Oklahoma City - Leo's Bar-BQ

I got back from Oklahoma City last weekend and I think this was the last trip for the year. Our impression of Oklahoma City was really good, and the people are so nice there.

Since we're foodies, I had to look up some good places to eat while we were there, and my Google searches brought me to Leo's Bar-BQ. Apparently, this place has the best BBQ in town and it was even featured on Food Network's Diner's Drive-ins and Dives. You know, the show that's hosted by the guy whose name is Guy, bleached blond hair, and winner of the Food Network Star season two. With that kind of credentials, of course we had to check it out!

According to Google maps, the original store is located at 3631 N Kelley Ave, Oklahoma City, OK, but please do not go there cause when we pulled into the tiny empty parking lot, we saw an empty building and these paper posted on the side of the window:

We quickly made our way over to the other location, and fortunately for us, we got there before they ran out of food. There were a few people that came in after us got turned away cause it was near closing time and they don't have enough food left to feed new customers. We sat down at a table and we must have stared at the menu for 15 minutes before the lady came and took our order. This normally is not acceptable, however, she was the only person handling the dining room and she was quite busy running around everywhere. We decided that I will have the beef brisket dinner and my bf got the ribs dinner.

Less than 10 minutes after we put in our order, our dinners were in front of us! How fast was that!!! I guess the waiting earlier wasn't so bad after all.

My beef brisket was moist and tender; not too flavorful, but with some bbq sauce, it tasted just right! The ribs had a nice peppery rub on the skin with robust flavor! The skin was a little bit dry but the meat was quite juicy and a delight to eat. All of the side dishes were superb, and I even like the coleslaw here. I have to confess, my taste in coleslaw is probably not the best since I like the ones at KFC, and that's pretty much the only one I like. I had other coleslaw that's supposed to be really good, but they were always too bland, too dry, or not flavored to my taste. The ones at Leo's tasted kind of like the ones you get at KFC except it's really fresh and chunkier, we finished it so fast that I wish I would have ordered one just for myself.

After dinner, the lady served us each a slice of their world famous strawberry banana cake. She bakes all the cakes herself in the morning and they are REALLY good! My bf finished up his before I was halfway through my cake, and when the lady came back to check on us, he jokingly told her that the cake was really good and if he can have another one since his seem to have disappeared. Most of the time when we say things like that, the people at the restaurant understand that it's a joke, but she replied "oh yeah, honey! I'll get you another slice!" We told her that we were just joking, but she insisted on sending us home with two slices of cake. We've never been to a place that will just give us more cake without additional charges just because we asked for it, and were amazed at how friendly and sweet she was to us.

The decor of the restaurant is not the greatest and it feels like you're eating in a garage, but the show is not called Pricey, Pretty and Pretentious afterall. You get great tasting BBQ at a very affordable place with great company and a wonderful host. When we were paying our bill, she didn't even charge us the extra side dish that we got. If we ever go back to OKC, Leo's Bar-BQ will sure receive a visit from us.

If you are in the OKC area and would like to try out Leo's Bar-BQ for great ribs and have a slice of their strawberry banana cake, forget about the original store and head down to the one at Harrison Ave. (unless it was just a one night thing, if any of you know more, please feel free to comment)

7 Harrison Ave.

Oklahoma City, OK

405.236.5367

http://leosbarbque.com/