I used to love the old location but I won't go to the new one. I've been there several times and it's been average at best every time and I was also upset when the last original one closed. I ate there all the time for years and the food and service was always excellent.

Been there once. Never wanted to go back.

Same here.

And here also.

i had a bad time there once me and my family was there and one of my family members wanted his soup first and then his meal the waitress says yes she will be bring it out we waited we waited and then finally she came back and we ask her can we get the soup please she say she is on it finally she bring is to us and the literally 5 seconds later our meal is out she didn't listen to us and my chicken was cold and gross and finally we just walk out of the restaurant and we yelled at her at the cash register and didn't give her a tip

i had a bad time there once me and my family was there and one of my family members wanted his soup first and then his meal the waitress says yes she will be bring it out we waited we waited and then finally she came back and we ask her can we get the soup please she say she is on it finally she bring is to us and the literally 5 seconds later our meal is out she didn't listen to us and my chicken was cold and gross and finally we just walk out of the restaurant and we yelled at her at the cash register and didn't give her a tip

So you counter bad service and food, with rude behavior.

Beverly's was a classy place when I was growing up. Bev and Ruby were
super people.

Was the Beverly's over on NW 23rd or the location on the NW Expressway near Penn the "Original"?
(I remember having the Chicken in the Rough once and it was very, very good).

Neither of them was the original. I believe that the downtown location, levelled during Urban Renewal days, was the original one, but the one near the Capitol building on Lincoln just north of 23rd, was the best known. Both the NW 23 and Expressway locations were relative latecomers to the chain.

Doug has a quite good history of the operation on his blog.

I didn't move here until '73 or '74 so both of those locations were probably long gone by then. As a child visiting in the '50s and '60s I may have seen the one on Lincoln, but back then the chicken place of choice was Shipman's (i think down there on Robinson? one of those N/S streets south of downtown). Didn't eat at Beverly's a lot--it just seemed too far out of the way from where I was residing--but every time I did, it was good. Just lucky I guess.

So you counter bad service and food, with rude behavior.
yes she didn't care at all and the food was horrible

Was the Beverly's over on NW 23rd or the location on the NW
Expressway near Penn the "Original"? (I remember having the
Chicken in the Rough once and it was very, very good).
The first one was on Grand Avenue (now Sheridan) where the Lunch
Box has been for years. Just east of the Union Station.

Technically the first Chicken in the Rough was sold on the side of
a road. The goes they were leaving Oklahoma for California. Ruby
made chicken and while they were driving and eating she said, "this
is eating chicken in the rough." That gave Beverly an idea and
they never left Oklahoma.

I guess The Rooster Holding the Golf Club came later . . . =)

Thanks for the info, Mr. P.
And I'm not making fun of that old restaurant logo.
It was one of the coolest ever.
(and i pay attention to that sort of stuff! =)

Just what is Chicken in the Rough?

I seem to recall that it was an entire half-chicken fried-up in one piece.
With fries on the side.

(Of course, the head and neck were removed on account of that would have been just a little TOO rough.)

Tearing into the bird with your fingers was part of the fun.
Plus you got white meat and dark meat, thus broadening your culinary perspective on stuff.

And then the cool little bowls of water with a lemon slice to dip your fingers in...

I think Chicken-in the-rough was a cooking process. Like KFC but before then.

Beverly's and Cattlemen's.
Both phantoms of the past run by people milking some old memories to make a buck.
Both are sub-par, in every way.

I think Chicken-in the-rough was a cooking
process. Like KFC but before then.
No, it was because it was rough to eat it in a car going to
California during the depression. That's what Ruby Osborne said.

No, it was because it was rough to eat it in a car going to
California during the depression. That's what Ruby Osborne said.

Cool, never knew that. Thanks.
Makes good sense.
I have seen postcards where there was one in Norman on Hwy. 77 long ago.

Here's a website with the history of Chicken in the Rough (http://chickenintherough.com/History.html)

Thanks for the info

Prunepicker,
The history seems to confirm my memory of why it was named Chicken in the Rough, which is different from yours. It had to do with eating it with your hands and not utensils, "fingers were made before forks". I don't believe it had anything to do with eating it in the car other than in the car they ate it with their fingers. I understand that you knew them but I ate their often and it was probably the only place in town where you ate chicken with your hands. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts.
C. T.

Here's a website with the history of Chicken in the Rough (http://chickenintherough.com/History.html)

Prunepicker,
The history seems to confirm my memory of why it was named
Chicken in the Rough, which is different from yours. I don't believe
it had anything to do with eating it in the car other than in the car
they ate it with their fingers. C. T.
You need to read it again!
Beverly Osborne coaxed his Ford pickup across the barren prairie.
Suddenly, a bump in the rutted road scattered the chicken
and basket. Picking it up, Rubye complained "this is really
Chicken in the Rough®." With that chance remark, a fortune was
born. Beverly turned his truck around and headed back home.

Beverly's may be getting some more business, as there are signs telling folks at the now closed Hometown Buffet that the meetings have relocated.

Beverly's may be getting some more business, as there are signs telling
folks at the now closed Hometown Buffet that the meetings have relocated.
Meetings? What meetings?

Didn't the Hometown Buffet close about 20 years ago? I need to
get out more.

Prunepicker,
I read it again, then did a little more research and found this link - http://www.franchisetimes.com/content/story.php?article=00710. It convinces me even more. My parents ate there frequently before I was born and later when we went as a family the eating chicken without a fork thing was discussed. I don't care, it's just bugging me. Maybe somebody else will jump in with more information. Did you check the Oklahoman? That might be a good source.
C. T.

There's a lot of good info here: http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2006/07/north-on-lincoln-chicken-in-rough.html

That's the page that introduced me to Doug and his efforts to capture OKC history...

Prunepicker,
I read it again, then did a little more research and found this link -
http://www.franchisetimes.com/content/story.php?article=00710. It
convinces me even more. My parents ate there frequently before I
was born and later when we went as a family the eating chicken without
a fork thing was discussed. I don't care, it's just bugging me. Maybe
somebody else will jump in with more information. Did you check the
Oklahoman? That might be a good source.
C. T.
And the dropped chicken was a result of riding in a truck on a rough
road, hence, "eating chicken in the rough". It had nothing to do with
eating with the fingers. The Osborne's were customers of my Dad's and
they never mentioned that eating chicken with fingers was eating in
the rough. However, eating fried chicken in a truck and on a rough road
was.

Fried chicken is finger food. I've never eaten it with a fork.

Meetings? What meetings?

Didn't the Hometown Buffet close about 20 years ago? I need to
get out more.

Yes you do, but too late now. LOL. The Hometown Buffet on NW Expressway/63rd closed this past Monday (there's a recent thread on it). The southside one closed a few years ago? Has been remodeled and a couple of different oriental buffet places since. The meetings were various civic Lions Club type things

I just remembered a past Beverly's location that I don't believe has
been mentioned in any of the posts or threads. There was one at
N.W. 16th and N. May Avenue. The location became the first
Jimmy's Egg.

That was NW 15 and May, across the street from the theater, wasn't it?

That was NW 15 and May, across the street from the theater, wasn't it?
Yes!

Who designed the logo, Chicken in the Rough, for Beverly's?
Janey Reynolds Ring

Prunepicker,
Somebody did mention earlier in the thread or in the nostalgia section. I believe it was one of the last three left standing, NW Expressway and Penn was one and NW 23rd and Classen was the other. It is the last one I took my family to. I only ate once at 23rd and I was never in the one on the Expressway. Just not real convenient. My son went there often. He's not as happy with the Indiana location, not sure why.
C. T.

I ate at the one on NW Expressway many times. The one on N. Walker
most of the time. NW 23rd several times. Never on Lincoln, Grand Avenue
(now Sheridan) or on N May.

I have been researching Beverly's Chicken in the Rough on the internet and I found one reference to a specially designed "grill" invented by Beverly Osborne for cooking his Chicken in the Rough. The reference commented on the grill's dimensions as 4 feet by 2 feet. I have tried every iteration I can think of to search for the patent but the only thing I can come up with is for a grill scraper invented by Beverly Osborne. The patent was applied for in 1939 and granted in 1940. I am quite curious on how you can cook "Fried" chicken on a grill and would love more information on the patent or the "grill" itself.

Came across this gem recently. Looks like it was flap to close in a chicken bucket? 17713

^

1937!

Hey!

So, I didn't find a "grill scraper" but I did find a "Griddle Scraper"
The Griddle Scraper is a "design" patent, not a 'utility' patent. So, the patent is just for the ornamental design of the griddle scraper. That is US D120245 (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c7/fa/38/0a25a4c6e6a861/USD120245.pdf).

The other patent you are talking about might be US 2,211,545 (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f9/9f/5d/b25a66626ebff6/US2211545.pdf)

Hey!

So, I didn't find a "grill scraper" but I did find a "Griddle Scraper"
The Griddle Scraper is a "design" patent, not a 'utility' patent. So, the patent is just for the ornamental design of the griddle scraper. That is US D120245 (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c7/fa/38/0a25a4c6e6a861/USD120245.pdf).

The other patent you are talking about might be US 2,211,545 (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f9/9f/5d/b25a66626ebff6/US2211545.pdf)

Hate to tell you but Gary K asked his question just under 10 years ago and looks like he hasn't been back since.

I'm glad this thread resurfaced. I meant to telephone them and let them know that they've been called "Beverly's Pancake Ho" every night after sundown for the last two months.