Capitol Hill

I'm going to post my first review not on a specific restaurant, but on a district of restaurants. Capitol Hill is located in Oklahoma City south of I-40 between Shields and Western on SW 25th. Home of the Oklahoma Opry, several pawn shops, many a Hispanic mercado, tortillarilla, shady after hours watering holes, and a handful of the most interesting and unique restaurants in the city.

Every time I escort someone new into this area of town they become a little uneasy. You must drive through low income neighborhoods, very rarely see signs in English, tentatively steer around patrons waiting in line outside the Department of Human Services, and usually have to end up parking on a curb across from a shady looking tire barn to get to your end destination. Often times these lower income Hispanic communities get a bad rap from those living the life of luxury. The people are friendly, the culture is dynamic, and the food is tasty!

First stop, Jamie's Grill.
Jamie's is a little diner very reminiscent of the kind of place you would find in rural Tennessee. No wonder, these guys are FROM Tennessee. Jamie's has historical pictures all around of what life was like back when Capitol Hill was a bustling metropolis of some sort, antiques, a distinct musky smell that reminds you of your grandmothers basement, and food that you will be hard pressed to find an equal to in the metro area. Jamie has your typical diner food, fat juicy burgers, hand cut fries, thick cut chicken fried steak, hand battered onion rings, fried catfish, and ridiculously portioned homemade pies. What I respect most about Jamie's is they have an item I have not been able to find anywhere else in Oklahoma, fried bologna. Not only do they have fried bologna, but they have what they call the redneck club sandwich which replaces the deli style turkey meat with thick slices of fried bologna. Amazing. Before you go nuts and eat here every day you should read this post on the Daily Genesis and remember to always eat fried bologna in moderation.

Just down the road from Jamie's you can find the historical Coney Island hot dog joint where you can enjoy hot dogs, chili, Greek spaghetti, and various combinations of these ingredients combined. My kids love this place on a Saturday afternoon. Yeah, there are better hot dogs in town, but you can't replicate this type of ambiance, especially this close to a Volkswagen parts store and plethora of pawn shops which I happen to try to frequent on Saturday's.

Around the corner you will find a very authentic Mexican restaurant, Max Pollo. This gives me a great opportunity to gripe about "authentic Mexican restaurant's". I hate it when someone says, "Oh this place is crazy authentic" and then you go in and its got flour tortilla tacos, yellow cheese and chili dripping off everything, bad Hispanic music, and its full of white guys daring each other to squirt the habenero sauce on their chips. Max Pollo is authentic. Usually I'm the only white guy in there for one, the waitresses struggle to communicate in English at all, its impossible to get into if there is a soccer game on tv, and flour tortillas are used properly. Just look at this article and tell me that chicken doesn't look tasty. No clue what the article says, but the chicken looks tasty. I normally get the "Max Pollo", their specialty, but they have fantastic tilapia dishes, shrimp cocktails chock full of bits of octopus, shrimp ceviche ("cooked" in lime juice), fish tacos that are out of this world, and loads of other seafood dishes that I haven't braved yet. This is not the place to go if you are craving a burrito or chili con carne. However, if you are a little adventurous and don't mind not always being sure what you just ordered, this place will provide you with tasty surprises. (and they also bring chips and some sort of yellow cheese type dip for all us gringos to snack on while they cook up your entrees)

Capitol Hill provides loads of culinary adventures that can keep your palate entertained for weeks. Enjoy a redneck club, roasted mexican chicken, stop at the paleta store and have a fresh paleta (mexican popsicle....tasty), or stop the ice cream man who still pushes around a little ice cream cart around the local neighborhoods. Get over your fear of a culture different than yours and go taste Capitol Hill.