Despite having the address of Leo's programmed correctly into our GPS, we drove right past it. We thought that it was an old abandoned gas station. That's because it was an old abandoned gas station. There were pipes sticking up from the old gas pump islands, the faded signs telling motorists which credit cards they could use were still there.
We actually used our noses to find the restaurant. Our initial thought was that maybe the place didn't exist anymore but, our noses told us otherwise. We could smell this terrific scent of smoking meat luring us back.
I couldn't imagine how they stuffed tables and a kitchen into the tiny cement block building but, it is much larger inside than it appears from the outside. You definitely get that Alice in Wonderland sense when you step into it. My first impression of the outside of the building was that the only people that we might find inside might be squatting homeless folks. Luckily that was far from the case.As you walk in, you get even more of the BBQ smoke flavoring the air. There is a rhythm of heavy knives chopping meat on a butcher block while 60's Mo-Town music plays in the background. I still have "Mr. Postman" playing in my head. The tables are covered with red and white checkered picnic table tablecloths.
I was enchanted from the very beginning. I remember thinking to myself that this was a 9.5-9.8 restaurant before even seeing a menu or trying a bite.
I ordered Leo's Special Grad Slam which was 2 ribs and 2 links; one bologna and the other beef. She said that they were out of the bologna so, she made up something else. I'm not even sure what the plate was a mix of. There were a couple of ribs, some chopped beef and a link of what I thought was bologna. So, I was a bit confused but, there was no sense in over-thinking this. It was all served hanging over a base of potato salad and beans. I'm not much of a bean person but, I was savoring the experience so decided to try the beans. If I didn't like them then I could just isolate them on the plate to be ignored. For someone who doesn't like beans, I really enjoyed these. The beans were kind of crispy in a way. They kind of snapped when you ate them. The sauce was not over-salted and bitter-sweet like a lot of beans. They were more barbecue flavored and had a smooth slightly spicy taste.
They had two types of BBQ sauces on the table. One was mild and the other one would hurt you, and it did. Luckily I didn't pour out too much of the punishment sauce. The smoked meats were great. I slid each forkful into a bath of the BBQ sauce and enjoyed each bite until the last.
All of the people working there were wonderfully sweet folks. They act like they are genuinely glad to have you in their home and they really want you to be comfortable and enjoy yourself. Our waitress even apologized for taking too long to take our order (she wasn't) and gave us some free cake to eat there then a to-go bag with a couple of more slices. Nobody has ever given me free cake in a restaurant before.
The whole free cake concept is really nice, even though one slice of cake actually came with one of the meals that we ordered anyway. It was strawberry vanilla cake with fresh slices of strawberry and hot vanilla sauce all served warm. We had stopped to have lunch at "The Diner," another triple-D restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma a few days earlier. A group of guys that we saw there were coincidentally here, too at the same time as us.
Leo's is a 10. My new favorite DDD restaurant. Try it if you can find it. You won't be disappointed.
Leo's BBQ
3631 N Kelly Ave
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
(405) 424-5367
