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A lot of restaurants cook beef. These places raise the steaks
TOM GILBERT / Tulsa World
By SCOTT CHERRY
Published: 9/24/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 9/24/2009 9:50 AM
The aroma of seared beef will be in the air Saturday at the Oklahoma Championship Steak Cook-Off, which prompts one to recall the many steakhouses that have dotted the Tulsa restaurant scene over the past century. The choices have been many and varied. We have spotlighted five that carry on that tradition today.
Bros. Houligan
The name comes from a basement bar in Kansas City, where the owner once lived. The 18-ounce T-bone special comes with fried shrimp. Nobody leaves here hungry.
2508 E. 15th St., 747-1086; 9707 E. 61st St., 254-1086
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
Thick, buttery, bone-in chops, served on white-tablecloth settings, in a room bathed in an amber glow, cutlery worthy of a backwoods hunting party, lots of leather, lots of dark wood. Near perfection. The 22-ounce bone-in ribeye is both manly and elegant.
1976 Utica Square, 712-7500
McGill's
Wide grill marks put their brand on the flavorful 6-ounce filets at McGill's. A longtime favorite of mine, Steak Gerard — a thick filet coated in pepper and nestled in a pool of earthy Dijon sauce. Tender beyond words. McGill's also does a superb prime rib.
1560 E. 21st St., 742-8080; 6058 S. Yale Ave., 388-8080; Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Catoosa), 384-7500; Cross Timbers Resort (Skiatook Lake)
Silver Flame
The popular Silver Flame Steak: a succulent ribeye marinated in spices, flamed with cognac and topped with chopped green
onions. In the classic tradition of Tulsa Lebanese steak joints. Hickory-smoked meat, darkly lit rooms.
6100 S. Sheridan Road, 496-3311
Mahogany Prime Steakhouse
Classic American steakhouse setup — big cuts, crusty outside, tender within, seasoned only with sea salt, fresh-cracked black pepper and lathered in butter. Served sizzling hot. Oh, yeah.
6823 S. Yale Ave., 494-4043
Avalon Steakhouse
Steaks are displayed in a glass case and sizzle on a long open grill within sight of the dining room. Avalon knows what it has and flaunts it. Most impressive is a Chateaubriand ($43.95), around three inches thick — built for two. And, like all of Avalon's steaks, full of that distinctive, char-grilled flavor that has a salty edge to it.
6205 New Sapulpa Road, 446-9917
Tripp’s tips
Forty-two teams are will compete in Saturday’s Oklahoma
Championship Steak Cook-Off, but one of them
won’t be event chairman Tripp Haggard. Good thing for
the competition.
“I so rarely eat out,” said Haggard, “because I cook a
steak better than anybody else.”
Here are three tips from Tripp on how to cook a
mean steak:
“First thing is, don’t mess with it too much. People
want to turn ’em around, flip ’em, punch on ’em.”
Two: “Seasoning.”
His go-to blend is:
1 tablespoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon light brown sugar
But, to Haggard, there really only is one steak. “I’m a
ribeye guy, all the way.”
Three: “When you take one off the grill, it’s got to sit
for a minute. Five minutes.”
This rest gives the tissues time to absorb the juices
that will otherwise end up on your plate.
On the rare occasions he does eat somebody else’s
steak, Haggard is a fan of Doe’s Eat Place on Cherry
Street. He likes the fact that he can order two pounds
of meat and have it hand-cut on the premises.
“Generally,” he said, “I find that wherever they’re
hand-cutting their steaks is a pretty good place.”
To wit: “One of the best I ever had was in the Vintage
House. They have an incredible menu. Probably the
best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life. About 20 miles
north of Alva in a little town called Burlington. Like the
coat factory.”
The Vintage House is near an airport, and a lot of its
business comes from fly-ins. Colorado, Texas Panhandle,
all over. But, for the Oklahoma Steak Cook-Off,
Vintage will be in our house.
“They’re comin’ to the cookoff, closing the place
down for the first time ever, and bringing half of Burlington
with them.”
— Mark Brown, World Scene editor
Cook-Off at Cincinnati Avenue
This is cattle country, pardner, and if you want to
lasso yerself a juicy certified Angus beef steak dinner
for 20 smackaroos you better gallop off to the Oklahoma
Championship Steak Cook-Off on Saturday at
Trinity Episcopal Church, 601 S. Cincinnati Ave.
Contestants will start cooking at 12:30 p.m., and the
results will be announced at 7 p.m. The grand prize is
$2,500. Second place pays $1,000, third place $750,
fourth place $500 and fifth place $250.
After contestants turn in their 16-ounce steaks — a
certified Angus ribeye, handcut on site — for judging,
they will begin cooking for ticket-holders and begin
serving dinners at 5:30 p.m. The dinners include steak,
baked potato, salad and bread.
Grill cooks will be set up in the street, dining tables
in the parking lot of Trinity.
Festivities get under way at noon with live music
acts such as Shelby Eicher and Mark Bruner, the
DuoSonics, Timothy O’Brian’s Celtic Cheer and Matt
Jewitt-Williams.
Tickets are $20 each and may be ordered online at
tulsaworld.com/oksteakcookoff. Tickets are limited.
By SCOTT CHERRY
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