Del Rancho - Norman — Restaurant in Norman

In the Dictionary under Steak Sandwich, there are at least two definitions. 1) shaved meat on a long roll, often topped with onions, peppers, and cheese. 2) chicken fried steak on a hanburger bun with assorted toppings.

This place is true to its southern roots and serves the second type of sandwich. While it is true my Yankee Girl heart sank a little bit at discovering this, it was only for a moment. Knowing that this place has multiple locations and has survived for literally decades in a tough college town where sandwich shops are practically a dime a dozen I reamined optimistic and soon tucked in on a #2, a supreme with onion rings, an orange soda, and an extra side of fried okra. This was at the top end of what I would pay for a quick lunch at $18.80 but every penny and calorie was worth it.

The service was fast, the food was piping hot and packaged in a way to ensure it would stay crispy. In short, the car hop experience was everything you have come to expect from others in this industry. The card reader isn't in the menu kiosk, but the servers are fast and friendly, so it isn't inconvenient and keeps costs down.

The crispy fried meat stood firm beyond the sides of the bread, begging to be nibbled to get it down to size. Too often, these edges droop at other places. Del Rancho got that much perfect, pemises of things to come. Then the meat itself was juicy and tender inside its cruncy coating. While it is not as heavy in the pepper department, as some chicken fried steaks you might expect further south or east, it was definitely more flavorful than some others I have had in Oklahoma. Overall, the steak sandwich was tasty, with the best balance of fried crunch and crisp lettuce with tender meat that didn't so much require biting into as just providing it some suggestion to hop into your mouth. There were also some slices of juicy tomato and just a bit of Miracle Whip (according to the menu) to hold it all together without making it soggy.

This is not just an honest representation of the chicken fried steak sandwich, it is in my top three up against some sitdown favorites.

This was a solid representative of the steak sandwich family. Which is to say I have no idea how anyone can eat this safely in the car. I didn't stand a chance and fortunately had someplace I could hunker down with it. If anyone has some advice, please share.

For me, however, the total win of this experience were the onion rings. The onions were cooked to perfection, the coating was flavorful without any lingering flour flavor, and while there was oilness, it wasn't sodden and remained crispy. As I lifted one of the oniony mass of three rings fried together, my heart jumped in joy at the sight of the savory funnel cake. These rings did not disappint. My absolutely favorite onion ring in OKC has been newly crowned. I am already craving my next batch.

The fried okra was an effort to hold off the wrath of the gluten/lectin monster. It was a solid representative of the kind. Crispy coating with no slime inside. I did want more salt for these that was provided in their little paper packets.

While I could have done with a bit more soda, the ice was the soft kind ready for chewing ( I hope my dentist doesn't read this). The syrup mix was spot on that day. The fizz was good, too.

Overall, I am sad I have waited so long to try Del Rancho, but my scale is probably the better for it. On the day I indulged, this was breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Dinner that day was a salad.

This is neither gluten-free nor is there anything on their menu I could normally eat except on a cheat/risk-it day. This place has definately moved to the front of the pack when I am craving cripsy fried anything in this era of shrinkflation and rising prices I got exactly what I paid for, and I could not be...

Horrible, horrible. Rude, unprofessional, dont ever under any circumstance go here. I was released from the emergency room after being there for quite sometime. My wife and kids were starving so after dropping off my perscrictions at the pharmacy we went to this store because google said thet closee at 10. We arrived at 935pm and when we pushed the buzzer a female employee tried to waive us away from inside. We motioned for her to come out since the sign said they didnt close for another 25 minutes. She finally came outside at 937pm and told us they were closed because it was slow even though I saw 2 vehicles sitting there with people eating. She thought it was funny and made no attempt to apologize. She then right in front of us turned off the sign that said closed at 10pm and turned off the other lights and said "see, closed" and went inside and locked the door. That was very unprofessional way to treat a hungry family who had been in the ER for hours by my side. I will never go here again. I will now tell all of my friends and family and any random person I see not to go there ever. No one should be treated this way without any attempt to apologize. Next time you want to be an inconsiderate person, dont laugh while you...

I use to love this resteraunt, the food was excillent if not awesome, something has changed since those years though, the fish sanwich was over cooked and hard, another occasion the meat on the steak sandwich was big alright, over the bun big but was flttened out like paper, adding up to a patty of crispy batter with barely any meat in it, the onion rings I had ordered then were soaking in oil and not completely done. If they have changed back to the good old days since then...? I have no idea, I don't know if new owners took over this particular store or what , but at the last visit quality supervision was most defenatlly not present. I have avoided the store since that visit, I will not waste my money on oil and batter . I really hope they have gotten it together since then, because I love their food normally, I know how it is suppose to be, I had family that worked in this very store off and on for many years , so I know what quality...