When I said I’m not the biggest fan of pizza a few years ago, it garnered some surprising blowback from many readers, often personally said to my face; when I was on a date with one woman, for example, she even brought it up mockingly.
Regardless, while I have very much liked some of the slice-houses I’ve visited over the past few years around town, there’s been one deep, dark secret I’ve kept a long time and, well, I guess this is the place to finally admit it to people: my favorite pizza place in Oklahoma City is Pizza House.
Sure, I haven’t ordered from there for quite a while, but, as the city turned into a barren landscape of ice-cold fury last weekend, I decided this was as good a time as any to walk over there have dinner, hopefully without being hit by a sliding truck while crossing the street.
But, as I walked up to the brick building at 2520 N. Penn Ave.—I’m sure you received Pizza House’s many flyers stuffed around the doorknobs of your house with directions on it—the sun had momentarily come out and was slowly beginning to thaw my bones, much faster than it was thawing the water heater in my frozen garage.
Despite never actually being inside the House since I always ordered for delivery, I was surprised that the miniscule dining area was covered with boxes, sodas and other pizza paraphernalia, leaving no place to sit. Walking up to the counter, as I looked over the menu, I decided to try a few things I never had ordered before, a reasonable test to make sure that, in my professional estimation, they still “got it.”
I started out with an appetizer of one of my absolute favorite snacks, Fried Green Tomatoes ($5.99). In my small foam carton, there were around five or six of them and a plastic cup of ranch. As I dipped my first slice into the creamy sauce, I was immediately taken back to that homespun time when Jessica Tandy taught me about life and love.
Just kidding. Still, while not as tangy as I had hoped, they were good and would vibe very well with a larger selection of sides like fried green beans, fried mushrooms or just plain fries, especially if I still ate like I used to.
Now, at Pizza House, my favorite item has always been their hopefully homemade sandwiches. Over my multiple decades in this dirty little town, I’ve had their gyro, their meatball sub and, my personal favorite, their Philly steak sandwich. But what about their Jumbo Burger ($5.99)?
With cheese literally pouring down the front, I can honestly say that this might be the best burger in Oklahoma City, a claim which I’m sure will aggravate some. But as the two very greasy patties, as well as the sliced lettuce, onions and tomatoes, mixed with the mayo to create a mess, I have to say that I was truly in love with this dangerous sandwich.
Wrapping the burger’s remainder up, having spent so many years away from the House, I was tentatively ready to return home and re-sample some of their fine pizza. Not wanting the typical cheese and pepperoni like I used to get, instead I went outside my culinary zone and ordered from the specialty menu a pie that I had to ask out loud how many people purchase, the small Seafood Pizza ($10.99).
As unappetizing as it might sound—pieces of shrimp with onions, olives and cheese slathered on top—as I took the biggest bite of that warm pizza pie, my nerves were quietly petted back under the sea. The squishy crustaceans safely slid down my throat with bits of the various semi-fresh vegetables attached, leaving me to only wonder one thing: is there anything Pizza House can’t do? Cómpralo ya!
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