earl's rib palace

not very good. i was going to a red hawks game and i know the food there is not all that good so i wanted some bbq. i got the rib dinner they were dry and under cooked. i commented to server that billy sims is better. my baked beans were ok and my 2nd potato with out the souercream and cheese was good. just not happy at all.

eat the hamburger. the only thing good in this place is the hamburger!!!

the bbq formula. this trip to earl's rib palace in bricktown was a lunch stop for me and a group of co-workers. located just above the canal, it has a nice atmosphere and good view, especially on a beautiful spring day like today was.
the line to order was moderate, reaching out the door and twenty feet down the sidewalk. there is a lunch special board inside you can peruse as you wait in line. today's special (thursday), was the "tcb burger". as i was told by an employee, "tcb" stands for "taking care of business". i'm guessing the fact that it comes with "tomato, cheese and bacon" is lost on no one. however, i'm visiting oklahoma, and i'm at a bbq place, so i gotta do some bbq. the cashier said that the burgers are considered to be better than the bbq by a lot of people and that i should that go with. i told her "next time".
i ordered the sliced beef brisket sandwich, with fried okra. i also ordered a generic large drink, and was given a monster cup to take to the self-service machine. i chose unsweetened tea, and partook of the lemon and lime wedges available at the drink bar. there is a number on your receipt to identify your particular order. we chose to sit outside where there are a dozen or so round tables. most of the tables had umbrellas for shade. the servers roam around the restaurant hollering numbers when an order is ready. not random numbers of course, but the number for the order in there hand. this is mildly annoying when you have a server coming by every thirty seconds hollering. a chip or tag placed on the table would be much better, as the constant shouting would not be required. after a five or six minute wait, my number was called.
the beef brisket was served on a grill-toasted white bun (wheat bun on request). it was a healthy portion; five nice sized chunks arranged on the bun, and came only with a few slices of red onion. a few dill pickle chips would be nice, but you do get a pickle spear. the brisket was flavorful, but surprisingly dry. a liberal amount of mild and hot bbq sauce (available at each table), did the trick. the sauces were good, and the meat had a nice, smoky flavor. it was ok, but it was nothing spectacular owing to the dryness. the okra, however, was excellent. it was hot, fresh, crisp and flavorful. the golden brown little nuggets were crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside. throw a little bbq sauce in the mix, and "oh, heaven". perfect. the portion size was very generous, so no complaint there.
two co-workers had the "tcb burger". they both loved them. one finished his, barely, but couldn't make it through his side of okra. the other could finish neither the burger nor the huge side of fries that accompanied the burger (there way too many). he said that if he were there with his wife, they could split this order and both walk away stuffed.
overall it was just ok at best. the wait was moderate, both to order and for the food. the brisket was dry, the okra was good. only two sauces (i am used to four or five at most bbq joints), kind of surprised me. no mustard, no sweet, no "hellfire" or "devil spit" sauces. i would come back here if i was in the neighborhood, but it's not someplace i would go out of my way to come back to. next time, i'll skip the bbq and have the burger. oh yeah, and the okra (mmmmm. perfect okra. okra. okrahoma? coincidence? i think not ).

ugh!. we were sitting outside for about thirty minutes just waiting to have our orders taken. we finnaly came inside to be served. i asked the waiter "do you have really sweet tea" to which he responded "the sweetest in town" now i come from savannah, ga were even mcdonalds has gourmet sweet tea! when i recieved my tea it tasted like it was from the bottom of the barrel. when i asked the waiter for a coke instead, he took the tea from me and gave me a dirty look. it was another thirty mintues before we got our food. in my personal thoughts they have terrible bbq.

watch your drinks. ribs were fair - very fatty, lukewarm, and not much flavor. the sauce did help. spouse had hot links - good. beans very good, other sides of green beans, potato salad and corn were just ok. very concerned that when our server took our drinks away to refill, our drink cups were switched with another table, discovered after i had taken a drink of 'my' tea. hey, i don't mind sharing on a lot of things, but i draw the line at drinking after total strangers. didn't blame the young server - obviously poorly trained. but i did address the drink-switch with the manager, and he offered excuses and made no aplolgies. i'll take my business elsewhere.

all of this was excellent, and nothing was left. the tea was excellent and kept refilled. service was excellent. our check was $44.03. earl’s is darn fine bbq.

great and quick location for workday lunch in bricktown,you may have to search for parking, if you like burgers then this is your place!  best tea in okc!!!!  the bbq, burgers, everything is delicious!

i've eaten here several times and have always been happy with the flavor and quality. i've tried all the meats and usually order ribs and brisket. the sides are all good and i like to order the devil eggs from time to time. is it the best, no? is it bad, no? consistent q at a reasonable price.

horrible, bone dry brisket, flavorless ribs with unimpressive sauces. only great thing was fried okra as the side. potato salad was average at best. passed up on 2 places because they were empty but would've been better off at them i bet. this place seems like a tourist trap because of its location.

dare i say that the burger at this establishment has more unique features to it than the bbq? i believe i shall. barbecue here is well prepared and nice and tender, loose on the bone even. standing alone there's nothing too special about it. no bark on the ribs or the brisket. very very mild seasoning. the sauce is good, maybe a little runny. could use a bit more brown sugar and something to give it more bite. this bbq joint is above average for oklahoma city. the atmosphere is where this place sings. they have a good amount of parking although given the district it can be pretty packed. it's not uncommon to wait ten minutes in line at this place.

the atmosphere was good.  the employees were friendly and more helpful than what i expected.  my major disappointment was the bbq sauce and the ribs.  the bbq sauce was not bbq sauce, it was just a brown sauce with nothing but sugar.  i don't who would call that stuff bbq sauce..., maybe somebody from siberia..., anyway.  the ribs were dry and had very little seasoning.  i can handle dry meat as long as it is seasoned well.  they also had some hot sauce on the table with the bbq sauce. . ., not sure what that stuff was either, but it had literally no flavor.  i had to try it a second time to make sure, it was weird.  i had some coleslaw..., i've had better coleslaw at long john silvers.  i'm used to there being some juice in it.  really the best thing here was the okra.  i love okra.  seemed like i got a pretty good deal for $3.99, so i'll be back for the okra.

decent ribs, but hardly a rib palace.

i rather like rubbed ribs and they had them. other than that the sides were just ok. also have had pulled pork which wasn't half bad.

the draw as i see it is relative proximity to the ballpark which means no or high priced parking on game nights. cabelas is a bit further away as are the theaters. at non-game times this means something to do besides eating.

but if by chance you can live with doing nothing but taking a stroll along the riverwalk, earl's is along that stroll. of course you could spring for a water taxi ride as well and cruise past.

should have known something was up when the food got to the table before i did. the meat on the ribs were tough rubbery. the pulled pork, chicken and brisket were all super dry and without flavor. not to mention the overpowering onions they serve with baked beans on the side. i felt like i was on an episode of punk'd or restaurant impossible. one of the only two things i enjoyed here was the final four game that played while i dined at this 'establishment'. the other thing was leaving. good location. great atmosphere and staff. horrible, horrible food. can't for the life of me fathom how this place has such a high score on urbanspoon. i'm starting to lose my faith in the food judgement of some, if not all, of the users who recommend this place.

not the best bbq place. first, i have to say that the service was excellent and the fried okra was the best i've ever had anywhere! however, i can't say much for the rest of the meal. the hot sauce and the mild sauce tasted almost identical. there was no heat to the hot at all. we thought mild sauce was accidentally put in the hot container and asked the waitress about it. she said that's just how it tastes and gave us another bottle so we could see for ourselves. the brisket was so dry i could barely choke it down. the ribs weren't too bad, but they were a little greasy. i got a loaded baked potato, but it wasn't even warm enough to melt the cheese. and when i took my first bite of the potato, i got a mouthful of unmelted butter -- yuck! they may have been having a bad night there, but i would never go back to a rib place that doesn't have at least a medium sauce, much less a hot sauce. mild sauce, to me, is too bland.

always delicious!. earl's is always my go to if the family cant decide where they want to eat. you can depend on the food to be hot and tasty and service to be friendly. i recommend the cheddar burger with two sides of grilled jalapenos! one of the best burgers in town (even though its @ a bbq place) and probably the most reasonably priced burger at any restaurant without a drive thru!