Swadley's Bar-B-Q
4000 N. Rockwell Ave.Bethany, OK
(405) 495-5336
It seems that there are enough versions of barbecue in Oklahoma that one person can never try all of
them, but a few restaurants have become particularly popular such as Swadley's Bar-B-Q. With the
original location in the west Oklahoma City suburb of Bethany, Swadley's recently moved from
NW 23rd & Council to NW 39th Expressway & Rockwell and has established several branches
throughout the metro. It seems that the family's 80 years of experience in the food industry is paying off.
I really dislike restaurants that answer "everything" when you ask "what is especially good here?" or
"what is the restaurant's specialty?". The employees at Swadley's told me "ribs," but even so the
brisket was my first priority. Fortunately, Swadley's also
makes it easy to try the ribs with orders ranging in size from two ribs to four (and family sizes
available as well). I want readers to be aware, though, that the order of ribs in my photo is the
smallest one, and is not typical of the size many people order.
Swadley's menu describes the ribs as "Hand Rubbed Honey Rib Dinners," and I thought the
flavor was one of the best I had tried. Three types of sauce were available, but before applying any
of them I tried the "eating the meat plain" test to see if the flavor was worthy of standing on its
own, and it passed with flying colors. I thought it had just the right amount of smoke flavor, but
it seems that everyone has their own preference, so this is just my opinion. The meat left a
smoky aftertaste in my mouth after the meal was finished, but did not overwhelm the other flavors
while I was eating the food.
The really important factor of the ribs, though, was the tenderness of the meat (and this is
even more of a factor now that my teeth are no longer in the best shape). This is the one thing I
most often find lacking in ribs, especially in other parts of the country (but sometimes even in
Oklahoma). I would have to judge Swadley's ribs as being just about perfect in every way,
although I am sure I will eventually find ones that I like better if I try enough places. Since ribs
are on my list to "try occasionally when I am really hungry for them," Swadley's will probably
remain my favorite for a while.
Brisket is probably the next most popular item at Swadley's. This meat is "24 Hour Sugar
Cured" and while it is not meat that will fall apart when touched by a fork, it was very tender with the
kind of barbecue flavor that would be expected in a good Oklahoma "Q" restaurant. I would say that
while I also found this to be quite good, I agree with the employees who told me the ribs were
really the restaurant's best dish. The brisket was good enough, though, that I would also like to
try the other types of meat that are served.
Three types of sauce are served--original, sweet, and spicy. None of them made a big impression
with me on the brisket, but I liked the sweet sauce and the spicy one on the ribs. I would say
other restaurants have better sauce, but the sauce here was perfectly good and it was certainly
enjoyable. Most importantly, though, the meat here is good enough that true barbecue fans
probably do not need any sauce to enjoy the food.
Unlike many restaurants that offer beans and cole slaw as sides, Swadley's serves an array of
choices that makes it difficult to try all of them. Baked Beans come in two styles--sweet and hot
(I was told the hot one was really hot with jalapenos included). The sweet baked beans were
not the best I have ever eaten, but were good quality and are something I would order again.
Okra is one of the choices for a side dish. The one here was extremely non-greasy
compared to most versions, and I think is one of the best choices for a side dish.
I believe the secret to Swadley's success is that even though it is so big it almost falls into the
"mass production" category of barbecue, the flavor is very much like the small "mom and pop"
places for which Oklahoma is famous. My visits have all been to the original restaurant in Bethany,
so I do not know how the other locations stack up. It seems, though, that if the owners know how
to make good barbecue, they should be following the same procedure at all the locations, and
they should all be equally good.
A small order of beef ribs
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Restaurant Web Site
RESTAURANT DETAILS
RATING: 23
Cuisine: Barbecue
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Additional Locations: 824 S.W. 89th St. (OKC),
2233 W. Memorial Rd. (OKC), 304 N. Telephone Rd. (Moore)
Smoking: No Smoking
Alcohol: No
Most Recent Visit
Jan. 12, 2009
Number of Visits: 2
Best Item
Ribs
Special Ratings
Ribs:
Brisket:
Sweet Beans:
Okra:
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