#205 - Burn Co BBQ, Tulsa OK

Our last home football game of the year was Thanksgiving weekend, our rivalry game against Oklahoma. I'm just glad we don't play on Thanksgiving day or Black Friday. I know there's a lot of teams that do, and it's their tradition, but I'm quite sure our fans would revolt. Playing that weekend means I don't have students around Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday morning to help me with game prep stuff. Thankfully I had quite a few come in and knock out a ton of work Monday and Tuesday. Since I knew I would be at work all day Friday, I decided to take the day off Wednesday to run a few errands. I went to Tulsa, and made plans to meet a friend for lunch. When my friend Dick was in town a few weeks ago, he sent me a picture of his lunch from Burn Co BBQ. We had talked about it the night before at dinner, and both he and Mike had raved about the food.  Yes, my friends and I are those people who discuss the next meal while we're still eating the current meal. 

So, there are three unique aspects to Burn Co. First, it's only open from 10:30-2:30. We arrived at 10:45 and there was already a line 40 deep outside the door. I've seen pictures where the line is a lot longer at the same time

Second, when they run out, they run out. In the online reviews everyone raved about the restaurant except for one guy who showed up at 1:30 and they were out of most of the smoked meats. Well, that's what happens when a restaurant is only open for 4 hours. It's kind of like a party...don't show up at the end and gripe because there's not much left.

Third, you have to listen to hear your name called. I do agree with one reviewer who said it's not a great system. A lot of names sound alike when they're being yelled in a crowded restaurant. We were listening, and I could barely hear mine being called. And the servers get an attitude when you don't hear your name. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a funny attitude, but it doesn't always come across like that. 

The restaurant is located near downtown Tulsa in an old building. It went through a couple of other restaurants before Burn Co took over. You wait in line, order at the counter, and they bring the food to you. As I mentioned before, the line can and does get very long. Our whole experience took about 90 minutes from start to finish, so this is not a restaurant you can visit on a lunch break from work unless you are there when the doors open. Thankfully the weather wasn't bad so we didn't mind waiting outside, especially because it was only about 25 minutes

The inside of the building is very rustic looking.  They have a small area to the right immediately as you walk in where they sell t shirts and a couple of sauces. There's a large bar that takes up almost the entire right wall. The line goes right by that bar, so you can have a drink or 2 while you wait. Very smart move. They also have a small meat counter where you can pick up raw product. There's a self-serve drink station in the far left corner, and the rest of the restaurant is seating. All the tables are family style picnic tables. They also do a very robust carryout business. We saw at least 20 people coming out with large trays as we waited. We sat at one table, but when I saw a space open up at another table that had more natural light, we moved. Yes, I am that person as well. I need light for pictures!

The menu is pretty simple: smoked meats, smoked sausage, grilled meats, sides and drinks. The smoked meats is what Burn Co is known for, so it's what runs out. They use a Hasty Bake to cook all of their meats, and everything is fresh. No freezers or microwaves in this place. I had never heard of a Hasty Bake, but I guess it's the real deal. They have 2 large TVs above the order counter, and that's where they display the menu items. And as you wait, you may see items taken off that menu. That means they are out. We arrived early enough that we could choose from everything, but while we were waiting for our food items started slowly coming off. And by the time we left, they only had one smoked meat left. 

They only do mac & cheese Thursday - Saturday. I was hoping they would have it on Wednesday since it was Thanksgiving weekend and they would be closed. I was wrong.

For each meat, you can get the "little girly man" or the "big boy" sizes. They also have the Frankenstein, the chef's choice of 3 meats. I asked what the choices were, and they won't tell you. I decided not to be that adventurous.  Shawn went adventurous

This day it was jalapeno cheddar sausage, bologna, and pulled pork. I took a bite of the sausage, and of course it had a huge chunk of jalapeno. But it was delicious. So tender and juicy. I've never been a big fan of bologna, but this one was outstanding. It was thick cut and perfectly smoked.

I went with all "girly man" portions, and got ribs, pulled pork and brisket

The ribs were fantastic. Fall off the bone tender, and the sauces on the table added a really nice kick. The brisket and pulled pork were wonderful as well. I didn't eat the bread, because it would just get in the way.

We also got a couple of sides

 
These were some of the best baked beans I've ever had. They use 2 different kinds of beans. We couldn't figure out what they were, but they just melted in your mouth. The sauce was deep and rich and full of flavor.

This grilled potato salad was delicious. I've never seen a potato salad with such huge chunks of other stuff, but they added great flavor, and the peppers and onions still had some crunch. And you can never go wrong with big pieces of bacon in anything.

Will I go back? Well of course. And I'm going on the weekend when they have the mac & cheese. I have to find out if it's good enough to only be served 3 days of the week.

Repeats with a Twist - Bodean Restaurant, Tulsa OK

When my friend Dick was in town last week, we went to dinner in OKC on Monday night. As we chatted, he mentioned that he was meeting a couple of people Tuesday night for dinner at Bodean Restaurant in Tulsa. My eyes and ears immediately perked up, as that is one of my favorite restaurants. I'm not sure if I invited myself, but the next evening I found myself in Tulsa.

When I moved to Oklahoma, I refused to eat seafood for the first year. There's just no comparison in quality to what you'll find on the coasts. I eventually started buying the flash-frozen product at Sam's, but still no fresh. In the past 3 years I discovered both White River Fish Market and Bodean. The restaurants couldn't be more opposite, as Bodean is fine dining, white linen tablecloths; White River you order at the counter and the seating is mainly family style picnic tables. Both fly in their seafood daily; Bodean actually flies it in twice a day. Both have markets as well. This is my second trip to the restaurant, and almost every time I'm in Tulsa I stop at the Bodean market. It's pricey, but well worth it for super fresh seafood. 

From the outside, Bodean doesn't look fancy at all. It's located on the corner of a strip mall off the highway. But walk inside, and you are transformed. There's a beautiful large fish tank built into the wall behind the host stand. The bar area is on the left side of the building. The bar itself is quite large, and also includes some lounge seating and tables. The main dining room takes up about 2/3 of the restaurant, and is a combination of large comfortable booths and both family size and reguar tables. This night we were seated at a booth.

We started with half dozen Gulf oysters from Louisiana. Growing up I never ate oysters because my parents don't like them. To be honest, they do look funky and it takes some getting used to with the texture. Friends introduced them to me about 15 years ago, and I've been hooked ever since

The oysters were wonderful. So fresh. I wish we had gotten more!

Calamari is another thing I never ate growing up. Years ago I was at dinner with a couple friends and we got this appetizer that was fantastic and I was devouring it, even though they wouldn't tell me what it was. About halfway through they dropped the bomb that it was calamari. I dropped the piece I was eating, and refused to eat any more. That went on for a few years, but now I order them whenever I can. I had never tried them here, so of course we got some

It wasn't as hot as I would have liked, but the flavor was excellent. The salt and pepper really made the flavor of the breading pop. The tomato confit aioli was delicious as well.

Dick and I got the Caesar salad

They definitely go heavy on the anchovy in the dressing, as it looks like the lettuce is old. But that is not the case. We were trying to decipher what the spread on the toast was; turns out it was anchovy spread. It was very salty but I actually kind of liked it...not enough to go buy it at the store though.

Mike got the crab & lobster bisque

I didn't taste any, but he said it was fantastic. I had it on my last visit, and it certainly was. Thick, rich and creamy. 

Dick got the King salmon, served with asparagus and mashed potatoes

I was kind of surprised because it was a relatively small piece of fish. I didnt try any, but he said it was really good. I did try an asparagus spear and it was cooked to a perfect tender crisp.

Mike got the seared yellowfin tuna

I'm not a fan of seared tuna. I much prefer mine cooked. I know that tuna conniseours would be thoroughly appalled, but oh well. I had tried a small piece on my last visit and it was good, but I couldn't eat a whole entree. He did say it was excellent, and completely cleaned his entire plate.

I went back and forth, and finally decided on the jumbo scallops

At first I thought it wouldn't be enough protein, but those scallops were so meaty that it was more than enough. The potato croquettes were screaming hot. I really liked the contrast between the extremely crunchy coating and the creamy potato inside. The red cabbage was sauteed with bacon and candies pecans. I can't remember the type of cheese that was mixed in, but it was all so good. 

We also got an order of the house-made gnocchi

It wasn't served super hot, and I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not. But it was outstanding. The veggies were cooked slightly more than I would have done, but that's probably at least partially because they were cooked in the broth. The broth was very light, but had a ton of flavor.

I wasn't thinking dessert, but Dick asked to see the menu. He went with seasonal berries with fresh whipped cream

Mike and I both jumped at the ice cream

I'm going by memory, but pretty sure it was dark cherry chunk chocolate pecan. Bodean changes up its menu daily, and of course I forgot to write it down. Regardless, it was wonderful. The cherry flavor wasn't overwhelming, and the chunks of dark chocolate added a great texture and bite to the dish. 

Let's be honest, this is an occasion restaurant for me. But any time there is an occasion in Tulsa, I'm all over it. I haven't gotten to the market in a couple months, and I need to change that soon. In the winter and spring when I'm out doing stewardship visits I can go almost weekly. Can't wait to be back on that schedule again.

Repeats with a Twist - Yokozuna, Tulsa, OK

I've been very lucky while working at OSU that I've never had a home football game on my birthday, or even during my birthday week. We're either playing on the road, or have a bye week. Even with all that, I've never taken my actual birthday off when it's during the week. I honestly never even thought about doing it. Then last year my mom and a family friend came to visit and it coincided with my birthday so I took the day. So from now on, as long as I don't have a work requirement, I'm off work.

Last week since my birthday fell on Tuesday, I took off Monday as well.  No real point showing up to work for one day, right?! I made plans to meet Shawn for lunch in Tulsa. Our original plan was to try Cafe Seville, since neither of us had ever been there. I arrived early, and saw their new hours...closed Mondays. I was so bummed. While I waited for Shawn I stopped in a very cute shop next door called Canterbury Lane. My original plan was just to browse, but then I got sucked into the sale section. The owner recommended we try The Ridge. Drove over there, and it's only open for dinner. So after a little more back and forth, we settled on Yokozuna. We had both been there before, and it was one of my very early blog posts. But since my pictures weren't that great, it was a perfect excuse to go back and try again.

There are 2 locations in Tulsa. One downtown, where I ate the first 2 times. And on this trip we ate at the one in South Tulsa, close to Shawn's house. Each location has a very unique look. Downtown is in an old brick building on the corner in the heart of downtown. South Tulsa is in a relatively new strip mall, and has a much more modern look with very clean lines. Huge windows take up 2 sides of the restaurant. There's a bar to the right as soon as you walk in, and a combination of tables and booths in the main dining area. They created a small second floor with a few tables by putting an overhead over the booths along the back wall. Very creative use of space.

Shawn had been feeling a little under the weather, so he got miso soup to start. 

I'm not normally a fan of miso soup, but it looked really good so I tried it. This soup was wonderful. It wasn't very hot so that was disappointing. But the soup had tremendous flavor. Most places the miso soup is mainly chunks of tofu and a few pieces of veggies This almost looked like a mushroom soup.

We also started with roasted pork crispy spring rolls

Another hit. The roll was absolutely stuffed with pork and vegetables. The pork was extremely tender, and all of the flavors worked really well together.

Shawn suggested that we get 4 rolls and split it. I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach because I agreed. And for some reason we were on a spice kick, as all 4 of the rolls had spice. We momentarily contemplated the scallop roll, assuming there's no way it would be raw. We were wrong, so it quickly got crossed off the list.

Shawn asked for "a lot" of ginger. She must have thought I wanted it too, because we each got this

They do not play around when you ask for "a lot". In the grand scheme of things that's a good thing, and Shawn needs to remember to just say "extra".

Hot Mess 

Chipotle cream cheese, jalapeno and imitation crab, tempura fried and topped with Hot Mess mix of imitation crab and spicy tuna. Topped with Simchi pepper, eel sauce and served with a fried wonton chip

I had this one on my last trip with Bob, and I ordered it because I remembered it being awesome. And it still was. I love the wonton chips on top. It adds such a nice crunch and different texture, but you really can't eat it as part of the roll. 

Roll & Gift

Tempura shrimp, jalapeno and chipotle cream cheese rolled in masago, topped with blackened eel, scallions, eel sauce, sesame seeds and sriracha

The very first time I ever tried sushi was in Maui in 2007. I figured Hawaii was as good a place as any to get my first taste. Unfortunately that first taste was raw eel. After that, I refused to touch sushi for a year. Now I eat it all the time. This roll was fantastic. Blackened eel lends such a subtle flavor. And then the contrast of the sweet eel sauce, which has no eel at all. There's a lot going on in the roll and you would think that the jalapeno and chipotle would make it spicy, but it's not at all.

Nutty Thai Professor

Coconut shrimp, imitation crab, cream cheese, peanut butter, jalapeno, mango and avocado in soy paper with sesame seeds. Topped with sriracha, eel sauce & cilantro

When the server first recommended this roll, we both thought it was very odd. I mean peanut butter, cream cheese and mango all together? That makes no sense at all. But it works. Really well. No one flavor overpowered another. Instead it was just creamy deliciousness. We were both very pleasantly surprised.

Last was Geisha's Demise

Seared yellowfin tuna, avocado, wasabi and imitation crab rolled in Shichimi pepper
with sweet evil sauce

I made the fatal mistake of dipping one side of a piece into the sweet evil sauce. My mouth was ON FIRE. They weren't kidding with the evil part, and there is absolutely nothing "sweet" about it. After that, I dipped just a tiny corner of the roll in, and then dipped the roll into my soy sauce. Even that was almost too much. They could give you 1/4 the amount of sauce and it would be plenty.

We tried, but we couldn't finish all the food. It was just way too much. Again, our eyes were a lot bigger than our stomachs. Had it just been the sushi, we would have dominated it.

Then the fortune cookies arrived, and this was mine

Clearly the Yokozuna Gods knew it was almost my birthday. I don't usually do sake, but in the spirit of birthdays I did one. Still not that much of a fan.

I will of course continue to eat here. The service is prompt and efficient, everything I've tried has been really good, and I enjoy the atmosphere. Building one in Stillwater would be outstanding.

#169 - Celebrity Restaurant, Tulsa OK

Last week was in Tulsa for appointments. Since I had nobody scheduled for lunch, I reached out to Bryan, one of our suiteholders.  He shares my love of food and wine, has never steered me wrong with food, and provides me with some great wines. About a month ago he sent me a list of restaurant recommendations, and I've already started making my way through the list. I have a few favorite suiteholders, and he is very near the top of that list. He recommended Celebrity Restaurant for this trip. 

This is one of those restaurants that you can and will drive right past if you don't know where you're going. Oklahoma is still catching up with the rest of the country in terms of liquor laws. Sometimes I wonder if they think prohibition is still in effect. And that was the case when this place opened in the 60's, so it began as a private club...a way to get around some of the liquor laws. It's also the same owner 50 years later, which almost never happens anymore.  Bryan said his kids run the restaurant now, but he still makes appearances often. The inside is a rich dark red all the way through. The building isn't huge, and the inside kind of reminds me of a 1940's bordello. Not that I've ever been in one of those in person...just in the movies. 

We sat a small 2-top table in the bar area, and Bryan was already there when I arrived, snacking on bread.

I've never seen toasted bread served as the first course.  It was a tad oily from the garlic and seasonings, but still really good.  It was also room temperature. I think it would have been better served warm. I was running a little late, so when I arrived it was already at the table; so I can't fairly judge it without tasting it 100% fresh. That's my fault for being late.  But not to worry, I didn't let that stop me from having a couple of pieces.  

Caesar salad is one of their specialties.  At dinner they will make it tableside, but we were there for lunch so ours came to the table prepared

This was delicious.  The lettuce was fresh and cold, you can taste that the dressing is homemade, and the parmesan was excellent. I really enjoyed it.

As I mentioned before, Bryan has never steered me wrong with food.  We have very similar tastes, though his are a lot more expensive than mine.  He can afford it...I can't. So when he recommended the ribeye sandwich, I was quickly sold.  Ribeye is by far my favorite cut of meat. He said it was plenty enough to share, so we did that. He likes his steak rare, but no chance I can do that.  I normally do medium, so we compromised with medium rare. Bryan said the cottage fries were excellent, and one of his favorite things at the restaurant.  A man after my own heart!  I'm never going to turn down fries.  

Wow, this was excellent. I was very surprised that I kind of liked the medium rare. Now, don't get me wrong--I don't plan to make that a habit at all.  But this one was awesome and very well seasoned. Bryan was right, the cottage fries were fantastic. Crisp outside and fluffy inside.  I can't even figure out how they can do that, because they were sliced pretty thinly.  I didn't worry about that.  I just couldn't stop eating them. Splitting the meal was definitely a good idea since we got the salad.  But I probably could have powered through a whole sandwich, and savored every single bite.

Will I go back?  No question.  I'd really like to see the tableside Caesar salad in action, and Bryan said the lobster is amazing. 

 

#148 - Tallgrass Prairie Table, Tulsa, OK

About a month ago we went Vegas for the weekend.  Of course, it was a fabulous time. A whirlwind 36 hours.  We got home Sunday afternoon, and instead of taking a much-needed nap I dove right into the blog to do my recap of the trip, as well as posts about 3 different restaurants we went to. I finished it Sunday night, posted it Monday morning, and went about my day. Then a couple hours later I looked at the blog and the recap post was gone. Poof. Nowhere to be found.  I have no clue what happened.  I called campus IT, tried to go back into my browser's history, and emailed Blogger help.   Nothing. I was so mad because when I do a post I put a lot of time, effort and thought into it.  Even more so when it's a recap of several days. Thankfully I found a draft of it later that day, and re-wrote the post.  I talked to one of my blogger friends, and she recommended saving everything in Google Drive.  It's kind of like the cloud, in that it saves everything remotely.  At that point I had about 275 total posts, so I was saving in spurts. 

Yesterday I was working on a post about a new restaurant, and went back for reference on a post I had done the first week of May.  Poof. Gone. Missing. I immediately went to Google Drive, hoping it was there.  Nope.  The post I needed was #148, and I had last saved #115.  And this time, there was no draft anywhere.  And I realized #149 was gone as well. SO ANNOYED. I instantly stopped working on new restaurants, and saved every post I've done so far.  I WILL NOT let this happen again.

So, time for a little step back in time to re-do these reviews. And of course save them immediately onto Google Drive.



The last week of April I had appointments with club seat holders in Tulsa, but no real plan for lunch. The week before I had gone to lunch with Bryan, one of my all-time favorite suiteholders.  He knows the Tulsa food scene inside and out, so I told him about my food blog and asked for recommendations. The next day I got a list of about 20 restaurants. Many of them are dinner only, but there are a few that are open for lunch. After some back and forth looking at the menus of a couple of options, I settled on Tallgrass Prairie Table. 

The restaurant is in downtown Tulsa, in the Blue Dome District. The district is home to shopping and restaurants, and right in the heart of the downtown business district.  I drove around for a little bit to find parking.  I did find street parking, but of course had no change.  Eventually I parked in a lot on a side street for about $5.  

Tallgrass is a farm to plate restaurant, so all of their ingredients are locally sourced. I love restaurants like that. As you enter, there's an open kitchen immediately on the left. The dining room is separated into 3 spaces.  There's a front room in the same section as the kitchen; the middle space that also includes a large bar; and a back room that can be used for either as a private room or regular dining.  What immediately struck me was the gorgeous huge wooden doors leading into the back room

Photo courtesy of Tulsa People

Such a simple thing to make such a grand statement.  I thought I saw a 4th dining space behind the bar.  Then when I got up to find the restroom, I realized what I was seeing was the reflection from the huge mirror on the wall.  Wow, kind of embarrassing.

The entire right side wall of the restaurant has large windows, providing tons of natural light. They really don't need a lot more lighting, which makes their chandeliers made from big fake crystals absolutely perfect.  The light reflects through the crystals to make it look like they're twinkling.  I'm sure its beautiful at night.

Photo courtesy of Tallgrass Prairie Table

I arrived during the lunch rush, and there was just one table left in the center dining room. The hostess offered me the option of sitting at the bar, but I always prefer to sit at a table if I can.  I feel like sometimes you get the short end of the service stick by sitting at the bar, especially if the restaurant is crowded, because the bartender is helping you as well as making drinks for the whole place.

The restaurant serves weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner.  The lunch menu is average size, consisting of soup, salad, sandwiches, and "the kitchen sink".  I decided to start with Farmer John's grilled tomato bisque.  I've never been a big fan of tomato soup, but bisque is creamier, and it comes with chorizo croutons.  I had to give it a shot. Good thing I ordered when I did, because they only had one serving left

This was excellent.  The bisque was thick and creamy, and served hot.  It had a little kick, but it was very subtle. Kind of like a afterthought heat. The croutons were awesome. And there were a bunch of them, and the texture was a great contrast to the bisque.  I'm really glad I decided to be adventurous on this one.

Since I batted 1000 on my first adventure, I figured why not keep going?!  I went with the Akaushi short brisket burger with fries. You could add bacon or a fried egg for $2 each. Doing both would be gluttonous, so I just did the egg

House grind, white cheddar & housemade everything 

I love the presentation on the wood plank.  Keeps with the restaurant's theme.  I'm a huge french fry snob, and hate getting fries that aren't super hot or are obviously from the bottom of the batch, like these were. Before I could even say anything, my server said "these fries were the last of the batch; I didn't want to hold up your meal, but they're making fresh ones now and I'll bring you some of those".  True to her word, just a few minutes later a fresh serving appeared at the table. That's what I'm talking about!  I forgot to take a picture of them, but they were definitely fresh and scorching hot.  And so delicious. 

The burger was outstanding. The meat was so tender and incredibly juicy, and cooked to a perfect medium; maybe even a little under medium. The egg added a really nice flavor. When I ordered, I asked about the housemade everything.  It's homemade mustard and ketchup. I did the mustard on top and the ketchup on the side. I really liked the mustard. The ketchup was okay, and had a very unique flavor.  I think in the future I would ask for both ketchups and mix them together.  

Will I go back? No question.  The food was excellent, it's a beautiful atmosphere, and I'm all about supporting restaurants that support local farmers and businesses. 

#163 - India Palace, Tulsa, OK

Last week I had several appointments with club seat holders in Tulsa, but nobody scheduled for lunch.  I didn't realize that until 2 days before, so I asked my friend Shawn if he wanted to meet up.  We hadn't seen each other for a while, so he agreed.  I went back to my trusty list that suiteholder Bryan had sent me, and came across India Palace. I love Indian food, and Bryan said it was really good; that was enough for me.  I sent him a couple other thoughts too, but since I had already been to the others and Shawn said he would try anything once, India Palace it was.  

It's located in the corner of a strip mall, a very unassuming place.  If you didn't know what you were looking for, you would never find it.  When I arrived, Shawn said he realized he had actually been there once before and liked it.  But he had also gone there right before a workout, so he wasn't really adventurous.  Probably a smart thing right before hitting the gym.

The restaurant is very warm and inviting, with beautiful artwork on the walls.  All of the staff are Indian, and a few have pretty strong accents.  I'm guessing it's a family owned and run restaurant.  They do buffet for lunch, and then a regular meal for dinner.  

It's kind of weird because there's a main glass door to enter the building, and then 2 doors into the restaurant. Go straight, and that leads up up a little ramp to where the buffet is. Enter the door on the right, and that leads you to a small waiting area to be seated in the main dining room.  But you can go in either door, and it's an open walk either way.  The "buffet room" seats about 50, and it was about half full when we arrived. To the right of there are another 10 or so tables for buffet overflow.  The main dining room is on the same level as when you walk into the restaurant, so if you're going there from the buffet you walk down a couple of steps.  It's got several large family-style tables, as well as regular tables.  And a very large bar that takes up almost the entire right wall of the restaurant.

I really like buffets, because you can pick and choose what you want, eat as much or as little of each thing as you want, and you can try a lot of different things.  I could never go to a buffet with Mary because she hated them.  Refused to go.  The buffet here isn't that large, but they pack a lot in there.  It's in an L shape, and one side is the salad bar and sauces, and the other side is entrees.  There's also a small table on the far wall with desserts.  

I started with salad. 

The salad was cold, crisp and delicious.  The big bowl on the buffet had lettuce, tomato and cucumber.  I put what I thought was ranch, then realized it was yogurt sauce. But I liked the yogurt sauce a lot better.  It was delicious. The black-eyed-pea salad was very tasty, and served cold.  The onions were really flavorful.  I asked, and they said they were marinated in tumeric and vinegar. The marinade completely eliminated the bite of the raw onion.  I planned to go back for more, but forgot.

Next, the entrees.  

Tandoor chicken, creamed spinach, black lentils, veggie fritters, naan bread

I don't even like lentils, and these were phenomenal.  I'm not sure if it was the curry or what, but I could have downed a whole bowl of them.  The naan bread was really soft and warm.  I would be willing to be it's homemade as well.  So good.  The veggie fritters were delicious. I went and got some of the tamarind sauce to dip them in.  Tamarind is a pulp that comes from a tree.  Yes, I know that sounds kind of gross, but when they make stuff with it, it's really delicious.  Very unique flavor.  The tamarind sauce was outstanding with the fritters and the bread.  I was not a fan of the creamed spinach. I normally am not, so it was an adventurous pick.  I only put a tiny bit on my plate, and only ate one bite of it.

And then the second plate

Curry chicken, white rice, chicken biryani, beef meatballs, more black lentils and more fritters

The chicken curry was excellent.  The meat was so tender, and the curry had just a hint of spice.  The white rice was kind of a sticky basmati rice, and went really well with the lentils.  But the lentils were so good they really didn't need anything to go with them. I just got the rice so I could taste it.  Plus Shawn had done the same lentils over rice and it looked good. The meatballs were just okay.  Not a whole lot of flavor.  Honestly I thought it was kind of odd they even had them, considering I didn't taste any Indian spices in there. The biryani was good, but I think it had been sitting for a little while so it didn't taste as fresh as other items.  And I noticed they never had to replenish the pan while we were there, like they did with a lot off the other items. But it did have very good flavor.  I didn't need more fritters, but I saw them put out a brand new steaming hot batch so I couldn't help myself.

The only items I did not try were the curried vegetables and tomato soup.  Again, tomato soup seems like kind of an odd item on an Indian menu.  

Shawn got dessert.  Mango pudding and rice pudding

Neither one had much flavor. I said to Shawn that maybe they were more to cleanse the palate than actually a flavorful desert.  Because after all the spice and flavor of the entrees, you need something cool and a little plain to end the meal.  The rice pudding was a little sweeter than the mango.  

Will I go back?  No question.  The food was excellent, the service was prompt and efficient, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.  I was standing in the foyer taking notes before I left, and the manager walked by and made sure I was okay.  I told him yes, and also told him how much I enjoyed our meal.  I'll most certainly be back. And, as expected, Bryan hit another home run with his recommendation.

#161 - Trails End BBQ, Owasso OK

I had a last-minute lunch scheduled with a donor last Tuesday. It's in Owasso, which is about 10 miles west of Tulsa. I've never been to Owasso, and so I went online to research restaurants. I tossed out a few options to Steve, and he picked Trails End BBQ. Honestly it wouldn't have been my first choice of the options I had found, but I went with it. I figured since he lived in the area, he would know better. As it turns out, Steve had never eaten here before either, so it was a new discovery for both of us.

The restaurant looks like an old country building. Wood paneled walls, Western pictures everywhere. There’s seating for about 40 in the main dining room, and they also have a additional seating in another room that is separated by a curtain. It was pretty crowded when I arrived, but luckily I was able to get one of the last available tables as soon as I walked in. This picture in the restroom made me laugh out loud

Our server was very nice, but she also came around about 4 times pretty quickly to ask if we were ready. And we kept saying no. At first I was a little annoyed, but I realized that most of their clientele are workers on a timed lunch break who need to get in and out quickly. After the 4th time she told us to just let her know when we were ready to order.

I suggested that we try the pasture chips to start

Fresh homemade potato chips with our own special seasoning

These were homemade and really delicious. They were lightly seasoned, and the seasoning was awesome. Reminded me of Old Bay. The only down side is that they weren’t warm. I guess most people eat them straight from the basket because we didn't get little plates. When I asked for ketchup, our server gave me that “look”. The kind of look you get at a steakhouse when you ask for your meat well done. She did bring it out though, as well as some ranch. And she said the ranch is awesome with the chips. She was right. We used some of the BBQ sauce that was on the table as well, and that was fantastic too. The ranch and BBQ sauce went better than the ketchup. Duly noted, so I don't get the look again. I definitely recommend that they serve these chips with a side of ranch. And if they served them warm, that would be outstanding.

The menu isn’t too big, but pretty substantial for a BBQ place. One thing we noticed is that they only have 2 different salads on the whole menu. But then again, I doubt that many people go to a BBQ place for salad. And besides, this doesn’t come across as a place you would go when on a diet.

As we were munching on chips I looked again at the appetizer items, and thought that we should have tried fried pickles or jalapeno cheese balls instead. But really, besides the temperature, the chips were awesome. So I moved on to figure out what to eat. I had read a review on TulsaFood.com about the restaurant the night before; Mitch, the reviewer, raved about the ribs. I don’t normally eat ribs at a restaurant because they’re too messy. Steve said I should since I was doing a review, and I saw lots of other people getting ribs. So ribs it was. I went with the 2-meat combo of ribs and pulled pork, and did sweet potato fries and fried okra as my sides. We were both shocked to see tabouli on the menu. Never in my life have I seen that anywhere but a Greek place. But our server said it was really good, and was the second most popular side on the menu. So we decided to try it.

The tabouli was awesome! I have to say I hesitated a second to taste it, but it tasted just like what you get in Greek restaurants. Extremely flavorful.

The sweet potato fries were pretty good, but I think they were a tad undercooked. There was a ton, and I only ate about half of them. The fried okra was very good as well. Not as scorching hot as I would normally like, but fried perfectly.

The pulled pork was very good and had a great smoky flavor, and again a huge serving. The pork was a little dry, but some BBQ sauce did the trick. The ribs were amazing. So meaty and tender. I was able to easily pull them off the bone. I gave Steve a piece, and he stopped talking mid-sentence after his bite. Yep, it’s that good. You get 2 with the 2-meat combo. The regular meal comes with 4-5. I’m not even sure I could have eaten all that. As it stood, I took about half the pork, and some each of the okra and tabouli home with me.

Steve got the brisket sandwich with cole slaw. Yes, I looked like the pig of our table. But it’s for research. I forgot to take a picture of his cole slaw, but I tasted it and it was delicious.

As we were finishing our meals, our server asked if we wanted apple or cherry cobbler. We both said no, because we were both stuffed. But then she said it was included as part of the meal. Who can turn that down?! Especially when she offered to put them directly into to-go containers for us. We both got apple.

The angle of this photo is a little deceiving, because it's a very small portion.  Just enough to finish the meal off. I ate it when I got home. It was good, but would be better warm, eaten right at the restaurant. And with ice cream on top. Steve had asked our server if it came with ice cream, but no dice.

Steve and I both agreed that we will each definitely go back. The food is delicious, the service is quick and efficient, and the prices are really good.