The Press — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

Today was the first and ultimately last time that I will be visiting The Press, due to the manager. I want to mention that our server Hunter, was phenomenal and the hostess was literally the sweetest person. Towards the middle of our meal, I happen to notice a male walk in who was clearly in a state of being unhoused. I watched the interaction between the male and the hostess to see how that interaction would go and was pleasantly surprised when she was so sweet and offered him a drink. I am not sure exactly what was said but it appeared that the male asked to speak with the manager, so he sat to wait. I asked our waiter to see if the male was hungry and if so to let him order whatever he wanted, and I would pay for it. I don’t mention this for praise and “good jobs” I say it because in my mind at that time he had become a paying customer because he had food purchased. A bit later a woman who I understood to be the manager came out and simply told the man “ You can’t be here” he went on to explain that he was waiting on food, and she told him he could wait outside. I called the hostess over and asked why he was sent outside when he had food coming and was told that apparently, he was trespassed from the entire Plaza District according to the manager, though I was not told if it was through Oklahoma City Police Department, or the community just said not to come back. Regardless, I feel like the situation could have been handled with a little more care and compassion as we never know what someone else is going through. Shame on this manager for setting this type of example...

My Wife insisted that I try this place, so we took My Son, Daughter in Law and Grandchildren there for lunch. The menu was not extensive, but there were plenty of options. We all ordered something different. I ended up just ordering a burger and waffle fries. There were no utensils on the table when the food arrived, so we had to ask the waitstaff for some after the food arrived. The condiment containers were empty except for a little salt remaining in the shaker. We flagged down the waitstaff and politely requested they be refilled or replaced. They never were. Not that big of a deal. My waffle fries were ok, but when I bit into the burger, I had to spit it out immediately. It nad some sort of fishy taste that I just could not deal with. I am not a picky eater. When I order something and don't like it, my bad. I won't do that again. No big deal, but it was instant nausea after taking a bite. I let the waitstaff know and the response was: "But the waffle fries were ok?" I have to say that caught me a bit flat footed. I said the waffle fries were fine. Waitstaff then said, "I'll take the burger off the bill." And walked away. Waitstaff brought the bill and the burger was taken off, but not another wordsaid. No one finished their meal. My Wife said hers was fine. My Wife also insisted that the food there is usually good there and I must have just ordered the wrong thing. That made no sense to me. This was a restaraunt not a minefield. Anyway, that was my experience. I hope yours...

Ordered a Chicken Fried Rib Eye w/ green beans and mashed potatoes ($15) and the Veggie Burger + waffle fries ($10).

Pros:

1. Presentation of food was good
2. Staff was friendly and service was very prompt.
3. Not too crowded & not too empty on a Friday night.
4. The green beans were fairly well flavored (but are the very tough to chew variety, just fyi)

Cons:

1. Chicken Fried Rib Eye was completely and utterly bland - the breading and gravy was flavorless, there was a vein of fat in it, so the net result was that it tasted like “chewy” meat. I’d have rather have a chicken fried steak at Grandys (which I am not a fan of), and this chicken fried steak was $15.
2. Similarly the veggie patty contributed nothing but texture to the burger (not flavor). My wife says the one word that described the overall burger is “unremarkable”. 3)The mashed potatoes were fairly bland, but on a positive note they did help add to the experience of the chicken fried steak
3. Waffle fries were lukewarm, and I like fries blisteringly hot. My wife said she could taste a subtle flavor like the battering on beer-battered cod on them (like they were fried in the same spot), but to me they were cold and flavorless.

This is the first time in the past 10 years I used salt at a restaurant, and boy did I use the salt. Overall, a much more disappointing experience than all the reviews led...