Cafe 501

I was not at all impressed with Cafe 501 on my first visit. I ordered the meatloaf, which was fine, but the mashed potatoes which accompanied it tasted instant, which was highly disappointing.

I've since returned and tried a pasta which I can't find on the menu anymore that I thought was better.

Overall not somewhere I'd suggest when thinking about places to eat.

One of my wife's favorites in OKC. The food is great and we're usually there for breakfast or brunch. I alway get an extra order of roasted tomatoes.

I'm not quite sure how we went so long without trying Cafe 501, especially considering how often we tend to frequent Classen Curve. Maybe it's because every time we're up that direction, it tends to be for either Upper Crust or Matthew Kenney (R.I.P). Alas, now that Matthew Kenney is no more, a free spot in my Classen Curve void opened up - and suddenly Cafe 501 was in like Flynn.

The space isn't unlike anything else you'll find at Classen Curve: modern architecture and clean sharp lines appear to be the main theme of Classen Curve, Cafe 501 being no exception. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had an outdoor patio option for days when the weather is especially nice - which, let's be honest, in Oklahoma is few and far between, so you've gotta take advantage of it while you can. The overall concept is seat-yourself, order-at-the counter type thing (at least during breakfast/brunch hours) - but they don't really do a great job of explaining that to first-timers. Perhaps it's because the employees enjoy watching the confused / lost / slightly bewildered look on newcomers' faces, because I mean honestly, who wouldn't enjoy that - assuming you're not the confused / lost / slightly bewildered one, of course. Luckily - I've perfected the art of looking like I know what i'm doing, when in reality - I have absolutely no clue what's going on, so it's rare that you'll ever find me looking like an idiot.......... put away your camera phone, fool. Nevertheless, I don't think it'd hurt to have someone up front to explain the seating and ordering situation to people to help avoid confusion, but what do I know? (everything).

20 minutes later, after we decided to ask what the hell we were supposed to do, we were seated. (Finally!) Now, let's have a look at your brunch menu Cafe 501. What's that? You stop serving brunch at 11AM on Saturdays?! Who the [insert explicit word of choice here] even wakes up before 11 on a Saturday?! Pretty sure we would have been able to get the BRUNCH menu if we were seated when we walked in... 20 minutes ago... you uptight sons of... Whatever, it's not a big deal - I'll have lunch - the undesirable sibling of brunch, it's fine. Serenity now.

We ordered a couple of bloody Mary's, some Caesar salads and a couple pizzas. The bloody Mary's hit the spot, and the Caesar salads were good as well. The pizzas... well, let's just say Upper Crust will continue to be my go-to pizza place. I got the Mediterranean - subbed artichokes in for the pepperoni. The flavor was good enough, but the crust was too soggy in the middle for my liking. The GF ordered the veggie pizza to-go because she wasn't starving at the time. Well, wasn't until we got in the car that we came to find out that the veggie pizza had pepperoni on it. How the [insert explicit word of choice here] do you put meat on a VEGGIE pizza?! Well, rather than walking back in and spending another half hour waiting for the pizza to be remade - she decided to just pick the pepperoni off, one by one. Serenity now! HOOCHIE MAMA!!!

Anywho, aside from those missteps - nothing that we've tried has been terrible by any means - then again, nothing has been amazing either. We've been back on a separate occasion to have some drinks and and appetizer. They do have some amazing drinks - concord gimlet and strawberry lemonade, to name a couple. The strawberry lemonade is basically an alcoholic lemonade with a large frozen block of strawberry goodness floating in it. The presentation is amazing - only to have your ungrateful ass ruin it all as you stab the frozen strawberry block with your straw to mix it all up. Sounds twisted, but it's really quite fantastic. We also tried the three amigos appetizer, which was decent as well - just not nearly as good as the movie. I think the real deciding factor of Cafe 501 will rely on just how impressive their pastries and desserts are - they all look amazing, to say the least. Haven't tried any yet, but I've had my eye on the chocolate chip cinnamon rolls with espresso glaze... *faints*

Where am I?

Overall Grade: B