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 .
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.
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.)
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?
I’m not sure which of your plates I’d have to steal, but I’m leaning towards yours. 🙂 I wish we had a restaurant like this in our area. It sounds fantastic (especially the live music).
Steak with chili butter….that sounds and looks so man!
Sounds like something I need to replicate, or try to.
What an innovative idea for a restaurant, sounds like a fun visit 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It is pretty fun. I forgot to mention that they have an open kitchen.
I certainly love the idea of a Chile relleno and steak together. I too, feel that I am a CR authority. I’ve never though of eating these two things together but it sounds wonderful! We will have to venture over there next time we are in Tulsy Town!
The Hubs is the quintessential connoisseur! You must try Ricardo’s in Tulsa for the best ones (according to him)!
Sounds like fun! And great choices too!
Debra, that gift of date ideas is such a great idea. We get in a rut as well, and end up going to the same places over and over because nothing creative comes to mind in that moment. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had something that could be classified as “contemporary cowboy” cuisine, but it sounds right up my alley!
We have had way too much family here recently (smiley) so we haven’t used the date jar for some time.
I bet that there is not a whole lot of “cowboy cuisine” in your neck of the woods! LOL
I just finished breakfast and this post is making me hungry! You had me at candied pecans and bleu cheese. I like you ‘dates in a jar’ idea. We have been married 37 years but still consider Friday night ‘date night’. Dates are important.
I love it! I need a date night no later than this weekend!!!!!
Oh, boy. I hope contemporary cowboy cuisine shows up around here. Sounds like a fantastic meal !
This is a place my whole family would LOVE to go to. Unfortunately we really don’t have anything like this in Atlanta. Someday I’m gonna get the kids to “Go West” and see what they are missing!