Repeats with a Twist - The Garage, Stillwater OK

One of my favorite new restaurant finds in Stillwater is The Garage. It's located across the street from campus. When I moved here it was store that sold OSU memorabilia, but years and years ago it was a bar. Stillwater has a rule that establishments closer than 100 yards from campus cannot sell alcohol, but this place got a waiver because they have a full bar. My conspiracy theory is that it's silently owned by Eskimo Joe's, right down the street and one of the most popular restaurants in all of Stillwater. It makes sense, because The Garage is basically direct competition with a similar menu and even closer to campus. Or, the physical building was grandfathered in since it was originally a bar. Either way, I'm very happy it's here.

At The Garage, you order at the counter and they bring your food to you. Joni isn't a fan of this type of fast-casual restaurant. So when we found out that Joni and Tony wouldn't be coming to the TCU football game last week, my first thought was "perfect opportunity to eat there". We had eaten here once before. 

The restaurant is pretty big, with a snake line as you enter. You order at the counter, find a table, and then they bring your food to you. From what I've seen people do follow that rule. It's just the right thing to do. After we were seated they were out of available tables so they held up the order line until tables opened. I like that too, so that you don't run the risk of getting your food without a place to sit. The wait wasn't long, as tables were opening up about 5 minutes later. The dining room is a combination of 4-top tables, bar-height tables, and booths in the way back. There's a large bar in the center of the building. 

Water and soft drinks are self-serve at the end of the cashier, as are cutlery and napkins. If you want something from the bar, your server can get that for you. The only down side to that is you have to start a new tab to order drinks. But it's really not a huge deal.

A couple games ago, Keith turned me on to a drink called Not Your Father's Root Beer, made in Wisconsin. I was super excited to see it as a featured fall beer, so of course I had to get one

If you like root beer, you'll love this one. I've never been much of a root beer fan, but I do like this one. It is pretty sweet though. It's also got a kick, one that sneaks up on you.

Last time we had the sriracha slaw. It was delicious, but crazy spicy. Our server mentioned that the original was her favorite, so we went with that one this time

Still amazing, but this time with no spice. Really, really delicious. 

We had the garlic parmesan fries and Tijuana fries (with grilled jalapenos & onions) on our last visit, so this time we went with the regular fries and the sweet potato fries. 

The regular fries are really good. It's a generous serving, and they came to the table super hot. They weren't as crispy on the outside as I like them, but that's okay.

The sweet potato fries came out cold. I mean, it tasted like they had been in the fridge. I've never had anything like it. I'll push through with fries that aren't really hot, but no way we were eating those. We tracked down the server, who got the manager. She brought out another batch, Bob tried one, and said they still weren't up to par. About 5 minutes later we got a 3rd serving, this time straight out of the oil. Now that's the way the fries should be. In hindsight, I should have had the manager taste one of the original serving. Because when I said it was cold, she probably assumed we meant they just weren't hot. Oh well, too late now...and she fixed the problem so we were happy.

I really like that with any burger you can choose your protein. They've got Angus beef, turkey, smoked turkey, garden burger, and bison. I tasted a bite of Bob's bison burger last time and it was delicious, so I went with it this time. 

Bob got the bacon avocado ranch

Ranch, lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon, Swiss, avocado, and MORE ranch

I didn't taste it, but he said it was delicious. 

I did the egg-o-nater. I didn't have breakfast, so this burger covered both meals in one bite.

Mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon, egg, American cheese

This was fantastic. Bison meat is so much leaner than regular beef. Of course I killed that with all the toppings, but that's a whole other story. I added grilled onions, which only enhanced the flavor. I believe you could easily eliminate the mayo and cheese to save calories without sacrificing any flavor. The one down side is the bottom of the bun got really soggy as I ate. Halfway through I gave up, got some cutlery, and ate the rest without the bread.

Yes, of course I will continue to eat here. There are a lot of other things on the menu to try. We've only tipped the iceberg with burgers, and haven't even tried the sandwiches or tacos. Plus, I love the atmosphere. And I think I've even convinced Joni to give it a shot. So that we will do.