Bites About Town: Best Brandy Ice in OKC

I feel a little too confident that I am the perfect person to deliver today’s post. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my twenty-something years, it is that I love fruity beverages, girly cocktails, and dessert drinks. I’m not afraid to admit my fondness for drinks that often leave you with a hangover. Piña Colada? I’ll take five. Club special? More please! Brandy Ice? Never just one.

Enter today’s “Bites About Town” post, featuring none other than, the brandy ice. A brandy ice seems to be fairly regional and oddly popular in Oklahoma. So today’s post also seems fitting as I’m on my outs of OKC before moving to Dallas next week. If you google brandy ices, only descriptions for brandy alexanders come up. They are basically the same thing, but a brandy alexander is made with cream and a brandy ice is made with ice cream.

You can read my past “Bites About Town” where I talked about the best salad and matcha lattes in the city. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more on brand. Salads, matcha, and brandy ices. Yup, that sounds about right. *Please note my scoring is set 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. Ok, without further ado.

Junior’s Supper Club
Things to note: The OG. Junior’s has been around for 46 years and is a staple in OKC. Known for their red walls and brandy ices, they come in small or large. They are thick as can be and and are all-around perfection from the texture to the flavor. A brandy ice at Junior’s is my favorite way to end the night. You may go for the BI, but find yourself staying for the live jazz music and Chex mix.
Verdict: 5

The Drake
Things to note: The Drake’s brandy ice is not your typical brandy ice. There are little flakes of ice in it lending it more toward a slushy than a milkshake. Not my cup of tea.
Verdict: 3

Cheever’s
Things to note: This is a hidden gem! People often finish their meal with a Pecan Ice Cream Ball when dining at Cheever’s, but don’t sleep on their brandy ice. I had Cheever’s for the first time a couple months ago and it was, well, delicious. It’s well balanced and has a great texture. A win all around.
Verdict: 5

photo courtesy of Facebook

Mahogany Prime Steakhouse
Things to note: Mahogany makes a great brandy ice. Nothing to write home about, but not glaringly bad. However, I will order anytime I go!
Verdict: 4

photo courtesy of Instagram

The Ranch
Things to note: This brandy ice is big. As you can see in the picture above with two straws, this brandy ice is best to be shared. However…I’m known to take one down on my own. I love the chocolate drizzle, but the martini glass bothers me. A classic brandy ice should be served in a brandy snifter or tulip-shaped glass.
Verdict: 4

I apologize for this blurry attempt at portrait mode.

Broadway 10 | Bar & Chophouse
Things to note: I love this brandy ice. It has a unique vanilla bean flavor and is topped off with chocolate shavings, instead of the classic grated nutmeg. I highly recommend sitting at the bar at Broadway 10 to order a brandy ice and snack on the complimentary bacon.
Verdict: 4

Michael’s Grill
Things to note: So cold they have to serve them with a plastic spoon because a metal one will freeze! Michael’s brandy ice lends more toward the texture of frozen yogurt. Nothing wrong with that!
Verdict: 4

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club
Things to note: I want to love this brandy ice. Visually it looks perfect, but the flavor resembles that of lead paint. Harsh I know, but it’s the truth. I wish I could say this stopped me from ordering them… The brandy in this particular BI could be lightened up juuuuusst a bit.
Verdict: 2

New addition as of 12/20/20

The Metro Wine Bar & BIstro
Things to note: I was unaware The Metro had a brandy ice until I was there for dinner and saw one go by. I about stopped dead in my tracks and ordered one before our meal came. This brandy ice is exactly how I want a brandy ice to taste. Thick but not too thick, super creamy, not overly strong, but still well balanced, and lots of fresh nutmeg on top. This brandy ice is on the bigger side so I’d suggest sharing. From one of my girlfriends, “Passes the test with the flying colors. I don’t even like brandy ices and liked this one.”
Verdict: 5

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Updated December 20th, 2020

And the winner goes to… TIED between Cheever’s, The Metro, and Junior’s. You can’t mess with a classic like Junior’s, but Cheever’s did and they succeeded. And once I tried The Metro, there is nothing not to love. It may seem like a cop-out to choose three winners, but that really just gives you more options to end the night with my favorite drink!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Wahhhh May how did this happen??? The end of April ended swiftly with lots of April showers. OKC was flooded last week with all of the rain. May came in full force with a ton of exciting news and happenings. Most exciting being I’m officially an aunt x2! Sister and John welcomed sweet baby Hallie to our fam on Friday! The same day I got the news that I got a job in Dallas (more details to come)!! It was an emotional day to say the least. Last week also included trying a new spot, a home tour, happy hour with mom and dad, drinks with girl friends, and a high school friends graduation party!

-New TJs product alert! Huge thumbs up for the jerk flavored plantain chips. Average consensus on the watermelon jerky. A+ on the packaging, B+ on the actual taste.
-This after dinner snack is on serious repeat. I’ve been craving a dessert element after a meal a lot lately. I’m trying to combat that by doing a spoonful of almond butter, chia seeds, coconut flakes, gogi berries and cacao nibs. I fill up a little soy sauce bowl I have with a sprinkle of each and it helps trick me into thinking I’m getting a sweet treat.
-New food and drink menu is officially out at The Jones! Let me highly recommend the saturn cocktail!
-Ate this incredibly easy stir fry for dinners all last week. Just shaved brussels, red onion, mushrooms and kale, sautéed in ghee with coconut aminos and sesame seeds.
-Orange skies at 9pm means nader season in Oklahoma. We didn’t have an actual tornado, but some crazy storms left the sky looking like it!
-Eclectic new spot in town, which will hands down be my go to until I move. Tried Red Rooster with mom and dad Thursday night.
-We added another baby girl to our family on Friday. Big sis Elle is proud to announce her baby sister, Hallie Margaret Krenger.
-Brandy ice’s with Aunt Chloe to celebrate being aunts x2!
-Woke up at 5:45 on Saturday. These very early weekend mornings are starting to become a thing…anyway I took advantage of the time and overripe bananas to make a vegan banana bread. I winged it and the bread turned out alright. Still enjoyed it with a thick layer of almond butter on the top.
-Bootie call at the Quail Creek Home Tour.
-Back to Red Rooster for their cheeseboard I was coveting, but couldn’t sell mom and dad on. Thank goodness I invested in friends who invest in cheeseboards with me.
-Home with Hallie!

Annie

MD Comes to OKC

BB MD of BOD comes to OKC to visit TAB! Enough acronyms for you?

Translation:
BB = blogger bestie. I wouldn’t say we still use this term because we are real life besties instead of just blogger besties, but back in 2014 when Molly and I first virtually met, we were BBs through and through.
MB now MD = my sweet sweet Molly Bridgett but now the Mrs. Molly Duncan
BOD = Bridget’s Own Diary aka Molly’s corner of the internet.
OKC = only the greatest big league city you’ll ever meet!
TAB = hopefully you know, but I’m talking about old Take A Bite

If you’ve read Take A Bite for a while, you know Molly! We initially met through blogging (yes, it’s true), but have since met up at ACL weekend, OU/Texas games, Houston, Dallas, her wedding, and talk multiple times a week.

We had talked about it multiple times, but I was so excited when Molly texted me letting me know the plane ticket had been booked and she was heading to OKC end of January! I pulled out my OKC City Guide (yes I use my own city guide) and started crafting out our weekend.

We had talked about it multiple times, but I was so excited when Molly texted me letting me know the plane ticket had been booked and she was heading to OKC end of January! I pulled out my OKC City Guide (yes I use my own city guide) and started crafting out our weekend.

If you are local to OKC or plotting a trip to “the city” soon, the weekend went something like this…

Friday:
Dinner at The Jones Assembly

Saturday:
Barre3, lunch at Kitchen at Commonplace, midtown shopping at Commonplace, Shop Mode, Salt + Water, Chirps and Cheers and Sara Kate Studios.

A hot tea pick me up at Coffee Slingers then natural manicure at Well Beauty.

Wine flight at Anatomy Wine Bar and then dinner at Goro Ramen.

Sunday:
Brunch at En Croute

I loved showing off my city, but even more, enjoyed getting to make stops I don’t get to make everyday.

They say to play tourist in your city. But really, you should do it. I was a host, but felt like a tourist. I felt like I was looking at Oklahoma City in a new way. I’ve always loved where I’m from, but I was so excited/proud getting to show off my friends, fam and favorite spots in little ole Oklahoma.

Meet you in Chapel Hill MD! (or maybe D.C!!)

Annie

Bites of My Life

Really, crazy, super #blessed. A weekend full of tons of family and friend time can make you feel that way. My little niece turned one this weekend and the whole fam damily rolled out for the occasion. In addition, an influx of friends from college were in town and it was the icing on the cake getting to see old friends in addition to the fam time. 

Weekend aside, last week had some seriously good eats like my Quinoa Fried Rice on repeat, killer smoothies/smoothie bowls, and insane overnight oats recipe, my favorite chips and salsa/guac in the city, pizza, burger, biscuits and my first taste at an oat milk latte. Verdict: amazing.

I also finished book #7 of the year and I'm officially turning into a book warm. How I turned into a reader you ask? Yes I still watch TV before bed every night, but almost every morning I start my workout with 28 minutes exactly on the elliptical and crush a couple chapters.

I also went to a casting call for The Bachelor.... anyway...!

-A staple in my single-girl meals. Quinoa Fried Rice, archived recipe can be found here.
-Headache healer smoothie: use frozen veggies like cauliflower, spinach and lots of ginger!
-Another book down. On to #8.
-3rd time in one week to the Kitchen at Commonplace.
-An overnight oats recipe that will make you love overnight oats. Recipe here. Made better with this insanely good almond butter by Betsy's Best.
-Will we get the final rose? The Bachelor came to town and we went to the open casting call. Sorry mom and dad!
-Big bad one year old, Elle Frances.
-The whole crew in one place for Elle's pool party!
-Tucker Time Eats: burgers, grilled pineapple with hot honey, grilled cabbage salad with goat cheese raita, cucumbers and hazelnuts from Bon Appetit.

Annie

Bites of My Life

A concert, a few new restaurant visits, an all day frosé party, some downtime and lots of work. A great mix to make the week go by fast. Hoping this week speeds by too! The whole Tucker clan will be in town this weekend to celebrate the youngest of the group's 1st birthday! 

-Fangirls in our fan wear. Oh Wonder live lived up to the hype!
-The Kitchen at Commonplace Books is open and I can't rave about it enough. The food is spot on but the aesthetic also levels up!
-Nature's candy for dinner! First time buying a papaya at the store. I cleaned the seeds out of the middle and filled it up with frozen grapes and frozen blueberries. Granola, almond butter, chia seeds and banana.
-Fancy eggs for Friday!
-Welcome to OKC Hopdoddy! Ahi Tuna burger and buffalo shareable fries for this first-timer.
-TJA turns 1!!
-When you've been frosé-ing (working not drinking) all day and get hangry, And Sonic is across the street. Popcorn chicken and tots por favor.
-Looking back at Saturday through rose colored glasses. What a day celebrating one year for The Jones Assembly!
-Back for seconds and to try the brunch features at The Kitchen at Commonplace.

Annie