A year of food triumphs? Recapping Oklahoma culinary recognition in 2023
It’s been a crazy year in food accolades for Oklahoma, with restaurants having been named to national lists by the likes of Yelp, Southern Living, Bon Appétit and more.
Throughout 2023 Oklahoma has received growing recognition for it’s food, including a record 10 James Beard Semifinalists. Oklahoma City was also named a top city for both tacos and “local food,” according to Clever and Taste Atlas, respectively.
What other food honors were bestowed upon restaurants and chefs across the state this year? Here’s a rundown of some of the lists and awards Oklahoma earned. Have you been to these restaurants? Do you agree with the lists and awards?
James Beard honorees and Best Chef Winner
With five Oklahoma restaurants being named as James Beard Semifinalists, Oklahoma started the year on a roll.
h Outstanding Restaurateur: Johnna Hayes and Debra Zinke, 3 Sirens Restaurant Group - Tulsa h Best New Restauarant: Et Al. - Tulsa h Outstanding Hospitality: SMOKE. Woodfire Grill - Tulsa
h Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: FRIDA Southwest h Outstanding Bar: American Solera - Tulsa In addition to the restaurants nominated, five Oklahoma chefs were named semifinalists for Best Chef: Southwest — Ben Alexander of Mr. Kims, Lisa Becklund of FarmBar and Paul Wilson of Sans Murs, all in Tulsa; and Andrew Black of Grey Sweater and Jeff Chanchaleune of Ma Der Lao Kitchen in Oklahoma City. Black and Chanchaleune would go on to be named finalists, with Black ultimately winning the award.
While Black and Chanchaleune were the only finalists and Black was the only winner, all of the restaurants and chefs are worth visiting.
Best tacos, according to Yelp
When Yelp released a list of Top 100 Taco Spots in the U.S., not one but three Oklahoma restaurants were honored.
918 Maples Tacos & Cantina, 317 S Trenton Ave. in Tulsa., ranked highest of the Oklahoma places on the list with a 4.9 star average rating. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Taco Nation, 1741 Wheeler Street, also made the list, ranking No. 57 overall, began as a a food bus, eventually transitioning to a brick-and-mortar offering a variety of signature tacos such as The Okie, Surf N’ Turf, and Artichoke among others. It’s open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
The final Oklahoma taco shop, rounding out the list at No. 100 was Sandy’s Tacos, 1902 N Grand Ave., in Enid. Sandy’s is a small spot selling birria tacos, street tacos and more, Sandy’s that has earned a 4.8 rating on Yelp with customers raving about the food and freshly made drinks — horchata and other aguas frescas. It is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Even more Yelp acclaim
Beyond Oklahoma’s tacos, two Oklahoma City restaurants found themselves in the top 10 of other lists curated by the online platform, with one even taking the No. 1 spot.
Cafe Kacao, 3325 N Classen Blvd, was ranked the top spot in the nation for Mother’s Day brunch according to the website. Two other Oklahoma Cityarea locations made that list of Top 100 Brunch Spots, including No. 83, El Huevo Mexi-Diner, 3522 24th Ave NW in Norman and No. 100, The Jones Assembly, 901 W Sheridan Ave.
Also making it into Yelp’s good graces and claiming the No. 6 spot on a list of the nation’s best “mom and pop” restaurants compiled by the website in conjunction with Entrepreneur was Anton’s Craft Kitchen, 2610 Memorial Road. Anton’s was the only Oklahoma restaurant to make the list of 15 chosen from across the nation.
From the (web) pages of Southern Living to Reader’s Digest
The folks at Reader’s Digest came to town and decided that of all the diners in all the states, Oklahoma’s own Sid’s Diner, 300 S Choctaw Ave. in El Reno, was among America’s “most iconic.” The third-generation family-owned operation is also the location credited with the invention of Oklahoma’s famous on
Veronica Del Cid prepares Guatemalan-style tamales at Cafe Kacao in Oklahoma City. JIM BECKEL/ ion burgers.
Meanwhile, Southern Living put out two lists that featured Oklahoma restaurants this year.
The first was their list of the South’s Most Legendary Steakhouses. Only one Oklahoma restaurant made that list and if you guessed it was Cattlemen’s, you guessed correctly. Cattlemen’s, 1309 S Agnew Ave., Oklahoma City’s oldest continuously operating restaurant, came in at No. 3 on the list.
Another Oklahoma restaurant, Natv, 1611 S Main Street in Broken Arrow, made the Southern Living list of Best New Restaurants, highlighted for its “new takes on Indigenous ingredients that have been true to the region for thousands of years.”
Bon Appétit’s best new restaurants
No stranger to best new restaurant recognition, in 2018, Bon Appétit named Oklahoma City restaurant nonesuch, 803 N Hudson Ave., the best new restaurant in America. In 2022, it named Ma Der Lao Kitchen, 1634 N Blackwelder Ave., Ste. 102, to it’s top 50.
This year, the top 24 includes yet another Oklahoma City restaurant in Sedalia’s, 2727 NW 10th Street.
Sedalia’s made its way onto the list by surprising writers at Bon Appétit with its masterful use of seafood.
“The handwritten menu highlights a lively, oftchanging selection,” writes Jennifer Hope Choi, of Bon Appétit. “Always present is a raw bar that rivals those on either coast. The restaurant’s location, near a limo party bus company and a lumber store, is one of many surprises you’ll encounter on a visit. Perhaps most unexpected of them all? Yes, outstanding seafood can be had in a landlocked state.”