The last time I had a nourishing meal at the dependable and reliable local chain Del Rancho was in 2014, more than ten years ago. Where did that chicken-fried time go, I wonder…
The Del Rancho I normally patronized was on SW 29th and Barnes and even though the stray bullets didn’t catch me, the passing of time did – that DR was sadly shuttered around 2018, paving the way for a new Mexican hamburguesa spot that I (almost) equally loved.
But with all the chicken-fried steak spots I have reviewed as of late, I thought it was high time to revisit the OG’s grease-laden staple of high-cholesterol eateries of the Oklahoma City area, but this time I’m going to the more modern location at 5111 N. MacArthur.
It was a hot day last weekend and, taking advantage of the cool shade, I took my wife and dog Sean for a lovely lunch at Del Rancho. Unlike the other DR eateries I had been to, they had a picnic area where people could enjoy their steak sandwich supreme with a hearty side of buzzing flies.
Of course, we knew what we wanted before we even pulled in. I rang the buzzer and, with much crackly static, we placed our order. While Sean was tormenting a buzzing bee on the median strip, my wife told me that Del Rancho was one of the first restaurants she visited when she came into town.
“They were a ten out of ten!” she informed me.
Conversely, I told her all about the clandestine ephemera of Del Rancho, including a friend of mine who was in a commercial way back in the 80s, where he gave the Oklahoma City-famous line “Steak sandwich supreme!” with all the grizzled guff a ten-year-old could muster.
Knowing that no one born after 1995 will ever remember it, a tear dribbled down my cheek. Swelling with emotion, I was thankfully saved by our waitperson who brought us our food in paper bags.
As we stuck our straws in the Oklahoma-sized XL cups—a Diet Dr. Pepper for me, a Limeade with extra cherries for her—and took a long, drawn-out sip of our refreshing drinks, our appetizer of Fried Pickles ($7.49) was waiting for us.
The tight, taut, fully strapped dill pickle spears were deep-fried in a zesty batter that completely coated them, giving an outstanding crunch to every bite. I forgot how good DR’s fried pickles are, striving for a cucumber-laden snack that can’t ever be beat.
As I was dipping another pickle into Del Rancho’s famous ranch—also a staple of Okie life, natch—my wife started in on her own meal, the Old-Fashioned Chicken Fried Chicken Supreme Dinner ($15.49), with her chosen sides of green beans and mashed potatoes with ample gravy.
Wanting to switch it up, she found the chicken fried chicken meal outstanding, with enough flaky batter to make it different from the steak. With the choice of mashed potatoes, gravy, and Texas toast, what really got her were the Southern-style green beans, slow-cooked with just enough bacon to make vegetarians mad, they were incredible.
But for my sandwich, I had to have the original, historical, and mostly lyrical Steak Sandwich Supreme ($11.49), with no sides. Like their handle says, it’s “often imitated and never duplicated” and how!
Everything was cosmically perfect: the chicken fried steak on point, deep-fried to my quivering heart's contentment, rotating the meaty steak and the breaded outside. Sure, this sandwich has nothing on it but lettuce, tomato, and the cool zing of Miracle Whip, but it doesn’t need any more churching up—it speaks for itself.
With the meat hanging over the bun, my bite unleashed a long-forgotten place of miracles and wonderment, a true taste to behold.
Even though I was pretty sated by the sandwich, I realized that I had never tried dessert from Del Rancho. I had to try the Funnel Cake ($3.59) with strawberry topping ($.50). Nothing too memorable, it was a total carnival treat but, to be fair, a good one.
Before I could make my grand pronouncement about DR and my lunch, my wife came out and told me that “this is one of my top meals.”
You know, I am in total agreement with her. Sure, Del Rancho’s locations are pretty sketchy, out of the way, and maybe you might get shot… but once you try one of these sandwiches you’ll be forever changed.
So say it with me: Steak… sandwich… supreme… and mean it.
Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
