Rex's Chicken 111th & Memorial - A quick review

[heironymouspasparagus]

It wasn't that great during the first incarnation.  There was a reason they went out of business to begin with.

When looking at the BB web site, the most striking thing is that there are wonderful pictures of food all over, but I could find NO word, comment, statement, or sentence where food was mentioned.  It is all about the sales and marketing effort and let the franchisee worry about food if they are interested.  I bet St. Michael's Alley has turned to crap, too, since they have it!

This is the path that RibCrib has taken recently.  Food quality WAY down.  Prices, marketing, hype WAY up!

To get food, one must find a place that has a manager or owner on the premises all the time who has a vested interest in food.  Compadre's comes to mind.  Black Jaxx at Goodies in Oologah is a classic example of what a restaurant should be (bar-b-que)!!  Bill's hamburgers.  Nelson's.  Even Lot-A-Burger has a manager present who has some mild interest in food.  Ron's Hamburgers.

You just won't get that at Applebee's, "Pick you favorite" chain steakhouse, or Chili's.  Or pretty much any chain.  Well, except maybe Cheesecake Factory - but their food comes from a central commissary where obviously someone does care.

Gaspar, are you and your buddies gonna open a shop sometime?  I bet I would be there a lot, if one of you was directly involved, because I bet it would be good.  And real food...not just formulaic slop!

[Hoss]

It wasn't that great during the first incarnation.  There was a reason they went out of business to begin with.

When looking at the BB web site, the most striking thing is that there are wonderful pictures of food all over, but I could find NO word, comment, statement, or sentence where food was mentioned.  It is all about the sales and marketing effort and let the franchisee worry about food if they are interested.  I bet St. Michael's Alley has turned to crap, too, since they have it!

This is the path that RibCrib has taken recently.  Food quality WAY down.  Prices, marketing, hype WAY up!

To get food, one must find a place that has a manager or owner on the premises all the time who has a vested interest in food.  Compadre's comes to mind.  Black Jaxx at Goodies in Oologah is a classic example of what a restaurant should be (bar-b-que)!!  Bill's hamburgers.  Nelson's.  Even Lot-A-Burger has a manager present who has some mild interest in food.  Ron's Hamburgers.

You just won't get that at Applebee's, "Pick you favorite" chain steakhouse, or Chili's.  Or pretty much any chain.  Well, except maybe Cheesecake Factory - but their food comes from a central commissary where obviously someone does care.

Gaspar, are you and your buddies gonna open a shop sometime?  I bet I would be there a lot, if one of you was directly involved, because I bet it would be good.  And real food...not just formulaic slop!

Absolutely don't forget about Hank's.  Owner is there always and with a smile and knows me (I've been a frequent customer since 1985).  Never fails to call me by my first name when he sees me.  Love that about these little burger stands.

[DolfanBob]

Man we are good here on TNF. The Tulsa Whirled finally got around to going there. Here is their thoughts on it.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=456&articleid=20100909_456_WK11_CUTLIN915085&rss_lnk=4

[sgrizzle]

Man we are good here on TNF. The Tulsa Whirled finally got around to going there. Here is their thoughts on it.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=456&articleid=20100909_456_WK11_CUTLIN915085&rss_lnk=4

2 months later and skimmed over the fact that it is likely the only chicken place on the planet with no fries or mashed potatoes.

[Gaspar]

You can't compete with a ghost!

[sgrizzle]

You can't compete with a ghost!

You could give it a real try instead of just crapping on the grave.

[DolfanBob]

You could give it a real try instead of just crapping on the grave.

HA ! + 1 Sgriz 

[heironymouspasparagus]

I would like to see some of the old people who worked at Shotgun Sam's pizza post the original recipes on the web somewhere.  I would love to be able to duplicate that at home.  The only part that is easy now is the corn meal on the bottom of the crust.

The sauce was a little sweet (too much sugar), but had nice flavor.

[dbacks fan]

[heironymouspasparagus]

Getting dangerously close - do you have the recipes to go with the menu??

That was such a wonderful place to go in the evening!  (Pizza really wasn't any better than Ken's up the street, but the place was just more "cozy"??  And now Ken's is the only one left!  Sad.

[Conan71]

Funny how people can remember a flavor or aroma from decades ago.  I can still recall the taste of Shakey's cheese pizza.

I was not much a fan of Shotgun Sams, mediocre at best, hillbilly pizza at worst.

[heironymouspasparagus]

None of them were anything like a real live New York or Jersey pizza.  But, hey, this is Okie-ville, USA.  It's Italian pizza with a s***-kicker twang, so whatcha gonna do??  Still, they were edible.

Got to eat at Ken's a few months ago and it was just like I remembered it.  Good.  Better than Mazzio's or any of the other chains around.

[swake]

None of them were anything like a real live New York or Jersey pizza.  But, hey, this is Okie-ville, USA.  It's Italian pizza with a s***-kicker twang, so whatcha gonna do??  Still, they were edible.

Got to eat at Ken's a few months ago and it was just like I remembered it.  Good.  Better than Mazzio's or any of the other chains around.

Is there a difference between the pizza at Ken's and Mazzio's? I thought they were exactly the same?


There was nothing local about Shakey's, it's was a national chain and it actually still exists in California. I remember going to Shakey's as a small child in Maryland.

http://www.shakeys.com/

Shotgun Sam's was ok, they had an arcade which was nice. What I really miss is My Pi, Savistano's is good, but it's no My Pi.

[DolfanBob]

None of them were anything like a real live New York or Jersey pizza.  But, hey, this is Okie-ville, USA.  It's Italian pizza with a s***-kicker twang, so whatcha gonna do??  Still, they were edible.

Got to eat at Ken's a few months ago and it was just like I remembered it.  Good.  Better than Mazzio's or any of the other chains around.

Ok help me out here. I have heard my whole life from transplanted Easterners about how great NY Pizza is. From the pictures I have seen and the so called NY style pizza places that have been around here. The pie(As they call it)is usually thin and real flat with a mass amount of cheese that just runs off like water when picked up. Am I wrong in that assumption or is there hidden magic in that huge box of dough and cheese.

Is there still a Kens around here ? I know some small towns still have them. I thought Selby got out of those years ago.

[dbacks fan]

I loved My Pi! Was probably the best that Tulsa had seen at that time. I might have to go to Shaky's the next time I'm in California. The first one that I saw in years was in Irvine and couldn't believe it.