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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: 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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Food Friday: Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill

Late Aug 2015 545

Edmond, Oklahoma is not my most favorite place in the world- it’s too spread out, some of the people can be rude, and the traffic sucks.  But my wonderful husband works there so if I want to visit him for lunch, I have to go to Edmond.  I don’t like eating at the major chain restaurants much, so he takes me to different places.  And one of those places he introduced me to is Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill on Broadway.

Now this isn’t the same tex-mex that you get here in Oklahoma, this is a more South American twist on what we know as mexican food.  They have the typical enchiladas, tacos and chimichangas but with a different taste than what I’ve had at other restaurants.  My personal favorite is the fajita beef chimichanga with sour cream sauce.  The beef is spiced differently than what I’ve had before and the sour cream sauce is just wonderful, has more of a sour cream tartness to it than others I’ve tasted.  I’ve also tried the enchiladas and quesadillas, the spinach quesadilla is my second favorite item on the menu.  Of course it all comes with beans and rice.  I will admit, I’ve never had the beans.  Because of the food abuse inflicted on me when I was younger by my mother, I can’t stand the smell, sight or taste of beans.  So I order double rice instead, it’s also really good- not too sticky with corn and peppers.

My husband has been the more adventurous one, he’s had the Papa Rellenas, ground beef wrapped in mashed potatoes then fried, his personal favorite.  He’s also tried the Empanadas and so many of the other offerings that he couldn’t remember them all.  This is also where they make the only guacamole in town that he will eat.  He loves it and even introduced it to his parents- I hear my father-in-law loved it.  Of course you get the normal chips, queso, and salsa with your meal.  As good as the entrees are the chips are the best.  Wish I could find them this good for at home.  I really could eat these chips all day and not feel bad.  The salsa was ok and the queso could be improved, needs to have more of the South American spices added.  But seriously the chips are killer.

Opened in 2007 by Jorge Zarate, who is a native of Peru, he brings a mix of Brazilian, Jamaican, Peruvian, Cuban, Mexican and Tex-Mex to Edmond in a small but colorful building.  You can often see Mr. Zarate himself seating guests, taking orders or serving food.  The wait staff has always been friendly and helpful, service has always been good- no complaints.  I give it my personal ranking of 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 706 S. Broadway, Edmond, OK  (east side of the road)

Late Aug 2015 542

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Food, Oklahoma

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