Eischen's Bar — an Oklahoma landmark that is bare-bones at best

Finding the bar won't be much trouble, as Okarche's not a very big town. But if you get lost, look for parking lots overfilling with cars and you've probably found it. When you first walk in, it'll take a few seconds to adjust to very low lights. Tread past a little sawdust on the floor and then the real challenge begins — finding a table.

It's not a fancy place at all, but it is cozy, with plenty of booths on one side of the restaurant and long tables where you can belly up next to some new friends while you wait for your food to arrive.

So, if it's dark and crowded, what keeps the customers coming? The Famous Whole Fried Chicken, of course. At $11 a bird, the dish is just what it sounds like — eight pieces of fried chicken, served in a disposable tray with white bread, pickles and onions on the side.

If that doesn’t sound very special to you, then you haven’t tried the chicken. Succulent doesn’t begin to describe the moist, flavorful birds served at Eischen’s. It’s not health food, but that’s not what people are looking for at this bar.

Eischen’s cooks about 4,000 whole chickens a week and brings in customers from across the state and around the globe. In the gift shop, co-owner Ed Eischen keeps a world map with pins marking the bar’s worldwide appeal.

With so much interest and weekend crowds that push waiting times for food up to an hour and a half, Eischen said there have been plenty of offers to franchise, but he’s happy keeping the entire operation in Okarche.