First, we did an exhaustive search online at all the barbeque restaurants in the Tulsa area, cutting the list down to three restaurants: Burn Co, Leon's, and Oklahoma Joes. Next we studied barbeque judging slips and came up with our own rubric to judge the meats. A score of 9 is excellent while a score of 1 means the meat was unfit for an alley cat. From there it was to Tulsa to eat meat like men and gain a few pounds.
Saturday for lunch we went to Burn Co. on the Riverwalk in Jenks. We chose this location, which wasn't the original, because we were afraid of long lines at the downtown original. As it was, the weather was a little soggy, and everyone stayed home, nearly giving us the whole place to ourselves.
The atmosphere may have been a little...down, unexciting but that was fine. It was better than the long lines outside that we had read about.
When you go to Burn Co., there's only one thing to eat: The Fatty. Gaining its fame from the Food Network, The Fatty is a Polish Sausage rolled up with breakfast sausage, ground up hot links, and wrapped in a lattice of bacon. After it's smoked, it is cut in inch-thick servings and usually between two buns or two slices of bread. We ordered the Family serving, which came with Three slices of Fatty without bread. At first look, it's pretty intimidating.
Andrew was very impressed with The Fatty, since he didn't say a word while eating. He gave The Fatty a 9 out of 9 for appearance, a 9 out of 9 for tenderness (hello, it's mostly ground meat. It better be tender) and an 8 out of 9 for taste. Combine that with an 8 out of 9 for the sauce, he gave The Fatty a score of 34 out of 36 for a 96%, easily an A.
I wasn't as forgiving as Andrew. The Fatty was a lot of meat, so I felt I had to judge each meat separately and then together as a whole. Starting in the middle, the Polish sausage was just average, so-so. If anything, it was inferior in quality. I felt the breakfast sausage was above average, roughly Jimmy Dean quality, with a nice smokey flavor. The ground up hot link was very disappointing. It wasn't hot at all, the opposite of, say, Head Country, whose hot links should come with a roll of Tums as a side. The bacon lattice really didn't add much since it constituted so little of the Fatty slice. Put all the elements together, and it was pretty tasty, not the multitude of flavor dimensions I was expecting from the Food Network hype, but certainly above average. Mop it up with a heaping helping of the house sauce, and it was very palatable. I gave it an 8 for appearance, a 7 for taste, and an 8 for tenderness for a total score of 23 out of 27, or a school grade of 85%. Solid B. Good, but not great like I was expecting.
Outside of the Fatty, we had the beans, and mac and cheese. I ordered the beans and fell in love with the smokey goodness of the shells and cheese, topped with corn flakes and bacon. It was a must have. Andrew ordered the mac and cheese and fell in love with the beans, which I thought tasted as if they came directly out of a Van Camp's can. Not inedible, but not good. Think of what Lenny and George ate around the campfire in Of Mice and Men. Along that quality. In my book, beans must be accompanied by some pulled pork or brisket. After all, this is a barbeque restaurant! They were spicy, but bare bones...er beans.
The two of us walked out of Burn Co. having spent nearly $40. The beans cost $4 by themselves and were worth maybe .50 cents. The shells and cheese were $5 and worth every penny. The Fatty was $20, which was respectable considering it was a specialty item you just can't find anywhere else. Add in a couple of drinks and a tip, and it's an expensive eat, which is why I gave Burn Co. a 4.5 out of 9 for value. With an atmosphere of 4 out of 9, Burn Co. received a generous school score of 71% from the two stuffed barbeque connoisseurs. The Scoop: get a side of mac and cheese and a small Fatty to say you've done it. Then go elsewhere next time.
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