How many times have you heard someone complain about a lack of things in Lawton? Doesn't matter what the topic is, there's always one person that drops a casual "This town really needs a _____..." but what is the _____ that we really need that we don't already have? New roads really hops to the forefront of most drivers minds, but the city is apparently working on that... at least that's what they promised when we voted Yes on the new CIP funds over a year ago. I know they've made, well, zero progress on that promise but I don't see the people pulling their feet from the fire anytime soon. The question isn't so much aimed at "things" our empty promises in city hall could but won't provide, it's more for the one aspect of township that does work... Private business.

In terms of restaurants, what more could we ask for? Thanks to Fort Sill, we've got some of the best food in Oklahoma. Sure, it's not fancy, but you can't get full on fancy. There's an amazing Asian eatery in every part of this town. There's dynamite German food, Thai, Indian, Pakistani, Pizza, coffee, deli, Italian, sushi, even donuts. There's even at least one Mexican restaurant for every level of preference. Whether you like it real and traditional or nerfed to a more fast food type status, it's your choice... but it never fails, Karen's complain.

I guess the one answer I always hear from people when I ask about what restaurant would you like to see here, and the answer is always the same... "We need an In&Out!" and I have a few thoughts about that.

First off, I've had In&Out, we're not missing out on anything. I think the draw there is the fact that everyone in California raves about it, and most people that say they want it have likely never had it. Make yourself a tiny burger at home, top it with lettuce, onion and ketchup. That's In&Out. It's get a solid M-rating for "Meh." Is it tasty? Sure. Is it cheap? Yeah. But is it something I'd personally eat more than when someone strong-arms me into it? No. There are so many better burgers where we live. Three of the best burgers in the state are here in Lawton, five if you've really explored the area. We both know, if you had the chance to eat In&Out everyday, you would eventually get bored of it.

Remember when they were building the new Patriot 13 theater and there was a rumor floating around about a Dave & Busters? What happened to that? It made a lot of sense, a large population of young people who would likely spend their hard earned cash on arcade games and beer? How does that not fit this town? Even I was excited about it, but the rumor just kind of faded away. I had forgotten all about it until Critter told me about the new JD's Hideaway going in on North Sheridan Road. That's close enough for me. Have some grub, a cold beer, throw axes and play games? Sounds good.

I think we need more BBQ restaurants, and I don't mean that as a slight to our current BBQ joints. I'm just saying, everyone has their favorite and odds are, they don't venture out to any others. That's just how sacred smoked meat is in this part of the country. I just think we could use more local BBQ joints. This town has lost four locally owned good BBQ joints since I've been here, and while we all talk about how good they were, we all seem to "settle" for what's available. If you have a talent for smoking meats and know what exactly makes a good hotlink "good," you might talk to the bank and take that leap to open your own joint. I know I'd try it a handful of times before deciding if it was my kind of BBQ or not.

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