The customer and right always go together in a sentence. Most times this is because the customer is right and the service or product was lacking in some respect off the norm. These are typically a my apology, how can we make this up to you situation, and tend to resolve in under 30 seconds.

And then there are the other times, where the lacking in some respect is the customer and well, the door is right there, and the quite unreasonable person can kindly go through it (or be calmly escorted through it) and is quite welcome to go prove what a miserable excuse for a rational person he, she or they are to someone else, anyone else really, but they most assuredly are not going to foul the air where they wanted to do so.

In my life, I've hawked chicken, pizza, burgers and a few different non-food retail gigs. There are good customers, interesting prospects and dregs who want a fight or a freebie, sometimes both, and pretend to be customers as they ply their deceptive craft. Never had much use for the latter, but so long as they weren't throwing punches, they could be calmly escorted out and only after about a mile down the road would they begin to realize they didn't get free stuff. Irrespective of education, once someone's bluff and bluster is made ineffective, they just don't listen real closely, and that's when to slide them out the door.

There was one time in which *this* customer wasn't right at a reasonably notorious bbq restaurant in OK (not going to throw brickbats by putting the name out there), when I misread the menu and found out the hard way that a single regular burger, fries, and drink was $20. And, no, I'm not exaggerating. Twenty bills.

What I saw in large letters on the menu was the lunch special with fries and a drink for something like $9.95 or thereabouts, but what I didn't see in the fine print were that hamburgers were considered a "specialty sandwich" and "weren't included" on the special. I was so stunned when I saw the ticket I just assumed it was an error, and when I asked the waitress to check it she kinda laughed at me and said, no it was right. So, on the letter of the law, yeah, dummy on me, I got skunked, but good grief, the ill will created over a $20 burger won't ever be overcome. Needless to say, I won't be giving them the opportunity for me to make that mistake again.

And, no, it wasn't even *close* to being worth that kind of $.

I thought surely for goodwill (I was with some other folks at the time, and it was a bit embarrassing for them as they had really sold the place so that's where we went for lunch that day) they'd adjust it down to the special price, or given me some token amount off; no way. They Wuz Right And They Wuz Gonna Stick It To Me.

Not again.

Well, I ate at Ray's in Norman today and right now (and I'm afraid there's always a little bias when you have just stuffed yourself), I would put at "My" top in the barbecue arena. I had the three meat dinner so I could taste the pork, good but a little dry, sliced brisket and it's the best I've had in years, and ribs also probably the best I've had in years. Speaking of the OKC Metro area of course. The beans were good and the okra was good. And the company (a long time associate/friend and his wife) was the finest, so, what more can I say. I will meet them again in the near future and then I will have either the ribs or the sliced brisket and vice/versa the next time.
C. T.

Well, I ate at Ray's in Norman today and right now (and I'm afraid there's always a little bias when you have just stuffed yourself), I would put at "My" top in the barbecue arena. I had the three meat dinner so I could taste the pork, good but a little dry, sliced brisket and it's the best I've had in years, and ribs also probably the best I've had in years. Speaking of the OKC Metro area of course. The beans were good and the okra was good. And the company (a long time associate/friend and his wife) was the finest, so, what more can I say. I will meet them again in the near future and then I will have either the ribs or the sliced brisket and vice/versa the next time.
C. T.

CT, I'll have to agree with you about Ray's , I probably eat there twice a month for the last 10 years , I've yet to get a bad meal, and you hit the nail on the head the brisket and ribs are some of the best around. I keep thinking that I'm due an off day from them, and the continue to prove me wrong. I'd recommend Ray's to anyone looking for excellent BBQ.

Saw in the Gazette that Smokey's has a new owner and "revamped" menu. Might have to give it a try now, heard it was horrible before, but hopefully not now.

Nuggets Food Briefs: Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, Smokey?s Bar-B-Que & Diner, 1492 New World Latin Cuisine and more! | Oklahoma Gazette (http://okgazette.com/2015/12/02/nuggets-food-briefs-whiskey-cake-kitchen-bar-smokeys-bar-b-que-diner-1492-new-world-latin-cuisine-and-more/)

Next week we start the 2016 OKC Broken Rib Tour.... This will be our 3rd year to do this and I'm looking forward to seeing if some of the Q-raunts that managed to stay in the Top 5 of the first two tours manage to stay there again this year and we have 4 Q-raunts that have never been included in the tour before.

Next week we start the 2016 OKC Broken Rib Tour.... This will be our 3rd year to do this and I'm looking forward to seeing if some of the Q-raunts that managed to stay in the Top 5 of the first two tours manage to stay there again this year and we have 4 Q-raunts that have never been included in the tour before.

So exciting. Wish I could join.

So exciting. Wish I could join.

Judges are set for this year but I'll keep you in mind if I have an opening next year.

On another note... I have been kicking around the idea of starting a BBQ Appreciaton group on Facebook with the intent of having a once a month gathering to eat BBQ in OKC and also to plan an occasional BBQ road trip.

...
On another note... I have been kicking around the idea of starting a BBQ Appreciaton group on Facebook with the intent of having a once a month gathering to eat BBQ in OKC and also to plan an occasional BBQ road trip.

I think that page would have the potential for serious growth.

I don't have FB, but somebody keep me posted on it?

I'd love to see a blog or something of the results. I've given up eating bbq in this city.

I'd love to see a blog or something of the results. I've given up eating bbq in this city.

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: 2015 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2015/02/2015-oklahoma-city-broken-rib-tour.html)

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: 2015 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2015/02/2015-oklahoma-city-broken-rib-tour.html)

Thanks, and here's the link to the 2014 Rib Tour also....

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: 2014 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2014/03/2014-oklahoma-city-broken-rib-tour.html)

I'd love to see a blog or something of the results. I've given up eating bbq in this city.

Well my blog isn't a magic bullet for finding great BBQ in this city.... Oklahoma City BBQ has a huge consistency issue.... The slab of ribs we were served at Back Door BBQ in 2015 was really good and deserving of the high scores we gave it it but at the same time I have been served some ribs at Back Door BBQ that were more akin to pork jerky than BBQ.

Same can be said of Bedlam BBQ which has also fared well on both rib tours despite not even being on the list for the original tour in 2014 because they had served me some horrible ribs just a few months earlier.... They only got included on that original tour because another Q-raunt had closed, while relocating, and ended up being in the top spot until our last stop on the tour when Steve's Ribs edged them out by a few tenths of a point.

Same can be said about Ray's Smokehouse in Norman, which is still one of my favorites, who had a Top 5 finish in 2014 and fell to the back of the pack in 2015.

I think great ribs can be had at any of the places that have been consistently in the top half of the list but it's all about timing because I've been served less than stellar ribs at those place also.

Has anyone tried Glenn's BBQ at SE59th and Sooner? Also, I noticed that the Buy for less on SE 44th has a bbq pit out front. Used to get BBQ there years ago and it was excellent but then they stopped. Anyone tried it recently?

Not in the metro, but the travel stop and attached Q-raunt at the Stillwater turnoff on I-35 made a nice, albeit messy, lunch on my way back to Norman yesterday. Wished I would have had more time to just sit and enjoy, but it was not to be yesterday. Next time I am that way I will try to plan in some sticking around time.

Has anyone tried Glenn's BBQ at SE59th and Sooner? Also, I noticed that the Buy for less on SE 44th has a bbq pit out front. Used to get BBQ there years ago and it was excellent but then they stopped. Anyone tried it recently?

I've only been to Gary Glenn's for the 2015 OKC Rib Tour and the ribs weren't very popular with us... Can't speak for the rest of their Q.

I've heard the Q at the Buy 4 Less is not to bad but I have yet to try it.

I'm a little embarrassed to say but I stopped at Rudy's for a tank of fuel and went inside to get a sample of their brisket. It was pretty darn good. Good bark. Legit smoke pits. If I was hungry I would've gotten a plate w some ribs. I'll have diner there soon.

^^^ Their meats are really good.

Their BBQ sauce is nasty though, IMO.

I'm a little embarrassed to say but I stopped at Rudy's for a tank of fuel and went inside to get a sample of their brisket. It was pretty darn good. Good bark. Legit smoke pits. If I was hungry I would've gotten a plate w some ribs. I'll have diner there soon.

The ribs are not good..... The moist brisket ( fatty) is awesome though...that and some good ol white bread and your set....

And believe it or not they do a brisket, egg, and cheese on a tortilla in the mornings that are bomb....

The ribs are not good..... The moist brisket ( fatty) is awesome though...that and some good ol white bread and your set....

And believe it or not they do a brisket, egg, and cheese on a tortilla in the mornings that are bomb....


^^^ those breakfast tacos with brisket are awesome.

^^^ those breakfast tacos with brisket are awesome.

Confirmed Rudy's breakfast tacos are good, but that's all I liked there. I've been informed their cobbler is also good.

I'm a little embarrassed to say but I stopped at Rudy's for a tank of fuel and went inside to get a sample of their brisket. It was pretty darn good. Good bark. Legit smoke pits. If I was hungry I would've gotten a plate w some ribs. I'll have diner there soon.

There are two common sayings in the Austin area.

1: Did you hear Rudy got arrested? The charge was impersonating BBQ.

2: You don't go to a BBQ joint to gas up your car, and you don't go to a gas station to get BBQ. Note, this is not entirely accurate as there are tons of hole in the wall places attached to gas stations that are excellent, this is specifically a dig against Rudy's proudly charging the highest prices for gas.

Two things at Rudy's. Two things. The brisket and the creamed corn. Technically three things if you count the breakfast tacos, but they have brisket in them so I'm counting it under that. Once you have the chopped brisket taco, you join "The Cult of the Chop".

The chain Rudy's is nothing like the original, north of San Antonio on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. That place is legit, or at least it was a decade or so ago. Rough as a cob in every aspect, outdoor pit, and not a fancy convenience store. In fact the BBQ appeared to have overtaken the store to the point that it was barely a store.

The only Ruby's I've liked was in Austin - and only the brisket - which was awesome. I also second the creamed corn. I've tried the one on Memorial, the one in Norman and one along I-40 in Amarillo - all three were really blah to bad.

My tried and true spot for BBQ Bedlam. Was actually there yesterday for lunch.

This is also a regular spot for me for outdoor dining when summer gets here.

When a crew for the Discovery Channel was in town last year I took them there for dinner. They went back two more times, they loved it so much.

*I wanna know the story behind the never in a rush to complete the renovations - and why are they making it look like a Mexican restaurant on the exterior?

My tried and true spot for BBQ Bedlam. Was actually there yesterday for lunch.

Bedlam frustrates the heck out of me.... They've been a consistent Top 5 in my yearly OKC Broken Rib Tour, and not to give away too much but looks like they will be staying in the Top 5 again this year with one weekend left to go in the tour, but....... I meet friends over there for lunch and order the ribs and they are never as good as the ones we've been served when we order by the slab..... The ribs I was served when I first blogged about Bedlam were almost inedible.... Inedible to the point that Bedlam wasn't even originally included in the 2014 Rib Tour, but was added at the last second because Mr. Sprigg's had closed for relocation, and then ended up being our second favorite rib that year. Only losing out to the Steve's Rib, that is now Cal's Chicago Style, by a few hundrenths of a point.

Now with that said... They aren't alone in this phenomenon.... Last years favorite over all was Back Door BBQ and I've kept it no secret that I've been served below average ribs there multiple times as well.... Even pointing out to a manager that one of the ribs they served me could be considered rib jerky.

Have you ever considered having separate beef and pork categories? Being a transplant I do not consider brisket when ordering BBQ and I am sure others feel the same way about ribs/pulled pork.

Have you ever considered having separate beef and pork categories?

We have discussed it. However the logistics of doing the tour paired with my dislike for the style of brisket served around OKC are fairly prohibitive to it happening.

I do appreciate that people use my blog and the tours to help find good BBQ but at the same time it's just a hobby.... So it still has to be enjoyable to me.

Confirmed Rudy's breakfast tacos are good, but that's all I liked there. I've been informed their cobbler is also good.

Haven't had the cobbler, but the chocolate and banana puddings are some of the best I've ever had. I also like the slaw

My tried and true spot for BBQ Bedlam. Was actually there yesterday for lunch.

This is also a regular spot for me for outdoor dining when summer gets here.


I go there whenever I'm in the area!

I saw a woman doing the chop brisket at Rudy's. She operated with the skill of a surgeon and It was chopped per sandwich to order. That's on my list.

We stopped going to bedlam a few years ago. I got tired of walking through the construction zones to get dried out, obviously pre-sliced ribs. Often times cut right along side the bone so sometimes you get half a rib, sometimes a jumbo rib. I might have to go back, but I don't travel in packs that can eat a whole slab. My wife doesn't eat meat off the bone (yes a full grown adult) and all my hipster friends are veggies.

On a side note since Jersey boss mentioned types of bbq not being considered: I really wish someone would do the whole hog Carolina style here, even if it were just on sundays: this is where the entire hog is dressed and splayed out flat cooked over wood coals and all pulled and mixed up with the cracklings. Then mixed in mustard, tomato, light tomato, or vinegar & pepper sauces depending on how far east, west, or south you go.

My wife doesn't eat meat off the bone (yes a full grown adult) and all my hipster friends are veggies.

Your wife is not an anomaly... I've been married to two women that refuse to eat meat off a bone and I've been acquaintances with others.... I've never met a, non vegetarian, man that refused to eat meat with a bone in it.


On a side note since Jersey boss mentioned types of bbq not being considered: I really wish someone would do the whole hog Carolina style here,

Well I won't be making it available to the public but... We lost the metal roof off our cabin during the storm we had at Christmas and I saved several of the sections and will be using them to build a Carolina style cinder block whole hog cooker this spring.... Really excited about trying that style of cooking and figured I might as well turn the negative of losing our roof into a positive.

When elder son was wrapping up year one of a stint in Masters Commission, the end of year celebration included a table where a very nice man was carving up on a whole hog. I won't claim I was in heaven that day, but the Almighty and some angels might have been sitting in a corner sipping sweet tea and cracking jokes while some cherubs were out on the lawn playing under the sprinkler.

Good doesn't begin to describe it.

I know it's a chain, but for a good chopped beef BBQ sandwich we like Dickey's at NW 63rd and May Ave. Anyone who has spent much time in Dallas or Houston is probably familiar with them. They have a couple of other locations in the metro.

I know it's a chain, but for a good chopped beef BBQ sandwich we like Dickey's at NW 63rd and May Ave. Anyone who has spent much time in Dallas or Houston is probably familiar with them. They have a couple of other locations in the metro.

Every time I hear Dickeys ,I think of this A Restaurant Nearly Killed a Grandmother With Toxic Sweet Tea -- Grub Street (http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/08/dickeys-barbecue-toxic-tea.html)

I went to Klemm's this past weekend and really enjoyed it. Tried the ribs (baby backs that fell off the bone, do all baby backs do that? I don't think Chile's did), pulled pork, and brisket. Brisket was a bit charred, but I didn't care.

If it weren't so far I'd go again in the near future to try the salmon and chicken.

Every time I hear Dickeys ,I think of this A Restaurant Nearly Killed a Grandmother With Toxic Sweet Tea -- Grub Street (http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/08/dickeys-barbecue-toxic-tea.html)

Every time I hear someone mention Dickey's I think about a comment I read from one of the Texas Q-Blogger's one time. They referred to Dickey's as a black mold on BBQ spreading from Texas.

Tried the ribs (baby backs that fell off the bone, do all baby backs do that?

Only the over cooked ones but a lot of people sure seem to like them that way..... Not my personal preference.... I prefer to be able to use the bone as a handle to eat the rib.... If I wanted to eat pork with a fork I would order chopped or sliced pork.

Only the over cooked ones but a lot of people sure seem to like them that way..... Not my personal preference.... I prefer to be able to use the bone as a handle to eat the rib.... If I wanted to eat pork with a fork I would order chopped or sliced pork.

What is with the adage of eating ribs that fall off the bone?

What is with the adage of eating ribs that fall off the bone?

BBQ probably has more myths, mystique, and lore, attached to it than any other food on the planet.... All of which about 95% is total BS and the remaining 5% is actual usable knowledge. Unfortunately it's the 95% that is regularly regurgitated to the general public..... So at some point someone said "Well my ribs are so tender they fall right off the bone!" Whether they actually did, or didn't fall off the bone, the statement was taken literally and people ran with it.

It's kind of like when Arby's started advertising that they smoke their briskets for 16 hours.... Like 16 hours is some kind of magical brisket cooking amount of time.... 16 hours means nothing because a brisket is done when it's done and 16 hours may, or may not, be how many hours it takes to become done..... I personally cook my briskets in the 6-8 hour time frame and I'll put my brisket up against an Arby's brisket any day.

In fact pretty much any time BBQ is advertised to be cooked, marinated, whatever, for any amount of time... You can pretty much just discount it as a bunch of advertising nonsense..... Anyone that cooks BBQ knows you cook it to an internal temperature and a veteran pitmaster can tell you when it's done just by how the meat moves and feels.

To add to my last comment.... I once had a pitmaster at a local Q-raunt, that has since closed, try to sell me on the fact that the pork he was slicing for me was falling apart because it was so tender.... I really had to struggle to keep from firing back "No. It's falling apart while you are slicing it because you over cooked it.".

This is a very late addition to the Crockett's BBQ, but relevant. .(So says I)

The Midwest city location (South of 15th at Air Depot). . .As Prune alluded in 2012 its quality had gone down hill. The fellow that ran the Midwest City location apparently took over the restaurant and renamed it. The quality went up and was very good for a while. . Then one day, boom. . it closed.

A year or two later, I stopped into a BBQ on Classen, (Between 23rd and 30 IIRC) an it was the same fellow. . the BBQ was excellent. He stayed in business another year or so and then pulled the old Houdini again. . I have never seen him since, and was quite disappointed as he had BBQ down to an art.

You find a good restaurant you like, get used to it and then BOOM. . .its gone. . . What is it with this town?

Well after recovering from a near fatal loss of data... and when I say fatal when I saw all my work disappear just as I was about to click the publish button..... I nearly died! .... But after 4 weekends of eating and two weekends of calculating all the results and typing all this up.... Here are the results..... Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: 2016 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2016/03/2016-oklahoma-city-broken-rib-tour.html)

I love the way you laid out that blog post. It is 730 am and my mouth is cravibg some ribs.

Thanks for the hard work on this! And by that I of course mean the coordination, accounting, summary and blog post...because the rib eating was surely NOT work!

Glad a place I frequent ranked highly

Thanks for the hard work on this! And by that I of course mean the coordination, accounting, summary and blog post...because the rib eating was surely NOT work!

Thanks.... This year was probably the toughest yet due to some personal issues, an insane work schedule, and I'm in my 4th year of doing the blog. So the fun and excitement has kind of worn off..... This year it did almost feel more like a job I HAD to do rather than something I wanted to go do.

Not to mention when the web version of Blogger's editor erased all of my work just as I was about to hit the publish button at 1:30 in the morning..... I almost said "Forget it! I'm done!" ... LOL

Fortunately I still had a preview window open in my browser and I was able to view the source and cut and paste the actual blog portion of it from that..... If not for that little miracle I would not have had the time, or ambition, to of retyped all that..... KCBS judging starts for me this weekend and my schedule for at least the next two months is non-stop.

I know it's too late now, but have you checked to see if you need to turn on "autosave"? It should have the option, then the most you would lose is a few words unless you are a 90 wpm typist.
C. T.

I know it's too late now, but have you checked to see if you need to turn on "autosave"? It should have the option, then the most you would lose is a few words unless you are a 90 wpm typist.
C. T.

It does an autosave. Unfortunately it saved right as it deleted everything...... It's just a really clunky editor and it's not the first time I've had this happen..... Just with the lack of sleep and not having blogged much in the last year. I forgot that I used to regularly cut and paste my work to Notepad as an additional safeguard.

I should have probably found a decent WYSIWYG editor a long time ago but since this is just a hobby and has a lot of built in expenses... I've never felt like paying for a better editor.

Love the rib tour,

Need a recommendation for brisket (other than driving to central texas) , best i've found is at rays in norman.

Love the rib tour,

Need a recommendation for brisket (other than driving to central texas) , best i've found is at rays in norman.

Thanks..... Well it's not Central Texas style brisket but about the only place I'll eat brisket in Oklahoma is at The Butcher BBQ Stand in Wellston.

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED AT THE BUTCHER BBQ STAND (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2015/05/no-animals-were-harmed-at-butcher-bbq.html)
Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: 06/06 ON ROUTE 66 (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2015/06/0606-on-route-66.html)

I like the chopped brisket from Leo's. It's got plenty of bark mixed in and they don't mince it up they take a cleaver to it. To my knowledge they don't sell sliced. I think the dry charred lean end mixes with the melty fatty end and becomes brisket magic. I've also wondered what they do with the rib tips? Do they all go in the beans?

And does anyone know where I can get some legit burnt ends? I' had a half rack at back door last week and it was excellent. Completely different from the description on the broken rib tour. But I've noted I consistencies before. I've just been on a lucky rib streak. Anyway, they had burnt ends on special so I ordered a 1/4 lb. it came drowned in sauce and there was only one actual burnt end. The rest were sliced cubes of dry lean brisket sat to soften up in the pool of sauce.

If you're in Tulsa, probably Oklahoma Joes. Else I thought it was more of a KC thing. I found them in Denver, but they were kind of like how you described the ones you had sans sauce.

And does anyone know where I can get some legit burnt ends?

The ones I was served at The Butcher BBQ Stand a couple of weeks ago were pretty solid. Not too saucy and cut from the point/deckle of the brisket and not from the flat. The one time I had them from Back Door they were more like shredded beef and way to much sauce.


I' had a half rack at back door last week and it was excellent. Completely different from the description on the broken rib tour. But I've noted I consistencies before. I've just been on a lucky rib streak.

Back Door is very inconsistent.... They were our favorite rib we were served in 2015 but this year they didn't even crack the Top 5.

If you're in Tulsa, probably Oklahoma Joes. Else I thought it was more of a KC thing. I found them in Denver, but they were kind of like how you described the ones you had sans sauce.

Yeah Oklahoma Joe's has them.

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: GET YOUR END'S BURNT AT OKLAHOMA JOE'S BBQ (http://okbbqea.blogspot.com/2012/10/get-your-ends-burnt-at-oklahoma-joes-bbq.html)

What's your opinion on Smoking Joes down in Davis?

What's your opinion on Smoking Joes down in Davis?

I have not been to Smoking Joe's since they moved into the new building but I ate at the original location a couple of times and thought they turned out solid BBQ then.

Same here...it's been a couple years since I ate there. Really liked it back then.

Same here...it's been a couple years since I ate there. Really liked it back then.

They have a location in Rush Springs now too but I have not made it over there either.

I'm usually passing through Davis on Fridays on my way to our place on the south side of the Arbuckles but we don't usually have time to stop and eat at Joe's.

does anybody know of a meat market that sells beef plate ribs? i think the usda calls it 123a. colloquially, people refer to them as "dino" ribs... i've been wanting to find some to smoke but haven't had any luck around town. i thought i found some at wheeler's meat market but what they had was actually chuck ribs and they didn't know there was a difference. any ideas? -M