When you walk into The Crain Lounge & Kitchen, a new neighborhood spot in Oak Grove Plaza just north of Lake Hefner, the theme from “Cheers” might involuntarily pop into your head. That kind of community cornerstone, populated by familiar regulars and friendly faces, is an aspirational ideal for many restaurants and bars, but few can pull it off as authentically as this. The evidence is everywhere, from the something-for-everyone menu that still, somehow, goes above and beyond to the various nooks within the space: crowd-pleasing booths and TVs over the lengthy bar and a more subdued lounge area, decorated with handsome fedoras and cowboy hats.
It’s also a testament to its owner, Ross Crain, a consummate hospitality pro with three decades of experience at Hal Smith Restaurants. After helping develop and run concepts like Pearl’s Lakeside, Flatiron Grill and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, he set off on his own. Pulling from his years of experience, and influence from one of Oklahoma’s preeminent restaurateurs, he opened The Crain over the holidays. And while the restaurant might be brand new, it already feels like a local institution.
“Everyone around here is so excited to have something local,” said Crain, who lives two miles from the restaurant with his wife. “It’s not too much bar, or too much restaurant. It’s the perfect mix of both, and we’ve gotten a great response from everyone.”
It’s that something-for-everyone approach, woven through the menus and the design, that engenders such an admirably “Cheers”-like atmosphere. The space itself, with natural light pouring over upholstered lounge chairs and dark wood tabletops, feels intimate yet ample, with 64 seats offering plenty of options for solo diners, groups, couples and happy hour-goers. The menu, courtesy of chef Garrett Myers, is equally accommodating. Crain said he wanted something for everybody on the menu, from poutine fries with zesty avocado ranch and a verdant house salad to glistening pork chops, green chile mac & cheese and chicken two ways, combining a fried breast with a maple- and Dijon-glazed smoked thigh. The prime rib is a standout signature, cooked for hours in a smoker and served with au jus and creamy horseradish sauce. For Crain, it’s a dish he’s been serving, in one form or another, throughout his career, culminating with this meltingly tender iteration, imbued with a bit of heady smoke.
The drink list is just as dexterous, offering about 40 worldly wines, craft beers and classic cocktails with whimsical riffs — the S’mores Old Fashioned is a balanced blend of bitter, smoky and sweet, while the margarita-like Emily packs a jalapeño-infused punch and a Tajin rim. A mark of a well-earned neighborhood cornerstone, The Crain offers a particularly killer weekday happy hour, starting earlier than usual at 2 p.m., and running until 6 p.m.
It’s all part of that something-for-everyone mentality, embodied by The Crain’s tagline: “Undoubtedly Good, Unreasonably Great.” Describing that ethos as “going above and beyond at the table” in ways that people might not expect, Crain said the response from locals — and fast regulars — has been strong. “You’d think there wasn’t a restaurant within 50 miles,” he joked. “I’ve never had so many people thank me for opening a restaurant.”
It’s the mark of an institution-in-the-making, and the kind of place where, no matter how new, it seems everybody knows your name.
