BIG RED ON TAP AT BLU'S BAR-B-Q & BURGERS

When I heard a new Q-Raunt was going in the old Markie's Deli location across from the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. My first thought was "Where will I park?"

I think there are 3 meters in front of the building and everything else is either 15 minute parking or you have to have a parking pass. So if you make the trip to try it. Be prepared to walk or try and eat in under 15 minutes.

Blu's has a fairly expansive menu so be prepared to do some reading before you decide what you are going to order. Unfortunately nowhere in the menu board does it list what kind of meats they have. A lot of the meals also seemed like the same options with different names.

I attempted to order the One Meat Dinner with the option to add meats for $2 each. After picking my meats I was told I had ordered some kind of special but it came with one side instead of two. Ok, I was there for the meat anyway. So I went along with it.

 

For my meats I chose ribs, chopped brisket, and bologna. For my side I chose a block of cheddar cheese. Blu's offers most of the typical sides or you could get mac and cheese for an additional charge. It's rare to see cheese as a side in Oklahoma. Most of the places I've been in Central Texas offer it but I don't know I've seen it anywhere in Oklahoma.

The dinner also comes with pepperoncini peppers, onions, a pickle spear, and...... wait for it..... ONE SIDED TOAST!!! [groan]

The ribs are served St. Louis style and while they didn't really have a smoke ring they had good texture and the rub was just slightly different than most I have tasted. I'm not totally sure but I think I may have tasted just a slight hint of cinnamon in it. It wasn't overbearing and I thought whatever I was tasting worked ok.

The meat pulled away where I bit with a slight tug. Maybe just a bit undercooked but not so much that I was at risk of pulling any teeth out.

My closeup pic of the chopped brisket didn't come out well. So I'll share this pic of the kitchen area. You really don't want to hear about the chopped brisket because it didn't come out so well either. 

It was overly chopped, folded, spindled, and mutilated and while I've never popped a handful of hickory chips in my mouth and chewed on them. A handful of hickory chips would probably have had more moisture and flavor.

I'm not sure if the sauce was house made or a commercial brand but the hot had a nice kick and made the chopped sawdust....errr.... I mean brisket palatable.

If you've heard me say it once. You'll hear me say it again. No one should be able to screw up bologna. I thought this had nice color on the exterior and had the most smoke flavor of the three meats I tried. I put the  one-sided toast to good use and made a sandwich with it.

The cheese I chose as a side was just mild cheddar cheese. It also had enough moisture in it to help get the brisket down.

Another thing you don't see much of in Oklahoma Q-Raunts is Big Red. So if you enjoy Big Red it comes in a never ending glass at Blu's. I limited myself to one glass because I generally prefer to eat my calories rather than drink them but Big Red is one of my exceptions.

Blu's also serves pork tenderloin but they did not have any the day I was there and they also have chicken, hot links, and polish sausage. They also offer burgers and hot wings, and....ummm... something called salad. I'm not sure what this salad thing is and I don't think I want to try it.

I'll probably give Blu's one more shot because they are brand new but overall I was underwhelmed. The brisket really was terrible and the portions were also just a touch small.

Blu's is a family owned and run Q-raunt and I wish them the best but the rent on the space they are in can't be cheap and I don't see the Q sustaining the lines of customers they are getting while they are new for very long without some big improvements. The parking situation doesn't help either.