Lady Classen Cafeteria — Oklahoma City Historical Postcards

From my Oklahoma City postcard collection…

Oklahoma City was once known as the cafeteria capital of the world. We did have a lot of great cafeterias here, but the Lady Classen was perhaps the most well known. When the Lady Classen opened in 1954, it was at the far reaches of town, being at NW 70th and May Avenue! But it was an Oklahoma City landmark for 40 years. Unfortunately they lost their lease in 1994 and closed. Steve Lackmeyer has done an excellent history of the Lady Classen.

I remember my grandfather taking the family to dinner there on many occasions in the mid-1950’s.

I ran across the Lady Classen recipe for Goulash:

AUSTRIAN RAVIOLI (Goulash)

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 1 cup canned stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup cooked peas
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Boil macaroni in boiling salted water until tender — about 7 minutes. Drain and mix together with tomatoes and tomato sauce in a large bowl.

Sauté garlic clove in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown. Remove clove from oil and cook meat, stirring constantly to keep it loose.

Add meat to macaroni mixture. Stir in peas and grated cheddar cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/lady-classen-cafeteria-oklahoma-city-historic