I saw an item in today’s Oklahoman that the former Luby’s at N May and Britton road has been leased by “Steak Experience”. Anyone familiar with this?

All I know is that it's supposed to be 'upscale'.

All I know is that it's supposed to be 'upscale'.

Wow...nothing makes me think upscale like the name "Steak Experience" in a cavernous, 35 year old cafeteria location in the end of a 60 year old, suburban strip mall. Almost as good as Las Vegas!

Man, I'm a little salty this morning. Sorry, last night's drugs have worn off and this morning's haven't kicked in yet.

It will be run by Jeff Rogers (Pig & Butcher) and will be 'super high end' with a nightly dinner show (bands, piano, etc.).

To be modeled after similar places in Vegas.

It will be run by Jeff Rogers (Pig & Butcher) and will be 'super high end' with a nightly dinner show (bands, piano, etc.).

To be modeled after similar places in Vegas.

I change my tune, then. Pig & Butcher is doing very well. And with this across the street, oversight of both should excellent.

That name though. Woof.

Sounds like someone needs to go revisit Las Vegas!

That name though. Woof.

It is probably a placeholder name, like "Oklahoma City Boulevard." Oh wait....

They better hit the ground running...getting to be way too much steak in this town.

They better hit the ground running...getting to be way too much steak in this town.

Which ones are considered the good ones nowadays?

Which ones are considered the good ones nowadays?

Ranch
Red Prime
Mickey Mantle's
Bob's Chophouse
Mahogany's

They better hit the ground running...getting to be way too much steak in this town.

Bad news for the vampires in this town.

Which ones are considered the good ones nowadays?

My teenage son and I did an OKC steak tour last year (6 steakhouses over six nights when the ladies of the household were out of town). Balancing in sides and service along with the quality of the steak, we agreed the ranking was:

Ranch
Mahogany
Red Prime (Very close between Mahogany though)
Cattlemans
Broadway 10
Boulevard

I never ate there, but St. Mark's seemingly folded. MMR never took off. The George couldn't hang. Broadway 10 seems to have kept a particular following but I nearly never hear it mentioned as good from a steak perspective.

By area:

Edmond 1 - Boulevard
NW OKC 2 (+1) - Mahogany + Ranch (and soon to be Steak Experience)
Central OKC 4 (+2) - Broadway 10 + RedPrime + Mahogany + Mickey Mantle's (and soon Bob's + Ruth's Chris)
South OKC/Norman 1 - Ranch

I think you could get one more in NW OKC because of all the money/business up there, but dropping it right next door to The Ranch means you have to actively steal that clientele (or offer something wildly different that causes people to consider them to be 2 completely different concepts). If you had opened east of Broadway Extension and North of 150th you could at least draw some Edmond and Deer Creek folks. (I see that Opus is somehow still operating looking at Google hours).

I mean, truly, best of luck to them, but I just don't see their target clientele giving them multiple shots to get it right.

I never ate there, but St. Mark's seemingly folded. MMR never took off. The George couldn't hang. Broadway 10 seems to have kept a particular following but I nearly never hear it mentioned as good from a steak perspective.

By area:

Edmond 1 - Boulevard
NW OKC 2 (+1) - Mahogany + Ranch (and soon to be Steak Experience)
Central OKC 4 (+2) - Broadway 10 + RedPrime + Mahogany + Mickey Mantle's (and soon Bob's + Ruth's Chris)
South OKC/Norman 1 - Ranch

I think you could get one more in NW OKC because of all the money/business up there, but dropping it right next door to The Ranch means you have to actively steal that clientele (or offer something wildly different that causes people to consider them to be 2 completely different concepts). If you had opened east of Broadway Extension and North of 150th you could at least draw some Edmond and Deer Creek folks. (I see that Opus is somehow still operating looking at Google hours).

I mean, truly, best of luck to them, but I just don't see their target clientele giving them multiple shots to get it right.

This is my fear for them, they are going to battle the Ranch head to head. They are going to have that clientele give them a shot when they open and if they mess up even a little bit, they are done. The Ranch will eat them up and spit them out, its very tough to battle with an established juggernaut like the Ranch.

This is my fear for them, they are going to battle the Ranch head to head. They are going to have that clientele give them a shot when they open and if they mess up even a little bit, they are done. The Ranch will eat them up and spit them out, its very tough to battle with an established juggernaut like the Ranch.

The Ranch clientele seems like they aren’t the Vegas group to favor entertainment with their meals. Lots of expense account meals there.

The Ranch clientele seems like they aren’t the Vegas group to favor entertainment with their meals. Lots of expense account meals there.

I don't necessarily disagree with this - I mean, i will say the Ranch's clientele is pretty diverse among the eligible pool (i.e. all of these steakhouses have a price point that pretty well ensure a minimal volume of people under a certain income threshold), but no, I don't think Pharma dinners and business expense accounts are Rogers's target.

My thing is this: The entertainment aspect is awesome. I honestly think we *neeeed* this to work either here or elsewhere for our city to take a step forward in our dining entertainment game. But doing this as a "steakhouse" means that you have deliver on that item in a crowded market. Nobody is going to go somewhere to pay $100/head for a meal to get a steak that's noticeably "less than" any of the other competition. The general exception to that rule is that some people may sacrifice quality for convenience in location (i.e. go to Olive Garden instead of Moni's). But if the steak is meh, then from a food perspective, they're not going to bring in any of that Nichols Hills crowd just coming in to grab a bite.

I never ate there, but St. Mark's seemingly folded. MMR never took off. The George couldn't hang. Broadway 10 seems to have kept a particular following but I nearly never hear it mentioned as good from a steak perspective.

By area:

Edmond 1 - Boulevard
NW OKC 2 (+1) - Mahogany + Ranch (and soon to be Steak Experience)
Central OKC 4 (+2) - Broadway 10 + RedPrime + Mahogany + Mickey Mantle's (and soon Bob's + Ruth's Chris)
South OKC/Norman 1 - Ranch

I think you could get one more in NW OKC because of all the money/business up there, but dropping it right next door to The Ranch means you have to actively steal that clientele (or offer something wildly different that causes people to consider them to be 2 completely different concepts). If you had opened east of Broadway Extension and North of 150th you could at least draw some Edmond and Deer Creek folks. (I see that Opus is somehow still operating looking at Google hours).

I mean, truly, best of luck to them, but I just don't see their target clientele giving them multiple shots to get it right.

Is there a Ruth's Chris coming to OKC? We love the one in Tulsa.

Is there a Ruth's Chris coming to OKC? We love the one in Tulsa.

yes in first national

I don't necessarily disagree with this - I mean, i will say the Ranch's clientele is pretty diverse among the eligible pool (i.e. all of these steakhouses have a price point that pretty well ensure a minimal volume of people under a certain income threshold), but no, I don't think Pharma dinners and business expense accounts are Rogers's target.

My thing is this: The entertainment aspect is awesome. I honestly think we *neeeed* this to work either here or elsewhere for our city to take a step forward in our dining entertainment game. But doing this as a "steakhouse" means that you have deliver on that item in a crowded market. Nobody is going to go somewhere to pay $100/head for a meal to get a steak that's noticeably "less than" any of the other competition. The general exception to that rule is that some people may sacrifice quality for convenience in location (i.e. go to Olive Garden instead of Moni's). But if the steak is meh, then from a food perspective, they're not going to bring in any of that Nichols Hills crowd just coming in to grab a bite.

Looks to me like The Ranch is so busy every night that Steak Experience should have a pretty good head start just on overflow. There also can be a positive from having like-type businesses near each other. Britton Road from May Avenue to Lake Hefner is becoming a restaurant row.

Looks to me like The Ranch is so busy every night that Steak Experience should have a pretty good head start just on overflow. There also can be a positive from having like-type businesses near each other. Britton Road from May Avenue to Lake Hefner is becoming a restaurant row.

No doubt they could feed off of each other. Restaurants tend to better in groups than they do being on an island. But that's just a little bit less true for restaurants that are aiming for >$75 PPAs (per person average). Signature Grill is probably the best example of how being a destination restaurant overcomes concerns of location.

Basically, these high-end restaurants realistically are relying on business clientele + >$200k household income regulars to account for the lion's share of sales. Special occasion diners provide a nice boost, but they're not a reliable driver for a high end restaurant, so they're going to have to win some of that >$200k crowd, or be a small enough operation that special occasion could carry you home. But that small enough operation on the high end is around max capacity 80...maybe 15-25 tables? Much bigger than that and the scale starts requiring business clientele regardless.

No doubt they could feed off of each other. Restaurants tend to better in groups than they do being on an island. But that's just a little bit less true for restaurants that are aiming for >$75 PPAs (per person average). Signature Grill is probably the best example of how being a destination restaurant overcomes concerns of location.

Basically, these high-end restaurants realistically are relying on business clientele + >$200k household income regulars to account for the lion's share of sales. Special occasion diners provide a nice boost, but they're not a reliable driver for a high end restaurant, so they're going to have to win some of that >$200k crowd, or be a small enough operation that special occasion could carry you home. But that small enough operation on the high end is around max capacity 80...maybe 15-25 tables? Much bigger than that and the scale starts requiring business clientele regardless.

signature and their smaller bistro concept just down the way are the correct size to be neighbor hood gems ..

they might not be able to survive in that location if they were 2 or 3 times bigger than they are ..

signature and their smaller bistro concept just down the way are the correct size to be neighbor hood gems ..

they might not be able to survive in that location if they were 2 or 3 times bigger than they are ..

Agreed - and I'm also not convinced they would survive at that price point if the only people eating there came from a 5 mile radius. I mean, survive might be a little much, but certainly they thrive due to the massive influx of people who come in from well over 5 miles out.

Glad to see ranch as a consensus. Usually my go to, although I do enjoy the cup of bacon at b10. Keep forgetting red prime is a thing, granted I'm also usually eating by myself.

The Ranch used to be our go to until we got bad service. I pointed it out at the time and the guy acted like he didn’t care much. When the manager came around I let him know that I thought service was sub-par compared to previous times. He apologized and comped the dessert we already had. It happens so I honestly didn’t think much about it at the time but the next time we wanted a good steak we decided to go to Mahogany’s. Service was excellent and IMO exceeded any time we had went to the Ranch (not just comparing to sub-par time). Since then we’ve never been back to the Ranch.

As far as the others go, Red Prime, Mickey Mantle’s,etc, they to me are in a tier lower than Mahogany or the Ranch and for the money I don’t care to patronize them again. Service at all those is hit or miss and I don’t go out to pay $50 for a steak to take a gamble on service. Part of the price is the experience.

The Ranch used to be our go to until we got bad service. I pointed it out at the time and the guy acted like he didn’t care much. When the manager came around I let him know that I thought service was sub-par compared to previous times. He apologized and comped the dessert we already had. It happens so I honestly didn’t think much about it at the time but the next time we wanted a good steak we decided to go to Mahogany’s. Service was excellent and IMO exceeded any time we had went to the Ranch (not just comparing to sub-par time). Since then we’ve never been back to the Ranch.

As far as the others go, Red Prime, Mickey Mantle’s,etc, they to me are in a tier lower than Mahogany or the Ranch and for the money I don’t care to patronize them again. Service at all those is hit or miss and I don’t go out to pay $50 for a steak to take a gamble on service. Part of the price is the experience.

I'm interested to know: what specific elements of service are all of these places consistently missing and what is Mahogany doing particularly well?

Can say I’ve never had poor service or less than great meal at Ranch. Btw, I like the bone in pork chop as much as the steak.

I'm interested to know: what specific elements of service are all of these places consistently missing and what is Mahogany doing particularly well?

I’ll start with saying I don’t mean this to come across as entitles, but when you are at a restaurant of these calibers the servers should be top notch. That’s why places like Mahogany and the Ranch have 2 typically. The one time I had a complaint with the Ranch, I feel as though it shouldn’t have happened. I had to ask multiple times for water refill and my wife had asked for some more of something, maybe like a sauce or something, it was extra so not like they forgot, but she never received it. If something like that happens at Chili’s, I wouldn’t have even thought to mention it if a manager comes by, and it doesn’t effect the tip unless they are rude. I realize someplace that Chili’s probably has them working tons of tables and these people are underpaid anyways.

But at a place like the Ranch I find that to be fairly unacceptable. Not enough to make a huge scene but enough to be annoyed and mention it to the manager because they stop by anyways. Like I said before the manager apologized and made up for it. The food is good and I imagine I’ll be back at the Ranch sometime to change it up.

Now with Mahogany, ever server I’ve had there seems top notch. What also left a lasting impression is the first time we went we had a lady that was by far the best server I’ve ever experienced. She wa personable but not overbearing. She knew the menu’s like she wrote them and made personal recommendations after asking about our tastes, that even 5 years later of us going there, I still consider when we go.

When it comes to the others such as Mickey Mantles and Red Prime, these just seem like knockoffs compared to the other 2. The food was good, but service was only marginally better than a chain restaurant in my experience and I’ve eaten at both multiple times. Because of this I don’t even consider them because I just feel that they are overpriced for what they are if I’m paying.

Even at the nice places...service can be hit or miss. Although we generally have great service at Mahogany, we ate there last year and service was great until they sat a big top in our server's section and it was like we disappeared. Gave up on trying to get another drink or dessert and finally had to wave someone over for the check. Very disappointing but that was the exception. We generally go to the Ranch and service has always been great. We get the same server every time by request but there have been 1-2 times that he missed a small detail but was quickly fixed. We also knew that his wife was having medical issues so I am sure he was preoccupied. At the prices these places cost...I expect top notch service but even professional servers are human. It is about how it is handled, their personality in as far as making the ambience and dining experience perfect, and making sure the overall experience for a pleasurable night out. Having servers that anticipate your needs versus react to your needs.

Even at the nice places...service can be hit or miss. Although we generally have great service at Mahogany, we ate there last year and service was great until they sat a big top in our server's section and it was like we disappeared. Gave up on trying to get another drink or dessert and finally had to wave someone over for the check. Very disappointing but that was the exception. We generally go to the Ranch and service has always been great. We get the same server every time by request but there have been 1-2 times that he missed a small detail but was quickly fixed. We also knew that his wife was having medical issues so I am sure he was preoccupied. At the prices these places cost...I expect top notch service but even professional servers are human. It is about how it is handled, their personality in as far as making the ambience and dining experience perfect, and making sure the overall experience for a pleasurable night out. Having servers that anticipate your needs versus react to your needs.

these are very much my thoughts and experience as well .. .right down to asking for the same server every time at the ranch ..

Even at the nice places...service can be hit or miss. Although we generally have great service at Mahogany, we ate there last year and service was great until they sat a big top in our server's section and it was like we disappeared. Gave up on trying to get another drink or dessert and finally had to wave someone over for the check. Very disappointing but that was the exception. We generally go to the Ranch and service has always been great. We get the same server every time by request but there have been 1-2 times that he missed a small detail but was quickly fixed. We also knew that his wife was having medical issues so I am sure he was preoccupied. At the prices these places cost...I expect top notch service but even professional servers are human. It is about how it is handled, their personality in as far as making the ambience and dining experience perfect, and making sure the overall experience for a pleasurable night out. Having servers that anticipate your needs versus react to your needs.

I agree that once you find a server you like, going back and asking for them really is the best experience, because then they realize how much you appreciate their service, and you usually get even better service. The other nice thing about these restaurants are the staff seems to suffer way less turnover, and I feel like that helps. Regardless if I could afford to eat at any of these restaurants every time I wanted to go out I would because you get spoiled real fast on what it means to be served. :)

The Ranch used to be our go to steakhouse. We had very average food a couple times so we never went back. Now we go to Mahogany and Red Prime and have never been disappointed in food or service.

We were talking a couple nights ago about going somewhere nice that we've never been when we feel safe to go out again. To celebrate what will be at least a year of not entering a restaurant after eating out at least three or four nights a week for years. After reading this thread I think Mahogany will be the place.

I don't understand The Ranch or the north Mahogany location. At a price point that requires a good experience and great ambiance, why would someone want to pull up to a generic building that could easily be mistaken for a Chilis or Golden Corral? .It Just doesn't make any sense to me. I do think the downtown Mahogany is fantastic.

I don't understand The Ranch or the north Mahogany location. At a price point that requires a good experience and great ambiance, why would someone want to pull up to a generic building that could easily be mistaken for a Chilis or Golden Corral? .It Just doesn't make any sense to me. I do think the downtown Mahogany is fantastic.

I've eaten some fantastic meals in crappy buildings and crappy meals in fantastic buildings. What's your point? You pay for looking at the building or dining on great food? I guess anyone wanting to have a great restaurant should just look for the coolest building. Job done. LOL

I've eaten some fantastic meals in crappy buildings and crappy meals in fantastic buildings. What's your point? You pay for looking at the building or dining on great food? I guess anyone wanting to have a great restaurant should just look for the coolest building. Job done. LOLYou beat me to it. If there's great food and great service it could be in a shack and I'd be happy.

I've eaten some fantastic meals in crappy buildings and crappy meals in fantastic buildings. What's your point? You pay for looking at the building or dining on great food? I guess anyone wanting to have a great restaurant should just look for the coolest building. Job done. LOL

It’s not about cool buildings vs a crappy buildings and food quality. Of course there is good food everywhere. I’m just saying If I’m going to pay for “upscale” I am going to want a patio that doesn’t just overlook a parking lot. To many options to get high quality and good ambiance in OKC to compromise IMO.

Is the north Mahogony as good as downtown?

Is the north Mahogony as good as downtown?

I’ve had both and food was excellent at both.

Is the north Mahogony as good as downtown?

Yea they both have great food. The only difference is one sets on a weird pad site lot directly off of a turnpike exit surrounded by a big parking lot. I used to go to the north one frequently and always thought how weird the location was for that type of restaurant. The one downtown is a perfect location for a high end steak house. Top tier quality and top overall dining experience IMO.

I'll have to take my wife to one next time we're in town once it's safe to travel again.

It’s not about cool buildings vs a crappy buildings and food quality. Of course there is good food everywhere. I’m just saying If I’m going to pay for “upscale” I am going to want a patio that doesn’t just overlook a parking lot. To many options to get high quality and good ambiance in OKC to compromise IMO.

Ambiance at the north location is good, unless you eat in your car.

My teenage son and I did an OKC steak tour last year (6 steakhouses over six nights when the ladies of the household were out of town). Balancing in sides and service along with the quality of the steak, we agreed the ranking was:

Ranch
Mahogany
Red Prime (Very close between Mahogany though)
Cattlemans
Broadway 10
Boulevard

This is exactly how I would rank them, although I have never dined at Boulevard so I cannot comment on that.

I don't understand The Ranch or the north Mahogany location. At a price point that requires a good experience and great ambiance, why would someone want to pull up to a generic building that could easily be mistaken for a Chilis or Golden Corral? .It Just doesn't make any sense to me. I do think the downtown Mahogany is fantastic.

The Ranch exterior is bland, but it has a very unique, comfortable and classy vibe inside. It's a cozy spot. I only make it there once or twice a year but it is the best steak in OKC and a fantastic restaurant.

Our go-to server there has moved into management at the Norman location, which is a bummer, but we really aren't dining out now anyway.

Sooo...This thread is about the "Steak Experience". Any info on that?

Windows are covered on the inside, roll off dumpster is out front and tradesmen vehicles come and go. Appears work has commenced in earnest.

^

They are gutting the space and build-out should start soon.

Took these yesterday.

I was told work has paused as they finish out other restaurant concepts, such as the 2nd and 3rd Yo! Pablo and Chico Blanco in Bricktown.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steakexperience032321a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steakexperience032321bjpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steakexperience032321c.jpg

The Chef from MMR was hired to run this new concept if that says anything.

I never ate there, but St. Mark's seemingly folded. MMR never took off. The George couldn't hang. Broadway 10 seems to have kept a particular following but I nearly never hear it mentioned as good from a steak perspective.

By area:

Edmond 1 - Boulevard
NW OKC 2 (+1) - Mahogany + Ranch (and soon to be Steak Experience)
Central OKC 4 (+2) - Broadway 10 + RedPrime + Mahogany + Mickey Mantle's (and soon Bob's + Ruth's Chris)
South OKC/Norman 1 - Ranch

I think you could get one more in NW OKC because of all the money/business up there, but dropping it right next door to The Ranch means you have to actively steal that clientele (or offer something wildly different that causes people to consider them to be 2 completely different concepts). If you had opened east of Broadway Extension and North of 150th you could at least draw some Edmond and Deer Creek folks. (I see that Opus is somehow still operating looking at Google hours).

I mean, truly, best of luck to them, but I just don't see their target clientele giving them multiple shots to get it right.

The Chef from MMR was hired to run this new concept if that says anything.

He also ran the Ranch & Boulevard for several years. Jonas is one of the best chefs in the city, but the location on this with proximity to the Ranch is going to make it tough even if they get it right IMO.

Yeah, heard the other day that Jonas was going to be the Chef here and that does bode well for the place. The dude knows steak and I hope that's the foundation here. Prior to Jonas, the Ranch rarely ventured outside of their menu when it came to steak: no dry-aged program, no Wagyu. He was actually dry-aging the cuts in house for a good period of time before it was ultimately decided to bring in an already aged beef. He also brought in Wagyu for the 1st time, to my recollection.

I imagine he will play on his knowledge of dry-aging, wagyu and all things beef. Done right, I think they can have success, and if anyone can do it, especially right in Ranch's backyard, it will be Jonas. But a Chef is only one side of a restaurant, so the operators are still going to need to create a successful concept around Chef's program, need to get the right pairing to Jonas to manage the beverage program, and need to be calculated on how they develop/market the concept. The "experience" part is going to be key. It's why the George, as loaded of a kitchen staff as that was, and as nice of an ambiance as it provided, failed within about a year.

They had stopped work on this place to get the various Yo Pablos open, but now work has resumed.

They have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Steak-The-Experience-104113738748706

Getting close. Photos from their Facebook page:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steak121621d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steak121621a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steak121621b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/steak121621c.jpg

Oh My

That name will either be a liability or an asset based on how good the food is. People will be hesitant to go just because of the silly name.

That name will either be a liability or an asset based on how good the food is. People will be hesitant to go just because of the silly name.

I've thought the same exact thing. It screams "cheap" to me.

OKC restaurateurs: You need more steak and you will get more steak!

I miss Luby's.

That name will either be a liability or an asset based on how good the food is. People will be hesitant to go just because of the silly name.

Yeah had I not read this thread I'd have never gone thinking it was a buffet or something.

Between the name and the ambiance their food had better be damn good.