Let’s Eat Restaurant Review: Casablanca American Bistro
Next time you pass the restaurant in northwest Oklahoma City with the gold dome roof and the exotic name—Casablanca—let your curiosity get the best of you and stop in. You will be glad you did.
 
Casablanca American Bistro (behind Abuelo’s on Memorial Road) offers a quiet, casually elegant dining experience with a twist. Televisions unobtrusively play the classic Casablanca. Sadly, you won’t see Rick or Sam at the restaurant, but the film (with the sound turned off) creates an exotic and unusual backdrop. The owners of Jimmy’s Egg bring us this treasure offering a variety of choices, including Thai lettuce wraps, salads, pizzas, burgers, and steaks. There is something for every palate, from finicky to adventurous.
 
Our Editor, Denise, and I were up to the challenge of checking this bistro out. The menu is diverse enough to offer different selections visit after visit. As I watched different plates pass by our table I thought, “I'll have to try that next time.” The appetizers alone could keep me busy for several visits.
 
We started by sharing an appetizer of mini crab cakes ($9.95). The plate came with two golden crab cakes accompanied by tartar sauce and remoulade sauce. The crab cakes were flaky with bits of onion and red pepper, lightly fried, and not in the least fishy- tasting—an important factor for me. We requested extra remoulade sauce as it had a nice spicy kick we enjoyed.
 
Denise ordered the Spicy Santa Fe Salad ($10.95). This is a beautiful presentation consisting of chopped romaine lettuce, grilled chicken breast, black beans (always a hit with Denise), tortilla chips, grilled corn, and fontina cheese all topped with a spicy peanut vinaigrette. The salad was mounded high in a bowl and as she ate, it never seemed to diminish. Every bite offered a taste of all the ingredients, not just a mouthful of lettuce as with some salads. Be prepared to take some home.
 
It was difficult for me not to order one of the eight types of brick oven pizza offered, but our waitress raved about their French fries—how they exceed McDonald’s in flavor. It was a claim we had to verify for ourselves. So I ordered the grilled chicken and avocado club sandwich ($7.95) with fries. The sandwich comes on white bread, but they’re happy to serve it on a Brioche bun, as I requested. The large grilled chicken breast was topped with avocado, lettuce, tomato, bacon, provolone cheese, and herbed mayonnaise. May I just say, “Yum!” And the fries? Our waitress was true to her word—we both declared the fries excellent.
 
Casablanca’s food is so good you’ll be tempted to clean your plate. But hold off and check out the dessert menu. They offer 12 flavors of cheesecake along with other desserts. We shared a piece of Triple Chocolate Cake ($4.95)—three layers of rich, moist chocolate cake with lots of chocolate icing and chocolate shavings. Chocolate suicide might be a more appropriate name.
 
As Rick says in Casablanca says, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
 
4 of 4 forks
Casablanca American Bistro
13801 Quail Pointe Dr, OKC
749-3550
Hours: Sunday–Saturday, 11am–10pm
Prices: $3.95-$24.95