Kumback Lunch - Perry, OK

Posted by Michael Stern on October 09, 2005

Founded in 1926 in a town created by the 1893 Cherokee Strip land run, Kumback Lunch is the oldest cafe in Oklahoma with the same name and in the same location. So says the very informative menu, which also notes that among the interesting moments in Kumback history is the night in the early 1930s when gangster Pretty Boy Floyd came in brandishing a gun – not to rob the place, but to demand that proprietor Eddie Parker cook him the biggest steak in the house. Mr. Parker is something of a legend in these parts, known for giving free steak dinners to soldiers returning home after World War II as well as to sluggers on the town's semi-pro baseball team every time one hit a home run.

Fascinating history and beautiful art deco façade aside, Kumback Lunch is a swell place to eat. And everyone in the town of Perry (and beyond) seems to know that fact, because when we walked in mid-morning one weekday, the place was packed with happy eaters and coffee drinkers having late breakfast or early lunch.

We had some of both: a tall stack of brawny pancakes, a crisp-crusted chicken-fried steak, a swirly warm cinnamon roll, biscuits and sausage gravy, and a couple of pieces of lofty meringue pie. All homemade, all excellent. What a fine town-cafe meal!

As we dined, we gazed with wonder at the walls, which are covered with pictures and memorabilia of "Perry Heroes," including local athletes, several governors of the state, and Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer Charlie Hanger, who captured Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and brought him to the county jail in Perry.

Overall: Worth planning a day around

9 out of 12 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

Reviewers "Must Eats" List

Cinnamon Roll ($1.00)

"Kumback Lunch cinnamon rolls are made every morning. While not huge and goopy, they have an enchanting frail glaze on top and are deeply satisfying."
Michael Stern

"Pancakes are sold singly or in stacks of two or three. They are served with a large squeeze bottle of warm syrup."
Michael Stern

"This is a milk-chocolate pie with nursery-food character."
Michael Stern

"A featured item on both the breakfast and lunch/dinner menu, chicken fried steak is rugged and dark-crusted. Normally, it comes with the gravy on top, but to better appreciate the crust, we asked for it on the side and spooned it on forkful by forkful."
Michael Stern

"The meringue on this coconut pie is one of the lightest and most elegant we have ever encountered. Other pies available the day we visited early in October included custard, banana, peach, pecan, cherry, lemon, and pumpkin."
Michael Stern

"You surely will want to add a coffee mug to your collection... or possibly a Kumback t-shirt, which is a cleverly designed takeoff of the Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. "
tunerman

"As you can see, the walls are filled with all kinds of memorabilia. Study the walls and you get the flavor of the area even before the food arrives. We travel between Nebraska and Texas once or twice a year and always try to make this a stop."
tunerman

"Mid-morning at Kumback Lunch: the place is jumping and the air smells of coffee, cinnamon rolls, and frying bacon."
Michael Stern

"While the Kumbach Lunch has been in this location since its beginning in 1926, it has been remodeled many times over the years. The neon marquise front was added in 1999, when the old EAT sign was refurbished."
Michael Stern