October 5th, 2010 by Brian McCullough – Comments (15)
When someone asks me about Mexican food in general, it’s easy for me to get really specific about what it is that I like. When I think Mexican food, the only thing that comes to my mind are the dozen or so times I have kicked back on a beach in Baja with a taco in one hand and a cervesa in the other. Now let’s be realistic, you can’t create moments like that in Tulsa, but what you can find is the freshness of those delicious Mexican-style dishes at a place like Compadres.
Here are a few reasons why I am a repeat customer of Compadres:
1.) Three Kinds of Salsa
Everyone knows that whenever you go to a Mexican restaurant it’s Bam! Chips and salsa right on the table. My ideal Friday afternoon consists of chips, salsa and margaritas…anyone wanna join me? At Compadres the salsa is a step above the rest. Super fresh, and my favorite part is that you can have 3 different types served to you. Booyah! That’s what I’m talkin about! You have to check them out for yourself – they are all so fresh.
2.) Fresh (fresca)
One of my favorite dishes to get at a Mexican restaurant in Tulsa are fajitas. The idea of fajitas is that they are fresh and perfect for sharing. One of my not-so-favorite things about ordering from certain un-named Mexican restaurants is unrecognizable meats and the heavy grease feeling. I would put Compadres fajitas up against any fajitas in Tulsa. Just check out the picture of the fajitas on this page. It’s fresh baby!
3.) Service
I appreciate any restaurant that serves up great, fresh food at a good price, but what I appreciate more is receiving a little love back through great service. There’s nothing like feeling welcome and taken care of by your servers – these guys are on it and they definitely deserve credit for it – good job guys!
Compadres
7104 South Sheridan
Tulsa, OK 74133
(918) 574-8970
www.compadresgrill.com
Also try their Broken Arrow and Owasso Locations!
Tags: Mexican Food
15 responses so far ↓
The Shredder Oct 7, 2010 at 9:04 am
My wife and I tried Compadres in Broken Arrow, place is always crowded.
Sorry no pics, did not try the Fajitas.
Had normal fare of burritos and tacos…..Barely a step above Taco Bell….no imagination what-so-ever…small tasteless shrimp and lukewarm beef tacos.
I like seeing Hispanics cooking the real deal like El Tequillas
Gringos stick with what you know.
Must have good alcohol drinks, saw plenty being consumed.
Could not be there for the food.
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Chris Oct 7, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Have to agree- food is not very good. Got sick both times I ate there. Chips and salsa and drinks are good but there are much better authentic places out there
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Tulsa_ld Oct 9, 2010 at 2:23 pm
-Salsa made fresh, and brought to the table along with multiple choices, is a good thing. But this bottomless chips deal has to stop for the love of all our taste buds.
Most fajitas i have, as you hint at above, at places here in Tulsa are made with random cuts of meat, not seasoned, greasy, or some of each. It’s tough, but i think the main reason it keeps happening is most people don’t care and the restaurant gets away with it. The reason is that the diners don’t know just how good it’s supposed to be. I’ll have to give Compadre’s a spin if i’m in the area.
On a more general note, one thing to be aware of in Tulsa (and in any community with local fair from local chefs) is personal perception and experience.
For instance: My aunt says she loves Mexican food. She means Chevy’s, On the Border, and Ted’s.
Nothing wrong with those places. I’ve eaten dishes at each that i enjoyed. Ted’s habanero salsa is always well-done. But some of that misses the mark with those of different experiences.
‘Mexican’ food is similar to ‘Italian’ food in that the region, available food and cooking techniques all matter and vary widely. Corn, beans, and rice are available throughout the country. But whether you see more dishes of goat, ostrich, beef, veg types etc depend on region and style. Very few places in Tulsa explore these possibilities, which is unfortunate but possibly better for their business. At least a regional featured dish or two would make it feel less bland and branded.
One example: What used to be El Toro on Harvard ( i think it’s Blazin Peppers…no, wait, something else now ) had a large menu with some great local flavor. When the new owners took over, they revamped the menu to a more ‘traditional’ Mexican restaurant. Possibly good for business, not so much for fans of regional cuisine. There were other issues with the place, but a few of those dishes were hidden gems.
In the end, it’s all about your past experiences and expectations. In Tulsa, when someone at work says to me ‘Let’s have mexican for dinner’ i doubt they’re talking about el rio verde, las americas(sp), or the one taco stand up north that pushes it out like they do down south. They may be talking about Compadres, i dunno. And that’s okay. But just once i wish we’d get a true regional menu at a restaurant that was closer to me than what my aunt would call “the poor side of town”.
Do you think Compadres had any sort of regional or featured plate that highlighted more than just taco/burrito/enchilada offerings we get everywhere else? I’d be interested to know the answer.
Tulsa-ld, telling all those restaurants doing it right to keep it up.
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Oklahawg Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Compadres is interesting until they replace the chips/salsa with an entree.
It lost me the first visit. For some reason, friends keep wanting to buy me lunch there (it is cheap, so that must be it). Uninspiring.
I tend to prefer places where the workstaff is at least bilingual. Why not eat it prepared by folks who have the recipes in their DNA?
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[...] Getting Fresh at Compadres Mexican Grill (one of my new favorite restaurants, too); [...]
LADY CONVERTABLE Oct 13, 2010 at 8:57 am
I eat at Compadres ever chance I get. I think it is the best tex-mex in the area.
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LisaGoesShopping Oct 22, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Never been impressed with Compadres and I have given it several chances…everything is just pretty ordinary. The same money you will spend there should be spent at a place where the food truly stands out and makes an impression.
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Travis Oct 25, 2010 at 11:30 am
Great tex Mex
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Meri M Oct 30, 2010 at 11:33 pm
My food was so bad I sent it back. I’ve had lots of mediocre food in Tulsa but I can’t recall anything that was completely inedible. I won’t be back. But to be fair, I tasted my son’s dish and it was fine. Still, my beef dish was such a turn off I won’t be taking another chance.
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jane Jan 10, 2011 at 3:19 pm
delicious looking food. i want to take a bite of it. nice post.
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seikel Feb 1, 2011 at 1:49 pm
This place is terrible. No flavor at all. The chips and salsa dude was cool.
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Chrissy Mar 11, 2011 at 1:18 am
I am very picky when it comes to eating Mexican food. I have had too many incidents with different restaurants where I was so sick it was almost like food poisoning. This lead to a string of years where I couldnt/wouldnt eat any mexican food. But I have since then recovered and have tried some new restaurants in the last 5 years or so. Now I am a BIG fan of Commpadres! I absolutely love their salsa and their beans. The salsa is so fresh and flavorful with just the right amount of spiciness. The beans are out of this world b/c they have this smokey taste that I love. The other food items are like what you would pretty much find at other Mexican restaurants. But the atmosphere is very warm and the service is always good. I have been there numerous times and have yet to have a bad experience. They are my Mexican restaurant of choice.
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Rick Mar 17, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I like Compadres, and for a Tex-Mex meal it tastes pretty good to me.
The prices have risen lately so it’s becoming a little more expensive than what it may be worth to us. We don’t eat there as often now. I would suggest they keep their prices down or even lower them back.
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Rick Sep 8, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Hmmm… their prices are still high and rising. At those prices we may be looking for somewhere different to try. I mean if you’re going to pay more, higher quality needs to be there too.
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Rick Nov 9, 2011 at 2:36 pm
The last 4 times I’ve eaten there, say in the past month and a half have been good. A little more food on the plate has helped for sure. But, the cheese and onion enchiladas with chili con carne I just can’t get enough of. I tried the beef enchilada with the red gravy on it… Oh man, I’m drooling thinking about it.
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