Day 3 – Oklahoma City, Navigation Mishaps and Steak Instead of BBQ

Day 3 saw us leave Dallas and head north to Oklahoma City for our first interstate run of the trip. The drive up Interstate 35 was supposed to take about three hours.

Thanks to a navigation error from Mikey, it took slightly longer. Somewhere along the way we found ourselves doing an unplanned sightseeing tour through central Oklahoma City before eventually arriving at our intended destination.

We’ll call it a scenic detour.

Our first stop was Clark Crew BBQ, one of Oklahoma’s most highly regarded barbecue joints. Clark Crew started out on the competition barbecue circuit and has won hundreds of awards, including national championships and Team of the Year honours. They’re famous for competition-style brisket, ribs and burnt ends, and after tasting the goods, it’s pretty easy to see why they’ve built such a reputation. Clark Crew BBQ.

Following lunch, we headed to the Comfort Inn in Bricktown and dropped off the luggage before catching the shuttle into the entertainment district.

Unfortunately, Bricktown was a little quieter than we expected. Maybe we picked the wrong day, maybe we were spoiled by Texas, but after a quick wander we decided there wasn’t enough happening to keep us entertained.

Plan B was activated.

An Uber ride later, we found ourselves in Stockyards City, which was much more our style. Oklahoma City’s Stockyards district is one of the last remaining working cattle market districts in the United States and still has a proper Old West feel to it.

The highlight was a visit to Shorty’s Caboy Hattery. Founded by Lavonna “Shorty” Koger in 1990, Shorty’s is famous throughout the western world for its custom-made cowboy hats. In fact, it was the first woman-owned custom hattery in the United States and today ships handcrafted hats all over the world, including Australia. Walking into the shop felt like stepping straight into a western movie. If you can’t find a cowboy hat there, it probably doesn’t exist. (Shorty’s Caboy Hattery)

Now, dinner was supposed to be another barbecue adventure.

The plan was Oklahoma Smoke.

The problem was Oklahoma Smoke only opens for lunch.

This minor detail somehow escaped Alan's extensive planning process.

After accepting defeat and enduring a reasonable amount of ridicule, we pivoted to Plan C and headed to Cattlemen's Steakhouse.

As it turns out, it was one of the better mistakes of the trip.

Cattlemen's has been operating since 1910 and is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Oklahoma. Legend has it that one of the original owners won the restaurant in a dice game for the princely sum of $600. True or not, it's a great story, and the place is packed with history, old photos, and enough character to fill a museum.

Our waitress Melissa was an absolute superstar. She kept the beers flowing, the margaritas arriving, and convinced us to try one of the restaurant's famous local delicacies: lamb fries.

Now, for those who don't know, "lamb fries" sounds far more innocent than it is. They're Oklahoma's version of Rocky Mountain oysters, and if you're still not sure what that means, let's just say they don't come from anywhere near the lamb's rib cage.

Despite some suspicion around the table, we decided to give them a crack.

Funny enough, they were actually pretty good.

Crispy, tender, and surprisingly tasty, they disappeared much faster than any of us expected. Nobody's rushing home to add them to the weekly shopping list, but we're all glad we tried them.

The beers were cheap and plentiful, the margaritas were first class, and although we'd missed out on barbecue, the charcoal-grilled steaks more than made up for it.

Mikey, Liddy and I tucked into beautiful steaks while Rowena ordered a Hamburger, which vanished just as quickly.

Good food, good drinks and plenty of laughs made for a terrific night. Cattlemen’s Steakhouse.

Eventually we wandered back to the hotel where the evening’s serious business began: the inaugural Canasta championship.

After a fiercely contested opening round, honours were shared. Alan and Rowena claimed one victory, while Mikey and Liddy took the other.

With scores level and plenty of bragging rights still up for grabs, the tournament remains wide open.

Tomorrow is a full day in Oklahoma City. There’ll be walking, shopping, eating and, if recent form is anything to go by, probably another questionable decision or two.

See y’all tomorrow.👋