City Preview - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Underdog State With the Overdog BBQ

Oklahoma doesn't always make the highlights reel when people talk about American BBQ. That, friends, is their loss and our gain.

We roll into Oklahoma City on the 1st of June after a morning drive north from Dallas, ready to discover what the Sooner State has been quietly getting right while everyone else was looking at Texas. The answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.

First stop is Clark Crew BBQ — a competition BBQ team that decided to open a restaurant and promptly blew everyone's minds. These are people who have won national BBQ championships, which means they approach smoked meat with the same level of intensity that Mikey applies to a chess board. We respect this.

That evening we hit Oklahoma Smoke for a late-night round, and on day two we visit Kings Custom Smoked Meats for lunch before finishing at Iron Star Urban Barbecue — a place that brings a craft beer bar sensibility to the BBQ joint, which means Ro might actually be seen smiling near a plate of ribs.

Oklahoma City itself is a genuinely great city — walkable, friendly, full of surprises. The Bricktown entertainment district is right on our doorstep, and we intend to make the most of it.

What we're most excited about: Clark Crew BBQ's competition-grade brisket. What Ro is most excited about: Iron Star's cocktail list. Obviously.

Liddy's verdict so far: The roads are very straight and very long and she approves. Mikey's hot take: Poker at WinStar?

Full reports coming 1 and 2 June.