Jason Quick Answers
I’ll give Mr. Quick this much – he’s willing to take the questions head on and answers them quickly. I can only wish others would be that forthcoming.
So here are his answers. I’m counting on you the readers to correct some of this:
1. The search for a place to eat was on the night prior to the game, after arriving in town (Thursday), but no, didn’t ask any locals. Having been to OKC before, I knew downtown was a ghostown and that Bricktown was my best bet.
2. Talked to several “locals” as we walked the streets of Bricktown, most of them bouncers or doormen at various establishments who said they – and all the other establishments – were done serving food at 9 p.m.
3. Didn’t do any internet research.
4. Yes, I have no problem finding places to eat in other cities.
5. Upset about the relocation? No. Would I prefer Seattle over OKC? Without question. Not only is Seattle closer to Portland, it is better in every way I could imagine.
6. Would I gamble my professional reputation … I’m not insisting I-Hop and Hooters were the only open establishments. That’s what every bouncer, doorman and person on the street told us.
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Comments
What’s there to correct? That he wasn’t told by bouncers that Hooters and IHOP were his only options?
Your responses to him were pretty over the top. You asked him to stake his reputation on it? On what? He was seeing the city the way a lot of people might, someone who stopped in for a few nights. No one from Portland or Seattle or Memphis or Minneapolis is going to be wowed by what Oklahoma City has to offer.
It’s not some pro-Seattle plot to say so, it’s just where we are as a city. We have our advantages, but an active nightlife isn’t one of them. Sure, you can find clubs and bars, but unless you already know where to look, you could wander around all night and fail to find a non-chain restaurant open. That’s not the case for other cities in the NBA.
I love OKC. I love the strides we’ve made and I love the focus on development that we’ve followed through since MAPS, but any trip to other NBA cities shows us that we still have a long way to go before we’ve forged an identity similar to other cities. We’re latecomers to the game, we need to accept that. Being defensive doesn’t help our cause.
Why do we care what some snarky columnist/blogger/sports guy thinks of OKC? He’s entitled to his opinion and if he thinks OKC blows, it’s his loss. I don’t get why we’re so reactionary when others don’t “get” why we like OKC so much. We like it, we want it to be even better, that should be all that matters IMO.
On a recent trip to the Seattle area, we were out late after a Mariners game searching for a place to get dessert. We were staying not far from the Space Needle, and within walking distance of several food establishments – not to mention “Key Arena” former home of the Sonics. Thinking that everything would be open, we started out only to find everything was closed! It was only 9:45 ish, so I thought we’d have plenty of luck. Not true. When we got back to the hotel my sister told me that they had a similar experience. At 8:00 pm they took off for Gelato or Ice Cream and went to a cafe-like place. The sign on the door simply said “Shut.” Not closed – shut. For the night. The only places open were bars – and my 17 year old sister can’t go to bars. Did we ask locals? Yes. They didn’t have any other options for us other than an organic food store that was open until 10 pm, until they shut. Seattle isn’t any better on the late night food circuit.
Putting my own civic pride aside, I acknowledge that OKC has a long way to go. What urks me is that guest columnists/writers/bloggers like to paint a characature of OKC as totally dead, backwards, and uninspiring. Do they not notice any positive qualities? Most people report being pleasantly surprised by what OKC has to offer (when compared with the “Saving Grace” cow town images). Why do they insist on perpetuating an outdated stereotype? This only reveals their ignorance, and not yours.
I used to live in DC. Many parts of town close down very early (though, to its credit, many also stay open very late). Point is, if you aren’t familiar with the area, and don’t know where to go, it’s very easy to find yourself with no place to eat without going to a different section of town. You’ll find that in any city.
As someone who used to run restaurants and nightclubs in Vegas, I see this as a golden opportunity. If I were a restaurant owner in the downtown/Bricktown area, I’d be shaking hands with every bar manager/doorman/parking lot attendant in the area, providing them with business cards listing my hours and address, and get my cell phone number/front desk number on their speed dial with the offer of a discount or free drink/dessert to anyone they refer, along with a standing discount for the referrer that grows the more business they send my way. The mere fact that someone hasn’t done this already shows how far we have to go as a city with regards to the hospitality industry.
Jim, you’re exactly right. One shouldn’t have to depend on bouncers for restaurant information. The owners/operators of the Bricktown/Downtown restaurants should be much more proactive in getting the word out about their business. It seems instead, the wait for the Bricktown Assn., the Chamber or Downtown OKC to do it for them. Every downtown hotel’s concierge desk should be loaded up with this info and every month, the restaurant managers should invite the concierges to their store, making sure they can pass on correct information.
This was fun, and I looked forward to what he would say. Now, I reply … so what!? I wouldn’t want what those other big cities have either … the side effects from getting too big (e.g. crime, pollution, filth, etc.)
My advice for Mr. Quick:
Next time do a little more research, find your favorite places downtown . . . and get used to it. Cause you’re going to be coming back every year for a good while.
Now that I think about it, if he’s looking for someplace to eat late at night, somebody direct him to Bobos the next time he’s in.
I’ve had similar experiences in Kansas City, Nashville, and Louisville, respectively…All three are fine cities with plenty of nightlife and dining to go around, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t find it. I know that there are plenty of resteraunts serving food past 9 in and around Bricktown, but I can understand how it would not be immediately apparent to an out of towner. Most midsized cities just can’t support the same sort of total saturation dining you find in larger and wealthier cities. This doesn’t mean that OKC is a craphole, it’s just different. Also I don’t think talking to bouncers is really the best solution to this problem. They’re at work, and if you aren’t going to come in and drink, they want you to leave them the hell alone. As someone who has known a decent number of those in the entertainment security profession, I’m not surprised that club bouncers don’t have Red Prime and Nonnas on their personal dining radar. IHOP and Hooters though? Definitely.
Anyway, I think maybe we really should sort of let this stuff go. It’s going to be a while yet before we kick the dust bowl image once and for all, and I don’t think it will be Bricktown that does it…I would place more faith in our music scene and the continuing evolution of our cultural life and institutions…I don’t know that OKC will ever be the ideal place to party, but I think we have a good shot at being taken seriously. There isn’t as much money to be made, but it’s the more important part of the equation in my opinion.
Speaking of which, an OKC area musician just got a write up in the New York Times…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/arts/music/31crai.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss