Restaurant Roulette (OT)

Last night Mary and I played another exciting round of Restaurant Roulette. Married men can relate to this. The game begins with the usual opening move on my part. “Where do you want to eat?” I asked.

She replied with the traditional rejoinder, “I don't care.”

The object of the game is to guess what restaurant she has in mind, because she really DOES have someplace she'd like to go but she's not about to tell me that straight out. I supposed to be capable of gaging her mood, the history of restaurants we've visited since we met over 23 years ago, the solunar tables, and the tide chart for northeastern Oklahoma, put it all together and arrive at a restaurant choice. If I guess wrong, she'll be sullen and merely pick at her food. If I guess right, she'll smile and familial harmony will settle over our evening. I always shoot for the smile.

“How about a steak?” she said. This was an entirely unexpected move and I was caught flat-footed. But it was 6 o'clock on a Friday. Not only was it impossible to get into one of the steak places, it was equally impossible to get into the parking lot.

Owasso now has about 35 restaurants. Most of them are chains, of course, but I like to try the smaller, mom-and-pop places. That's getting more difficult as the area grows. There are a couple of smaller places with one or two other restaurants in the Tulsa area. Every chain had to start somewhere.

We were driving north through the Smith Farms shopping area when she said, “Hey! What about that new Chinese place?” We'd just passed it. I did a quick U-turn and we pulled up in front of TK's 2 Chinese/Asian Kitchen. It looked dark since the heavily tinted windows made it nearly impossible to see inside.

The interior is brightly lit and laid out like many fast-food places. We placed an order at the counter, received a number placard and cups for drinks, and then found ourselves a table. The food arrived quickly. Mary had wonton soup and lemon chicken. I ordered two spring rolls and Kung Pao chicken. I'm not a big fan of spring rolls but I know that she likes them immensely. True to form, I ate half of one and she devoured the rest. They were flaky and not at all greasy. I could have eaten more, but she would have stabbed me with a fork. Portions are ample, maybe not as much as I'd like to eat, but definitely as much as I should. No wonder I have problems controlling my weight. The soup was good too, with a chicken broth that seemed only lightly salted. Fresh mushrooms floated on top. The wontons were fresh too. The entrees were tasty. We shared, of course. She couldn't finish all the lemon chicken, so we boxed some to take home.

Currently, there are four Chinese restaurants here. One is fast food. The other two are buffets. But TK's has the best food of the bunch. Honestly, the difference was startling. It reminded me of when we were dating. We had a favorite Chinese place where the food was outstanding. I'd forgotten just how good Chinese could be – until last night. Naturally the prices are a little higher, but I think that good food is worth it. Dinner for the two of us was right at thirty dollars.

“We're coming back here next weekend,” Mary stated flatly. At least I won't have to play another round of restaurant roulette.

Oh, one other thing – that leftover lemon chicken that she brought home didn't make it through the evening. About ten o'clock, I was going to have just a nibble, but it was already gone. It's another sure sign she likes the place.

TK's 2 Chinese/Asian Kitchen
9045 N 121st E Ave
Owasso, OK