Go West, youngman, Go West

Cowboy cooking used to consist of beans and hardtack with maybe some freshly butchered T-bones thrown in a skillet over a campfire.  Then Chef Tim Love introduced contemporary cowboy cuisine at his  Lonesome Dove Western Bistro located in the Ft. Worth Stockyards. We have dined at Chef Tim Love’s Lonesome Dove and loved it.

Now we do not have to drive to Ft. Worth for this experience. We can simply Go West .

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Go West  is our own contemporary cowboy cuisine restaurant located only 20 minutes away from our front door. It is all about the history of the West too. The décor is truly upscale Western and I love their postcards. (What is up with restaurants and post cards? Whatever it is, I love this new trend.)

Go West  is in the Avalon Steakhouse old location which itself had some history. Avalon had a one-time rough reputation. Because of the bizarre liquor laws in Oklahoma, it packed up and moved across county lines in the 60s. It shut down in 2009. Go West has elevated the atmosphere and cuisine, but I like to think that they still have a bit of the wildness that was once the Avalon tradition.

I have read in local publications and reviews  that Go West is “the best restaurant that you have never visited.” That is probably a true statement. Because of the location (off 244 in an industrial part of town), it is not a fine dining mecca, but it is worth the trip. We have been there on numerous occasions to celebrate family birthdays, a friend’s graduations, and just for a quiet dinner. We haven’t ever been disappointed.

For The Hubs’ birthday, I put together a little gift of date ideas. It seems that we become comatose sometimes when we want to go out but we can’t think of a place to go. I stuffed a glass jar full of ideas written on colorful popsicle sticks. Last Saturday morning, he pulled a blue one (blue stands for “good eats”) and low-and-behold but Go West  was written on it. That would be our dining destination for a Saturday night date!

It seemed like there were a lot of locals  and regulars enjoying the food on our visit. There were a number of large groups but it was not loud at all. We had already had some apps at another establishment, so we went straight to ordering our salads and entrees. I had the GW Brand Salad (greens with candied pecans, bleu cheese, apple, and balsamic dressing) and The Hubs went with the GW Caesar (a twist on the traditional Caesar with LOTS of spice, black bean and corn relish, and a Parmesan crisp). It had a bite!

Then came the beef. The Hubs ordered a center-cut ribeye (14 oz.) that came with a Chimichurri sauce and a chile relleno on the side. He is a chile relleno connoisseur and he deemed this one OK. The steak was super tender and delicious. I ordered the Mr. Young’s 101 Ranch Hand. This was a super thick petite fillet, bacon wrapped, served with garlic mashed potatoes and some interesting Brussels sprouts. I love Brussels sprouts but I love them just slightly sautéed or roasted. These were braised in tomatoes and peppers and reminded me so much of my grandmother’s Swiss steak. My steak was super tender too.

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The steak was topped with a chili-butter.

They serve two types of bread/muffins with your meal at Go West —a spicy cornbread and a more subdued star-shaped muffin. I couldn’t tell which one I liked best. For dessert, we split a chocolate pecan pie. The only hitch we had with service was that the server brought us the check before our dessert and then seemed anxious for us to pay before the dessert came. Maybe she wanted out of there early or maybe we looked like Tab Walker! 🙂

The pie was good but I think it was just a plain pecan pie with chocolate chips thrown on top after baking (which is a pretty good idea). It would have been much better warmed up a bit. (Other dessert offerings were interesting—jalapeno cheesecake and cookie dough tamales. The latter is only made on special occasions and we have had them on a past trip—they are good.)

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This is a sampling of their seasonal menu.

Go West also has a comfy bar area and live music on Fridays. (Now that basketball season is over with, maybe we can check that out.) One of the owners, in his cowboy regalia, roams the dining room to make sure all is well. He is really an affable guy and really wants his restaurant to have a fine reputation. This may not be as fancy-shmancy as Lonesome Dove, but it is just as good.

Go West
6205 New Sapulpa Rd.
Tulsa, OK 74131
918-446-7546

Please, please, please stay tuned.  Not only will I do one more Revs and Recs, but I also will start on a chocolate odyssey!

Intrigued?

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