HOOKER! the Place to be!

Hooker holds its annual Classic Car Show this year on Saturday September 10. They will be turning lose of this great handmade quilt depicting cars, cars, and more cars!

you'll find memories of past car shows in this patchwork display. I saw Alva's Big Cruise & Car Show among the blocks.

And who could live in a town named HOOKER without having a signature t-shirt? This is just a sample of the many unique designs that promote life in Hooker.

Inside the Rexall Pharmacy you will find a wonderful surprise! Some great food! The fountain and grill serve up some great sandwiches and they have a very nice salad bar too.

The decor will keep you wandering around just looking at some of the nostalgic items on display. 

complete on the outside with a nice handicap ramp, this is a must see when going through Hooker. Take a minute, leave the highway and enjoy HOOKER!!

Guymon Gourmet

I went to Guymon last week on a business trip and stopped to visit with a lady I had worked with briefly a year ago when she and her husband first decided to open a coffee shop. One of Susan Barias's goals was to not only serve good coffee drinks (they told me they are both addicted to coffee) but to provide a healthy place to eat and a comfortable place for people of all ages to gather and connect. The result of that dream is Urban Bru, a coffee house that serves scrumptious frappe's  and out of this world smoothies like the Mocha frappe and the strawberry smoothie that Laura and I had for lunch. 

And speaking of lunch, Laura enjoyed this fabulous Strawberry Fields salad made with spinach and fresh strawberries and laced with nuts and cheese! She ate every bite!

 My choice was this Southwestern sandwich, filled with chicken and a spicy southwest sauce. It was HUGE, the bread was awesome and I sure did enjoy it!

 Melyn Johnson joined us for lunch and she enjoyed this Mandarin Salad along with a croissant filled with a cranberry chicken salad. (I went back that night and tried this sandwich and it was also wonderful!)

My friends Laura Girty and Melyn Johnson as we prepared to enjoy a leisurely lunch.

 Melyn's final touch to her meal is this Mocha Locha, and doesn't it look wonderful!

 Did I mention dessert? Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it?

Urban Bru is located at 418 NW 21st St in Guymon. Stop in and check out the delights when you are there. Everything they serve is made fresh right there in their kitchen every day! Stop in, sit and relax, you may see some customers engaged in a lively game of Monopoly or Scrabble, or a quiet corner may be the preferred spot for the checker game. Young, old and in between all seem to enjoy the hospitality at Urban Bru!

Meers OK home of the Meersburger

Meers is just north of the Wichita Mountains right at a bend in the road. This tourist attraction has been in business with the current owners since the 80's and has been a continuous business since the 40's or 50's depending. They are famous for a unique dining experience. The line waiting outside to get in the door is almost always there. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and we were outside about 20 minutes. One interesting side note is that beside the building in a shaded area there are a number of small wire kennels. They ask folks to NOT leave pets in a hot car, and they go the extra mile to help those folks who travel with pets to see to their safety.

Then you get inside and see how long the line is there as well! This is our first time and while we waited we got the good news that the food would be well worth the wait from a young Wichita Falls Texas couple behind us who visit as often as they can.

Robert and Misty waiting for food as we all took the time to read the informative menu with some interesting bits of information. For instance, the Meersburgers are prepared with their own beef, fresh from longhorn steers. No frozen patties here! They come with mustard, pickles, red onion, lettuce and tomato. You can order it your way, but be warned, the cooks consider mayonnaise is for SISSIES, ketchup belongs on fries, not hamburger and several other interesting comments. They have their own brand of beer, Meers Beer, brewed by the folks that brew Choc in Krebs Oklahoma and it comes in a 22 ounce bottle. 

I can verify that the homemade ice cream and cherry cobbler on the menu are out of this world. Misty and Robert tried the peach and declared it outstanding.

the decor in the building keeps your mind busy and even though the wait for the food is about as long as the wait to get in, you don't notice it so much with all the interesting things to see!

drinks like this iced tea are served in Mason jars, and they keep them full for you. 

and then came the food! The Meersburger is served in a metal pie tin, cut in fourths to make it easier to eat (we shared this burger) and you can see the Fries and onion rings (they are beer batter dipped) were plentiful as well. 

It's standing room only in this great little restaurant. Oh, and did I mention that Meers has been recognized in places like the New York Times and the Food Channel and is widely known as one of the top 10 places in the whole United States of America to get a great  hamburger! and, when we left, our tummy full, the line was still long outside the building. 

Escape to Kansas!

Looking for a lazy way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Labor Day 2010 found us in Great Bend KS, and after a leisurely breakfast at a Perkins near our motel, we took a short jaunt up to Hoisington where the parade was lining up. Of course our interest was the classic cars.

After a short stay there we returned to Great Bend and stopped at their ZOO. Yes, Great Bend has a zoo, and we had been there over 30 years ago with our then small children. It proved to be a welcome stopping point on a trip from Iowa to Oklahoma. Of course as with all things, it didn't seem the same as it was, but we did enjoy seeing the big cats.

This big guy wasn't bothered at all by people checking him out.

Give him some shade and he's a happy camper!

these two were pretty amazing to watch as well.

Great Bend Kansas is located on Highway 281 about center Kansas.

While I don't generally recommend chain restaurants, the Perkins here is an exception to that rule. We had evening, breakfast and lunch there and enjoyed each meal. The service was way, way above average, and be sure to check out their dessert selections!

Shorty's at Buffalo, OK

Shorty's Cafe in Buffalo Ok is a new restaurant, located on highway 64 on the south side of town. Deven has spent about a year renovating the old LaMunyon Cafe and the end result is well worth the wait!

We stopped for lunch recently and had some amazing food! Pictured here is the Philly Steak Sandwich with some yummy onion rings.

This is a steak sandwich, heavy on the steak, light on the bun! And while it was very good, I couldn't eat the whole thing, so go there with your appetite firmly charged up!

yes, this is real size!

Shorty's has done an awesome job with the decor inside as well, setting an old western theme that includes a neat poster of the Sons of the Pioneers and good ole' western swing music playing quietly in the background. The walls have an aged appearance and the bathrooms are unique. I won't tell you, you, you just have to go see for yourself!

Shorty's is open for lunch and dinner most days. Deven tells me she is still working to set hours that will meet her customer's needs. If you are passing through Buffalo watch for Shorty's Cafe and stop in for a great meal!

Shady Lady in Perry

The Shady Lady is a restaurant, meeting place and catering facility located in Perry OK. The historic building was once a boarding house, and form the outside appears to have had periodic additions.

We had a delicious lunch, here is a reuben plate and of course I had eaten part of it before I decided to take the picture! couldn't wait, it was wonderful!

There was a wonderful cookbook there with special Shady Lady recipes.


and would you look at this pie!