When I began this blog 3 1/2 years ago, I was such a creature of habit...eating at the same restaurants, ordering the same dishes, and cooking the same food. So I began the blog to force me out of my comfort zone. The goal was 100 brand new restaurants in 18 months. I eventually added repeat restaurants and new recipes too. It took about a year to hit 100 new restaurants, and by that time I was hooked and had no intention of stopping. About 10 months ago I started working on my social media presence, joined a blogger group, and got more active with sharing posts. I still have a really long way to go to get my blog where I want it to be though. It's hard, because blogging is part-time for me, and my full-time job makes it really difficult to keep up between August - December. But I'm working on it.
So why is all of this important? Well, this post is #200!! I am really excited about that.
So why is all of this important? Well, this post is #200!! I am really excited about that.
When I hit #100 I was in Kansas City, and it was a breakfast place. It was okay, but not worth its place on the list. Couldn't let that happen again. It timed out perfectly that my friend Dick was in town, and wanted to go to dinner. He's our rep for our football and basketball tickets and, more importantly, is a great friend. Usually we'll go somewhere in Stillwater, but there are so many more options in OKC, and since he was staying near the airport we settled on Cattlemen's Steakhouse.
Anyone who has lived in Oklahoma for any length of time has certainly heard of Cattlemen's. It's located in the Stockyards City district, southwest of downtown OKC. Oh, and it just happens to be the oldest restaurant in Oklahoma, opening in 1910. In 1945, then-owner Hank Frey lost the restaurant to the current owner in a game of craps!
The restaurant started as Cattlemen's Cafe, and literally was a diner, with counter seating as well as tables. The main dining room was added over time, and is packed to the brim with booth seating. There's a waiting area upstairs, that I'm guessing they use for private parties. There's a small bar up there, along with about 20 short cocktail tables and a few TV's. I really like that they left the original Cattlemen's Cafe sign outside the restaurant, and didn't mess with the look of the cafe side.
The restaurant opens at 6AM daily, which is honestly kind of surprising for a steakhouse. But it's keeping with the original cafe theme. I was surprised at how crowded it was for a Monday night. They don't take reservations, but our wait was only about 20 minutes.
So, in the South they eat lamb fries and calf fries. No, they are not fries at all. They are the testicles. The first time I heard that was years ago when I first moved here, and I pretty much refused to eat them. But in the spirit of food blog research, I gave in and we started with the lamb fries
I took a deep breath before tasting...these were delicious! And super tender. I believe slicing them thinly did that, so they need much less time to cook. The cocktail sauce was outstanding, and tasted extremely fresh. I actually had to stop myself from eating these. Never thought I would ever say that.
Entrees come with a salads. I got the house dressing, which is like a creamy garlic ranch.
I usually ask for dressing on the side, but clearly forgot. But I'm glad I did, because I like the presentation with the spice on top. That's something I haven't seen before. The salad was crisp and cold, and the dressing was very good.
When the salads came to the table, we also got croutons and crackers
Never in my life have I seen croutons this big. It's different and unique. But I have to say, I I like the presentation. And they were freshly made, which is a huge bonus.
The rolls were okay, but they would have been better if served warm. Dick asked for honey, which I never think of, and it adds such great flavor to dinner rolls. I only ate part of mine, because I wanted to save room for dinner.
Each entree comes with baked potato as a side, but you can swap out a few others or pay a little extra for "premium" sides. We got onion rings, mushrooms, and mac & cheese
The onion rings were just okay. They weren't as hot as I would have liked them, and I prefer breaded over beer battered. But they did have good flavor.
These mushrooms don't look so pretty, but they were fantastic. Perfectly cooked, hot, and tons of flavor. I really enjoyed these.
I can't say enough good about this mac & cheese. It was scorching hot, ooey gooey, several different kinds of cheese, great spices, and a wonderful milk sauce. Very often I'm disappointed by restaurant mac & cheese because I make a really good one myself, but this is one is officially one of my favorites. I probably could have eaten the entire bowl had it not been for the other food. Absolutely amazing.
Dick got the t-bone
This is such a huge piece of meat! He did some damage, and somehow convinced me to take the rest home.
I got the ribeye, by far my favorite cut of meat
Fantastic. Cooked to a perfect medium, tender, juicy, and the au jus had amazing flavor. I only made it through about half mine. So between the rest of my ribeye and the rest of the t-bone, I have steak for another week.
Will I go back? No question. The food was wonderful, and I would love to try this place out at lunch or even breakfast.
Anyone who has lived in Oklahoma for any length of time has certainly heard of Cattlemen's. It's located in the Stockyards City district, southwest of downtown OKC. Oh, and it just happens to be the oldest restaurant in Oklahoma, opening in 1910. In 1945, then-owner Hank Frey lost the restaurant to the current owner in a game of craps!
The restaurant started as Cattlemen's Cafe, and literally was a diner, with counter seating as well as tables. The main dining room was added over time, and is packed to the brim with booth seating. There's a waiting area upstairs, that I'm guessing they use for private parties. There's a small bar up there, along with about 20 short cocktail tables and a few TV's. I really like that they left the original Cattlemen's Cafe sign outside the restaurant, and didn't mess with the look of the cafe side.
The restaurant opens at 6AM daily, which is honestly kind of surprising for a steakhouse. But it's keeping with the original cafe theme. I was surprised at how crowded it was for a Monday night. They don't take reservations, but our wait was only about 20 minutes.
So, in the South they eat lamb fries and calf fries. No, they are not fries at all. They are the testicles. The first time I heard that was years ago when I first moved here, and I pretty much refused to eat them. But in the spirit of food blog research, I gave in and we started with the lamb fries
I took a deep breath before tasting...these were delicious! And super tender. I believe slicing them thinly did that, so they need much less time to cook. The cocktail sauce was outstanding, and tasted extremely fresh. I actually had to stop myself from eating these. Never thought I would ever say that.
Entrees come with a salads. I got the house dressing, which is like a creamy garlic ranch.
I usually ask for dressing on the side, but clearly forgot. But I'm glad I did, because I like the presentation with the spice on top. That's something I haven't seen before. The salad was crisp and cold, and the dressing was very good.
When the salads came to the table, we also got croutons and crackers
Never in my life have I seen croutons this big. It's different and unique. But I have to say, I I like the presentation. And they were freshly made, which is a huge bonus.
The rolls were okay, but they would have been better if served warm. Dick asked for honey, which I never think of, and it adds such great flavor to dinner rolls. I only ate part of mine, because I wanted to save room for dinner.
Each entree comes with baked potato as a side, but you can swap out a few others or pay a little extra for "premium" sides. We got onion rings, mushrooms, and mac & cheese
The onion rings were just okay. They weren't as hot as I would have liked them, and I prefer breaded over beer battered. But they did have good flavor.
These mushrooms don't look so pretty, but they were fantastic. Perfectly cooked, hot, and tons of flavor. I really enjoyed these.
I can't say enough good about this mac & cheese. It was scorching hot, ooey gooey, several different kinds of cheese, great spices, and a wonderful milk sauce. Very often I'm disappointed by restaurant mac & cheese because I make a really good one myself, but this is one is officially one of my favorites. I probably could have eaten the entire bowl had it not been for the other food. Absolutely amazing.
Dick got the t-bone
This is such a huge piece of meat! He did some damage, and somehow convinced me to take the rest home.
I got the ribeye, by far my favorite cut of meat
Fantastic. Cooked to a perfect medium, tender, juicy, and the au jus had amazing flavor. I only made it through about half mine. So between the rest of my ribeye and the rest of the t-bone, I have steak for another week.
Will I go back? No question. The food was wonderful, and I would love to try this place out at lunch or even breakfast.
Shared on
