Okie Eye Talian

Pete's Place in Krebs, Oklahoma has been cooking up Italian food since 1925.  We've passed the place a few times but had never stopped in.  Well, as luck would have it, last we were stranded overnight in the area and needed food.  Ed decided it was time to try Pete's.

We were led to our table, which turned out to be in its own private room.  We learned that Pete's Place had twenty-seven private dining rooms.  Kinda cool, but a little weird to be sitting alone in a room.  No people watching.  No activity.  No window. 

Not that I don't love spending time with my handsome husband, but I am three feet from him virtually twenty-four hours a day.  I like the atmosphere of a restaurant when we go out and this was, well, just odd. Please forgive the terrible picture - I didn't notice the glaring light until after I uploaded the pictures.

The menu was pretty straightforward, nothing fancy.  Although, Lambfries was something new to me.  I didn't even ask what they were because I don't like lamb, so I knew I wouldn't be trying them, but when I was writing this post, I Googled them.  Holy lamb balls!  I'm SO glad I didn't feel adventurous enough to try lamb that day.  Because, uh, the menu doesn't mention anything that would remotely tell you what they really are. Just eww.

You'll notice at the top of the menu, it states that all the entrees are served family style and include Spaghetti, Meatballs, Ravioli, Salad, Anti-Pasta Plate (um, it's antipasto), and Garlic Bread.

Every entree. 

So if you order a steak, or chicken parm, or fried chicken, or any of their main dishes, you're going to get salad and bread, an antipasto plate, spaghetti and meatballs, and ravioli.  Um, that's a meal in itself.

But, when in Rome...

We ordered a chicken parmesan and a lasagna and got all of the above.  The antipasto plate had 4 pieces of cheese, 4 green olives, and 2 pepperoncini.  The spaghetti and meatball platter had enough spaghetti for two people to have a generous serving and two meatballs.  And on the side of that platter were two homemade ravioli.

We had a small portion of everything and took most of the food home with us.  The salad was plain iceberg lettuce with their own dressing - a light, sweet dressing that turned out to be soy oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and spices.  I grew up on eating iceberg lettuce salads and still love it, the crisp crunch of it, and this dressing was surprisingly good.  I couldn't place what it was and would have never guessed apple cider vinegar.  They sell bottles of it in the lobby if you're inclined to take some home.

I thought the meatballs were delicious, but I wasn't thrilled with the flavor of the sauce that was on everything else.  The spaghetti was the standard thick spaghetti, I prefer thin.  The ravioli were meat filled, which I don't like, and the homemade dough was thick and well, doughy.  And the lasagna was meat-only lasagna, no ricotta, no mozzarella.  I put meat in my lasagna but always include the cheeses and prefer it that way.

The guy who started the place is from Italy and I wondered where since different regions prepare some of the same dishes in different ways - I thought that might be why they served meat ravioli and meat-only lasagna.  It turns out he was from the Campania region, where my family is from, but his style of cooking those items was definitely different.  Maybe it was just how his family made them.  Who's to say?

Overall, I wouldn't say the food was bad, but I can't say it was that great either.  Oh, I'm sure it's just fine for Krebs, Oklahoma (or most of Oklahoma for that matter) but it wasn't what I would consider great Italian food.  

There are a few other Italian places in town (which are connected to the family that runs Pete's - there were a few marriages between the families through the years) that I think we'll try next time we're in town. 

They are The Isle of Capri and Roseanna's, which I will definitely try because they have gnocchi on the menu!

And like we did this time, we'll make a stop at Lovera's to pick up a few must-haves.  This visit I picked up cheese, biscotti, pizzelle, and for our dessert, cannoli!  They were delicious!




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2017: After I Stop Laughing
2016: Manly Ribs
2015: My Brush With Nature
2014: Dear Summer,
2013: I Wrote This After A Day Of Doing Nothing, Sitting On My Ass, While I Watched TV  
2012: The Beautiful Strangler
2011: Art Enables Us To Find Ourselves And Lose Ourselves At The Same Time
2010: Even God Can’t Help Men
2009: My President’s House
2008: Don’t Give Up Hope If You Just Don’t Know What You Want To Be When You Grow Up, You Have Choices
2007: Alright, Mr. DeMille, I’m Ready For My Close Up
2006: Stone Magnolia
2005: Fitty Nine!!!