The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Location(s) Being Reviewed: Albert G's Blue Dome Downtown Tulsa
Date/Time of Visit: November 12, 2013
Quality of Food (1-5): 4
Menu/Food Options (1-5): 4
Quality of Service (1-5): 4
Atmosphere (1-5): 5
Overall Rating (1-5): 4
Price ($-$$$$$):$$$
What makes this restaurant unique:

This space pushes the Blue an inch farther East.  Inside is the most lovely of interiors.  I will go back tomorrow.... today, awake early...

Tell us about your experience:

I came downtown to eat ribs at the Rib Crib's all you can eat with really cold beer.  I stopped here to eat a key lime pie.  That was costly at $7.  I met the property owners, William and Joan.  Very lovely.  Makes me feel good about Tulsa's potential.  They own significant property and I like their attitude about stewardship.  This place is lovely.

The venue here is awesome.  I eat at the midtown location often.  This is 900% grander.  Yo!


(attach pictures if possible)

So you went downtown to eat ribs at Ribcrib then reviewed Albert G's. So what about the food at Albert G's? reviewing the decor is not helpful. How good is the food? How does it compare to the Midtown location? How was your dinner at Ribcrib?  How does it compare to Albert G's?  How can you give the scores you did if you didn't eat there? 

This location and downtown have little in common but the name. Very nice place.

this is a restaurant review sub-forum.  not limited to a review of the food.   :D

He says he got a $7 piece of pie.
Was it served promptly?   Did he eat it?   Did it appear tasty?  Was it tasty?   For $7, did he get 1/2 a pie?

Shadows Jr.

Location(s) Being Reviewed: Albert G's Blue Dome Downtown Tulsa
Date/Time of Visit: November 13, 2013
Quality of Food (1-5): 4
Menu/Food Options (1-5): 4
Quality of Service (1-5): 3
Atmosphere (1-5): 5
Overall Rating (1-5): 4
Price ($-$$$$$):$$$$
What makes this restaurant unique:
Top-notch build out. This and Rib Crib are going to make Blake and Elliot have to work harder on interior finishes.

Tell us about your experience:
Tons of staff on hand and very large inside. Really nice looking.

Waiter was kinda dippy. Couldn't find his pen, tried to take three orders from memory. Forgot all of them and had to write them down. Still got one slightly wrong. Not a real problem, just kind of annoying. Food came quickly, so did replacement food for the aforementioned wrong order. Sauces on the tables didn't have labels yet, and apparently the containers were mixed so it was sorta like a sauce lottery. Again, not major.

Food was good, but I don't eat BBQ with my pinkies out so I won't say it's extremely superior or inferior to any others. Prices higher than Rib Crib. Double meat sandwich and side is $10, their multi-meat sandwich and one side is $15. Most diners will probably spend around $15 with drink, tax and tip for lunch.

We tried it today.  I agree the build-out is really, really first rate.

I got the three meat combo with ribs, chopped beef, and pulled pork which is what I always get at the original location.  I wanted to do a comparison.  The prep methods seem to be different, though the end result is still some really good BBQ.  For instance, the ribs are a shorter cut (no these are not baby backs) and the chopped beef is chopped sliced beef.  They call the ribs on this menu “Tulsa style”.  Now I’m curious to go back to the Harvard location and see if they’ve changed anything there.  One reason I’ve always loved Albert G’s is Chuck is always there riding herd on quality.

Since the new location is not self-serve, it does take longer to get your order.  My wife and friend joined me at 11:30 and we walked out about 12:35. But that also included some post-lunch chatter.  I’d say during peak rush plan on 30-45 minutes.

They have added a mustard sauce that I’m really “meh” on.  Everything else was just fine. 

I guess I’d say the experience is the original Albert G’s meets Rib Crib, in referring to the full service RC locations.

I will probably take clients to or meet friends at the downtown location when it’s convenient, but if it’s just an urge for some Albert G’s I’ll likely go to the Harvard location.

Mustard sauces are "meh" in general!  Never really found one that appealed to me, and have tried to develop several in an attempt to make something better.  It's just a difficult canvas to work with.  Give me a fruit or hot vinegar any day! 

 

Location(s) Being Reviewed: Albert G's - Downtown Tulsa
Date/Time of Visit: November 22, 2013
Quality of Food (1-5): 3.5
Menu/Food Options (1-5): 4
Quality of Service (1-5): 4
Atmosphere (1-5): 5
Overall Rating (1-5): 4
Price ($-$$$$$):$$
What makes this restaurant unique:

Good BBQ/bar atmosphere downtown with room for large groups. Our server mentioned that the restaurant is planning to roast whole hogs and hand out samples (and has done so once already).

Tell us about your experience:

Interior: We were blown away by how beautiful the interior is. What a transformation for that space! Very expansive space with plenty of room for large crowds. (Unfortunately, there aren't any large crowds while we were there.) Large TV's that could be seen from most if not all booths. I am crossing my fingers that they have Sunday Ticket so we can stop fighting with the Brookside bars to show our football games on Sundays.

Service: Our server was extremely nice and quite good considering the restaurant is so new. The restaurant was likely overstaffed given the small crowd inside, so there was a bit of the server-standing-around-chatting-too-much scenario, but that will work out over time as the management gets used to the ebbs and flows of the crowd.

Food/Bar: My husband had the all-you-can-eat ribs (the Thursday special) for around $15. It came with two sides and Texas Toast. He chose french fries and baked beans. The fries were seasoned and cooked well for the most part. The beans were very interesting; not as good as I thought Back Alley's beans were but still quite good and with a very different kind of flavor. Almost cinnamon bun-like. I did not have the ribs myself, but my husband found them to be average. He said the refills for the all-you-can-eat were better and tasted fresher than the original set he received. Another poster was right that the ribs are slightly bigger than baby back size. I had the smoked turkey (at our server's suggestion) on a garden salad. I enjoyed my meal a great deal and thought the turkey was a great choice that I would not have otherwise tried. We also had a couple of the drink specials ($6 Dolly - apple pie moonshine with ginger ale and lime). They were tasty but not very potent. The beer list is long but did not contain much on tap that really grabbed my attention. They have several local beers and a lot of other more popular ones (probably 20-25 on tap). They have a long list of Bourbons but nothing too fancy or eclectic.

We would definitely go back - I enjoyed my salad and atmosphere a lot, and my husband thought the rib special was well worth a trip on Thursday nights.

Thanks for your review.  It helped a lot with specific info on the food

Location(s) Being Reviewed: Albert G's - Downtown Tulsa
Date/Time of Visit: November 22, 2013
Quality of Food (1-5): 3.5
Menu/Food Options (1-5): 4
Quality of Service (1-5): 3
Atmosphere (1-5): 5
Overall Rating (1-5): 3.5
Price ($-$$$$$):$$
What makes this restaurant unique:

Went for lunch on Friday and hadn't been to their Harvard location in 9 years.

They did an outstanding job with the look and feel of the place.
The place was moderately busy with at least one large party but we were greeted and seated within a minute.

Service from the waitress was prompt but our order of two Albert G sandwiches (forgot the name of them, sorry. Basically their version of the Badwich or Beatdown) with turkey, chopped beef, pork, and hot links with sides took about 25 minutes to get to our table. It was frustrating to see the table next to us get their appetizers 20 minutes after we sat down when they sat down 15 minutes after us. The waitress apologized three times on the delays and offered free desserts but we passed on the desserts as once we got our food as the serving sizes we're ample.

The pickle/pepper bar is nice but I saw several people struggle to get to the items on the back row.  It's a little deep for those under 6 feet tall.

All of the meats were fantastic although I was disappointed they used Mountain View hot links(their use is clearly indicated on the menu). I love them but I buy them at Reasors and cook them at home. I don't go out for BBQ to have them.

The beans were very unique and cinnamon flavored. While they were tasty I don't feel they blend with their BBQ sauces, which were outstanding. I did not try the mustard sauce as I have yet to have one anywhere that I like at all.

The slaw was fantastic but more KFC style than Back Alley (sorry, not a slaw connoisseur)

With a %20 tip it was a $20 lunch which wasn't bad for the amount of food.

My primary complaint was that I paid $20 for a sandwich that took just over 25 minutes to arrive at my table and used the Mountain View hot links.

I do have compliment the look and feel of the place again. They without a doubt did an outstanding job!

True, that first trip to AG-downtown I only observed, did not participate.  Except for the too expensive KeyLimePie.  but with the interior, how could I not open a post.  As for RC: beer was cold and $3.  Didn't eat as much as I thought I could...  And now I find cold Coors pints at the Alley for $2.

No doubt, all you can eat at Rib Crib is not worthy of a single serving of AG's fat fingered ribs.  Price of $16 vs. $13 (+-), the basket I got at AG's was superior by a large margin.  I had a combo the second time there and the meat, ribs and diced beef, was very lean.  I give it a 4.2 on quality.  Just missing a little bit of special flavor somehow.  The ribs had a 3/8th inch smoke ring.  And that venue interior!

Service has always been super quick for me.  Help is overstaffed when I've been.  Three times now.  Here is a wild tip:  Have a Bloody Mary and ask for an extra shot.  The cost for an extra shot was $1.50.  I had two bloody mary's and was stuffed and watching football at the bar.  Loved it.

I just love seeing the scape of Tulsa's Greenwood Entry becoming so lovely.  Hotels and greetings.  Rt. 66 should run right through here along Burlington Street.

The only thing better than a frosty Coors at The Alley is having one around the block from the mother ship in Golden, Colorado.

OK, you just lost all your Homebrewing credentials.
 
 ;D

Everyone has their own 3.2 guilty pleasure  ;D

Shock Top, although I've been waiting for them to ship to the LS after Nov 1.  They've been stalling.

No 3.2 beer is better after a long day of yard work, basement cleaning or other misc honey-dos than a cold yellow belly.

This man gets it!

Store at 91st and Yale had a sign up saying they had shock top last week.

Hmm...guess I need to check again, however I'm not driving all the way out there for it.

Even in my days of drinking flaovrless beers, I never did care for Coors.

Whatever....

Coors is a good pounding beer.  Excellent for shotgunning or the occasional holiday beer-bong.

I was unaware that you still lived in a frat house.

Fore everything, turn turn turn. . .

Or hunting with Dick Cheney??

Or going for a ride with Ted Kennedy...The water wont seem as cold......

What about golf lessons with shirttail cousin Michael C. Skakel?

Boom..,...!!!!

Great news!
When the mountains turn blue, it's cold enough to drink.  Especially important for all of those folks that lack the TRPV1 protein necessary for the neurotransmission related to the sense of cold!

Location(s) Being Reviewed: Blue Dome
Date/Time of Visit: New Year's Day 2 pm
Quality of Food (1-5): 3.5
Menu/Food Options (1-5): 3
Quality of Service (1-5): 1
Atmosphere (1-5): 5
Overall Rating (1-5): 3
Price ($-$$$$$): $

What makes this restaurant unique:
Beautiful interior. Love how they converted the space.

Tell us about your experience:
We were seated promptly, but were not acknowledge by a server for a good 15 minutes. She sold us on the brisket queso and chips appetizer...not good. We did not like it at all. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and tabouli. The pork was very tender...good sandwich. The tabouli was average. My dining companion had the pulled pork and smoked sausage on his sandwich and coleslaw. He liked both. The service is the issue with this visit. Our server did not check on us during the meal and never refilled our teas - yet refilled a table right next to us and walked right past us with the tea pitcher. Even when she came by after we finished and took plates away, she still didn't offer to refill. We were sucking ice at that point. No refills cost her a portion of the tip. Would we go back? I don't know...maybe.

I've gone there 5-6 times with flawless service each time. I had a similar experience to what you were describing in another restaurant and it turned out the reason is that the people who were inattentively serving us weren't our actual servers. The actual server was not there or not aware we were there.

She was our server. No doubt. She just sucked.

Just to follow up my review and the difference in how the BBQ is being processed for serving downtown from the Harvard store, it’s just the same as always at Harvard.  Same trim on the ribs as always, beef and pork are done as usual.  When I ate at the downtown one, the trim on the ribs was smaller than I was used to with Albert G’s.

Gaspar may have a point that by going full service, Chuck has opened a whole can of worms that isn’t good when it comes to BBQ.

Just more difficult.  From everyone I've talked to, Chuck seems to be pulling it off with only minor inconsistencies. Willing to bet he hired a hell of a kitchen/general mgr.

It's just as good as Harvard.....!!!!