Back in January I started going out to visit with club seat holders. We do a great job of stewardship with our top say 150 donors, but probably not the best job with the others. When I developed the plan and told my boss about it I was kind of prepared for some pushback, but he has been nothing but supportive. I got to visit with our customers on their turf and outside of gameday, and it got me out of the office. The first couple months I was spending one day a week in Tulsa, one day a week in OKC. I eventually added Enid and Stillwater as well. I met with about 40 accounts this year, and I'll do it each year between January - June.
Last week was the final visits for the year. I only had a few scheduled, and one of the days was in OKC. I didn’t have a lunch meeting planned, so I went onto restaurant.com to see if I could find a certificate to use near where my appointments were. I came across La Buena Gusto and it had gotten great reviews, and so I decided to go there. On the restaurant.com site it said the place was open every day. Nope. Come to find out they’re closed on Mondays. I was so bummed, and super hungry. So I got back online to hopefully find another place nearby. And that’s when I came across La Oaxaquena.
Both restaurants are on SW 29th, in a very Hispanic area of OKC, essentially on Capitol Hill. Pretty much everything on that road for a several-mile stretch is Hispanic owned and operated.
I arrived just after 11AM, and when I walked in it was just staff inside. The first thing I noticed was a huge display of baked goods
They looked and smelled awesome, but I needed real food. I also saw people coming in pretty steadily buying big bags of bread and rolls. I’m guessing they provide for several of the other restaurants in the area. And that’s exactly the way it should be done in your local community. Everyone helping everyone else.
I was seated, and given a menu. And the entire thing was in Spanish. Not a single English word in sight. Thankfully they also have pictures of all the entrees, otherwise I would have had no idea. Even with the photos, I still needed some translation. I last took Spanish back in 8th grade, and thankfully a few of the words stuck.
As I was translating and looking at the photos, my server brought chips, queso and salsa
The chips were nice and warm, thin and crispy, and delicious. The red salsa had a serious kick and burned my throat, but was very good. So much flavor. The queso was warm and creamy, but not heavy. I mixed the 2 together and was in heaven.
I eventually decided on fajitas. I often do that the first time I eat at a Mexican restaurant. I figure if they can do those well, everything else would be good too. Also, I wasn’t sure how ingredients on a couple other dishes translated, and I didn’t want any surprises.
The fajitas were outstanding, some of the best I've ever had. Huge pieces of meat and veggies, seasoned extremely well. The corn tortillas were homemade and very good, and served scorching hot. I ended up only eating 2, and then ate the rest of the fajitas with a fork. The rice was pretty good, and the beans were delicious. The guacamole was freshly made and excellent.
The couple at the table next to me had gotten 2 bottles of sauce, so of course I asked for some
The red sauce was significantly spicier. They were both good, but I think I liked the green sauce better. It was pretty close though.
When I first started using restaurant.com I printed out the certificates. Then I realized I could just pull them up on my phone and the server could validate them that way. So that’s what I did for this place. However, the manager said they had to have the printed page. Bummer. Oh well, it was only $5, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Good thing is, I can use the certificate next time I’m down there. Note to self: when the restaurant is a tiny, local one like this one is, make sure to print it out.
Will I go back? No question. The food was authentic and homemade. My server wasn’t that friendly, but she was efficient and did a good job. And I have that gift certificate to use. And, maybe most importantly, since I refrained from the bakery the first visit, I’ve definitely got to try something next time.
