If you’ve been keeping up, you know on Friday I drove to Eureka Springs. My friend Tom was along for the ride. Tom is a travel writer and one of his foodie rules is no chain restaurants. That rule suits me fine.
I had my own foodie rule. The restaurant had to be on the right side of the road. We were on a mission to get to Dairy Hollow by suppertime and precious minutes could be lost exiting, circling back and driving the opposite direction to try out a diner on the other side of the highway. Plus, there had to be p*l*e*n*t*y of options on our side of the road. Right?
Not really.
Wheeler’s Restaurant, Kiowa, Oklahoma
But we did find Wheeler’s Restaurant in Kiowa, just between Atoka and Savanna. The place was decorated in full fledged cowboy and indian motif with John Wayne photos, knotty pine paneling, and wagon wheel light fixtures. Had we stumbled into a western movie set?
Even the bathroom was in costume with barbed wire around the ceiling where molding normally goes. Check out this sink made from a vintage splatter ware bowl. Very cool!
splatter ware sink – Wheeler’s Restaurant
Our waitress was as friendly as a first cousin and the other diners were local, regular folks too. I could tell.
Tom eyed platters of burgers and fries being served to the two guys at the table beside us and had what they were having. He made a great choice. Behind the swinging saloon kitchen doors, someone was frying up burgers on a seasoned grill the way burgers were meant to be cooked. I was too busy eating my stew to take a picture of Tom’s food. Delicious.
Beef Stew at Wheeler’s Restaurant. Heavenly cornbread too!
Let me just end this post by showing you a picture of the amazing pies made fresh and served daily at Wheeler’s. Oh my the meringue was perfection. Blueberry. Lemon. Coconut Cream. Chocolate. But we resisted, had no pie, hit the road and stuck to our schedule.
The next time I travel through Oklahoma (without my dogs) I’ll stop at Wheeler’s Restaurant again. And really, I’d cross to the other side of the road to try that mighty fine looking pie.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Best John Wayne Movie Quotes
“Friendly as a first cousin.” That’s pretty friendly. That place looks great and I would love some pie. Too bad John Wayne wasn’t there that day.
oh my—how did you resist that pie?? I would have eaten that first!!!!!
I didn’t see the pie until I was about to walk out the door!
Awesome, Awesome story, pics, and video, Talya! And I don’t know, if it were me, I think a piece of that pie would have been well worth burning some daylight over…Pilgrim…haha
How on EARTH did you resist the pie? I’m practically licking my screen.
I was at the cash register paying when I looked over and saw it. Seemed too late. Should have bought an entire one to go!
The stew looked yummy, too, but I agree with the others, I would have ordered chocolate pie! Love the line “friendly as a first cousin.” I heard a radio program on John Wayne recently that talked about how down to earth he was. He mingled with the enlisted men instead of going to the cushy place to eat with the officers when they were making one of his many movies.
Thanks for sharing the story about John Wayne. That’s how I always imaged him to be.
The reason that Talya didn’t get a picture of my burger and fries was that the shutter speed of her camera wasn’t up to the task of freezing the flying frenzy of my fingers as I forced fries into my face with a fearfully frightening fleetness. All her photos end up a blur of motion. I’ll try to do better next time.
That may be true Tom:)
Sometimes you put the biggest smile on my face! “Friendly as a first cousin”…love that quote! Iowa has John Wayne’s home. Ouray Colorado has John Wayne’s hat at the Outlaw Restaurant.
Thanks Colene!
I’ve found great food at Wheeler’s for so many years – since I was a “young” girl. The pies are wonderful, and remember you can take a piece with you for a nice snack later!