Chicken-Fried Steak is a signature dish of United States; we have verified places to eat it in Austin, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Tenderised cube steak dredged in seasoned flour and egg wash, deep-fried until shattering golden, then smothered in white pepper-cream gravy.
Chicken-Fried Steak · Austin
Tenderised cube steak dredged in seasoned flour and egg wash, deep-fried until shattering golden, then smothered in white pepper-cream gravy. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans and a buttered roll.
Chicken-fried steak (CFS) emerged in the 1920s in Texan Hill Country diners as a cheap-cut alternative to schnitzel, brought by German and Czech immigrant communities. It became the unofficial dish of Texas working lunch by the 1950s. Threadgill's (closed 2018) was the canonical Austin version for decades; Joann's Fine Foods and Magnolia Cafe carry the contemporary torch.
Where to eat in Austin:
- Joann's Fine Foods
- Magnolia Cafe (South Congress)
- Kerbey Lane Cafe (Central)
Where to eat Chicken-Fried Steak in Austin: the editor picks
Chicken-fried steak · Oklahoma City
Tenderized beef dredged in seasoned flour and fried golden, topped with peppery cream gravy at Oklahoma City diners, part of the state meal since 1988.
Chicken-fried steak arrived in Oklahoma via Central European immigrants who adapted their tradition of breaded schnitzel to the affordable beef available on the Southern Plains. By the early 20th century it was a staple at diners across the state. Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Stockyards City has served it since 1910. In 1988 the Oklahoma Legislature made chicken-fried steak part of the official state meal. The cream gravy, built on pan drippings, flour, and whole milk, has been passed down largely unchanged, and the dish remains the most ordered item at Oklahoma City diners.
Where to eat in Oklahoma City:
- Cattlemen's Steakhouse
Where to eat Chicken-fried steak in Oklahoma City: the editor picks
Chicken-Fried Steak · Tulsa
A beef round steak pounded thin, dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk, coated again in flour, and pan-fried until the crust is golden and shattering. It arrives blanketed in white cream gravy made from the pan drippings, with mashed potatoes and green beans completing the plate. The gravy-to-steak ratio is taken seriously in Oklahoma: it should be generous.
Chicken-fried steak arrived in Oklahoma with cattle-drive cooks who adapted German Wiener Schnitzel to the tougher beef cuts available on the range. The frying method tenderized the meat; cream gravy made from pan drippings replaced the butter sauce. By the 1920s the dish appeared on Route 66 diner menus across Oklahoma, and Tally's on South Yale remains the most-cited example in Tulsa.
Where to eat in Tulsa:
- Tally's Good Food Cafe
- Polo Grill
Where to eat Chicken-Fried Steak in Tulsa: the editor picks