The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Sunday, I drove over to just beyond Wagoner to the Canebrake resort to have brunch at the Canebrake Kitchen.  This is a new property still in the beginnings of developement.  A beautiful place on the shores of Lake Ft Gibson.  The restaurant, The Canebrake Kitchen is located in the main building, that includes a yoga barn, a retail shop, and some meeting rooms.  There are plans to build a swimming pool and spa facilities adjacent to this.  There are also some cottages being built for overnight guests.  

I was there for brunch.  It was probably one of the best brunches I have had in Oklahoma.  There were 3 buffet stations, all small, one had meats including applewood smoked bacon, sausage links and smoked beef roast (delicious and juicy), creamy carolina grits, home fries, biscuits and some of the best sausage gravy I have had since I moved to Oklahoma (it didn't remind me of the paste that most places call gravy) and the sausage in it was plentiful and had a pleasant black pepper bite.  There were a  couple of salads also.  The next station was a dessert station with all homemade desserts.  The last station was house smoked salmon at the bar into the kitchen where you ordered your eggs, omeletes or benedicts made to order and delivered to your seat.  The house coffee is also excellent.  It was $16 but well worth it considering the quality of the food.  The service was smooth and nonintrusive.  

Here is the web site, http://www.thecanebrake.com/,  I will be going back to check out the dinner menu which is included on the site.  So far, imho, this is one of the better dining rooms in the entire state.

Is a Yoga barn where they keep the Yogas?

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Originally posted by sgrizzle

Is a Yoga barn where they keep the Yogas?

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Yogis[:D]

Thank you for posting this.  I'll try it.  Sounds delish and just the sort of envirnment I'd go for.  How far a drive is this?  Haven't gone in that direction for sometime now.

the pictures are beautiful[:P]

I didn't see any yoga bears while I was there but it might just of been my timing.  

As to distance, it is about 45+/- miles from Utica Square to the parking lot at Canebrake.  So if your in Broken Arrow, probably in the neighborhood of 60 miles round trip.

I am sold on this place!  Called to chat a little about Yoga and their Sunday brunch.  They were very friendly (gentleman I spoke with) and answered all my questions.

Again, thanks for posting this info.  We need a place like this in Oklahoma, and certainly, closer to Tulsa[:)]

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Originally posted by joiei

Sunday, I drove over to just beyond Wagoner to the Canebrake resort to have brunch at the Canebrake Kitchen.  This is a new property still in the beginnings of developement.  A beautiful place on the shores of Lake Ft Gibson.  The restaurant, The Canebrake Kitchen is located in the main building, that includes a yoga barn, a retail shop, and some meeting rooms.  There are plans to build a swimming pool and spa facilities adjacent to this.  There are also some cottages being built for overnight guests.  

I was there for brunch.  It was probably one of the best brunches I have had in Oklahoma.  There were 3 buffet stations, all small, one had meats including applewood smoked bacon, sausage links and smoked beef roast (delicious and juicy), creamy carolina grits, home fries, biscuits and some of the best sausage gravy I have had since I moved to Oklahoma (it didn't remind me of the paste that most places call gravy) and the sausage in it was plentiful and had a pleasant black pepper bite.  There were a  couple of salads also.  The next station was a dessert station with all homemade desserts.  The last station was house smoked salmon at the bar into the kitchen where you ordered your eggs, omeletes or benedicts made to order and delivered to your seat.  The house coffee is also excellent.  It was $16 but well worth it considering the quality of the food.  The service was smooth and nonintrusive.  

Here is the web site, http://www.thecanebrake.com/,  I will be going back to check out the dinner menu which is included on the site.  So far, imho, this is one of the better dining rooms in the entire state.

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How small is "small?"   Just curious. We plan to go out there next week Sunday.

The only buffets we've tried (brunch) were at Golden Corral (not the best) a few hotels in town (not bad), and Cherokeen Casino(terrible).  Tons of food, but quality was non-existent.

I was there again yesterday for brunch.  There were like 5 chafing dishes with 8 hot items and 4 salads.   The smoked beef brisket is delicious.   The house smoked salmon was a bit dry this week but that was okay.  It was very busy this week so I would suggest making a reservation.  The number is on their website.

Instead of the eggs benedict, this week I had an omlette, fresh herb and brie, delicious, with a ramekin of fresh tomato salsa.  Although the western omelette he made right before mine looked great also.

We are planning on going on the 4th.  I called Thurs to get a reservation, the gentleman said it wouldn't be necessary for two.  I mentioned now that the cat's out of the bag and with the autumn leaves turning, they might be slammed.  He advised I call back first of next week.

We may go this Sunday. Will report back on what I thought.  Should we dress fancy for brunch or casual?  Anywhere to walk afterwards?

Casual dress, you can do jeans, I just wouldn't do a tank top and flip flops.

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Originally posted by joiei

Casual dress, you can do jeans, I just wouldn't do a tank top and flip flops.

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I'm a dress up kinda gal anyway.  Was wondering how dressed up or down to be, especially with the kids.

THere have been lots of people coming in from church for brunch.  So you probably will not be overdressed.

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Originally posted by joiei

THere have been lots of people coming in from church for brunch.  So you probably will not be overdressed.

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We did make reservations.  I am hoping that my son wouldn't try to over eat.  He has a tendency to think "buffet = overstuffed"[:D]

Please report back on what you liked.

Especially on the stuff that kids eat. We have found it difficult to choose places that are nice that our kids have food choices that they like.

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Originally posted by HoneySuckle

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Originally posted by joiei

THere have been lots of people coming in from church for brunch.  So you probably will not be overdressed.

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We did make reservations.  I am hoping that my son wouldn't try to over eat.  He has a tendency to think "buffet = overstuffed"[:D]

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I'm anxious to hear your report.  It's our turn next Sunday.  We get to go to a wedding on Saturday night up at Woolaroc.  What a great time of year to be out and about.

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Originally posted by Conan71
 What a great time of year to be out and about.

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Isn't it though.  I am thinking of driving up to Talihena for the fall color in a couple of weeks.   And maybe lunch in Pryor or Heavener.

We went out to Canebrake yesterday and this is my take on the place.

I liked the area, and also the atmosphere.  The food was good overall and worth the trip. Dining room was nicely laid out.

Some things we really liked:

Good tea/coffee
Juices were excellent
Brisket was well done and tasty
Hubby liked the smoked salmon
Bacon and sausages were good
Home fries excellent
Eggs Benedict (hubby loved)
Omlette (I loved), but had too much butter.

Things we didn't think were so hot:

Quiche was not very tasty and had weird texture
Gravy was too peppery and no one cared for it (kids usually love gravy)!

Guacamole seemed out of place (no chips) but was okay tasting.

Dessert wasn't anything to shout about, just okay.  I had cheesecake (so-so) and a chocolate/whip cream pie that wasn't too bad.

Salad choices were okay (not much to choose from).

For kids, I can say that the waffles were a winner, sausages, bacon and home fries.

Would we go back?  Probably, but we may try dinner next time.

My one complaint was the amount of "fat" in the omelettes.  The eggs were placed in what seemed like a sea of oil[:O]  Hope they can do something about that.

Took a drive along the dam and looked at the new cottages they're building. Really will be a nice get-away once done.

Honeysuckle, did they have to roll you guys out to the car afterwards?  Sounds like a lot of food!

Thanks for posting, reminded me I need to call in my reservation this morning.

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Originally posted by Conan71

Honeysuckle, did they have to roll you guys out to the car afterwards?  Sounds like a lot of food!

Thanks for posting, reminded me I need to call in my reservation this morning.

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There were four of us, and we all tried different things and gave our comments[:D]  But we did eat a lot of food!  Hubby didn't try dessert and neither did my daughter.  I didn't try the eggs benedict, so I'm posting what HE thought.  I also didn't try the sausages and bacon (not a fan of those things), so again those were the impression of my son and hubby.  Their service was excellent.

If you don't like lots of butter/grease in food, ask them to go light on the omlette. I am telling you, the eggs were so greasy I felt sick afterwards though the filling inside was yummy.

It was definitely worth the drive.  Of course we forgot to turn the clocks back last night.  I didn't figure that out until I looked at my cell phone when we were already underway.  We had reservations for 11 and arrived at about 9:50.  Worked out just fine, they weren't too busy yet and the temperature was perfect for dining out on the ample patio.

They had mussels instead of salmon but the buffet was pretty much as described.  I tried some brisket, the bowtie pasta salad, the green salad, quiche, sausage and bacon- all well worth it (all small portions, mind you [;)]).  I also had eggs benedict.  My wife tried the waffle along with other things I tried.

Over-all we were impressed, but I wouldn't say over-whelmed.  It's a nice Sunday drive, especially this time of year, and for the price, we were not disappointed.

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Originally posted by Conan71

It was definitely worth the drive.  Of course we forgot to turn the clocks back last night.  I didn't figure that out until I looked at my cell phone when we were already underway.  We had reservations for 11 and arrived at about 9:50.  Worked out just fine, they weren't too busy yet and the temperature was perfect for dining out on the ample patio.

They had mussels instead of salmon but the buffet was pretty much as described.  I tried some brisket, the bowtie pasta salad, the green salad, quiche, sausage and bacon- all well worth it (all small portions, mind you [;)]).  I also had eggs benedict.  My wife tried the waffle along with other things I tried.

Over-all we were impressed, but I wouldn't say over-whelmed.  It's a nice Sunday drive, especially this time of year, and for the price, we were not disappointed.

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How funny.  At least you were early. We didn't have warm enough weather for dining out, but I did look longingly.  

Glad you enjoyed the trip and meal.  We would go back but those omlettes need to be grease-less.  I love omlettes.

You're so lucky to have had the mussels. Were they good?  I didn't care for the salmon.  And yeah, I believe you on the SMALL portions,lol

Take your big wallet if you go for a regular meal. It's a little pricey and it might be a little lavish for the kiddies.

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Originally posted by LeftOCenter

Take your big wallet if you go for a regular meal. It's a little pricey and it might be a little lavish for the kiddies.

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I definitely don't think their meals are for kids to be honest.  A friend went with hers and paid all that money only to have the kids go, EEEWWWWW.

I just got back from an entire weekend at the Canebrake- literally entire weekend.  We went to a Yoga retreat taught by Karl Straub.  This  was my first experience w/ Yoga, I'm disappointed I've waited this long in life to try it.

It was all-inclusive with the exception of alcohol (great wine selection).  We upgraded to a king suite (one of the new cabins).  Food was excellent, the Yoga instruction was excellent, and it was so relaxing we stayed over again last night.  The resort more or less "closes" after Sunday brunch, but they left some stuff for dinner and breakfast in our suite, and one of the owners gave us his cell phone in case we needed anything.

I'd highly recommend it as an over-nighter type place.  It's very peaceful and quiet, the cabins are well insulated from sound, laid out well, usual resort type baths you'd find at a Four Seasons or RC, yet the suites have somewhat of a Rocky Mountain rustic feel.

The service is outstanding, they go out of their way to make sure you have a good experience whether you are there for a meal or a weekend.

It wasn't cheap, but we felt we got our money's worth.

Way to go Conan.... heard it was a good weekend there from several retreaters.

Stay flexible. In this world, it's a must.

Yep, you and I have a common friend or two.

I plan to stay with it.  Most relaxed and fulfilled as I've felt in years.

Good job again for Mother's Day brunch.  They went out of their way to accomodate three extras in my party after they had "sold out".  

At the risk of sounding like a shill, this is truly one of my favorite excursions in NE Oklahoma.

I am planning on taking some friends this coming sunday for brunch.  Conan, since your review of the accommodations I will have to give it a weekend try for sure now.  

As for taking kids,  okay maybe but they do not cater to children.  My take is that it is an adult place.  Not every place has to bow to the pressure of being kid centric, there are plenty of those types of places around.  We adults do need our own places to be pampered now and then.

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Originally posted by joiei

I am planning on taking some friends this coming sunday for brunch.  Conan, since your review of the accommodations I will have to give it a weekend try for sure now.  

As for taking kids,  okay maybe but they do not cater to children.  My take is that it is an adult place.  Not every place has to bow to the pressure of being kid centric, there are plenty of those types of places around.  We adults do need our own places to be pampered now and then.

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At this point, it's really not overly kid-centric, at least for a stay-over.  There are a couple of ponds which can be fished and a rifle range to the south of the main buildings.  I was stunned at how secluded the lodging area is now that all the trees have put on leaves.

They have done a great job, they have improvements and additions slated through 2010.  I think it's wise they are growing at a measured pace.

I could get fat again on that menu; not that I would mind... :)

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Originally posted by joiei

Sunday, I drove over to just beyond Wagoner to the Canebrake resort to have brunch at the Canebrake Kitchen.  This is a new property still in the beginnings of developement.  A beautiful place on the shores of Lake Ft Gibson.  The restaurant, The Canebrake Kitchen is located in the main building, that includes a yoga barn, a retail shop, and some meeting rooms.  There are plans to build a swimming pool and spa facilities adjacent to this.  There are also some cottages being built for overnight guests.  

I was there for brunch.  It was probably one of the best brunches I have had in Oklahoma.  There were 3 buffet stations, all small, one had meats including applewood smoked bacon, sausage links and smoked beef roast (delicious and juicy), creamy carolina grits, home fries, biscuits and some of the best sausage gravy I have had since I moved to Oklahoma (it didn't remind me of the paste that most places call gravy) and the sausage in it was plentiful and had a pleasant black pepper bite.  There were a  couple of salads also.  The next station was a dessert station with all homemade desserts.  The last station was house smoked salmon at the bar into the kitchen where you ordered your eggs, omeletes or benedicts made to order and delivered to your seat.  The house coffee is also excellent.  It was $16 but well worth it considering the quality of the food.  The service was smooth and nonintrusive.  

Here is the web site, http://www.thecanebrake.com/,  I will be going back to check out the dinner menu which is included on the site.  So far, imho, this is one of the better dining rooms in the entire state.

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I just got an email from the Brackens that Canebrake closed today.  They were hoping to find an investor to help keep it open but such is not the case. 

I’m sad to see this close.  It was a really good concept and seemed like they were always busy.  We were there a few weeks ago for Sunday brunch and they were in the midst of building a new pool facility.

That's a shame.  My wife and her friends enjoyed their times there.

How do you go from building a pool facility to closed in a matter of weeks?

Unless that was the last bit of debt which pushed them over the edge.  The message they sent out said if you had a gift card or gift certificate, to submit by Feb. 28 for a full refund.  So it’s not like they are locked out, tits-up, going for Chapter 7 tomorrow. 

I’m truly curious what happened.  They were around for over 8 years and managed to survive the Great Recession which started not long after they opened.  I had understood that Sam’s dad was in the oil business, perhaps that had something to do with its fate.

There was a report today that an investor pulled out. I have no actual knowledge, but often when you see that it is simply that the owners and/or other investors wanted to keep investing in the company and the one that pulled out either wanted a faster return ("It's time to start making money") or had financial issues and needed to cash out, couldn't make a commitment, or otherwise had to end it to save other financial interests.