craig went with the brunch BLT, but took off the avocados. Who does that?! He did his egg over hard so it wouldn't be runny at all
He said it was really good. Before we started he said he wasn't that hungry. But I noticed that he proceeded to eat the entire thing.
I checked out the entire menu, but ended up in the burger section. The Kitchen Sink caught my eye, but I definitely did NOT need 2 burger patties. So I asked her to do it with just one. I added avocado to mine, and did my egg between over easy and medium. The burger comes with fries. I considered fried okra, but when I saw that the fries are hand-cut, I knew I had to go with them instead
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| Thick-cut bacon, fried egg, melted cheese |
When we arrived it was the heart of the lunch rush so the place was packed. But by the time we were done we were almost the only ones left. Eventually Craig left and I stayed behind to take a few notes and pictures.
As I was taking pictures, a guy asked if I was getting what I needed, and I said yes. Turns out, he's Jason, the owner of the restaurant, and we ended up talking for a while. Great guy. I told him about my initial Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives thought. Lo and behold, they're working on that very thing! They were also featured on Discover Oklahoma recently (episode #1018). Apparently they get random journalists coming in to take "official" pictures, which is why he asked the way he did. But just like at the farmer's market in Dallas, once I explained what I did he was good with it.
He asked what I had to eat, and when I told him he said "that's not even our best stuff". Well, if what I had wasn't even their best, I can't wait to go back! One of their signature items, randomly enough, is the Indian Taco
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| Photo courtesy of The Miller Grill |
They do serve breakfast, but currently only on the weekends. People must have been asking/complaining, because they recently posted about it on their Facebook page.
To make things even better, The Miller Grill is a part of the Keep It Local OK program. You buy a card for $10 per year, and there are hundreds of restaurants, shops and services in the OKC metro, Norman and Tulsa that participate. Nothing in Stillwater yet, but I hope that changes soon. Most of the restaurants are 10% off the bill. So I saved the school a little money.
Will I go back? No question. Even though I don't have any reason whatsoever to go to Yukon any time in the near future, this place alone is worth a special trip. Our server was great, I really enjoyed spending a little time with the owner, and the food was outstanding.
