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PrintWinner, winner, chicken dinner!
Now in a new location, Rick’s Café Americain still draws raves for its fried chicken platter and its new menu items.
While Rick’s Café Americain may be inspired by the movie “Casablanca,” the menu on a recent hot summer evening had truly gone to the birds. The rotisserie duck special had already sold out by the time we popped in for dinner at 7 p.m., and diners throughout the space were savoring Rick Kamp’s famous fried chicken.
Kamp, an Oklahoma City native, rose to fame back in the 1970s as the chef at the Razor Clam, a well-known and well-loved fine dining restaurant located just around the corner from the new Rick’s Cafe location at East 31st Street and South Harvard Avenue. Tulsans have been following his cooking career — Capistrano’s at Utica Square and Montrachet in Brookside, to name a few — and his food ever since.
Kamp opened Rick’s Café Americain back in 1997 on the then-bustling corner of East 51st Street and South Harvard Avenue. In August of last year, after construction started on the interstate near the restaurant, Kamp moved Rick’s to a cozy corner of the Ranch Acres shopping center to a space formerly occupied by the popular St. Michael’s Alley.
Chef Rick has kept all of the menu favorites and has added some new lighter items for the hot summer months. The lunch menu features everything from brick oven pizza ($10) to a turkey Russian sandwich ($8) to a split of rotisserie chicken served with the house Caesar salad ($11). Other items include a café burger ($8), a duo of wraps ($8 each) and a Southwestern quesadilla ($10). He also added a quad of fresh salads — each with Indian, Southwestern, Caribbean or Greek flair — to the menu this summer ($8 to $10).
For our dinner, we shared a plate of the crab corn fritters ($7.95). Had they been called simply corn fritters, they would have been delicious (although a bit underdone in the center), but we didn’t get much crab, so the description was perhaps a bit off. Other starters include Rick’s famous Razor Clam Chowder ($4.95), toasted goat cheese dumplings ($6.95) and baked shrimp and escargots a la Bourguignonne ($8.95). Salads are generously sized and include a classic dinner salad ($3.95), Caesar ($4.95) and spinach with blue cheese ($6.95).
Kamp’s Grocery in Oklahoma City, started almost 100 years ago, was run by the Kamp family until 1995 and became an Oklahoma City institution. One of Kamp’s popular comfort food dishes is the Witt Pan Fry Steak, his version of chicken-fried steak inspired by his grandparents. Prime filet is floured and pan-seared in a cast-iron skillet, then topped with a cream sauce studded with green onions, mushrooms and red potatoes. The secret ingredient? Worcestershire sauce.
Kamp’s fried chicken also is worth a visit. The platter includes five pieces of crisp and juicy chicken, paired with mashed potatoes and gravy and stewed green beans — true comfort food. Other entrées include a smokehouse platter of brisket, pork and chicken ($15.95); a mixed seafood grill featuring fish from Bodean Seafood Market ($21.95); and a dry-cured rib eye with either roast garlic butter or a rubbing of Cajun spices ($22.95).
Desserts include cheesecake, crème brulée and brandy-spiked bread pudding. We enjoyed the special of the evening, a deconstructed summer trifle — lemon custard-soaked cake resting on fruity jam, topped with whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries and slivered almonds (all desserts, $4.95 at dinner, $3 at lunch). A couple dining next to us were in to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and enjoyed the chocolate pot de crème with a flickering candle.
More than 20 wines are available by the glass ($4.95 to $15.95).
With a new space (including a new front patio), an updated menu and a loyal following, we know one thing is for certain — we’ll always have Rick’s.
Rick’s Café Americain 3324 E. 31st St., 742-1076
Cuisine — Casual American
Capacity — 18 on the front patio; 89 inside
Setting — Southwest corner space of Ranch Acres Shopping Center
Chef/Owner — Rick Kamp
Prices — Lunch, $3 to $11; dinner, $3.95 to $24.95
Reservations — Not required but recommended on weekends
Credit cards — All major accepted
Hours — Lunch, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.,
Monday-Friday; dinner, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday
Dress — Casual
Noise level — Low to moderate
Handicapped access — Yes
Smoking — Patio only
Parking — Ranch Acres parking lot
