Northwest Expressway is a traffic-riddled stretch of road that mainly features restaurants that your less than likable parents would probably pick for dinner, with safe-as-milk options like the Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse and On the Border. But, on the ancient ruins of a long-dead Macaroni Grill, sits the recently opened Clark Crew BBQ.
At first glance, it too looks like every other corporate eatery down the Expressway, but it’s very much a local thing, based around owner Travis Clark’s supposedly world-famous BBQ. According to the menu, he’s won well over 700 awards including Oklahoma Team of the Year. But, I wonder…could he win this lovable lug’s engorged heart?
TLO editor Patrick, bi-curious about the place himself, invited me to a Valentine’s Day lunch at Clark’s, knowing full well that, otherwise, I’ll probably be sitting at home all by my lonesome, basting a low-fat turkey sandwich and glass of skim milk in my fragile tears. That’s no way to live and an even worse way to love.
The parking lot extravagantly full, especially for 2pm on a Friday, when we walked in to the freshly reconstructed building we were immediately greeted by said awards on all sides, as well as a fifteen minute wait for a table. Many area couples of varied romantic abilities were wooing each other early this year, usually over brisket and beans.
Eventually we took a seat by the bar in high-back chairs that imprinted the CCB logo deep into our back-fat, as I looked at the menu, I was taken a bit aback by the somewhat higher-than-usual prices. However, Patrick told me this was his treat and to get whatever I wanted—this was already a great date and I didn’t even have to put out.
The appetizer did present a small problem: though we’re usually in agreement on most things, I very much wanted to sample the House Fried Crispy Pork Rinds—how often do you get something like that?—but he wanted the smoked-then-fried Chicken Wings ($7.00). In an act of thankfulness for his Valentine’s generosity, I relented.
Served with two sauces—the championship-winning BBQ and a sweeter wing elixir—the five or six plump wings, served on a metal tray, were a definite gold medalist in the category of apps. With the wing-branded sauce being the perfect dip, the taut musculature of the chicken wings dutifully delivered a smoky—and then fried—taste that could’ve been the whole meal.
When it came to our main eats, Patrick went in for the basic 3 Meat Tray ($24.00), and their highly masculine Snake River Farms American Wagyu beef. I said damn it all to hell though, and ordered the 5XL ($20.00) sandwich, both my former shirt size and a sandwich that included just about every single meat on the menu, courting an immediate return to that comically large pullover.
On his 3 Meat Tray, Patrick enjoyed the sliced brisket and a helping of naked burnt beef ends, as well as a daring heap of chopped pork. As great as the premium brisket and chopped pork truly was, it was the rich and domineering burnt beef ends that won the first place certificate of my girded loins, with the sweet cornbread and fried okra working the haunches.
And while that was all well and good, my 5XL was an extra-extra-extra-extra-extra powerful meat-made romance. Filled with over one pound of smoked bologna medallions, chopped pork, chopped brisket, jalapeno sausage and, impaled by toothpicks, topped with an embarrassingly obese set of ribs, this sandwich squeezed my ass and seductively cooed Johnny Gill’s “Rub You the Right Way” into my left ear.
Lord knows I tried, but I was barely able to fit this sandwich in my mouth; I nibbled on a large portion of the overflowing mélange of meats and the championship BBQ beans ($3.00) before I started to feel like I was going to pass out from a meaty overload. I threw down my flag before I even really started, packing what I could into a takeout box.
Even then, I couldn’t leave Clark’s without trying a popular dessert. With just a small bit of room left to digest, I ordered the 180 World Championship Pecan Pie Trifle ($6.00), served in a small glass jar. It was definitely in a league of its own, as the homegrown pecans, sweet cream, and crumbly graham cracker crust started to loosen my aged teeth with a newfound sweetness.
As I crawled into bed alone that satin and silky evening, I was supremely satisfied with what was the most meat-infused man-date I’ve had in months, the leftover award-winning BBQ sauce dripping onto my bedsheets as I tried one more time to wrap my lips around that intimidating 5XL. Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler and Instagram at @louisfowler78.
Great BBQ served here!
We stopped in at 3pm on a Tuesday, no wait. I’ve been dreaming about those burnt ends since!
Went early a couple of weeks ago to get a table, which was a good idea. Took over 45 minutes to get our order. I had the burnt ends and baloney 2 meat tray. Not a keeper. The burnt ends were gristly and tough and almost impossible to eat. The mystery meat baloney was ok, just very salty. The mac & cheese side was good, as was the fried okra. My lunch companions had ribs and brisket which they liked. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing or caught them on an off day. It’ll be a while before I go back.
We waited over an hour to be seated. The waitress was wonderful, but the food wasn’t even close to what I expected for the amount of people there. As another review stated, the burnt ends were gristly, tough and almost impossible to eat. I’ve had much better BBQ at Steve’s Ribs, Earl’s, and Butcher Block. The best thing was the cornbread. It’s delicious! Our food was not worth the wait.
I enjoyed the the burnt ends. Not sure if they were true burnt ends or not, but they were juicy and tender. The brisket was fantastic.
Well you must have gotten the only good ones they had, probably because you’re the lead dog of an obscure local social blog.
My wife and I decided to give this place a try a couple of weeks ago! It was about 6:30 or 7:00 pm and yes the parking lot was full. We waited over half an hour for a table only to find out that they were out of RIBS!!! No apologies from the wait staff! They may have all the awards but they don’t have any restaurant experience! Will let the new wear off and may try again then!!!!!!
Tried to get in Cattlemans on Valentine’s Day at 4:30 PM and already a two hour wait for a party of 8. So we loaded up and headed to Clark Crew and got right in! We all agreed it was the best. From the steak to the ribs the appetizers and deserts. Definitely going back!
Louis, as a true fan, I urge you to go ahead and write your country song about the bad bitch who done you wrong; the irredeemable mistake you made; or your genial, mutual parting of ways. Get it out of your system before it becomes maudlin shtick. Your heart deserves more respect than that.
Is this where The Smoking Boar snuck off to after they closed?
Was not impressed. Food was too costly for the mediocre quality. Service was horribly slow and unattentive. Much rather prefer Swadley’s.
So stay on the southside of OKC and enjoy that mediocre, overpriced Swadley swill. The rest of us will continue to go to Clark Crew.
Great BBQ so much better than Swadley’s.
agreed!…. average bbq at best, and the prices are way too high for the quality or lack thereof
Loved the food and endured the wait. I went outside and talked to the dudes doing the cooking. If you have to circle the parking lot and see people waiting to be seated that’s a clue you’re going to have to wait. Don’t gripe if you chose to wait. I’ll go back but be careful about timing. Thanks Clark’s for investing your heart and money in this restaurant.
We went a few weeks ago and there was no wait at 4 pm. I didn’t care for the food, briskitt and turkey. Briskitt didnt have any flavor and turkey was deli meat. The cornbread was way too sweet. My hubs macaroni was good as well as the chocolate cake but too expensive for what they served.