Sometimes the best restaurant research in a small Oklahoma town is not an app, a ranking, or a sponsored list.
Sometimes you just ask somebody’s grandma.
We drove up to Blackwell to celebrate Caila’s grandma’s 73rd birthday, and when lunch came around, the birthday girl picked the place. Her favorite restaurant in town is Los Potros Mexican Restaurant, just off I-35 on West White Avenue.
That settled it.
And honestly, Grandma knew what she was doing.
Los Potros is the kind of Mexican restaurant that makes sense in a town like Blackwell. It is close enough to the interstate for travelers, but it does not feel like it exists only for people passing through. The City of Blackwell highlights it among local restaurants, and the Blackwell Journal-Tribune’s Best of Kay County list has named it Best Mexican Food. In 2023, Los Potros also showed up for Best Margarita, which tracks with what was on our table.
What we ordered
Grandma went with a burrito plate loaded up with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.
Then, because turning 73 should come with privileges, she added two crunchy hard-shell tacos. I respect that kind of lunch planning.
I ordered the street tacos, which came piled with meat, onions, and cilantro, with grilled onions and peppers in the middle and lime wedges on the side. There was also a small bowl of rich reddish broth served with them. It looked like a consommé-style broth, but I could not confirm the exact menu name, so I am not going to dress it up as something I know for sure. What I can say is that it worked well with the tacos.
Caila’s plate looked like pork in a green chile or tomatillo-style sauce, served with Mexican rice, refried beans, and tortillas. I am not fully sure of the menu name on that one either, but it had the look of a plate meant to be scooped, folded, and shared.
She also ordered a margarita, which seems like a pretty reasonable way to celebrate somebody else’s 73rd birthday.
That is really the best way to eat at a place like this anyway. Everybody gets a plate. Beans and rice start moving around the table. Somebody steals a bite. Somebody claims they are too full, then keeps eating chips.
Small-town Mexican restaurant physics.
Why Blackwell makes a good lunch stop
Los Potros sits at 4501 W. White Avenue in Blackwell, near I-35 and State Highway 11. If you are driving northern Oklahoma, especially between Ponca City, Tonkawa, Blackwell, and the Kansas line, it is an easy stop without having to wander far from the highway.
Blackwell itself has more history than people give it credit for. The town came into existence during the Cherokee Outlet Opening on September 16, 1893, and takes its name from Andrew J. Blackwell. It sits along the Chikaskia River in Kay County, and like a lot of Oklahoma towns, it has that mix of old civic buildings, fairground traditions, and road-trip stops that make it more interesting than a dot on the map.
If you want to make more out of the drive, the Top of Oklahoma Historical Museum is in town, housed in the historic Electric Park Pavilion. Blackwell also hosts the Kay County Free Fair each September, which is exactly the sort of Oklahoma detail that makes a place feel properly rooted.
But on this trip, the point was lunch.
Grandma’s pick was a good one
There are restaurants you find because they are trending online, restaurants you hit because they are beside the interstate, and restaurants you trust because somebody from the area says, “This is where we eat.”
I tend to believe that last category.
Los Potros felt like the dependable Mexican restaurant every Oklahoma town needs. Big plates. Plenty of menu choices. Tacos, burritos, beans, rice, fajitas, margaritas, and enough food on the table that nobody has to be too polite.
More than anything, it did the job the day called for. Grandma got to spend her 73rd birthday at her favorite restaurant in Blackwell with family around the table.
That is a good enough reason for me.
Details
- Address: 4501 W. White Avenue, Blackwell, OK 74631
- Phone: 580-262-9635
- Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:00 am-9:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 11:00 am-10:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am-9:30 pm
- Website: https://www.lospotrosmexicanrestaurantok.com/
