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Food Friday: Fuze Buffet & Bar

Fuze

 

UPDATE:  Closed as of November 1, 2017, then reopened under a new name- Feast in 2018.  I haven’t been to the new concept and really have no desire to waste my time or money there.  So I can’t tell you if it’s any good or not.

For our Food Friday restaurant we have Fuze Buffet and Bar.  It’s the new buffet that opened on the Northwest Expressway in May of 2015.  It’s easy enough to find, bright lights, colorful signs, and dancing waters which turn colors at night.

First few times we tried going, couldn’t find a place to park.  The building is huge inside and could hold lots of people, but the parking lot is small.  Some people were resorting to parking at the sleazy motel right next door.  Might be an idea for the owners of Fuze to buy that motel, bulldoze it and put in more parking.  It would solve so many problems.

So it took a few weeks for us to finally visit and the first visit with my whole family went well.  It was a dinner visit.  The night we were there they had live music and the atmosphere just seemed very relaxed.  To the food, the salad bar is huge- I could have filled up on that alone.  They had so many different options to put on a salad that you could cover the whole plate and never see the lettuce.  They also have a cheese bar with a few different selections of cheeses that you don’t normally see in a buffet.  Also had a sushi bar but my problem is, I’m picky about my sushi and want to know what’s in each roll.  There was nothing that said the ingredients, only the name of the roll, so take your chances unless you know your sushi.  But the main attraction is the entrée buffet itself.  You can get just about any type of meat and sides that you care to have.  Burgers, steak, chicken, pork all cooked in different styles from chinese to italian to mexican to american.  The sides were also a good mix as well, from your standard macaroni and cheese to fried green beans.  Desert buffet was packed and fresh as well with choices of cake, pie, and ice cream.  Service was good, I had no complaints that night.

My second visit wasn’t as great, it was just me and Mae for lunch.  The atmosphere was different as was the food quality.  Nothing seemed to be as fresh.  The salad bar was still great but everything else seemed off.  The flavor wasn’t as good with the meats or the sides.  And the desert was dried out and stale.

Now for a bit of history about the location- back in 1983 this building originally held a buffet called Duff’s Famous Smorgasbord.  I can remember going there, it was cool because it had a food carousel buffet.  It was always a little weird trying to get your food off this moving carousel, but I remember the food was good. (And yes there was also a Duff’s on the south side off I-240 as well.)   After Duff’s closed in 1984, the building sat empty until General Mills Restaurants (later Darden Restaurants) bought it and turned it into an Olive Garden in 1987.  The Olive Garden eventually moved to 50 Penn Place and Tan & Tone America took over the place in 2008.  After Tan & Tone failed in 2012 the owners of Fuze bought the building and it is once again a buffet.

So after only two visits it’s been hit and miss.  I will probably go back a few more times to see if it gets any better or if the problem is only during lunch hours.  Right now I’m giving it 3 pieces of bacon hopefully it improves.

Address: 6512 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City

 

Cassie at Fuze with dancing water 3

Mae with the dancing waters at Fuze, Oklahoma City, 2015.

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

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Food Friday: Pie Junkie

Pie Junkie 2

This weeks restaurant review is the Pie Junkie located on NW 16th St in the Plaza District.  I had heard a lot about it, a place you could go in and just get a piece of pie.  I love pie so I decided to try it out with my friend, the Fabulous Miss M.  It was easy enough to find, no problem there.  Not a big crowd, staff was very friendly and helpful- those are all the positives.  The problem was the pie just wasn’t that good.

Both me and Miss M got a slice of the Pineapple Millionaire pie.  We both noticed immediately, it just didn’t have flavor to it.  It was really bland.  I’m not a cook, so I can’t go into the details of what kind of ingredients it needed, but it really just wasn’t that great.  As we ate, we discussed what might be wrong but neither of us could really put a finger on it.  Since that piece of pie didn’t impress either of us, we decided we would get some other flavors to take home and try.  Miss M got a Key Lime slice and I ordered three slices- Drunken Turtle, Peanut Butter, and Bird Dog Buttermilk.  Now I had looked into my bag but not as well as I should have, it wasn’t until I got home and took the slices out to put in the refrigerator that I realized I didn’t get my buttermilk slice, I got a Key Lime slice instead.

Miss M did get her correct slice and tried it once she got home.  She wasn’t that thrilled with it either and even told me she had eaten better Key Lime pie made by a mutual friend of ours.  When my family got home we tried each piece, with everyone getting a bite of each flavor.  I had to agree with Miss M on the Key Lime, it also lacked flavor but Mae loved it so she ate the rest.  The Peanut Butter was good but I’ve made better (and I’m not a cook), so my husband, being a peanut butter addict, ate the rest.  The best was the Drunken Turtle- a chocolate pie with whiskey infused caramel drizzled on top.  Once again, it was good but could have been better.

So I really don’t have a high recommendation for this restaurant.  I think it gets a lot of attention because it’s in the Plaza District and you can get just one slice of pie instead of buying a whole one at the store.  As I said the staff was nice but I’m a little irritated that my order was wrong.  So I’m giving it a half a piece of bacon.  I won’t be going back.

Address: 1711 NW 16th St, Oklahoma City , OK

 

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

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Food Friday: Empire Slice House

Empire Pizza 1

Pink Elephant in front of Empire Slice House, Oklahoma City, 2015.

Update:  They have moved into a new building just a few steps away from the old location.  They have also added locations in Nichols Hills and Tulsa.

For our Food Friday restaurant I went to Empire Slice House in the Plaza district of Oklahoma City.  I had heard a lot of good reviews and wanted to try it myself.  The only problem was I didn’t want to go by myself- husband was at work and Mae at school, so I brought my friend, the Fabulous Miss M., with me.  One problem cropped up immediately, we couldn’t find it.  I had the address, knew we were in the right place but we couldn’t find it.  So after I parked, Miss M asked around and we were pointed in the right direction.

As we got to the door we were greeted by this cute pink elephant next to the front door.  We were seated quickly but then we did get there before the lunch crowd really picked up.  Part of what I like about this pizza place is that you can just order a slice, so you don’t have to order a whole pizza.  I decided I wanted to try the pepperoni and the “Fungus Among Us”.  Miss M went with the “Fat Tony” along with a fungus slice as well.

After a short wait, we got our slices- one huge slice on a paper plate.  These are New York style pizzas, on a thin crust, so you have to pick it up to eat it.  The pepperoni slice was good, nice flavor, not too much sauce, and just enough grease from the pepperoni to clog an artery.  My favorite, the best pizza I’ve had in Oklahoma, was the “Fungus Among Us”.  This slice has Portobello, shiitake, and button mushrooms, spinach, with a light truffle oil.  It looked good to both us and after one bite, we were both in love.  Not too much grease and with the truffle oil instead of a tomato based sauce, it was seriously the best pizza I’ve ever had (not counting my trips to Chicago).  I didn’t taste it but Miss M seemed to like the “Fat Tony”, which consisted of italian sausage and red onion (she picked the onion off).

Over all the food, service, and atmosphere was good.  I will warn you that the slices are huge, so don’t get more than two if you’re not hungry.  I did see the box for the whole pizza’s- I think it was bigger than my dorm room at OU.  Keep that in mind if you’re looking to feed a gathering of friends.  My only complaint is that maybe the signage could be a little better, even as we were leaving on NW 16th St, it was hard to see.  But overall I’m giving it 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 1804 NW 16th St, Oklahoma City, (South side of the road); 1125 NW 63rd St, Nichols Hills; 417 N Main St Tulsa; 15 W 1st St., Edmond; 4723 N May Ave., Oklahoma City; 116 W. 10th Ave., Stillwater; 1512 E. 11th St., Tulsa.

Late Aug 2015 558

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Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

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