Restaurants in Bryant

Proponents of dry rub can be found across the Midwest—Oklahoma’s barbecue joints are an especially good bet. If you ask any of these die-hards, they’ll say that what dry-rubbed meats lack in sauce, they make up for in the delicately balanced flavors of their spices. Rib Crib BBQ & Grill captures these flavors and brings them to its cozy Lakeland restaurant, where guests can feast on chicken, ribs, and briskets smoked onsite over hickory chips. In addition to pit choices, Rib Crib dishes out Southern¬-style sides such as corn on the cob, mac ‘n’ cheese, and slow-cooked cowboy beans that guests can lasso individually with a tiny rope of floss.:m]]

All the steaks served at Western Sizzlin are first flame-kissed—cooked with flames licking both sides of the steak at once. As general manager Elgin Hamner states on the restaurant's website, this method preserves the flavors and juices of each slab, including the top-sirloin, rib-eye, filet-mignon, and T-bone steaks that populate the menu. Besides steaks, chefs prepare chicken breasts six different ways, including broiled or drizzled with teriyaki sauce, and they skim shrimp and salmon across the grill’s surface to the rhythm of "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)." Diners can also tear into a cheeseburger or a philly steak sandwich underneath the antlered chandeliers that dangle from the ceiling.

The casual eatery's bright-red floors allude to plates of sauce-slathered ribs. flanked by piles of cool, shredded coleslaw. The house’s brisket takes a starring role on tables, flaunting rich, smoky flavors gained from slow cooking over hickory for 12 hours. Diners can chow down on the combo meals and dinner plates in the restaurant, or buy in bulk for take-home meals that can satiate an entire family. While their meats and homestyle sides only last for one meal, their take-home bottles of their signature barbeque sauce keep the shop’s smokey flavors in the forefront of your memory.

The pizza-making pros at Luigi’s Pizza & Pasta eschew sugar, oil, and eye of newt when forging their healthy, grease-free dough, which they bake directly atop sizzling hot bricks. In addition to loading these freshly flung crusts with Canadian bacon, spinach, and roasted garlic, they crown pastas with hand-rolled meatballs and ladles of homemade meat and alfredo sauces. They also help diners conclude their meals with a sweet crescendo by infusing desserts with coffee liqueur and rich ganache.

At Samurai Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, the chefs set out to create a fully engaging dining experience for guests, relying on showmanship and knife skills in addition to interesting flavor combinations. Surrounded by rich earth tones and in front of patrons' very eyes, they man gas-heated hibachi grills and juggle platefuls of steak, seafood, and vegetables into flashes of fire. Across the room, the sushi chefs avoid open flames and high-wattage light bulbs entirely as they roll a number of traditional and contemporary maki, filling each one with delicate cuts of fish and piquant dabs of sauce. Amid the bustle of flashing knives, sputtering grill tops, and standing ovations, flat-screen TVs also keep guests entertained at the restaurant's fully stocked bar.

At Samurai Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, hibachi chefs grill meats in teriyaki sauce to complement a selection of fresh sushi rolls. Like the knock-knock jokes that naturally occur on each layer of an onion, the chefs make cooking fun, flipping shrimp, steak, and chicken with deft gymnastic twirls. The restaurant's striking decor captures a stylish Japanese motif with colorful artwork, kimono-clad servers, and zen gardens replete with stone lanterns and paper-and-wood wall screens. Throughout the dining area, overhanging lanterns and lacquered wood convey a far-Eastern aesthetic, while simple yet elegant chairs and furnishings promise sturdy bases for building blanket forts.