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Mar 23, 2024

Flo's Smokehouse: Where barbecue, Mexican food get together

Tulsa World Scene Writer The Over-Flo sandwich includes a thick slice of smoked bologna, hot links, pulled pork, pickle, onions and barbecue sauce. It’s shown here with a side of Brisket BBQ Beans.

Tulsa World Scene Writer

The Over-Flo sandwich includes a thick slice of smoked bologna, hot links, pulled pork, pickle, onions and barbecue sauce. It’s shown here with a side of Brisket BBQ Beans.

Brandy Adkins didn’t plan on spending the better part of a decade flipping burgers.

The Tuesday special of birria gets used in numerous ways, such as this birria grilled cheese sandwich, served with a cup of the consomme in which the beef is stewed.

Adkins was just about to graduate from culinary school, and was needing to create a business plan as part of the requirements to graduate. By chance, she happened upon an empty storefront in a strip shopping center in Catoosa and saw its potential.

Brisket and Pulled Pork Street Tacos at Flo's Smokehouse Eats.

“I’m one of those people that, once I see something that sparks an idea, the wheels starting going and I know I have to make it happen,” Adkins said. “My original thought was that this place would serve as a way to jump-start things, and that I could sell it after a while and move on to other things.”

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She laughed, then said, “I just didn’t plan on falling in love with making burgers.”

That spot Adkins discovered became the first Flo’s Burger Diner, which she opened in 2014 at 19322 E. Admiral Place. Four years later, Adkins opened a second Flo’s Burger Diner location, this time along the stretch of historic Route 66 that runs through Tulsa, at 2604 E. 11th St.

The interior of Flo's Smokehouse Eats melds influences from the 1950s through the 1980s.

The Tulsa location of Flo’s had been the site of a couple of barbecue restaurants in the past, and that — coupled with the fact that much of the work Adkins does through her Yes, Chef Catering company involved barbecue of some kind — led to the creation of Flo’s Smokehouse Eats.

The restaurant occupies a small, cinderblock building just west of the Mother Road Market at 11th Street and Lewis Avenue. The smoker has been installed in the garage-like building at the rear of the property.

Adkins said she was on her way to a catering job in El Dorado, Arkansas, when she got a text from her landlord that he was thinking of selling the smoker.

“Then he added, ‘Unless you want it,’” she said. “And it was one of those moments when an idea hit me, and I starting thinking of all the things we could do. So I texted him back to say yes, I wanted it, and things went from there.”

As for the name, Adkins said it is a reflection of her family, saying, “My great grandmother’s name was Flora. My mama’s name was Floette, and my dad’s name was Floyd.”

Flo's Smokehouse Eats owner Brandy Adkins works behind the counter.

The interior has been done up in fuchsia and aquamarine, with black-and-white tile floors and black tables, chairs and booths. Several picnic tables are set up on the lot outside, although most of the umbrellas that offered shade were victims of the June 18 storm.

“This is sort of the place I had in mind from the start, when I started the first Flo’s,” Adkins said. “I’m cooking the sort of things I personally like to make and eat. I love Mexican food, which is why we call what we do here ‘Mexicue.’ We’re combining smoked meats with Mexican flavors and dishes. Of course, if someone wants traditional barbecue, we can do that, too.”

It’s a similar approach that Adkins took with her Flo’s Burger Diners, which offer traditional burgers as well as over-the-top creations.

Consider, for example, the Over-Flo ($13.50), which by strict definition is a sandwich, as it consists of a certain number of ingredients fitted between two halves of a bun. But it would be more exact to call it a vertically stacked barbecue combo plate.

The image of "Flo," the restaurant's namesake, greets those who make use of the drive-through window.

Between the two halves of a good-sized hamburger bun is a thick slab of smoked bologna, a portion of pulled pork, chunks of a mild hot link, melted cheese, pickles, onions and just enough barbecue sauce. It’s definitely something best tackled with a knife and fork.

While all the elements were tasty, the most impressive part of it was the bologna. Too often this uniquely Oklahoma addition to the barbecue spectrum is treated as an afterthought, but the half-inch thick slice in the Over-Flo had a good amount of smoke and a bit of spice.

Like most sandwiches, the Over-Flo came with one side; we went with the fries, which are closer to potato wedges, and added an extra side of the elote corn in a cup ($4). The wedges were nicely crisp and dusted with a chili seasoning. The elote was served cool and had a good balance of creaminess and fresh corn crunch.

Flo's Smokehouse Eats describes its menu as "MexiCue."

Flo’s also offers well-stuffed burritos, such as the Cali-Homa ($12), which includes beans, rice, carne asada, queso, a guacamole salsa and Mexican crema; stuffed baked potatoes; barbecue plates with one, two or three meat choices; street tacos; and a “Campfire Dog” ($9.50), which is a smoked sausage topped with barbecue beans, cheese and mustard.

Adkins said she uses a house-made rub for her smoked meats, but when it comes to sauce, she prefers using Head Country. “I think they make one of the best sauces out there, and if something ain’t broke, then don’t fix it,” she said.

Breakfast is also a big part of the business, with biscuits and gravy ($6 for a single order, $10 for a double) being one of the most popular items. The homemade biscuits are at once fluffy yet substantial, and the gravy was definitely homemade as well, loaded with bits of pork sausage.

We also sampled a breakfast taco ($2.50) with chorizo, cotija cheese, pico do gallo and pickled onion. It’s something of loaded grilled cheese, as the small corn tortillas are blanketed with cheese and griddled, then the toppings added.

The menu at Flo's Smokehouse Eats.

Other breakfast offerings include biscuit sandwiches with pulled pork or brisket, and burritos loaded with eggs, tater tots, several salsas and a choice of meat.

Flo’s also offers weekly specials, including smoked bologna sandwiches on Wednesday and birria on Tuesday.

“I’ve been working on my birria recipe for a good eight or nine years,” Adkins said. “I’m here at 5 a.m. every Tuesday to get it made. We start selling it at 11:30 a.m., and we can sell out in about an hour. We put it on everything — tacos, burritos, quesadillas, even grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Adkins said she makes her birria with beef, rather than the traditional goat, and that one of the keys to making it right is knowing just how long to cook the meat in the consomme to get the right texture, tenderness and flavor.

“I would put my birria up against anyone’s,” she said. “In fact, if I ever had the chance to serve food to either God or Gordon Ramsey, I’d be serving them my birria.”

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[email protected]

2204 E. 11th St.

918-794-0120

facebook.com/flossmokehouseeats

Food: 3 stars

Service: Order at counter

Atmosphere: 2½ stars

(on a scale of 0 to 5 stars)

Cost: $$

($=inexpensive to $$$$=very expensive)

Vegetarian/Vegan options: No

7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. All major credit cards accepted.

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