Roger and Cindy's Ralston Corner Cafe - Review #16 - The last Oklahoma Review

Well it has been a long time since the last review and I apologize for that.  There have been 3 or 4 places in Ponca City, Agra, and the University Country Club in Stillwater that I should have written about, but never got done.  That would have put us at 20 or so overall on what has turned out to be quite a fun little adventure around north-central Oklahoma. I don't know that there is a better way to see what the people of a place are like than going into the one little restaurant in town and people watching.  My journey's with BJ have taken me to little towns I would have never thought of visiting, each with their own character or at least remnants of the character they once had. 

Today's final journey perhaps took us to our most unique stop in a small town (maybe former town) called Ralston located about an our northeast of Stillwater in farm country along the Arkansas River.  I town so isolated the closest grocery store was about 30 minutes away, closest walmart an hour away and no real gas station.  It is the definition of dying or dead, one street town with the only viable businesses being two small restaurants.  The bank, bar, and car dealership as well as a small number of other buildings that lack any remaining identification have long been closed and boarded up.

The restaurant though remained well intact and was actually far nicer than you would have ever expected.  It had a fantastic ambiance with walls covered in signs and other decor.  It was perhaps one of the nicer restaurants we've actually eaten in.  Amazingly it had a appeared to have a strong local (regular) customer base who the waitress all knew by name. People talked about their donkey's making noises, had large gaps in their teeth, but were all good folk who just seemed to enjoy life. 

 

The breakfast menu was the typical for an Oklahoma restaurant with good ole' American favorites, and on this morning I had the tried and true eggs overeasy, sausage, homemade fried potatoes and biscuits and gravy.....all of which were truly excellent.  BJ had a single, humongous pancake and two eggs over easy, both of which he said were excellent with the pancake being surprisingly good considering how big it was.

 

And overall.......

Food: 4.5 of 5 pancakes
Cost: $$ (out of 5 - more dollar signs = more expensive)
Overall: 5 of 5 cups of coffee

The coffee was very good and constantly refilled, always a necessary requirement.  The food was delicious and plentiful, the decor amazingly pleasant and the people watching definitely gets a plus rating.  As always BJ's company was great and it was a beautiful early morning drive through rural Oklahoma, a part of the country few ever see and even fewer appreciate.  It's these small, often dying towns that were part of what made this country great and now often all that's left is a facade of once existed. If you were driving through Ralston you would probably never consider stopping, with to many reminders of Deliverance, but if some day you do it's well worth stopping for a hearty, good old American breakfast!!!!  I could think of no better way to conclude the Oklahoma version of this blog, but that will not be the end.  On Monday I head back to central California where, once settled, David and I will continue the journey to those restaurants less seen!

The view from the restaurant down the one cross street.

View looking north out of town from the restaurant.  The river is jsut down that hill.

The view from the restaurant looking south out of town.  Say goodbye to BJ!

The drive home!