The list began two years ago as a personal challenge of sorts. While on a travel junket to Houston, I came across a 100 Best Things in Houston article in a local magazine, and while I’m not crazy about pitting dissimilar dishes against each other to determine a “best,” as if that’s even measurable, I do love the idea of showcasing the diversity we have in Oklahoma City’s culinary scene. This list features more than 30 nationalities and regionally specific dishes from all over the world, and OKC is home to more than 40 ethnicities and nationalities making their traditional food. With that in mind, this is not a “100 Best Things” list; it’s designed specifically to highlight diversity, and preference is given to concepts where the people whose food it is own the joint or are at least cooking the food, and yes, that leaves room for gringo tacos and TexMex. The numbering system is for ease of indexing, and is in no way a ranking of any kind. Enjoy the adventure, and please let me know what you’ve tried, especially if you love or hate it, because palates are different, and I’m not trying to yuck anyone’s yum, except people who eat at non-local restaurants. We’re hoping lists like this will help convert them to local, where the food is better, as is the accountability and financial benefits to our OKC neighbors.