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La Oaxaquena, Oklahoma City OK

For authentic Mexican food in Oklahoma City, check out La Oaxaquena. You may need a translator as well, since the menus are in Spanish!

 

In January I began doing in-person stewardship visits with our club seat holders. Our major gifts staff does a great job of stewardship with our top 150 donors; but because they are a small staff, the next level of donors sometimes gets missed. When I developed the plan and told my boss about it I was prepared for pushback, but he was nothing but supportive. It gave me the opportunity to visit with our customers on their turf and outside of gameday, and it got me out of the office. The first few months I was spending one day a week in Tulsa, one day a week in OKC. I eventually added Enid and Stillwater as well. I met with about 40 accounts this year, and my plan is to do it every spring while my regular workload is slow.

Last week I had my final visits for the year, and one of the days was in OKC. I didn’t have a lunch meeting planned, so I went onto restaurant.com to see if I could find a certificate to use near to my appointment locations. I came across La Buena Gusto and it had gotten great reviews, so I decided to go there. On the restaurant.com site it said the restaurant was open every day, but as I drove up to the building there was not a single car in sight…they’re closed on Mondays. I was so bummed, and super hungry. I got back online to hopefully find another place nearby, and came across La Oaxaquena Bakery & Restaurant.

Both restaurants are on SW 29th Street, in a very Hispanic area of OKC. Nearly every business on that road for a several-mile stretch is Hispanic owned and operated. I have to admit, when I pulled into La Oaxaquena I had a moment of hesitation because it didn’t look like the greatest area. But then I remembered my visit to Tacon Madre in Dallas in March, and how I felt the same apprehension…and how amazing the food was. So I decided to forge ahead

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I arrived at La Oaxaquena just after 11AM, and I was the very first guest in the door. The staff was all there, along with I’m guessing some family members. The first thing I noticed was a huge display of baked goods

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

The smells coming from those baked goods were phenomenal, and they looked so good as well, but I needed real food. Throughout my visit people were coming in steadily, buying big bags of bread and rolls. I’m guessing they provide for other restaurants in the area. And that’s exactly the way it should be done in your local community. Everyone helping everyone else.

I was seated, and given a menu. The entire thing was in Spanish. Not a single English word in sight. Thankfully they also have pictures of all the entrees, otherwise I would have been completely at a loss. I recognized most of the words, but still had trouble with a few.

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

As I was translating and looking at the photos, my server brought chips, queso and salsa

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

The chips were nice and warm, thin and crispy, and delicious. You can see the pepper flakes in the salsa, and it had a serious kick. It burned my throat, but I continued to eat it because it had so much flavor. The queso was warm and creamy, but not heavy at all.  I mixed the 2 together and was in heaven.

I eventually decided on fajitas. I often do that the first time I eat at a Mexican restaurant. I figure if they can do those well, everything else would be good too. Also, I wasn’t sure how ingredients on a couple other dishes translated, and I wasn’t in a mood to be quite that adventurous.

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

The fajitas were outstanding, some of the best I’ve ever had. The portion of meat was generous, and although the pieces were large, they were still very tender. I really like that the onions and peppers were cut thick, as they retained some crunch. The fajitas

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I really liked the rice. At many Mexican restaurants the rice is bland, but this one was well seasoned. I usually only eat a couple of bites, to save space and carbs. I had to stop myself from going overboard on this rice. The beans were fantastic, and I like that they added the cheese on top, as it added to the flavor of the beans. The guacamole was freshly made and excellent. I just wish there was more of it.

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

The corn tortillas are homemade. They were served scorching hot, so I had to wait a few minutes before I could even handle them. They were absolutely delicious.

The couple at the table next to me had gotten 2 bottles of sauce with their meal, so of course I asked for some

La Oaxaquena, OKC - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

The red sauce was significantly spicier, even more so than the salsa. Both sauces were excellent, but the green sauce won by a slight margin.

When I first started using restaurant.com I printed out the certificates. Then I realized I could just pull them up on my phone and the server could validate them that way. However, the manager at La Oaxaquena said they had to have the printed page. I was bummed, but it was only $5, so it wasn’t a huge deal. The good thing is, I can use the certificate on my next visit. Note to self: when the restaurant is a tiny, local one like this one is, make sure to print it out.

Will I go back to La Oaxaquena? No question. The food was authentic and homemade. My server wasn’t very friendly, but she was efficient and did a good job. And since I refrained from the bakery this time, I will definitely make sure to buy some items before leaving.

 

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