Benedict Street Marketplace

While I can only attest to one recent visit to this establishment as a dine-​in customer, I can say that Oklahoma (in general) has a major deficit in the way of Sour Dough Bread! Coming from California, this staple of society had always been cheap and plentiful, and the difficulty of finding such sundries in our local had been abysmal, proper to finding Benedict Street Market.
Benedict sells fresh-​made Sour Dough Bread on a regular basis, and it is truly wonderful. If you haven’t sampled this specialty, do us both a favor and TRY SOME! The staff are both helpful and friendly, and the product is superior to the other local contenders (still haven’t found another local contender).
Thanks Benedict Street Marketplace, you make Shawnee feel like home!
‘Merica.

Good food for the location. The customer service reminded me of a high school cafeteria. Watch out for the over priced «evidently desert raised» lobster tail and MRE style steak. This high class eating establishment has a slight smell of moth balls and tuna water. Be weary of the restroom situation. If you can hold back the sensation of a flexing sphincter you will be better off moaning in agony alone in your own restroom. Personally I really enjoyed the tuna salad croissant with a warm ranch dressing and room temperature spring mix salad.

The food here does make up for being ignored for 15 minutes while numerous staff walk passed you and your family, making sure not to make eye contact. The wonderful boisterous greeting of the couple that walks in after you and is promptly seated with a smile adds to the welcoming atmosphere as long as you don’t mind not being included. The manager barks loudly at her staff throughout your dining experience and makes you want to go out and buy your boss a fruit basket and a thank you card.

There are few things better than the signature veggie sandwich, salad with Parmesan gypsy dressing, AND a chocolate chunk cookie. Nothing better to eat anywhere near Shawnee!!!

This is chuck and Paula’s place! Oh you don’t know Chuck and Paula? Umm you should! You couldn’t meet a nicer couple! (If your not sure who they are check out the mural on the front of the building) This is such a sweet mom and pop shop. Plus the food is… AWESOME! Its a unique menu that offer innovative spins on salads and sandwiches ohhhh and tasty deserts. Did I mention that they serve boars head meats… oh yes yummy… and its pretty inexpensive! Any foodie making a road trip in the area needs to stop by. They also have a little craft booth set up by the church that accepts donations to project Gabriel in exchange for knitted goods. Project Gabriel helps pregnant women in need. I picked up 3 super cute infant hats for my baby (one was a grape. it was sooo cute) Ill tell you what… the ladies who knit for Project Gabriel are seriously talented!
I hate to be vague on the menu but it really does change ALOT Its a foodies paradise. Since the menu changes OFTEN just ask Chuck or Paula what they like and you wont be disappointed.

Great and sometimes unique food. A half sandwich or half a salad is usually enough for lunch. The raspberry dressing is AWSOME. In the winter their soups are very tasty and thick. The breads they serve are fresh and flavorful. My only negative would be the service as it sometimes Is lacking. The waitress act as if they are scared of the boss lady who does a lot of barking of orders. Sometimes it is hard to get in and have lunch in an hour.

An absolute winner in the small town of Shawnee! Benedict Street Marketplace is at its essence a deli but serves a wide variety of sandwiches and dishes and the menu is constantly changing. This is what one envisions a true «mom and pop» restaurant should be like. Unique dishes and deserts, a great selection of meats and other locally made crafts and actual table service. The service does need some work as oftentimes the staff are all huddled around one another while the customer’s heads are on a swivel hoping to make eye contact to get that elusive refill. That, and the place could use a little bit of elbow grease in the cleaning as the floors and tables look unclean at times, are my only two complaints. I’m willing to overlook the poor service and occasional untidiness as you are not going to find a better, local dining option anywhere near Benedict Street. This is a place you’d expect to stroll across in say Manhattan’s East Village rather than in Shawnee so for that reason it exceeds all expectations. Also, the cookies are divine! You won’t find a better place to dine in Shawnee. As with all mom and pop places the hours are sort of awful with them closing at 3 in the afternoon on Saturday and of course taking Sunday off in this Bible Belt community but overall Benedict Street is really the only local restaurant I could actually recommend to anyone venturing into the Shawnee area.

In the middle of nowhere, you don’t have high cuisine expectations. Luckily, my assumption proved false upon discovering this little gem nestled in Shawnee, OK (yes, Brad Pitt’s hometown… which I heard at least 10 times while there).
I ordered the turkey and swiss on wheatberry loaf, and I’m glad I did — the meat was about 2 inches thick — and delish. The bread was fresh, and the side of fruit salad was an excellent match.
The highlight of the visit though was my discovery of what can only be describe as one of the BEST cookies I’ve ever eaten (second only to my mom’s sugar cookies — with one pound of butter, they’re pretty much unbeatable). I ordered the cinnamon oatmeal raisen cookie and literally groaned after biting into it. It was moist and sweetly perfect (the cinnamon was a fantastic add, too).
The prices are cheap, and the café itself is adorable. A diamond in the rough, for sure.