Sam's Southern Eatery (https://www.facebook.com/homeofthejumboshrimp/?hc_ref=ADS&fref=nf&ft[tn]=kC&ft[qid]=6338351116374629226&ft[mf_story_key]=7162497991664090234&ft[ei]=AI%404daf64cdd4f74c8d5d9b06e2a2ee7741&ft[fbfeed_location]=1&ft[insertion_position]=9&__md__=1) opened for business Oct. 5th.

I've heard really good things about this place and I'm eager to try it out.

Wow seems like they got up and running in a hurry.. will have to check it out this weekend.

Wow seems like they got up and running in a hurry.. will have to check it out this weekend.

Doesn't really look like they did much to the building. Slapped a little paint on it and hung some banners.

Doesn't really look like they did much to the building. Slapped a little paint on it and hung some banners.

Maybe that's why I thought it would take longer. thought perhaps they would give it more than just a little love to get by. will have to check it out and see

Maybe that's why I thought it would take longer. thought perhaps they would give it more than just a little love to get by. will have to check it out and see

From comments I have seen about other locations ("Don't let the outside appearance scare you away"). It's not exactly known for it's ambience..... Fortunately I'm all about dives. So if the foods good.... I don't care what the place looks like.... The divier the better! lol

I don't either. I mean some of the best places I've ate are dives. But is hard to attract a new crowd sometimes until word gets around. I'll probably give it a go this weekend

Ok well I dropped in today and picked me up lunch as I am working from home today. They have slapped on some paint and looks like some of it is still in remodel so it may get a bit better. Added 3 big TV menu boards behind the counter. They seems to be struggling with if they are a counter service concept or a table concept. They were taking orders and giving numbers but having the patrons come back to the register to pay as they left. I think this just needs to be counter service to be honest but they did have a full staff, enough to wait on tables. I ordered and then was told he would have to take my money at the other order station, he said he is trying to get them to just use one register and they will get it all figured out. Not a big deal and probably the reason for the Counter service/Table service problems. I ordered the Shimp po'boy with Fries. The meal and drink totaled 10 and some change. Got it home and was pleased when opened it up. Big sandwich with probably 4 large shrimp on it and then fries with two more large shrimp on top. I like Po'boys with a bunch a little shrimp as well but these were nice and delicious. The sams sauce is pretty mild Mayo based but needs a bit more kick so I hit it with some hot sauce ( I will have to see what other sauces they have the next trip ). It was a good filling meal and I am a big man. I will definitely be going back and will most likely use them for pick up meals since they are so close to my house. here are a few pics of my meal.
Side note: My Boxer/Pit mix loves fries, It is the only people food she gets. She smells them come in the house and will sit and watch you until you let her have one or two. Well same for these but after having one she walked away so I guess they aren't her favorite fries..LOL. Fries weren't salty really and a little shake of seasoning they were fine will some hot sauce for me but evidently Jeni is not a fan.
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I went today. The fish, shrimp and oysters were very good! But they had run out of a lot of side dishes before noon, and the place looked a little "worn". Waitstaff acted like it was their first day on ANY job. So..."Been There. Done That!" is my take on this place.

Stopped by today and ordered the 4-piece fried fish meal with okra and mac & cheese (you get two sides). They brought out okra and fries and then just gave me a little side of the mac & cheese once I pointed out the mistake.

The fish was very good... Really liked the breading and seasoning. And they actually gave me 5 big pieces. I barely finished two. The amount of food is ridiculous.

The fired okra was fine and the mac & cheese was just very plain and kind of sad.

The place is thoroughly depressing. Super cheap red, white and blue paint job inside and out (see last photo for the standard of work), cheap tile, tired old booths (mine was ripped), super cheapo everything. Also, it looks like they did nothing to the bathrooms, which had the same sort of finishes.

The fish was so good that I might eat there again, but for carry out.

BTW, I thought this was order-at-the-counter but that is only for to-go. They seat you and then have a waitress provide service.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sams121116a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sams121116b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sams121116c.jpg

I got the 3 fish, 3 chicken, 3 shrimp. It was pretty good, but the atmosphere is fairly drab. Stopped by Monday afternoon and the faint smell of weed was present.

When I got my to go box (they gave me way more than 3 of each), I realized I had been to one before in Louisiana and enjoyed it then too.

I agree 100% for takeout.. I have ate there several times but never stayed there always picked it up. it was definitely done on the cheap and pretty drab to say the least. but the place is always busy when I go by the parking lot is full.

went to sam's today... this was my second visit. the mains were really good and fresh... both times i ordered fried chicken strips and catfish. the chicken was freshly prepared and piping hot. the catfish was cooked perfectly... not overdone and the breading had just the right amount of spice for my taste. really enjoyed both of those and for the money you get quite a bit of food. as previously stated, the sides are kind of "meh"... between the two meals, i've had fries, red beans & rice, fried okra, and corn. the fries were typical and were probably the best side of everything i've ordered. the rest were fairly bland... and the okra was kind of gummy. all in all, the food is good enough for the price.

here's the weird part... the place is set up as counter service... you order and pay at the counter, are given a number, pour your own drink at the soda fountain, and a server brings your food out to you. both times, i left a tip at the register just like i've done at dozens of places. this time as food was delivered to each customer, the server announced that leaving a tip up front only tipped the cashiers and was not shared with the servers. in my opinion this is pretty crazy... i understand and respect the need to tip when service is provided but i shouldn't be expected to leave a little something for the cashier and then leave a little something else for the server... why push that extra drama to the customer?

went to sam's today... this was my second visit. the mains were really good and fresh... both times i ordered fried chicken strips and catfish. the chicken was freshly prepared and piping hot. the catfish was cooked perfectly... not overdone and the breading had just the right amount of spice for my taste. really enjoyed both of those and for the money you get quite a bit of food. as previously stated, the sides are kind of "meh"... between the two meals, i've had fries, red beans & rice, fried okra, and corn. the fries were typical and were probably the best side of everything i've ordered. the rest were fairly bland... and the okra was kind of gummy. all in all, the food is good enough for the price.

here's the weird part... the place is set up as counter service... you order and pay at the counter, are given a number, pour your own drink at the soda fountain, and a server brings your food out to you. both times, i left a tip at the register just like i've done at dozens of places. this time as food was delivered to each customer, the server announced that leaving a tip up front only tipped the cashiers and was not shared with the servers. in my opinion this is pretty crazy... i understand and respect the need to tip when service is provided but i shouldn't be expected to leave a little something for the cashier and then leave a little something else for the server... why push that extra drama to the customer?

Did you leave a tip for the bathroom attendant?

Did you leave a tip for the bathroom attendant?

ha! its funny that you say that... before submitting, i removed a couple sentences from the end of my post asking if i should've left a separate tip to have the table bussed and another for the employee who cleans the restroom.

now i realize that i totally forgot about the fry cook.

That counter thing is new because when I was last in there, they took your order at the table.

And I agree the sides are really poor but the fried fish is really good and huge portions for the money.

Have seen tip jars for cooks at some registers before, but never for a register operator.
Seems quite odd to do that.

Drove down Reno in Midwest City this evening and the Basil Mediteranean (Originally Popeye's) is now a Sam's Southern Eatery.

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Have eaten at both locations now, and the MWC location is a little better suited to eat in. Food was the same and will eat there again.

checked out the mwc location at lunch today... i agree that the setup looks a little nicer there. the food was comparable but i thought that the main dishes were prepared slightly better at the 23rd street location... but it was well within the margin of error.

checked out the mwc location at lunch today... i agree that the setup looks a little nicer there. the food was comparable but i thought that the main dishes were prepared slightly better at the 23rd street location... but it was well within the margin of error.

I was there at lunch also... Probably were there about the same time.

One opened up on Hefner and Rockwell. Looks like it overtook the Freddys that was there.

One opened up on Hefner and Rockwell. Looks like it overtook the Freddys that was there. I miss the Backyard Burger that used to be there before Freddys.

I miss the Backyard Burger that used to be there before Freddys.

I miss backyard burger in general. Why did they completely leave OK?

I miss backyard burger in general. Why did they completely leave OK?

We only got to eat at Backyard Burger a couple of times before they went away. Their Black Angus Burger was incredible. I simply can't understand how a place with food like that wouldn't be a huge success. (I also don't get the disappearance of Bahama Breeze). That being said, the catfish, etc. at Sam's Southern Eatery looks so good that I'm DEFINITELY going to give it a try.

I'd recommend it. It's really good and you get a lot of bang for buck, if you care about that.

One opened up on Hefner and Rockwell. Looks like it overtook the Freddys that was there.

Freddy’s is still open. They took the building just to the east of Braum’s that has contained at least 5 different failed restaurants in the past 10 years. The restaurant is not visible at all from the intersection so not sure why folks keep giving it a shot.

A few days ago, c/o OKC Talk, I was telling a coworker about this place. Yesterday, he handed me a menu, said he had just visited it, and told me that I definitely needed to check it out.

So, last night we did. I ordered the Four Piece Catfish dinner with Fries and Slaw on the side. My wife chose the Crabcakes with Okra and Slaw. It was Friday, and between the dine-in customers and the call-in orders, the place was fairly busy. About an hour after ordering at the counter our food arrived at the table (except without the okra my wife had ordered). Yes. An Hour. I suppose that's the price you pay when nothing sits under heat lamps and everything is cooked fresh to order.

The first thing I noticed was that my order of catfish had apparently been miscounted: I ordered the Four Piece and there was a massive pile of about EIGHT large pieces of perfectly cooked fish on my plate. That is not a complaint. Two of the leftover filets and the rest of my fries will make a very good lunch today. I also noticed that, as a langiappe, they put one of their famous Jumbo Shrimp on the plate with my wife's crabcakes. I gave her about half my fries while we waited for her missing okra to arrive and she gave me the shrimp.

Long story short: The food--especially the fish, crabcakes, shrimp and dipping sauces--was VERY good. The ambiance was average. The service has some room for improvement. My wife suggested that maybe they were a little short-handed in the kitchen because nobody on the front end was doing anything but work as hard and fast as they could. We will certainly be going back. Maybe just not on a Friday night. Or, if so, we might phone in our order before we leave the house and cut the wait time in half.

A few days ago, c/o OKC Talk, I was telling a coworker about this place. Yesterday, he handed me a menu, said he had just visited it, and told me that I definitely needed to check it out.

So, last night we did. I ordered the Four Piece Catfish dinner with Fries and Slaw on the side. My wife chose the Crabcakes with Okra and Slaw. It was Friday, and between the dine-in customers and the call-in orders, the place was fairly busy. About an hour after ordering at the counter our food arrived at the table (except without the okra my wife had ordered). Yes. An Hour. I suppose that's the price you pay when nothing sits under heat lamps and everything is cooked fresh to order.

The first thing I noticed was that my order of catfish had apparently been miscounted: I ordered the Four Piece and there was a massive pile of about EIGHT large pieces of perfectly cooked fish on my plate. That is not a complaint. Two of the leftover filets and the rest of my fries will make a very good lunch today. I also noticed that, as a langiappe, they put one of their famous Jumbo Shrimp on the plate with my wife's crabcakes. I gave her about half my fries while we waited for her missing okra to arrive and she gave me the shrimp.

Long story short: The food--especially the fish, crabcakes, shrimp and dipping sauces--was VERY good. The ambiance was average. The service has some room for improvement. My wife suggested that maybe they were a little short-handed in the kitchen because nobody on the front end was doing anything but work as hard and fast as they could. We will certainly be going back. Maybe just not on a Friday night. Or, if so, we might phone in our order before we leave the house and cut the wait time in half.

Them miscounting isn't out of the ordinary. They're worse, or better pending on how you look at it, than Chicken Express

^^^ I did have a couple of pieces of the leftover fish for lunch, yesterday. For lunch today I had a "One Slice of Bread" fish sandwich, followed by a "Fish Burrito" (while waiting for today's supper Chuck Roast ala John to finish cooking).

The best chicken place in Minnesota is a little place, north of Cambridge, on Highway 65, called The Brass Rail (broasted chicken that even the trains stop for).

There's a really good BBQ place, called The Boundary (at the Intersection of Old Route 66 and Indian Hills Road).

Both require patience on the part of diners. Just like Sam's Southern Eatery does.

I guess it's true that "Good Things Take a Little Longer." =~)

p.s. I/We committed a faux pas regarding the tip jar by the register (based on comments on this thread). I did not put any cash in the jar nor did I add a tip to the ticket (I never tip in advance).

My wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed and Usually Carries Cash) compounded the offense as she did not have her wallet with her (after we finished our delightful meal). It was a little awkward.

I promised our waitperson (I hate the word "Server") that the next time we visited we would make up for our error. I'm thinkin' at least five bucks at the register and maybe ten left on the table. It really was that good.

I just want to give a shout out to these guys at Penn and I-240. Great place with great food and amazing people!

Former manager of the Chickasha location arrested on arson charges. Location is a total loss.
https://www.chickashanews.com/community/former-sam-s-southern-eatery-restaurant-manager-faces-arson-charges/article_43e117e0-9637-11eb-b5ea-8760bf1bb05b.html

Alright, I read the last few pages of this thread and decided it was worth a shot. I tried them out when they first opened, and I was pretty unimpressed with their offerings. I thought it was greasy to the point of seeming dirty. So the day marking the second week after my second shot, I tried an Oyster Po'Boy and it was as good as I've had. They did throw a couple of extra side oysters in there and they were great. I'll be back. It's apparently under new ownership and it shows.

I do appreciate they often throw in some extra goodies like shrimp or other protein.

Looks like the location on NW 23rd/Villa-ish has closed and become a car dealer lot?

I think Norman is the only location left... I know they've closed almost all of their locations in the metro and though their website still shows the Moore and Norman locations, the Moore location recently closed too. Even though consistency was all over the place, I'm still sad they closed because I loved their fish and their crab cakes.

I had no idea of how many locations they had. We have been to the one in Clinton, Enid, and El Reno. They go from Texas all the way to Missouri. I wonder why the OKC metro ones closed. Looks like Tulsa's is still open?

The ones here were crazy erratic.

The one on 23rd opened and closed a couple of times.

Maybe a local franchisee who couldn't get it together.

I think Norman is the only location left... I know they've closed almost all of their locations in the metro and though their website still shows the Moore and Norman locations, the Moore location recently closed too. Even though consistency was all over the place, I'm still sad they closed because I loved their fish and their crab cakes.

I’m not surprised the Moore location didn’t make it. We find The Catch is a pretty similar concept producing superior food.

The Norman location is in a great location, in downtown Norman. The upkeep is great, and has outdoor seating. The Moore location was in a bad spot.

I really liked their shrimp po boy

The 23rd location never looked complete. I had went in when it first opened and assumed they were still working on things. but the outside for sure never looked done or in order or appealing for anyone to stop in.

I really liked their shrimp po boy

I recently had my first shrimp po boy at Hook & Reel. I really liked it, but it's the only one I've had, so I don't know how it compares to what Sam's offers.

I recently had my first shrimp po boy at Hook & Reel. I really liked it, but it's the only one I've had, so I don't know how it compares to what Sam's offers.
Haha I’m actually in the same boat regarding Shrimp Po Boys or Po Boys in general so the only I’ve had so far was at Sams Eatery.

Haha I’m actually in the same boat regarding Shrimp Po Boys or Po Boys in general so the only I’ve had so far was at Sams Eatery.

Y'all need to go to NOLA, Acme Oyster House's po' boys are fantastic. I haven't done any po' boys here, so can't recommend any places, but Mexican Radio's shrimp po' boy taco is pretty good. :)

Y'all need to go to NOLA, Acme Oyster House's po' boys are fantastic. I haven't done any po' boys here, so can't recommend any places, but Mexican Radio's shrimp po' boy taco is pretty good. :)
Yeah I’ve been through New Orleans and stopped at the French Quarter but didn’t really get a chance to indulge. I need to make it back there. Yes that shrimp taco at Mexican radio is fire!

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.
Those are both fantastic places and the owners at Cajun Corner are great people.

Those are both fantastic places and the owners at Cajun Corner are great people.

Agree.

They seem to be doing very well which makes me happy to see.

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

I LOVE the seafood etouffee and the gumbo at Cajun Corner but I was very underwhelmed by their fried fish basket. The fish fillets were quite a bit smaller than the ones we used to get from Sam's - though they were still pretty tasty. They also don't have crab cakes, which was another item I got from Sam's on the regular... definitely going to miss those, the ones Sam's had were really good. I still need to check out The Catch though, I've heard great things and the pictures I've seen make the portion sizes on the fish fillets look much closer to what Sam's had. Also intrigued by the boudin balls too.

I've really enjoyed the food at The Catch and Cajun Corner.

Much better than Sam's IMO.

I have not had catfish in years and it sounds good, I will have to give it a shot this weekend

The Noble location closed recently too.