When it comes to romantic dining, the amorous flame of my most perfect dreams would be habitually starry-eyed and hungrily subdued with a couple of barbacoa tortas from a taco truck and a medio litro of Coca-Cola with one straw as Selena’s “Como la Flor” rhapsodizes in the warm background, the hum of the generator powering both the outdoor lights and our newfound passion.
Sadly, that flavorful side of Eros is seemingly best left to the unwritten fiction of my heart as most perspective partners, especially when it comes to celebrations of sentiment, prefer to be dined finely and, let’s be honest, someone in my grotesque position is in no place to argue. So when I was lucky enough to escort a renewed crush to an early Valentine’s dinner, I figured it was time to give the ardor-filled atmosphere of Charleston’s a heart-wrenchingly bathetic try.
A longtime Oklahoma City stand-by and dine-in, this Hal Smith “concept” is probably best known as the eatery where your primarily well-to-do grandparents rekindle their own aging fervor for one another at least once or twice a month, offering “prepared from scratch” American dishes at a price they believe to be modest, all the while in a heavy dark oak and gas-lit atmosphere that has most of the ambiance of Steak and Ale and none of the baked potato bar to go with it.
Located at 5907 Northwest Expressway, my paramour and I settled into a nicely darkened area, a lone overhead bulb spotlighting our affectionate rendezvous as nuanced Euro-EDM was heard overhead while frail conversation was attempting to be made. Menus in hand and perusing with care, an low-cost appetizer of chips and queso ($9.00) was immediately ordered as I did my best to enjoy the moment and not launch in the political and social ramifications of ordering chips and queso at such a decidedly non-Mexican restaurant.