Reasor's Redbud Cafe: Hot buffet at Bixby store a great concept
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Restaurant Critic
Thursday, December 06, 2012
3/28/13 at 7:54 AM
Reasor's has a ways to go executing its new idea, but I love the concept: a hot buffet station and dining area inside the supermarket.
Reasor's calls it the Redbud Cafe, and it sits just inside the north entrance, next to the deli and bakery, at its new store in Bixby.
"This is the first store to have the hot buffet bar," said food service and restaurant manager Josh Philpott. "The idea first started at the Jenks store with the salad bar, pizza and burritos, and they just expanded on that here."
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, with breaks between each session to trade out food items, are offered on the hot bar.
Customers serve themselves, and the cost is a flat $5.99 a pound. The salad bar is the same price and may be combined with the entrees.
The issue, of course, with any by-the-pound operation is forming a rational assessment of one's appetite and making wise choices. Balance heavier items, such as chicken leg quarters and lasagna, with lighter fare, such as garlic whitefish and braised kale.
That was a good plan, but naturally it pretty much vanished as we made our way around the salad bar and hot bar during a recent dinner hour.
On our various plates we wound up with garlic whitefish, barbecue pulled chicken, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, beef and broccoli, fried rice, teriyaki chicken, zucchini and yellow squash, roasted chicken quarters, and a couple of salads.
With self-serve soft drinks, the bill came to $21 for two diners. It could have been less with more judicious choices, though I thought we kept each portion within reason.
My favorites were the tender and tasty teriyaki chicken, fried rice with peas and carrots, zucchini and yellow squash cooked just al dente, and mashed potatoes and gravy.
The beef and broccoli had good flavor, but the beef was a little chewy, and the pulled chicken was dry despite a slathering of mildly spicy barbecue sauce. The whitefish had promise, but the texture was a tad mushy.
A couple of quibbles we had were that the dishes didn't seem to hold their heat well from the hot bar to the table, and some of the items had a tired look, as though they had been sitting out too long.
Other choices that night included risotto, beef lasagna, ravioli, pork al pastor, Mediterranean chicken pasta, Mexican verde casserole, macaroni, soy kale, cherry cobbler and apple crisp, to name a few. The salad bar had about 50 items, including feta cheese, grilled chicken, edamame, boiled eggs, cheeses, fruits and veggies.
I stopped by one morning to eyeball the breakfast fare, and it included scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fried pork chops, chicken-fried steak, gravy, biscuits, hash browns and a vegetable egg bake.
"Our breakfasts are pretty similar, but our lunches and dinners always will have a mix of Asian, Hispanic, Italian and American dishes," Philpott said.
In addition to items on the bar, burgers and hot dogs can be made to order ($3 to $5), and sushi is available next to the deli.
The dining area is bright and pleasant with a mix of booths, banquettes, tables and chairs. Live poinsettia plants gave the room a festive look.
A patio area includes a big-screen television and fireplace.
REDBUD CAFE
11116 S. Memorial Drive,
Bixby
918-970-4902
Food: 
Atmosphere:
Service: self-serve
(on a scale of 0 to 4 stars)
Breakfast, 7-10 a.m.; lunch,
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner,
4-8 p.m., seven days a
week; accepts all major
credit cards.
Original Print Headline: Hot buffet a winning concept
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
A sampling from the Redbud Cafe buffet at Reasor's includes sausage and peppers (left), chicken teriyaki on fried rice and pulled pork on mashed potatoes. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
The dining area at the Redbud Cafe at Reasor's is bright and pleasant and decorated with festive poinsettia plants. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
The salad bar next to the hot buffet bar includes about 50 items. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
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