Flavor of Oklahoma: The Crain Lounge and Kitchen aims to be a neighborhood favorite

A new restaurant and lounge just opened at Northwest 122nd Street and North MacArthur Boulevard in Oklahoma City, with the goal of becoming the neighborhood hangout.

The Crain Lounge and Kitchen is named after owner Ross Crain, who worked for Hal Smith Restaurants for decades before venturing out onto his own.

Crain lives two miles from his restaurant, and you’ll find him working at The Crain daily.

Executive Chef Garrett Myers says the surrounding neighborhoods are already supporting the new restaurant.

“The repeat business has been really nice; it’s something that surprised me,” Myers said. “I’ve had people in four days in a row, and they're like, ‘we're almost through the menu,’ and you know, we laugh about it. We’re like, ‘Oh gosh, you're back again.’”

Myers said some of the menu highlights are the bone-in pork chop and Yesterday's Soup because “soup is always better the second day.”

The number one seller is the prime rib slider. The kitchen staff smokes prime rib every day for several hours to achieve a grade of rare to medium rare.

“We have a house seasoning that we put on it, and we low smoke, which creates that bark, which in my opinion is probably the key, is the crust that comes off it,” Myers said.

WHAT’S THE VIBE?

Think of an upscale version of the old television show Cheers, where everybody knows your name. The Crain has a robust bar menu, a food menu full of features, and a lounge area in the back if you just want to chill. The menu has about 19 items, which is intentional for its consistency.

WHO IS THE CHEF?

Chef Garrett Myers was raised in Yukon. He started in a culinary arts program when he was in high school and landed his first professional job at age 19.

Myers said French-Italian fine dining was his true upbringing, and he worked at that first chef job for about 10 years before moving on to other restaurants across the Oklahoma City metro.

WHAT ABOUT HAPPY HOUR?

The Crain has a happy hour every weekday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., during which shareables are $3 off, well drinks are $6, featured wines are $7, and all beer is $1.50 off.

 For more information, CLICK HERE