The Brook Restaurant 3401 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa, OK 74105

Saturday was Hubby’s 43rd birthday and for his birthday lunch he chose one of our favorite places: The Brook. It’s technically a restaurant/bar but it is one of the best places in town to take the kids.

The Brook Restaurant used to be The Brook Theater, built in 1949 and one of Tulsa’s many outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture. And there are reminders of its storied past in its current incarnation. The entry way is graced with large photographs of the theater in its heyday and the original movie projector, which is larger than you might think. The bathrooms also appear to be in their close to original condition. The doors are marked “Bob” and “Sally”, which I find charming.

We tend to go early when the kids are still in good spirits, so we didn’t have to wait to be seated. We always choose booths because we can trap the kids on the inside (to keep them from terrorizing the nice people that never did anything to us). Monkey and Pumpkin entertained themselves with coloring pages and crayons and sugar packets while we waited for our Chips and Salsa. The chips were fresh and hot and the salsa, which was seasoned with the perfect amount of cilantro, had never seen the inside of a can or jar. The entrees arrived with a second round of chips. The kids loved their grilled cheese sandwiches and fries, as always. (Even though Pumpkin mostly uses her fries as a ketchup delivery system.) Pumpkin even ate some of her pineapple chunks.

Hubby had his favorite Spicy Chicken Tenders with Fries and ranch dip. His verdict: best chicken strips in town! I ordered my current favorite, Southwest Chicken Quesadillas (chicken, cheese and lots of it, black beans, tomatoes, ranch and chives with a side of salsa). The quesadillas were just overflowing and extra cheesy, these are not the sad, flat little things you’ll find at some chain restaurants.

The service, as always, was excellent, and it was busy! The atmosphere is great for families with small children. No one gives you “The Look” when they see you coming. There are TVs facing every corner of the place and they’re always tuned to sports. (Which is fine by me, even if I’m not a sports fan, it’s very engaging for the kids.) The overall atmosphere is loud and rumbly, perfect for loud, rumbly kids.

The prices are moderate and the portions are huge, we had enough leftovers for 2 lunches. I give The Brook 5 out of 5 stars and 2 dollar signs (for good value). ***** $$.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am and is filed under Kitchen/Dining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.