oklahoma joe's bbq

very disappointing, was pricey for what we received, meats were not fresh and it was freezing cold in there. we won't go back.

great ribs, great burnt ends, okay everything else. i've been back here a few times since they opened. i typically come for a late lunch to avoid the rush.

i've narrowed down my favorite meats to their burnt ends and their ribs. everything else i find average or a little below average. however, the burnt ends and ribs are very good. i never order sandwiches either. if i want a sandwich i'll go to subway. when i'm at a bbq restaurant i want barbecued meat and lots of it.

i'm not a coleslaw eater so i cannot and will not try and comment on how theirs tastes. their beans are good. not great, but good. i did have a friend say their beans tasted like wendy's chili with brown sugar added. i found that description rather amusing.

their hot bbq sauce isn't even remotely hot. i'm not one of those guys that loves super hot food and so label everything as tasting mild so i can appear manly. it's seriously not hot. of all of the hot/spicy bbq sauces i've had at the various bbq restaurants in tulsa, ok joe's has to be the most mild of them all.

the location of their drink machine is terrible. anytime the place is remotely busy there's a human traffic jam at the drink machine. on the plus side, they have diet mountain dew in their soda fountain machine and that's awesome!

service is always very friendly and their staff are pretty knowledgeable and helpful.

order ribs and/or burnt ends and you won't be disappointed. in fact, skip the side dishes altogether and load up on ribs and burnt ends.

-----22 dec, 2011-----

good. ate here for lunch on a sunday. it was only the third day they were open for business, so they were understandably busy..

my wife had the "burnt ends" sandwich (which is not a regular menu item, but is available wednesdays and saturdays and was this sunday's special). she loved it.

i ordered the rib & chicken bbq dinner. in my opinion, if you want to assess a place's bbq then you need to order the dinner entrées and not a sandwich. honestly, how hard is it to get a pulled pork sandwich correct? so, if you want to know if a bbq place has good meat then order a dinner entrée with 2 or 3 meats on it.

my ribs were good. great flavor. i would have liked more of them. in my mind, when you order ribs at a bbq restaurant you should get a half-rack at a minimum.

my chicken tasted chewy. i'm not sure if that's because it was borderline undercooked or what. it was moist and had a good flavor, but was chewy.

the bbq sauce is good. it's a bit tangier than others. my only complaint with their sauce is that the hot sauce isn't even remotely hot. on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hottest, their regular sauce is a 2 and their hot sauce is maybe a 3. kick it up a notch, joe!

i really liked the beans. they have a good flavor and great texture, the right amount of meat added, and i like that they use more than one kind of bean. however, a friend of mine described the beans as, "wendy's chili with brown sugar added." so, opinions vary.

from speaking with others, it seams the portions, especially for the sandwiches, really vary from person to person. i've seen photos and heard from people that say their pulled pork sandwich was piled full and i've heard from other people that said they felt they were ripped off and the portions were skimpy. so, the people assembling sandwiches here may need to learn some portion control and standardization.

prices were on par for most bbq restaurants. restaurant was very clean and well-maintained (but it just opened for business, so that's to be expected).

it was good. not great. i'll definitely eat here again, but as of right now it's not my favorite bbq place in tulsa.

i have never seen bbq in a plastic sealed bag. that is not real bbq. i never saw one smoker in the building. horrible sausage and ribs. will never return!

oklahoma joes is an awesome place. i love the sauce and never had dried out meat and i've ate there over 10 times. if the people who had a problem would have let someone know (if it was bad in the first place) joes is the type of place to bend over backward to fix it! every one is friendly, clean, and keep the place in great shape. you couldn't ask for a better restaurant. keep doing great things joe! we will always be coming back!

you walk in and follow the arrow on the floor to the left and place your order. then you pay and get your food a sit. we tried a big sampler platter of various meats and sides. the pulled pork was the hands down winner. sliced brisket, ribs and smoked turkey were good. the hot link and smoked sausage were ok. baked beans were a mix of black, kidney and pinto but were ok. spicy cole slaw was good. the potato salad was very strange. it looks like a cup full of ranch dressing w chunks in it. tasted weird. the bbq sauces had a strange flavor. go for the pulled pork!

poor quality of food. the meat was dry so dry. the turkey had an irridescent shine all over it. my meal was something i would have expected from a cafeteria, not a $10-$15 a plate resturant.
customer service was wonderful though. improve the food and we will come back. but until then, this will be just one more ok bbq joint to close up.

enjoyed oklahoma joe's bbq. while visiting my father-in-law and sister-in-law in kansas city, we have eaten several times at the oklahoma joe's bbq there. it is located in an old gas station. part of the building is a small convenience store and the other part is the bbq place. no matter the time of day or day of the week the place usually has a long line going out the front door. since it is small and has limited tables, it can take a while to get into eat. there is a call-in carry-out area. we have found the bbq delicious, beef brisket sandwich or ribs. love their spicy cole slaw and beans. potato salad is okay.

so in late march we tried out the oklahoma joe's located in broken arrow (i wish they had opened in tulsa as i like for my sales tax to go to tulsa where i live).

we were there on a saturday evening at 8 p.m. their website showed they closed at 10, instead they closed at 9. we ordered the beef brisket, beans, potato salad and spicy cole slaw.

the meat was sort of warm instead of hot, but there was plenty of meat and it was tender and delicious. we did enjoy the sides.

i would suggest that they make sure their meats are kept hot for serving.

i love the the spacious, neat looking building.

good grub. been there a couple of time & have been happy.
i've got pulled pork & hot links both times.
maybe not my favorite bbq in town but very good.

disappointed.. i only ordered the burnt ends, so my review does not cover the other meats they offer. the burnt ends were not as 'burnt' as i may have expected. worse, they were lukewarm and greasy. a softer piece of meat that's sat in grease for some time, and probably warmed and cooled, isn't a flavor i enjoy. the meat itself was fattier than brisket i've had at other local places as well. the sauces were both very good. sides of fries and beans were both good as well.

i realize given okla joe's widespread name, many people may be disappointed if it doesn't live up to the lofty reputation. i thought about that, and wondered if perhaps i was judging too harshly. no, i wasn't. the food i got was ok, and clearly had potential to be excellent, but the fact was my meal could not compete with similar meals i have had from other local bbq joints. it seems other reviewers have mentioned receiving cold foods or foods which have sat too long before serving. hopefully these guys will get their act together.

not great..not terrible, good if you are in the area.. i agree with barbecue aficieanado, oj's would not be in the 3 best bbq places in muskogee, i had the pulled pork and my wife had the briskit, the pulled pork was too sweet the sides were worse than terrible beans and potato salad, tasted the slaw which was far from impressive. i did not have any issue with the wait staff the folks behind the bar were short and not overly friendly but i can live with that , i think as far as white guy barbecue goes it was pretty good. if i were to list oj's in order of rank i would put oklahoma joe a little worse than van's pig stand in shawnee and a little better than fat jacks in coweta. i really cannot judge the sauce with a neutral eye, i get mine from a guy who made his own for the talons tailgates, his is 20 times better.

oklahoma joe = oklahoma no. the good: the ribs were pretty good, while overpriced. the fries were very nicely seasoned and hot and fresh. the sauce is also pretty good.

the bad: the sausage was inedibly bad and that was the consensus of all four of us at the table. the brisket had no smoke flavor and no bark. basically bland roast beef, but the sauce allowed us to pretend we were eating bbq. the kids taking the order didn't know what i was asking when i asked if we could order moist or lean. he said "it's all moist and lean". yet, it wasn't. it was lean with the fat cut off before it had a chance to make the meat tender and moist. oh, and horror of all horrors, the brisket was pre-sliced and sitting in a warming tray. any bbq competitor should know the meat starts losing juices once sliced and should be sliced to order. the price for the mediocrity was $60 for four people. none of us would return.

i'm editing my review to add a private message sent to me by "joe". this is a direct quote and is in its entirety: "you are a food expert.... for sure... really...thanks for your really hard work...."

my new favorite place.. i have eaten bbq all over the country and this has become my go to spot. i have been there several times now and had, the z-man, rib dinner, bbq french dip, and the grand champion platter (may have the name wrong) but it was huge and too much to eat. everything i have had has been excellent. my favorite are the ribs but that is my preference. the platter i had was full of 5 different meats all of which were great especially the smoked sausage. the beans are very good as is the cole slaw and the fries could be a meal in themselves. do not expect to walk away hungry or unhappy.

p.s.
i am not sure barbecue aficionado really knows bbq, i think his smoking experience is in the herbal variety because ok joes is the way bbq should be.

sorry but..... anyone who states that this sauce is great has not ate too much barbecue. i think barbecue aficionado was crude but about spot on, the wait staff did act like jerks when i was there as well, and that has been stated by several post on here. i think you might be a plant.
anyway...i was very disappointed i think what it comes down to here is that we in ok hold our barbecue to a standard that oklahoma joe has not had to live up to, looking through these post it seems like anyone who has ate barbecue anywhere else seems to feel the same as i do.
overpriced and average is the best way to describe my experience i will give it one more chance, maybe it will be better, nice looking building though.
i also think he should take down all those banners about how great he thinks he is because based on what i had he is not. not even in the top 10 in this area.

barely average.... from the banners and plaques on his wall i thik old joe is his own greatest fan. i kind of wonder what kind of swill they are feeding those ppl up in kc for this to pass as the best.
the service and staff sucked, the ribs were covered in what i could best describe as a ketchup like substance, the sauce and sides were atrocious
i do not think this place rates any higher than rib crib (another overpriced atrociousness eatery in the area). joe needs to go on back to kc, we know real barbecue here in oklahoma.


-----14 feb, 2012-----

average joes would be 3rd best in muskogee!. if he is the world champion, they should name the trophy after smokehouse bob, i think average joe is more impressed with building his i love me wall then producing real bbq. he would barely be the third best in muskogee. go on back to kc you poser, here we know real bbq.
suace sucks, meat: ok (not great) sides :epic fail change your name to average joes and take down the i love me wall around here you will be exposed as the fraud you are. i have had to amend this, i did not realize that runt is back in business in muskogee now average joe would officially be 4th best in muskogee! is there a trophy for 4th best in muskogee he can put on his wall?

in the end we were all disappointed but in different ways. i've heard this location isn't like the kansas city location so perhaps it's just this single restaurant giving them a bad name but it's certainly not a place i'll be trying again. life is too short to settle for mediocre and uninspired. don't you agree? i did enjoy the old time country music so they did get that right.