Food Worth the Drive 2026
Published January 2026
By Ben Luschen | 12 min read
For more than a dozen years, our editors have traveled the state in search of road-trip worthy restaurants to make your year's travels as delicious as possible. Well, buckle up for 2026: This year's list features seventeen Oklahoma restaurants you won't want to miss, from a Panhandle coffee shop to a Yukon Czech bakery to a Broken Bow sandwich place you won't believe—and more points in between. Here are a few selections from Food Worth the Drive Part 13, find them all in Oklahoma Today's January-February issue, on newsstands and to subscribers now.
Brick & Bread in Broken Bow. Photo by Jason Ward
By Nathan Gunter
There’s something so delightful about the combination of soup and sandwich. A well-made sandwich with great bread, fresh meat, crisp veggies, and a nice schmear is the perfect counterpart to the kind of soup that’s like having a warm blanket on the inside. Brick & Bread may have perfected the art.
Located in Broken Bow’s quaint and walkable downtown, Brick & Bread offers a sunny, welcoming dining room that’s the perfect place to enjoy this fare. Start with an order of deviled eggs or “EVOO & Friends,” a selection of extra virgin olive oil, pita bread, and various garnishes for dipping. Those whose gastronomic focus is more plant-based will love the wide selection of fresh salads and meatless sandwiches (the Spicy Cheddar & Apple is so tasty, carnivores won’t even notice). And soups like corn chowder and sun-dried tomato basil provide the ideal pairing.
PRO TIP: In McCurtain County to enjoy some time at Broken Bow Lake? Get a selection of Brick & Bread’s starters and sandwiches to go for a perfect picnic on the boat or the beach.
WHEN AND WHERE:
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
201 North Main Street in Broken Bow
(580) 584-2359
brickandbread.com
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
The Yum Yum Box in Lawton. Photo by Saxon Smith
By Karlie Ybarra
Jennifer Morris can tell you pretty easily what she considers to be the tastiest dish at her sister Tammy Bernard’s restaurant The Yum Yum Box.
“The collard greens, candied yams, the fried fish, fried pork chop, fried chicken . . . everybody gets her mac and cheese,” she says, reciting the entire menu. “I’m not trying to be conceited, but I’m the spokesperson, cashier, and customer service people, so I see everything. We’ve never had a complaint about any of this food.”
Bernard, Morris, and their mom Irene Washington hail from Mississippi, so The Box is a celebration of Southern cuisine. This is perhaps best illustrated by the yam fried chicken, which sells out every time it’s available.
PRO TIP: Each day, Jennifer Morris fills The Yum Yum Box display case with her homemade desserts like sweet potato pie, caramel cake, and peach cobbler, but get there early before they sell out.
WHEN AND WHERE:
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday
2106½ Northwest Fort Sill Boulevard in Lawton
(580) 699-3004
theyumyumbox.com
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
Amish Country Store & Restaurant in Muskogee. Photo by Saxon Smith
By Greg Elwell
If you walk out of the Amish Country Store & Restaurant in Muskogee hungry, that’s on you. There are too many delicious options with too many enormous portions for it to happen by accident. The all-day breakfast is a crowd pleaser: Thick French toast made with fresh Amish bread and stuffed-full omelets roll out of the kitchen constantly. Lunch is no slouch either, with open-faced roast beef sandwiches and succulent servings of sweet-and-savory meatloaf.
“There’s an Amish family about thirty minutes away, and they make all of our baked goods, our rolls, our bread, and our pies,” store manager Cassidy Zaring says. “Then there’s another family that lives across from them that makes our Cashew Crunch, which is really popular.”
In addition to a bustling restaurant, the Amish Country Store is stocked with loads of tasty treats that make for excellent gifts or enticing road-trip fare. Zaring herself makes the shop’s fudges.
PRO TIP: Come hungry if you’re thinking about getting the all-you-can-eat fried fish, which also comes with all-you-can-eat sides and bread. It’s the most expensive item on the menu but also the most filling.
WHEN AND WHERE:
8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
2410 North 32nd Street in Muskogee
(918) 686-0243
amishcountrystoreok.com
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
Azteca Mexican Grill in Oklahoma City. Photo by Saxon Smith
By Megan Rossman
Any regular at Azteca Mexican Grill on Route 66 in northwest Oklahoma City knows Alejandrina Camarena. The restaurant’s co-owner, who goes by Nina, is a constant and welcoming presence at the restaurant, chatting with customers, painting seasonal murals that brighten the walls, and helping her staff with whatever’s needed.
“We all work together,” she says, “and we all work very hard. We help each other, and you can see it in our dining room.”
Bustling but cheerful, the wait staff is in constant motion during the restaurant’s reliably busy lunches and dinners, bringing out fresh chip baskets with complimentary queso and salsa and specialties like quesabirria tacos, carne asada street tacos, mole enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and pozole on the weekends. All of Azteca’s recipes come from Camarena and her family.
“I grew up watching my mother cook,” she says. “What we serve here are homemade meals.”
PRO TIP: Breakfast is served all day at Azteca, with chilaquiles, huevos dishes, and molletes–toasted bread with guacamole, refried beans, queso fresco, and an egg.
WHEN AND WHERE:
11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
4024 North May Avenue in Oklahoma City
(405) 942-0260
aztecamexicangrillokc.com
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
Frazier's Osage Restaurant in Ponca City. Photo by Saxon Smith
By Karlie Ybarra
Sometimes, it’s impossible to reach a consensus on dinner. Mom wants Mexican. Dad desires barbecue. One kid has their heart set on pizza, and child number two won’t shut up about a burger. Compromise needn’t bother stopping by Frazier’s Osage Restaurant, because its menu contains multitudes. The smiling servers sling breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day, which could include omelets, tacos, wings, pork shanks, prime rib—by itself or in fajitas—loaded spuds, fish and chips, pasta, and so much more. Whatever diners order, they won’t be disappointed, especially if they add a side of mac and cheese.
PRO TIP: Diners can try one of two cobblers each day at Frazier’s Osage Restaurant, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of course.
WHEN AND WHERE:
7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
3113 U.S. Highway 60 in Ponca City
(580) 765-3113
facebook.com/fraziers
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
Ava June in Tulsa. Photo by Valerie Wei-Haas
By Sheilah Bright
Order Ava June’s Funeral Rolls—ham and Gruyére slipped into a brioche roll brushed with honey mustard butter—and ask about a side of story.
The Tulsa brasserie’s sea-blue booths with marble tables invite customers and staff to sit and share family stories alongside creative dishes like charred cabbage, roast chicken with light mushroom and Riesling cream, or an olive oil madeleine with lavender ice cream. Executive chef Trevor Tack and co-owner Noah Bush wanted to create a livelier French brasserie vibe to add to Tulsa’s restaurant scene.
If choucroute garnie—a bone-in pork chop topped with maple Dijon gastrique house sauerkraut and floating on garlic mashed potatoes—doesn’t stir up a mouthwatering memory, it will definitely create one
PRO TIP: Celebrating a special occasion? Make a reservation for the private dining experience, and choose between multiple menus and wine pairings.
WHEN AND WHERE:
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
1301 East 15th Street in Tulsa
(918) 550-5700
avajunetulsa.com
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
