It's a done deal. Apparently he's dreaming of enjoying a "real American hamburger." And it looks like he'll be able to bring the model with him.

That's great news. The real question is: which hamburger in town is worthy?

NICs

Charcoal Oven

Pops?

definitely should go by pops, but not for their burgers.

Johnnies #3 with extra chilie!

Johnnies #3 with extra chilie!

^^Johnnies does have some tasty burgers!Great news about Elijah coming here hopefully I get to meet him!

If someone is from another country and always dreamed of America, they have to go to Sonic in an 60's convertible. Burger, onion rings, shake, die happy.

I agree with Sonic (X long coney, tator tots, cherry limeade) and Johnnies (aformentioned #3, o-rings, shake) - let him go to a few places.

Also some BBQ, mexican or italian, and pizza - just to round out his American food experience.

Try to work in Chicago Hot Dog and some Okie favourites (Chick fried Steak, Onion Fried Burger, Indian Taco) depending upon how long he is in town.

congratulations and THANKS to everyone who was involved. This is a great and wonderful recognition and just really shows how far Oklahoma City has come - .

I agree with Sonic (X long coney, tator tots, cherry limeade) and Johnnies (aformentioned #3, o-rings, shake) - let him go to a few places.

Also some BBQ, mexican or italian, and pizza - just to round out his American food experience.

Try to work in Chicago Hot Dog and some Okie favourites (Chick fried Steak, Onion Fried Burger, Indian Taco) depending upon how long he is in town.

congratulations and THANKS to everyone who was involved. This is a great and wonderful recognition and just really shows how far Oklahoma City has come - .

He will probably need some Pepto too after all of that. LOL

640
The Republic Burger would serve him right!

Tuck, I'm thinking with Creativity being the theme of the week, if you don't mind me favoring one of your other children, a visit to POPS might a moral imperative for Elijah's visit.

Tuck, I'm thinking with Creativity being the theme of the week, if you don't mind me favoring one of your other children, a visit to POPS might a moral imperative for Elijah's visit.

No reason not to trust you Steve...I'm in! But doesn't that burger look tasty?

I still need to get to Republic myself - haven't really eaten there yet!

I've started a separate blog page devoted to Russian Sam coverage and updates: http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/category/russian-sam/

I'm very serious about seeing if Elijah can meet folks from OKC Talk. What do you guys think? Can we make this work?

Nic's... take him to Nic's.

Warren, with every minute precious on this trip, not sure if an hour on line at Nic's is worth it.

I've started a separate blog page devoted to Russian Sam coverage and updates: http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/category/russian-sam/

I'm very serious about seeing if Elijah can meet folks from OKC Talk. What do you guys think? Can we make this work?

Steve, will he have a translater available since he doesn't speak English? There wouldn't be much point in meeting if he could only shake hands and wave.

haha, you're right lj about him needing the pepto! lol

I thought that Elijah might like to know a little historical about Russians in Oklahoma so I've done the following:

(1) Scanned 2 pages from Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (2006) which describe a little information from the 1910 Census as to Russian-born citizens and where they lived:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/russian_born_1910census_atlas1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/russian_born_1910census_atlas2.jpg

The links for the above are http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/russian_born_1910census_atlas1.jpg and http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/russian_born_1910census_atlas2.jpg

(2) Taken a look at the detail from the actual 1910 census. A brief summary is:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/1910_russian_detail.jpg

The direct link is http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/1910_russian_detail.jpg

(3) Made a 10 page PDF file containing county by county detail from the 1910 census showing the number of Russian-born citizens in each county and highlighting those counties which had more than 80 Russian-born citizens in the 1910 census. The direct link for the PDF file is http://www.dougloudenback.com/misc/1910_oklahoma_census_russianborn.pdf

Steve, I hope that you will pass this information along to Elijah, these files being made for him.

Steve, will he have a translater available since he doesn't speak English? There wouldn't be much point in meeting if he could only shake hands and wave.

We have several translators ready to be at Elijah's side throughout his trip

LOL - take him snipe hunting. You haven't been to Oklahoma until you hunt snipe.

and noodle.....

Cow tipping. Cattlemans. Stage Center. The Underground Tunnel. Gold Dome. Cai Nguyen Market.

I'm going to be in OKC for Thanksgiving. When is Ilia leaving OKC? Hopefully not right after the creativity forum. I might be able to help with communication because I've picked up quite a bit of Russian in Canada...

I'm going to be in OKC for Thanksgiving. When is Ilia leaving OKC? Hopefully not right after the creativity forum. I might be able to help with communication because I've picked up quite a bit of Russian in Canada...

Can you see Russia from your window too, Spartan? LOL

also, in case Sam doesn't know - Oklahoma City resides MOSTLY in the Small Square county in the centre of the state. The metro area consists of the counties ringed around the square.

Some of the OKC city limits (suburban and rural/watershed) spill into a few neighbouring counties but for all intensive purposes, OKC resides in the small square in the dead centre, which is named Oklahoma County.

Cow tipping. Cattlemans. Stage Center. The Underground Tunnel. Gold Dome. Cai Nguyen Market.

Cattleman's sucks. Big time. They live on old pictures on their wall...and an alleged good history...the two-tablespoon salad of bitter white lettuce core festooned with the bitter cherry tomato with milk and mayo "Special dressing" and the gnarly hard baked potato the size of your wife's fist and the tough little "tenderized" Sizzler bargain steak...God Awful place...

What is important about this Russian Sam? Is he famous?

What is important about this Russian Sam? Is he famous?

Only on architecture message boards.

Cattleman's sucks. Big time. They live on old pictures on their wall...and an alleged good history...the two-tablespoon salad of bitter white lettuce core festooned with the bitter cherry tomato with milk and mayo "Special dressing" and the gnarly hard baked potato the size of your wife's fist and the tough little "tenderized" Sizzler bargain steak...God Awful place...

Agreed. I wish the guy from Kitchen Nightmares would go to Cattlemen's.

Allrighty then, just do a drive through on stockyard city, come back by HH Gun Range to fire off a few rounds, swing out to Old Mary's and then feed him at The Deep Fork Grill.

Oh yeah, if I understand correctly his day job is in a grocery store so Cao Nguyen and maybe some other OKC shopping experience might be apropos.

jmark, we agree on a lot of things, and I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion of Cattlemen's.

I took my then fiance there a few years ago, and was horribly disappointed! We had a MUCH BETTER steak at our hotel room in downtown Oklahoma City. In fact, it was at the Aria grill and it was the best steak my then fiance ever had. Cattlemen's was a joke and they are probably just living on name recognition now.

That being said, it IS/WAS an OKC institution and I think it is worth checking out. Hopefully they will step up their game now that OKC does have lots of dining options. I actually miss Applewoods - what happened with it (anybody know)?

Applewoods moved to memorial Ed years ago, eventually changed into Northfork, then went out of biz. Sad, I miss their apple fritters

Applewoods moved to memorial Ed years ago, eventually changed into Northfork, then went out of biz. Sad, I miss their apple fritters
It was never the same after moving from the original location. For a short time they had a small bakery on NW 10th next to the tracks right by what is now Heartland Bible College. It was pretty good since we lived in that neighborhood just north of that store we frequented the place often, they also sold the fritter dough in jars so you could cook fresh ones at home, those were good right out of the fryer.

yep, I remember those apple fritters. Best in the world.

The place in general, was OKC's signature restaurant in my mind. It does go to show that you can't move EVERYTHING out to the suburbs and be successful - some things are SUPPOSED to be in the centre city.

Oh well, OKC sure has a LOT more upper end places now AND we get to look forward to the new MG signature restaurant - hopefully it will be even better than Applewoods.

jmark, we agree on a lot of things, and I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion of Cattlemen's.

I took my then fiance there a few years ago, and was horribly disappointed! We had a MUCH BETTER steak at our hotel room in downtown Oklahoma City. In fact, it was at the Aria grill and it was the best steak my then fiance ever had. Cattlemen's was a joke and they are probably just living on name recognition now.

That being said, it IS/WAS an OKC institution and I think it is worth checking out. Hopefully they will step up their game now that OKC does have lots of dining options. I actually miss Applewoods - what happened with it (anybody know)?

Good steak places a few and far between anywhere in the USA...I searched Los Angeles for good places for years (the under $75 type places--over that--well...it is just a piece of meat) best I know of was Phil Lehr's Steak place in the basement of the Hilton in San Francisco, Union Square...where you got to pick your steak from the butcher there and he cut the size you wanted...marvelous place--but that was the early 1980's--not sure if it is still there...The Red Room at the Clift Hotel in SF was my favorite restaurant ever...the best in every way...

you make a great point, that steak is often subjective in the eyes of the beholder. Very true.

but you made some very interesting observations about Cattlemen's that WERE THE EXACT SAME as my experience. So either we are twins, or there might be a bit of credence to the criticisms of Cattlemen's.

What we really liked about Aria the time we visited, was the steak was tender, juicy, big, cooked to perfect medium rare, had full flavour, was lean/perfectly marbled, AND GET THIS - was ROOM SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!! HAHA, AND THE PRICE WAS RIGHT!!!!!! We would have paid 10 times (and actually did order more).

My then fiance, she was BLOWN OUT OF HER MIND, particularly after having been to OKC's 'signature' historic steakhouse only to be disappointed in being served a large piece of beef fat, heavily UNDERCOOKED at that. Everything we had was subpar, and this WASN'T the first bad experience I had at Cattlemen's (but I thought it would be better/improved when I took her - NOPE).

anyways, I don't know if Aria is the same/good as before, but they sure were when we visited back in 2006.

you make a great point, that steak is often subjective in the eyes of the beholder. Very true.

but you made some very interesting observations about Cattlemen's that WERE THE EXACT SAME as my experience. So either we are twins, or there might be a bit of credence to the criticisms of Cattlemen's.

What we really liked about Aria the time we visited, was the steak was tender, juicy, big, cooked to perfect medium rare, had full flavour, was lean/perfectly marbled, AND GET THIS - was ROOM SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!! HAHA, AND THE PRICE WAS RIGHT!!!!!! We would have paid 10 times (and actually did order more).

My then fiance, she was BLOWN OUT OF HER MIND, particularly after having been to OKC's 'signature' historic steakhouse only to be disappointed in being served a large piece of beef fat, heavily UNDERCOOKED at that. Everything we had was subpar, and this WASN'T the first bad experience I had at Cattlemen's (but I thought it would be better/improved when I took her - NOPE).

anyways, I don't know if Aria is the same/good as before, but they sure were when we visited back in 2006.

My steak-eating days are in the past for me health-wise, but great steaks are found out of the blue--where you least expect them--and price is usually not the best gauge. I used to go to a sort-of smarmy place in LA near the airport...Ross Woods...that had great steaks and had a great clientele. For a thrill for the tongue now I try to find the best scallops I can...however--now that the McRib is back...well...

Thanks for information, guys!
http://s016.radikal.ru/i335/1011/25/236062cadfa7.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)
http://s011.radikal.ru/i316/1011/a2/7971a735a5c3.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)

Dimensions:
length of 420 mm. (16.5 inches)
width of 325 mm. (12.8 inches)
height of 145 mm. (5.7 inches)

Nice pictures!

yep, I remember those apple fritters. Best in the world.

The place in general, was OKC's signature restaurant in my mind. It does go to show that you can't move EVERYTHING out to the suburbs and be successful - some things are SUPPOSED to be in the centre city.

Oh well, OKC sure has a LOT more upper end places now AND we get to look forward to the new MG signature restaurant - hopefully it will be even better than Applewoods.

The center city doesn't have as much to do with their success as much as the fact that it was their original location. Had they originally been located in the suburbs and famous, the same rule would probably apply.

FYI the MBG isn't getting a "signature restaurant" now, see the MBG thread on those details.

Good steak places a few and far between anywhere in the USA...I searched Los Angeles for good places for years (the under $75 type places--over that--well...it is just a piece of meat) best I know of was Phil Lehr's Steak place in the basement of the Hilton in San Francisco, Union Square...where you got to pick your steak from the butcher there and he cut the size you wanted...marvelous place--but that was the early 1980's--not sure if it is still there...The Red Room at the Clift Hotel in SF was my favorite restaurant ever...the best in every way...

Good thing we have Red Prime and The Ranch now. Far better than Cattlemen's ever was or will be.

Good thing we have Red Prime and The Ranch now. Far better than Cattlemen's ever was or will be.

Thanks for this info...next time friends from back east or west come through, I will take them to these places...

They will have a MUCH better impression of OKC than they ever could from Cattlemen's, not to mention Red Prime was ranked a Top 10 steakhouse in the U.S. But anyhow, back to Russian Sam!

So Steve, when he gets here will you call him Russian Sam and he call you American Steve?

The center city doesn't have as much to do with their success as much as the fact that it was their original location. Had they originally been located in the suburbs and famous, the same rule would probably apply.

FYI the MBG isn't getting a "signature restaurant" now, see the MBG thread on those details.

They are losing the regular restaurant too? Thought they were just ditching the lower end "cafe"???

No one has indicated the Myriad Gardens is not getting a "signature restaurant." They are eliminating the cafe, but still going forward with a full service, upscale restaurant.

Never heard of Russian Sam. Does that make me a dummy? I bet he's never heard of Stan Silliman, either.

Russian Sam--out of the blue from his home in St. Petersburg, Russia, made the nice detailed model of downtown OKC and made his way into the news here...it is a great thing he will be coming to this place so far away just because of his interest in doing these models...he appears young (college age) in his pictures--so this will be a real serendipity coming here...a nice story that should make a lot of news locally and nationwide--hopefully...

Never heard of Russian Sam. Does that make me a dummy? I bet he's never heard of Stan Silliman, either.
It doesn't make you a dummy, Stan. It just means that you've not noticed this development which has been on-going since March of this year. That said, no need exists to be rude to or about the guest that we are about to welcome here form St. Petersburg, Russia, is there?

If you have an interest in getting up to speed on this topic and in this forum, see

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=21946
http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=23353
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1088789

Another article! http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101104006513/en/Russian-Man%E2%80%99s-Miniature-Model-Oklahoma-City-Opens

Never heard of Russian Sam. Does that make me a dummy? I bet he's never heard of Stan Silliman, either.

Neither have I heard of you.

What a great thing it is for Ilia to be coming here. I am sure it will be a great experience for him. Of all the world's people...Russians seem the most like Americans, to me, in their spirit, they do not give up and they are rugged individualists. It is a spectacular accomplishment for people here to connect with someone in St. Petersburg and then bring him here to have a burger together. Fleets of politicians and diplomats have accomplished far less.

Do you want to meet "Russian Sam"? Get your chance, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16 at the Creative Convergence Showcase in Expo Hall at the Cox Convention Center. Entrance at that time will be free and he'll be manning a table showing off his work!

Will he be signing autographs?

Did someone wake up on the grumpy side of the bed today?
Hugs and kisses, my dear, dear friend!

Neither have I heard of you.

Not possible. Stan has provided links to a lot of his writings, some are even pretty funny.

Do you want to meet "Russian Sam"? Get your chance, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16 at the Creative Convergence Showcase in Expo Hall at the Cox Convention Center. Entrance at that time will be free and he'll be manning a table showing off his work!
^^Count me in!I'm going to print off a pic of his entire dt OKC collection and have him sign it and then take a pic with him!