Chef Jose Bamaca prepares birria tacos. The meat is stewed for 24 hours to make it tender and flavorful.
Fajita nachos are served at 918 Maples Cafe & Catering.
Birria tacos are accompanied by a cup of consommé, and two salsas — a green tomatillo salsa and a fiery chile de arbol salsa.
Chicken and steak tacos are served at 918 Maples Cafe.
Jose Bamaca makes tacos at his restaurant, 918 Maples Cafe & Catering.
The menu for 918 Maples Cafe & Catering ranges from tacos to pasta dishes.
918 Maples Cafe was once home to Big Anthony’s BBQ.
The exterior of 918 Maples Cafe & Catering.
Birria — a dish from the Jalisco state of Mexico, that is meat marinated then stewed until meltingly tender in a rich broth — is having something of a moment these days. Just last week, the New York Times extolled birria’s history and varieties of preparation and presentation.
Some weeks previously, I was made aware of 918 Maples Café & Catering, whose menu championed its “famous birria tacos.” So naturally that was the first thing I ordered during a recent visit to the restaurant, which occupies a spot in a strip mall that once was home to Big Anthony’s BBQ.
The birria platter ($10) includes four tacos, accompanied by a cup of consomé (the broth in which the meat is stewed), and samples of two salsas: a mild, almost creamy tomatillo salsa, and a chile de arbol salsa whose orange color should serve as a warning — it packs a delayed, but potent punch of heat.
The tacos have a generous amount of tender, shredded beef, along with cheese, onions and cilantro placed on two corn tortillas that are griddled before being folded for serving, similar to a quesadilla.
The meat had a good, beefy flavor, that was accentuated by dunking the tacos in the consomé broth, which had the rich unctuousness and complexity of a really good onion soup. One is supposed to drink the broth, which is studded with chopped onions and cilantro, as a kind of chaser — which we did once we ran out of tacos.
Chef and owner Jose Bamaca said that birria is at heart a very simple dish, which allows for all kinds of experimentation.
“Some people use tomatoes, but I’m not of a fan of that, because to me it gives a bitter taste to the meat and consomé,” Bamaca said. “I’ve tried a lot of different preparations over the years to get the right balance between the meat and the chilies. And I marinate the meat for at least 24 hours.”
We also ordered the Hawaiian Platter ($12), which consisted of three small corn tortillas filled with perfectly grilled shrimp, chopped pineapple, red onion, cilantro and baby spinach, and topped with a tangy aioli. A dab of the green and orange salsas made these tacos really sing.
The shrimp tacos came with a side of rice and beans. The rice was your basic Mexican-style rice, but the beans were cooked whole, rather than mashed into a refried paste, and had a barbecue-like flavor — perhaps not too surprising, as barbecued pulled pork is another taco filling available.
The menu also includes salads, and nachos (served on house-made flour tortilla chips), as well as burgers, steaks, hand-breaded chicken tenders and catfish fillets, and pasta with alfredo sauce topped with your choice of protein. Prices for most entrees, which include at least one side dish, range from $7 to $15. Tacos also can be purchased individually ($1.50-$3).
Bamaca started cooking in his native Mexico, working in the cafeteria of a factory. In 2004, at age 19, he immigrated to the United States, and soon made his way to Tulsa, where a cousin lived.
He worked at The Melting Pot and On the Border, before moving on to be the sous chef for a local catering company. A series of professional and personal setbacks led to his starting his own business.
“I started with nothing,” Bamaca said. “I didn’t even have a thermometer to temp my food. But a friend said that maybe I should cook for the Latin community. He created a flyer and spread the word around. A friend of mine with CCD Catering helped me by letting me use their kitchen.”
Bamaca said the success of that first night, and the encouragement of the community, kept him going to establish first a catering business, then the restaurant.
As for his business’s name, Bamaca said he wanted something unique.
“I didn’t want to use anything like ‘Agave’ or ‘Tequila,’” he said. “I remember taking a walk one day and seeing a maple tree, and that kind of spoke to me. Maple trees produce their own sugar — it’s something they give without taking anything in return. That is the philosophy I try to follow. I want to give people the best I can every time I cook for them. That is why everything we make is from scratch.
“And the 918 is in honor of Tulsa,” he said. “I feel the same way about Tulsa as I do about my hometown in Mexico. This city has given me a lot of great opportunities, and I want to give something back.”
Bowl foods: Take comfort with these 14 hot dishes at Tulsa-area restaurants
Lassalle's
Crawfish étouffée
Lassalle’s, 15 W. Fifth St.
The word étouffée literally means “smothered” — which, in Cajun and Creole cooking, is what is done when shellfish of some sort is stewed in a sauce usually including onion, celery, bell pepper and tomato, that is served over rice. Lassalle’s version is about as good as can be had outside of New Orleans. It’s available on its own ($5.25-$8.25), or as a side for one of the restaurant’s po’boy or muffuletta sandwiches.
Kai Vietnamese Cuisine
Pho
Kai Vietnamese, 201 W. Fifth St.
Pho, the fragrant broth of rice noodles served with bean sprouts and herbs, is about as close to a national dish as Vietnam has. There are a number of local restaurants that offer fine examples of this dish, but we have a fondness for the pho at Kai Vietnamese.
One reason is that, while condiments such as hoisin, chili and fish sauce are available, the pho at Kai needs no such augmentation. The broth is rich, unctuous and deeply flavored. A bowl makes a full meal, and depending upon the proteins selected, costs $10-$12.
French Hen
French onion soup
The French Hen, 314 E. Second St.
Onion soup may be something of a staple, but at the French Hen, it’s elevated to comfort-food art. Loads of onions are caramelized into buttery softness that contrast with the sharpness of the slices of brie crisscrossed over a thin but still toothsome crostini.
Ron's Hamburgers & Chili
Frito chili pie
Ron’s Hamburgers & Chili, multiple locations
There’s a good reason why Ron’s includes “& Chili” in its name — patrons have been flocking to Ron’s for 45 years to enjoy this award-winning concoction. It’s available by itself, poured over burgers and fries, but really the best way to have Ron’s chili is in the Frito chili pie, ladled over a bed of corn chips and topped with cheese ($6).
Roppongi
Pork belly ramen
Roppongi, 601 S. Boston Ave.
If there are still those who believe ramen begins and ends with those packets of desiccated noodles that can be found in any college dorm, the ramen at Roppongi will come as a revelation.
It offers several varieties, but we remain partial to the pork belly, for its simplicity — a spiral of all-natural pork belly, shiitake mushrooms, scallions and a soft-cooked egg in a velvety shoyu broth.
Flavors of Louisiana
Chicken and sausage gumbo
Flavors of Louisiana, 5800 S. Lewis Ave.
Gumbo starts with a roux — a paste of flour and fat that is painstakingly browned to create the base of this stew’s unique flavor. When it’s done well, as it’s done at Flavors of Louisiana, the broth is tasty enough to drink by itself. But this gumbo is also loaded with moist, tender chicken and pungent andouille sausage, served over rice and accompanied by slices of garlic bread. It’s available as a side ($4.99) or as an entree ($4.75-$10.50).
Brownie's Hamburger Stand
Beans and cornbread
Brownie’s Hamburger Stand, 2130 S. Harvard Ave.
If there was a hall of fame for old-school comfort food, beans and cornbread should be inducted.
Brownie’s Hamburger Stand is one of the oldest burger joints in Tulsa. Many guests choose to wash down their burgers with homemade root beer.
But Brownie’s also is a place where you can belly up to a table and dive into a bowl of beans. Navy beans and cornbread can be yours for $4.99. Other every-day bowl options at Brownie’s include stew and chili.
The Spudder
Tomato soup
The Spudder, 6536 E. 50th St.
You know a restaurant takes pride in a menu item when it’s listed as “Spudder’s famous tomato soup.”
In 2015, the Tulsa World wrote this about it: “Perhaps you’ve been to Tulsa’s well-known steakhouse and ordered up your meal that comes with the delicious potato soup as a side dish. But consider substituting the tomato soup and you may never go back again. It’s that tasty.”
The Spudder’s famous tomato soup is $6.99 as an appetizer or $4.50 to sub with dinner. The Spudder is open for dinner only — 5-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. You can make reservations online at thespudder.com. To make reservations after 5 p.m. for the same day, call the restaurant at 918-665-1416.
White River Fish Market
Red beans and rice
White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan Road; 1105 E. Kenosha Ave., Broken Arrow
White River may be famous for its seafood dinners, from fried catfish to broiled scallops, but it also does an excellent job with two staples of New Orleans cuisine. The White River gumbo is good, but the red beans and rice are, in our opinion, some of the best in town, with beans that have the right balance of firmness and creaminess, in a rich roux liberally studded with spicy smoked sausage. A cup, which serves as a fine appetizer portion, is $5.95, while the meal-in-itself bowl is $8.95.
Kai Burmese Cuisine
Myi- oo meeshi
Kai Burmese cuisine, 6912 S. Lewis Ave.
The cuisine of Burma, or Myanmar, is influenced by its southeast Asian neighbors India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand, though it has its own identity that is difficult to describe but easy to appreciate.
Take, for example, the dish called myi- oo meeshi ($7.99), which on the menu is simply described as “noodles served in a heavy clay pot.” What one receives in said pot is seafood stew thick with shrimp, white fish, udon noodles, meatballs, Chinese cabbage, sausage, green peas, onions and snow peas in a spicy-hot sauce, served steaming hot.
Ike's Chili
Chili mac
Ike’s Chili, 1503 E. 11th St.
Chili and macaroni and cheese are two linchpins of the comfort food continuum. Leave it to Ike’s, one of Tulsa’s longest-lived restaurants, to bring these two together in a distinctive way. Instead of simply stirring a scoop of pasta into chili and calling it good, Ike’s serves up a bowl with chili on one side and mac and cheese on the other. Simple yet genius. And depending on how big a portion you can put away, bowls of Ike’s chili mac range from $7.37 for a regular size to $16.59 for a triple.
Savoy Restaurant
Braised beef tips and noodles
Savoy Restaurant, 6033 S. Sheridan Road
Comfort food is the Savoy Restaurant’s stock in trade — gigantic cinnamon rolls, anyone? And their braised beef tips, steeped in rich gravy and served over homemade noodles, is comfort food in the extreme. Unfortunately, it’s only available as a special on Tuesdays. But if you can’t make Tuesday, one of the Savoy’s Wednesday specials is chicken and noodles. Each are $12.
Mondo's Ristorante Italian
Clam & Linguini
Mondo’s Ristorante Italian, 3410 S. Peoria Ave.
Mondo’s has been serving Tulsans Italian cuisine since 1969, and one of the dishes that has been a mainstay of the menu from the beginning is the Clam & Linguini.
The recipe was developed by founder Louis Aloisio’s grandfather and remains unchanged. Plump clams in a rich, buttery sauce are served atop a substantial portion of pasta. The lunch portion is $10.95; at dinner time, it’s $15.95, and comes with choice of soup or salad and garlic bread.
EnjoyaBowl
Southwestern Thai chicken nachos
EnjoyaBowl, 111 E. Reconciliation Way
This eatery on the north end of the Guthrie Green serves just about everything they make in bowls, from egg drop soup to smoothie bowls.
Most of the entrees have an Asian twist to them, such as the Southwestern Thai chicken nachos ($9), which is made up of chunks of fajita chicken topped with blend of peanut satay and green-chili white queso sauces, vegetables and the somewhat fiercely named “Boom-Boom Sauce,” all atop of bowl full of crispy fried wonton chips.
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Tulsa restaurateurs Nelson Rogers, Greg McGill remembered
February 17, 2021 at 07:48AM
https://tulsaworld.com/entertainment/dining/watch-now-918-maples-offers-fresh-mexican-food-including-the-trending-birria-tacos/article_caebba1a-6b12-11eb-968d-33da78a5e148.html
Watch Now: 918 Maples offers fresh Mexican food, including the trending Birria tacos - Tulsa World
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