Mugsy's Grubhouse — Restaurant in Yale

GRACE WAS FANTASTIC!! ENOUGH CAN NOT BE SAID FOR HER SERVICE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL. GOD BLESS YOU AND GREAT JOB!

$110+ gone,

The pop, tea, cinn/sugar butter, rolls, and onion rings appetizer were good. For over a year, we have been told to go meet Mugsy, and eat here. We were excited to do so! I called ahead to see if we needed a reservation for 4 adults and 2 children 4+ around 6:30 p.m. I was told that if we came then, it would be a full house, especially on Fridays and weekends. The hostess on the the phone was nice enough to take my name and tell us they would try and hold a seat if possible. We did not have to wait but 5 minutes to get our seat, the place was FULL, (good sign right)! Grace came and answered all the questions that we had, and gave some inputs, then took our orders. 20ish minutes later the food arrived, correct and HOT. My FIL got the ribeye, my MIL the meatloaf, my wife and I ordered the loaded brisket spuds extra brisket and a sirloin dinner for our children. We all were impressed with our plates, albeit not for long.

We had paid for extra brisket as this is a must on a loaded spud, the issue was at least 40% of the brisket chunks were pure deckle fat the rest was maybe first cut chunks. I ate my spud removing deckle chunks. My wife was not to impressed with the brisket or BBQ sauce, so she took maybe 3 to 4 bites. Me wanting to expand on what other plates tasted like, I tried my kiddos sirloin first. THIS is where the disappointment started! It was off/rotten flavored to put it bluntly. I had to immediately spit it out! I BBQ/Smoke/Cook my family red meat at least 4 or 5 days a week. We raise our meat, and also purchase from other local butchers, so I feel I'm qualified when it comes to knowing when steaks/cuts are off. I then inform my wife to stop our children from eating the steak. I ask her and my FIL to try a bite. Wife did not make it to judgment, as my FIL immediately spit his bite out and started drinking tea to wash it out. All were turned off with the meals and started looking for Grace. (Remember this place is packed and not wanting to cause any other diners to second guess their meals), as this was obviously a fluke meal. As we waited, an older gentleman who I assumed was Mugsy, was hitting up tables in our area asking how the diners were doing, he turned and spotted that we obviously were needing some assistance. He walked over and sat down and asked how we were, I then explaining the issue that had arrised and asked him to smell one of the cuts of steak as it was that off. He half smelled it and then stated he would take the steak off the ticket. Okay, but my wife, kids, MIL and FIL were completely turned off to their meals and there was at least 70%-75%+ left on the table. With that said, as politely as I could, I also informed him I was not impressed with our loaded brisket extra brisket spuds. As a large portion of the brisket was pure deckle fat. His IMMEDIATE and irritated response was, "brisket IS fat" umm nope not true, part of the brisket (point/deckle) IS fat mixed with (some) meat. The flat cut/first cut is what BBQ pit diners look for on their meat selection, NOT the PURE FAT chunks! I by no means wanted and/or expected to have the entire meal ticket wiped clean, but the 4 dinners that were hardly touched, should have had some form of a discount. I would hands down happily pay for the drinks, my meal, appetizer and portion of the rest of the meals, but to leave 70%-75%+ of the dinner on the table and say "I will remove just the sirloin" WOW!!! I believe you may want to read JUST GIVE'EM THE PICKLE by Bob Farrell, a great book about leadership, team building and GREAT customer service! Had you handled the entire opportunity differently Mugsy, we would have ABSOLUTELY HANDS DOWN tried you again! OBVIOUSLY this was a fluke meal! Most great businesses could and would have asked to buy another dinner, or took care of a percentage if not ALL of the $110+ bill! Not returning I definitely would not have taken the time to type this review. MAXING OUT...

We give Mugsy’s Grubhouse in Yale Oklahoma a Five Star Rating! That’s Five out of Five!

Over the weekend of April 9-11, my wife of almost 50 years and I decided to take a weekend motor home trip and attended the 3rd Annual 2021 Folds of Honor Redbud Balloon Fest in Yale OK. However, due to consistently brisk winds, the Balloon Festival “never got off the ground” so to speak. There were promises of a taco competition but due to the main event being “gone with the wind” the taco vendors followed suite. The one consistency during the event were several bands of various genres and volumes braving the winds to the last note. One Antique Hot-Rod parked in the center of the balloon launching area on Friday ostensibly qualifying as the advertised Hot-Rod display.

On a more encouraging note, a delightfully animated fellow known locally as “Mugsy” frequented the expedition grounds and shouted a familiar ‘WOO-HOO” to participants! We spoke briefly several times during our stay. We learned later that Darrell had just rented the land to the promoter, Kevin Anderson and had no part in the promotion or operation of the event.

On Sunday, I was outside the motorhome washing the windshield with my six-foot brush and squeegee in preparation for our departure and Darrell, “Mugsy” stopped by and asked how we were doing. I related to him that in spite of the lackluster exposé we understood that Balloons don’t fly in such conditions and we actually had a decent respite and got some much-needed rest. He insisted repeatedly that we stop by his restaurant in Yale and he would buy us “dinner”. He gave us two menus that clearly identified “Mugsy’s Grubhouse in Yale Oklahoma. It was only five miles from where we were parked. A few hours later we had finished our departure preparations and headed to Mugsy’s Grubhouse.

Much to our delight, the anticipated hole in the wall small town eat joint was actually a very appealing and sizeable restaurant! Patrons were lined up inside and out waiting for seating. Not one complaint was heard among those waiting! Shortly we entered and saw Darrell flitting about the place occasionally shouting his familiar “WOO-HOO”! Earlier that morning he had given me a plastic license plate with “WOO-HOO” in bold red letters and I held it up to get his attention. He immediately came over and greeted us warmly. We were seated within a few minutes and the waitress took our order. The table next to us had given a hardy recommendation for the home-made meatloaf. I NEVER order meatloaf because, having two degrees in culinary arts I know what the main ingredients are, left-overs! On a whim I cast all care aside and ordered meatloaf, asparagus, and a baked potato. Darrell stopped by our table several times as we waited and exchanged a few witty banters and had a good laugh.

When our order arrived, we were quite taken back! The plating and garnish were equal to uptown Five Star restaurants! The asparagus was cooked and seasoned to perfection! The baked potato was actually a #1 baked potato also garnished like a carefully arranged photo for display. The meatloaf was a supreme delight! Incidentally, the meatloaf was NOT made from leftovers and the recipe was predictable unavailable, (but I did try!) My wife ordered a salad, beef ribs and seasoned French fries. Again, the plating was most tempting and everything served was a culinary delight! Darrell finished up our delightful meal with homemade cheese cake and home-made fried pies for dessert, also delectable. After “dinner” Darrell gave us a guided tour of his spacious restaurant and we took many photos. At Darrell’s command, we blew the motorhome air horn past the front of the restaurant all the way down the hill as we left! And yes, Darrell did buy our “dinner” and even left the waitress a twenty-dollar tip! We will be back Darrell!

We give Mugsy’s Grubhouse in Yale Oklahoma a Five Star Rating! That’s Five out of Five!

Most Respectfully Milo &...

UPDATE

Just got back from Mugsy's. Darrell personally invited my family back to the restaurant and apologized for the mishaps at the soft opening last week. We felt very welcomed and invited this second time around. Darrell and his crew definitely made things right for us. We very much appreciate the hospitality shown by him and workers at Mugsy's.

As far as the food, Mugsy's steaks are some of the best in this part of the state. Very juicy, cooked to perfection, and definitely flavorful. The sides had plenty of flavor and the service was outstanding. We can't wait until they have their full menu available--because from what we could see, there will be plenty of food options!

Thank you to everyone at Mugsy's who made things right and gave us a great meal! We will definitely be back! If I could give Mugsy's 0 STARS, I would. I arrived with my family on Friday at 6:15 for the "soft opening". We waited about 20 minutes for a table, which wasn't bad considering the place was packed. Our waiter took our order and we waited about 20 minutes when our waiter came back and told us that I our food would be RIGHT OUT. Another 20 minutes passed and the entire time we didn't see our waiter. Finally, a manager came to our table and said that our order had NOT BEEN PUT IN the computer correctly but that it would be out soon. We asked the manager for some bread (because we were starving), but the bread never came. We waited another 15 minutes and our waiter finally arrived. He then informed us that they were OUT OF ALL FOOD except for the pulled pork. So, as disappointed as we were, we still waited for the pulled pork (we had been waiting there for so long that we didn't want to just get up and leave after all that). We again asked our waiter for bread, he never brought us bread either. That WORST PART of the entire evening was when the table next to us (who arrived 30 minutes after us) received their food and we didn't. They received ribs and steak (full menu) and we were waiting for pulled pork. Why did THEY receive food and we didn't???? Amazingly, another 15 minutes passed until finally, Mugsy's owner, Darrell, arrived at our table. He started out by saying that he WAS NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE for selling out of food this evening. He proceeded to tell us how great their soft opening was, but did not once even attempt to apologize or even explain what had happened. He was incredulous to the fact that we had been waiting to eat for almost 1.5 hours. We couldn't believe our ears. We felt very mistreated by Darrell. The only thing that Darrell offered were gift certificates. I hope that Mugsy's rectifies this situation with the gift certificates, and I will update this review if/when my family...