For more than a year now, I’ve had Hopscotch Kitchen & Bar, 10909 N. May Ave., sitting on my review list, patiently waiting its turn while other meals, menus, and curiosities kept jumping ahead in line.
It happens sometimes – there are only so many days in a month and far too many restaurants calling my name – but this month I finally made the time to see what Hopscotch was all about, walking through the doors with a healthy appetite and a curiosity to experience the place for myself.
And I'm glad I did.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when I finally showed up with my wife, maternal cousin, her wife, and their small child in tow.
With our greetings and salutations out of the way, we passed the bar area, got to our seats, and settled into the spacious table. Our server gave us our menus—both regular and brunch, once again, because this was a Saturday—and our highly caffeinated drinks.
My cousin and I, current central Oklahomans by-way-of more South Texas lineage, reminisced about our close relatives, alive and dead, over our cups of coffee. It was a good conversation and, hopefully, one that will continue to build as the years go by, but we had to change course because after only a few minutes, our appetizer arrived.
On my second cup of coffee, I ordered a more “everyman’s” app for us to share, the basketball-coded, championship-bearing Thunder Fries ($10.25). Featuring Hopscotch’s house fries, they were loaded with queso, sour cream, bacon, and chives.
Imbued psychically with our hometown dream-team’s sweat and tears, the Thunder Fries were a three-point starter. While the crispy fries were drowning in the hot queso, the large portions of bacon are what make this a real meal.
Although the fries were shared, I probably had more than I should. As everyone munched away happily, my wife and I ordered our lunch, starting with her choice off the main menu from the “Burgers” section.
She got the mammoth Egg Your Pardon ($13.50) Burger, a beautiful 1/3 lb. fresh Black Angus patty decked out with American cheese, mayo, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and always the best addition to a burger, a fried egg right on top.
This was an erotically glistening burger on a real toasted bun, every bite a charged, sweltering cheese pull and bacon-slide down onto the plate, with the fresh tomatoes and lettuce offering a cool remedy to her steamy situation. With a side of sweet potato fries, this was a great taste.
But, of course, I went with the breakfast side of the brunch menu, because Hopscotch had one of my atypical standbys, the Chicken & Waffles ($15.25). Hand-battered chicken tenders deep-fried to a golden hue, are served with a large house-made waffle.
As the maple syrup drizzled down the waffle, it collected in sticky pools on my plate. I smeared a cut of the waffle with syrup and added a bite of the also-smeared chicken, giving me an intoxicating aura around my being…yeah, this was the stuff.
I downed the whole plate while my family pretended not to notice that I was in the stickiest of heavens. This was my paradise, and in that moment I understood what Hopscotch is all about: elevated comfort food.
My belly filled past the breaking point, I got a Rice Crispy Brick ($6.00) but had to take it to go. There was no way I could eat it tonight, but I was already excited to have it for breakfast tomorrow, maybe with a banana and a cup of skim milk.
Saying our goodbyes, I told my cousin it was great to see her and her family again, and we can plan to do it again, hopefully sooner than a year from now.
If they’re game, I’ll probably propose Hopscotch again, because it turned out to be a great place for a reunion of sorts, with a lively atmosphere, great service, and a well-crafted meal that really stays with you—like family.
Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
