October 18th, 2012 by Jeremiah Ramey – Comments (7)
Seeing a little teaser of a menu online and some pictures here and there of the decor really peaked my interests of “The Rusty Crane.” At first, I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out. Update after update on Facebook really showed they were excited to bring Tulsa a new experience in food and atmosphere. And when I heard the doors were opening at 11am on the 16th of October, I became super stoked. I had to go. And so, I went with Eric Marshall and Wes Alexander of Marshall Brewing Company. Not only are they lovers of craft beer, but lovers of great food too and huge supporters of the local scene.
The restaurant is located downtown on the corner of Archer and Detroit. As soon as you walk in the door, you discover why this place is named “The Rusty Crane.” The decor is frickin’ awesome. It has a construction and industrial feel to it. Brick walls, dark and bronzy floors, different colored painted walls, pipes and fixtures snaking through the ceilings, steel chairs, drop lighting, “rust everywhere”, etc. Even an old freight elevator that was turned into a big booth. For opening day too, things seemed to be rolling along smoothly.
The menu is another creative item in the place. They offer a pretty nice “No Crash” Lunch. A philosophical contribution, with help with of dieticians, to the Tulsa workers and their lunch time pickings. Designed with the consumer in mind to keep fueled through the rest of the work day instead of crashing. Also, the rest of the menu is some pretty homey food and very reasonable prices. Burgers, wings, wraps, yumladas, etc. Designed by friends and families coming together and just cooking and having a good time. Very well thought out.
The beverage menu has signature cocktails and mixers and a great array of brews. To start, Great Divide Titan IPA for me. I need something bold and hoppy. Also, we started with the chips and salsa. Not very hot, great texture, and very fresh. Great stuff while waiting for our meals.
First order up was the fish tacos. Perfectly cooked tilapia tacos, seasoned just right, and topped with a mango coconut salsa of sorts, lettuce, and aioli. For the instant I saw it, it looked really great. At next glance, it had disappeared from the plate. So, it must have been great.
The Mediterranean wrap with a side of tabbouleh was pretty outstanding. Odd, I know, but one the things I usually don’t care for is tabbouleh. Theirs was actually really good.
The Signature Yumlada. Basically, a large burrito stuffed with chicken, onions, peppers, black beans, and spinach. It was topped with cheese and alfredo. Holy moly this was tasty! What I really loved was the bell peppers were soft but still had that nice crunch.
And the last creative item on the list…the outdoor seating. Huge patio, lots of seating. This picture doesn’t really do it justice as there is more seating available behind me as I was taking this picture.
Overall, the experience was great. The management was very attentive to everyone’s needs. The service was pretty top notch for opening day. And the food was outstanding. We all left stuffed and satisfied. I can’t wait to come back on a date night with the lady, sitting on that outside patio, drinks in hand, and fireworks going off over our heads from the baseball stadium. What a cool place. I love downtown.
The Rusty Crane
109 N. Detroit Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74103
http://www.therustycranetulsa.com/
Tags: Downtown
7 responses so far ↓
shredder Oct 21, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Really good stuff, had Tilapia Burritos….big portion, “an explosion of flavors”; wife had signature burger, Angus on buttered pretzel bun VERY flavorful and perfectly cooked.
The Rusty Crane appears to be very well thought out and IMHO will live long and prosper.
It appears to already be a lunch destination; we were their on the 4th day of business and upon leaving around noon, I counted 10 tables of patrons.
Only issue I see is parking….the lot behind them is an issue between them and the city.
Several patrons asked about ticket potential and were told “none” had been issued.
We found parking on the street nearby.
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Jeremiah Reply:
October 23rd, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Glad y’all had a good time. And thanks for taking time to bring up the parking issue. I didn’t even think about that. I just parked a block down in the big parking lot where Spaghetti Warehouse is located. It was just a little walk.
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Bill J Oct 24, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Let’s see…chips & salsa, fish tacos, wraps, burritos. Yep, I’m blown away by the “innovation and creativity”. Also, nobody else in Tulsa has outdoor seating! What a concept!
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Jeremiah Reply:
October 24th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
“No crash” lunch menu, simple food with great ingredients and flavors that’s cooked perfectly on a menu that’s 98% under 12 bucks, the outstanding decor, the huge outdoor seating area and it’s location, and the fact they turned an old glass plating factory into a hip restaurant that people love so far…..I call that creative.
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dancinhomer Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
I would agree that the building and the idea of a “no crash” lunch is original… but when you get right down to it, the food may be good, but it’s pretty standard fare you can get in many chains. And that’s not a bad thing if the food is good, but I agree with Bill. Fish tacos and chicken burritos aren’t very creative. It wouldn’t be an issue if this review didn’t tout the creativity of the restaurant, but that calls attention to the fact that we’re talking about menu items that are readily available at other places. Now, they might have the BEST chicken burrito in town, but passing it off as an original invention (“a rose by any other name,” yumlada-purveyors) doesn’t seem to be very accurate. And a patio is creative? Well… I think we have a difference of opinion as to what constitutes creativity.
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livlaphluv Reply:
December 5th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
There are several places in Tulsa that have outdoor seating – so I’m a little confused by the comment indicating no other place has this. Other than that, I’m excited to check this place out (hopefully tomorrow night)!
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Larry Dec 12, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Went there and hated it. The girl at the hostess stand was either high or on pills. i could barely understand her and it wasn’t loud in there at all. She mumbled and said that it would be 45 minutes for a seat. I said OK, can i sit at the bar, she said yes, but no matter where I sat it would be 45 minutes for food. She stared blankly at me for about 10 seconds with her mouth open and almost drooling like she was sleep-walking. I have never seen or even heard of such a thing. I will never go back.
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