Caffe Pranzo (Closed)

9622 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

Caffe Pranzo

I have been told by some owners of Italian restaurants that there is no such thing as “Italian food,” but rather that each region in Italy has developed its own cuisine with certain specialties that seem to set it apart from other parts of the country. Perhaps this is why each Italian restaurant in the U.S. seems to have its own special dishes, its own twist on the food it serves, and its own way of preparing sauces and other essential ingredients.

Caffé Pranzo does indeed have certain dishes that stand out, and this is what has made it one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The quality of the food indicates that there are probably several more outstanding dishes that I have yet to discover.

Prices are a little higher than at most restaurants, and it would probably be classified as one of the city’s “special occasion” restaurants (although not to the point that dressing up would be necessary, especially since a sign in the restaurant says that it is a “neighborhood restaurant”). While some Italian restaurants in town seem to cater more toward families with pizza for the bambini and entrées for the adults, Caffé Pranzo is a more quiet and intimate place geared for a leisurely meal.

Salads and Appetizers

Complimentary bread

It usually takes time for the meal to be prepared, with the employees keeping a watchful eye to ensure that everything is done correctly. The wait is made less burdensome by fresh bread and a tangy and quite unique olive oil mixture for dipping. Customers are not just given a slice or two of bread, but a whole loaf, and it is quite good.

House salad with raspberry vinaigrette

Several salads can be ordered, but I thought the House Salad that is available with entrées was just about perfect, with fresh salad greens, olives, and a tangy dressing. This is definitely one of the restaurant’s better features. It was even better, though, with the optional raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and in fact I think this is the best raspberry vinaigrette in OKC.

French onion soup

Several other appetizers are available, and the French onion soup is one of the most popular (and I think also quite good).

Pasta Dishes

“Choose Your Own Pasta” with linguini and marinara sauce

The first dish I tried that grabbed my attention was Linguini with Marinara Sauce. This not only had an excellent plum tomato sauce but also a pasta that was flavorful in its own right. The sauce was spicy almost to the point that I wanted to give it a “chile rating” (that I usually use for Mexican food). It was also on the sweet side, but the thing that made it special seemed to be the tomatoes. Other sauces are also available but I seldom try them, I like this one so much.

The Lasagna had a fairly high tomato sauce to pasta ratio, and some flavorful chunks of Italian sausage. As has been the case with several of Caffé Pranzo’s dishes, the pasta seemed to be of better than usual quality.

Pizza

Margherita pizza

I have had mixed results with the brick oven pizzas at Caffé Pranzo. At times I have found the Margherita Pizza to be outstanding, possibly the best in OKC. This was definitely a fresh tasting pizza with the crust tasting just right. On other occasions I ordered the same pizza but found the crust to be droopy, and not crispy enough. The fresh basil has always been one of the best features, but at times there is not enough tomato. Overall, though, this is one of my favorite versions of this type of pizza.

Parmigiana Dishes

Chicken parmigiana

The Chicken Parmigiana had a high quality cut of chicken with one of the best breadings anywhere, and was covered with cheese and marinara sauce. Having sampled several versions of this dish at different restaurants, I thought this was one of the better ones. Having stated that this is a restaurant where several items stand out as ones I particularly like, I would have to put the chicken parmigiana at the head of the list.

Eggplant parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana is another inconsistent item, but at times it has been excellent. At times I have found the breading, sauce, and cheese to have the same excellent quality that I found with the chicken parmigiana. Other times the breading has been too oily. The eggplant itself has always been good.

Ravioli

Fried ravioli

The Ravioli was a rather unique dish because the shells are specially prepared by a lady in town who supplies them to Caffé Pranzo. This is a rather simple dish with the shells and sauce, but I thought the shells were very good (with cheese inside), and were the main reason to try them here as opposed to other restaurants. It is a simple dish with simple flavors, but the freshness and quality are very good.

Primavera Aglio Olio

Primavera aglio olio

In an attempt to try something different I ordered the Primavera Aglio Olio (actually this was the first time I had ever tried this dish). The good part of this dish was the vegetables and pasta, but I thought it was very strong on garlic and olive oil (perhaps too much so). This is a vegetarian dish and I would recommend it, but several other meatless dishes seemed to have a better flavor, such as the pizza, linguini, and ravioli.

Chicken Cannelloni

Chicken cannelloni (split in half)

This photo shows an order of Cannelloni split in half, so the full order is quite a bit more substantial. The wilted spinach salad makes an especially appetizing vegetable. The sauce on the cannelloni is also among the best I have tried.

Manicotti
The main disappointment I have had was with an order of Manicotti, and it also seems to have now been dropped from the menu. My dinner was not hot throughout, leading to the conclusion that it had been frozen or refrigerated, and not heated properly before serving. My dining companion did not want to send it back to the kitchen, and it was not cold to the point that it was inedible, but it was nevertheless strange that it would come out this way.

The manicotti came with a choice of sauces (marinara or alfredo) or a mixture of both. This provided a convenient way to test both sauces. As I suspected, I preferred the marinara sauce, but I did not care for the alfredo sauce as much as I thought I would. Maybe others have more of a taste for it than I do.

Closing Comments
Even Papa Dio’s, which is probably my favorite Italian restaurant in Oklahoma City, has certain dishes that I think are better than others, so it does not surprise me that the same would be the case at Caffé Pranzo. Caffé Pranzo has a surprising consistency in quality, though, compared to many other Italian restaurants. I say this because the few times I have had a bad experience here I did not tell the staff so they could make it right, which I assume they would have done. The fact that the salads, soups, and spaghetti are good here, though, tells me that this is a very good restaurant overall.

Each table has a different set of saltshakers, with others on display in the dining room

There is much on Caffé Pranzo’s menu I have not tried, so I do not think I have reached the point of having a conclusive list of recommended dishes. The ones I have listed as “best items,” though, are among the best in the city (as is the ravioli, even though it is not one of my favorite dishes).

RATING: 23

Cuisine: Italian
Cost: $$$
Hours: Closed Sun.
Accessible: No (a former handicapped space now has no sign)
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Wine

Most Recent Visit: Jun. 19, 2017
Number of Visits: 10+
Best Items: Linguini Marinara, Chicken Parmigiana

Special Ratings

	Linguini alla Marinara
	Chicken Parmigiana
	Cannelloni
	Margherita Pizza
	Eggplant Parmigiana
	Lasagna
	Ravioli
	Primavera Aglia Olio
	Manicotti
	Tomato Bisque
	House Salad

 

Tommy’s Italian-American Grill (Closed)

5516 W. Memorial Rd.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 470-5577

Tommy’s

Update Apr. 2019: Tommy’s is planning to move to the Waterford Hotel at N.W. 63rd and Pennsylvania Ave. and take over the now closed Bellini’s Restaurant (the owner of Tommy’s was the original owner of Bellini’s, and will reopen under the Bellini’s name).

Writing restaurant reviews has been a good discipline for me, requiring me to analyze different food and to put them on some type of objective rating scale. Of course I know it is an inexact science, but I am very sure about the things I like.

Back in the days when my restaurant visits were for the sole purpose of enjoying the food, one of the places where this was most easily accomplished was at the old Tommy’s in Northpark Mall (at N.W. 122nd and May). The owner of Tommy’s also opened Bellini’s (which is now under different ownership), but the concept of Tommy’s was a little more downscale than Bellini’s. I enjoyed both restaurants, but somehow the food at Tommy’s was more appealing to my tastes, and I particularly thought the the pizza was unmatched in the city for flavor and quality.

The new Tommy’s on Memorial Road (just east of MacArthur) opened in May 2014. The outdoor patio was not yet open at this time, and it did seem as if they had been starting slow, with a “soft opening” taking place in advance of the official one. It is a somewhat casual restaurant where one would feel comfortable dressing up, and the service certainly seems to be on par with the city’s other upscale Italian restaurants. At first I was a little apprehensive that they were trying to be more upscale than the original Tommy’s, but it seems that they have struck the appropriate balance of having good food but not making it so expensive that I have few chances to enjoy it.

Tommy’s wood fired oven

Tommy’s has built a wood fired oven for the pizzas, and the large pizza menu leads me to believe that this is a large part of their business. Even though the pizzas are excellent, they are competitively priced and are a way you can come to the restaurant on a more modest budget.

The restaurant was not trying to sell me drinks, appetizers, or other items which frequently run up the cost of a meal; instead it just seemed that everything was good quality and you could pay a little more if you wanted to go that way.

Salads and Appetizers

Complimentary bread

The meal started out with complimentary Bread, and I thought it was about as good as I find in other upscale Italian restaurants. I do not know if they give free refills because I am never able to eat all of the original serving.

House salad

Salads cost extra, including the House Salad I ordered. The salad was fresh, but to me it seemed “busy” with so many ingredients it really did not have a distinguishing flavor. I do not remember the salads being particularly notable at the old Tommy’s, and probably the same is true here. It is a good filler, though, if you do not think the dinner will be enough for your appetite.

Santa Fe chicken soup

The Santa Fe Chicken Soup was a very good start to one of my meals, with a fresh flavor and large chunks of chicken. The soup contains green chile, although not very much and it is not particularly spicy.

Pizza

Margherita pizza

I was very anxious to try the Margherita Pizza, which I remember as being one of the best I have had at the old Tommy’s. This one was as good as I remembered, with excellent cheese and crust (the components of a pizza which I many times find lacking at restaurants). The toppings did not seem any better or worse than at most Italian restaurants, with the exception that it had a rather small amount of basil, but what was there was very aromatic and flavorful (thus the pizza overall still rates as one of my favorites).

Pizzas come in only one size (I believe they told me it was 14 inches), and the one I had was just about right for two people provided they both ordered salads (thus my instinct about ordering the salad was correct). The waiter told me that this pizza had a little different flavor that at the old Tommy’s because of the wood fired grill (considering how good the crust tasted, I would say this was a very good move to make at the new restaurant).

Tommy’s New York pizza

Tommy’s New York Pizza is a good choice if you want meat toppings. I thought the pepperoni was best, though, and next time I would skip the sausage. For my taste I would say the Margherita pizza is better because while its toppings are on the sparse side, the New York pizza is a little over the top, particularly with the spicy sausage. The components of Tommy’s pizza I really appreciate are the crust, cheese, and sauce, and I like the pizzas that do not overwhelm these flavors with the toppings.

Lasagna

Lasagna

While I thought the sausage was a little much for the pizza, it is a good mix in the Lasagna (along with the beef). This was one of my favorite dishes at the old Tommy’s, and is less so now because I am not as much of a meat eater (otherwise, though, it is as good as I remembered).

Parmigiana Dishes

Chicken parmigiana

Chicken Parmigiana so far is my choice as the best meat item at Tommy’s. What I like most about this dish is not that it has a unique style that differentiates it from other restaurants such as Papa Dio’s or Vito’s, but that it is very much the same. The side dishes might be a little more interesting than at the other restaurants, though.

The Eggplant Parmigiana had what to me was a fatal flaw–the eggplant tasted like eggplant. This is somewhat of a joke, but I do think the eggplant is better at some other restaurants.

Chicken Picatta

Chicken picatta

The Chicken Picatta was somewhat of a surprise to me because of the fact that it was one of the best dishes I have experienced at Tommy’s (at most restaurants this would not be the case). For me the sauce had the right amount of lemon flavor and the chicken was very good as well. I always consider it a gamble when I order something that does not have red sauce, but in this case it definitely paid off.

Other Comments
I do not know the best dishes here because I mainly stick to the ones I used to order at the old Tommy’s. Having tried the chicken picatta, though, I know it is worth exploring the menu to try other items.

About fifty percent of the reason I like Tommy’s, though, is the pizza. I think it has the best crust in OKC, and the other components are good enough to make this overall one of the best in the city.

RATING: 24

Cuisine: Italian
Cost: $$$ (but pizza is cheaper)
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer, Wine

Most Recent Visit: Jun. 14, 2017
Number of Visits: 6
Best Items: Margherita Pizza, Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna, Chicken Picatta, Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Special Ratings

	Margharita Pizza
	New York Pizza
	Chicken Parmigiana
	Chicken Picatta
	Lasagna
	Eggplant Parmigiana
	Santa Fe Chicken Soup
	House Salad

Green & Grilled (Closed)
6320 Northwest Expressway
Oklahoma City, OK

 

Green and Grilled on Northwest Expressway

Note: This review was made for both the old location at 8547 N. Rockwell Ave. and the new one on Northwest Expressway. The restaurant is now closed, but I do not know if the food truck is still operating.

Sometimes I lament the lack of real choices in restaurants, and it begins to look as if they have to specialize in greasy fried foods to survive. I eat my share of this type of food, but one of the purposes of this web site is to seek out places (particularly little known restaurants) that are different from the norm. Green & Grilled is one such place that provides a contrast to the average diner or burger joint. Green & Grilled concentrates on healthy foods, but with satisfying flavors. It is a little different, but I found it to be very good.

Green & Grilled serves American food, including grilled meats, salads, and soups. If I had to describe a down side to the restaurant it would be the limited menu (although once people try it I think they will be happy with what is served). In fact, the small menu, casual setting, and lack of table service are not normally characteristics of a restaurant to which I would give such a high rating, but the food really is that good.

The Menu

Chicken, apple and spinach salad, and brown rice is my favorite combination

A “regular order” here consists of grilled meat (marinated with adobo flavoring), a half salad, and a side dish. Soup can be substituted for the salad at no extra cost. Most other changes would involve paying extra (such as getting both a soup and a salad). I get full either doing it this way or getting the standard dinner.

A full order of salad is not only larger, but also gives a choice of meats that can be added.

Three kinds of soup are served every day, and additionally they offer a daily soup Monday through Saturday. Several of the daily soups are my favorites when they have them, but in a couple of cases I prefer the ones that are available all the time. If you go in the evening they run out of the daily soups more frequently than the ones they have all the time (I would say it is about 30 to 40 percent of the time that they sell out of at least one of the soups).

The meat also has a unique flavor that sets Green & Grilled apart from other restaurants. The owner is from South America, and specializes in adobo flavored meats (the tofu is also adobo flavored). In this case I think the restaurant has incorporated the best elements of South American cooking into what can otherwise be described as American food. Everything here, though, is healthy (I’m taking their word for it that the brownies would also fall into this category).

The Meats
Grilled Chicken has been my favorite of the meats served, and I was very impressed with the quality of the chicken, the way it was cooked, and the adobo flavor. The adobo was mixed with pineapple, and I thought it had a very Latin American taste (although it is not spicy).

Grilled pork, spinach and apple salad, and brown rice

The Grilled Pork is also excellent, and I would say is sometimes better than the chicken (the inconsistencies of the pork are more because of the amount of fat or gristle than because of the flavor or the way it is cooked). Either chicken or pork is an excellent choice– I would suggest ordering based on the type of meat you normally prefer.

I sampled the Sirloin Steak and thought it had a good flavor. The beef tasted particularly good with the adobo flavor, and tasted somewhat like the Worcestershire sauce and other spices used in a sirloin patty. In 2013 the restaurant started charging more for beef than the other meats, and to me the other (less expensive) meats are equally good.

Tofu

Tofu, spinach soup, and apple and spinach salad

I am a big proponent of substituting tofu for meat whenever possible (provided you do not give up the flavor or major characteristics of the dish). The Grilled Tofu served at Green & Grilled, though, came in a large slab and there was no way to disguise its flavor or texture (neither of which I found to be very enjoyable). The adobo seasoning, though, was as good as it had been with the meat dishes, and overall I did not find this to be a bad dish (just one that is not of much interest to me).

Salads

Salads are a large part of the menu, since a half order comes with every dinner plate or a full salad can be ordered. I have found the variety of salads to be quite good, and each one has its own house made dressing.

The Apple Spinach Salad has been my favorite so far (and is shown in several of the above photos). The salad comes with spinach, diced green apples, cranberries, walnuts, and an orange vinaigrette dressing, but I have to say that the main reason I like it better than the others is because of the fruit.

Bacon and spinach salad full order

The Bacon Spinach Salad comes with spinach, olives, chopped eggs, and bacon with honey mustard dressing. The menu states that the salads are all natural, and the bacon consists of bacon bits sprinkled on top.

Grilled chicken, tropical salad, cauliflower soup

The Tropical Salad probably has the best dressing of any I have tried here, and is a very flavorful salad as well. I generally do not have a very high opinion of salads covered with yellow cheese, but this one is very refreshing and lives up to its name as something that reminds me of the tropics.

Soups

Three soups are available every day: Vegetable, Portobello Mushroom, and Creamy Butternut Squash. I think I have yet to try the squash soup, but of the remaining two I prefer the Portobello Mushroom Soup. I think I liked the fact that it had a mushroom flavor but it was puréed so that it did not have a mushroom texture. The Vegetable Soup had a little too much of a pepper flavor for me.

Daily Soups
My favorite of the daily soups is the Spinach Soup served on Wednesdays. To me it is perfect in flavor and texture.

I think the Cauliflower Soup (served Mondays) is also very notable, and although it is peppery like the vegetable soup, I do not consider the pepper to stand out as one of the prominent flavors. I think I only tried the Broccoli Cheese Soup (served Tuesdays) once, I thought it was very good as well. I have come to appreciate the Carrot Soup (served Thursdays) more as I have eaten it more.

Side Dishes
I would definitely recommend the Brown Rice as a side dish, and to me this is the best choice they offer. It sounds like something that would not have much flavor, but I think it goes well with the food.

Grilled chicken, apple spinach salad, carrot rice

The Carrot Rice is more visually appealing, but to me it is more like rice you can get at other restaurants (while I don’t think anyone has brown rice as good as the one at Green & Grilled).

Dinner with a steamed potato

The Steamed Potato is probably the most filling of the side dishes served here, and I also think it is one of the best.

Half Soup and Half Salad

Half soup and half salad combination–apple spinach salad and mushroom soup

The “Half Soup and Half Salad” is not listed on the menu, but is available. To me it is not a very good choice budget-wise, because it is almost as expensive as a regular dinner (but you do not get the main dish with it).

Desserts

Brownie

My current favorite dessert is the Brownie which has a rich chocolate taste and which is big enough to last me for two or three desserts (I have no idea whether the brownie is actually considered “healthy” or not, but it does not taste “watered down” like most things that are supposed to be healthy).

Pineapple zucchini cake

The Pineapple Zucchini Cake is a good choice for those who like a lighter and less sweet taste (although the pineapple and zucchini gave it a vibrant flavor). For those like me who are not sure they would want a dessert with zucchini, I will say that the flavor that could best be discerned seemed to be the pineapple.

Both the brownie and zucchini cake are prepared by an outside company (Debbie’s Sweet Stuff) and are usually but not always available at the restaurant.

Flan

Flan is a very good choice to go with the Latin American flavor of much of the food here, but I do not always see it in the display case.

Things to Know About the Restaurant

This is a casual restaurant where they bring the food to your table but after that you are on your own to get drinks, silverware, etc. The food itself is almost fine dining in its quality and flavor, but it is really just simple food prepared well and which provides something as healthy as possible. I don’t consider it expensive, but they have raised the prices over the years so that they can maintain the same quality.

The items I like here are chicken and pork (they do have a good salad option but this is not really something that interests me very much). What they do offer, though, is so good that I keep coming back (and I do not consider it boring to get basically the same things every time).

With Latin flavors and healthy food, this covers many of the bases I am looking for in restaurants to include on this blog.

RATING: 24

Cuisine: American
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking

Most Recent Visit: Sep. 29, 2017
Number of Visits: 10+
Best Items: Grilled Chicken, Grilled Pork, Apple Spinach Salad, Spinach Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Mushroom Soup, Brown Rice, Pineapple Zucchini Cake, Flan, Brownie

Special Ratings

	Grilled Chicken
	Grilled Pork
	Grilled Sirloin Steak
	Grilled Tofu
	Apple Spinach Salad
	Bacon Spinach Salad
	Tropical Salad
	Mushroom Soup
	Butternut Squash Soup
	Vegetable Soup
	Steamed Potato
	Brown Rice
	Spinach Rice
	White Rice with Carrots
	Flan
	Pineapple Zucchini Cake
	Brownie

Daily Soups

	Cauliflower Soup (Mon.)
	Broccoli Cheese Soup (Tue.)
	Spinach Soup (Wed.)
	Carrot Soup (Thu.)
	Lentil Soup (Fri.)