Restaurant Review: Red Rock Canyon Grill

Apparently, all I do these days is go out to eat. Since I'm moving this weekend, all these occasions keep popping up to go out and commemorate or celebrate. Last night took me to Red Rock Canyon Grill in Jenks.

Restaurant Review: Red Rock Canyon Grill

So, I've been to the Red Rock In OKC before, and the one in Jenks feels like the little brother of the OKC locale. In OKC, the restaurant is uber trendy and super crowded all the time. Most of the waitstaff look to be in their mid to late twenties and thirties. In Jenks, the restaurant didn't get crowded until about 7:30 pm, and our waiter-in-training looked thirteen. He gave it a valiant effort, though!

I'm going to digress a moment and talk about having tweens work as servers- When I was nineteen, I worked at a horrid steakhouse as a summer job. We had to offer an alcoholic beverage to the customers three times during a meal... not kidding. Even if they refused the first two offers. But this is my point- if you aren't a regular wine drinker (which I certainly wasn't at nineteen) it's a bit difficult to recommend wines to your customers based on their taste. In the same vein, it's easy to pinpoint when a young server doesn't know what aoli is, let alone what it tastes like...

Happily, that was not the case last night. Both our servers (the one in training and the old pro) seemed to know what the food one the menu actually tasted like and what kind of tequila was in their house margarita. (By the way, when I was a server someone asked me that very question and, not knowing the answer said "Oh, only the best tequila!" Bwah ha ha.)

Menu highlights included the calamari appetizer, house Caesar salad and all the entrees we tried... seriously. The calamari is served on huge plate. Each piece is fried with a crispy, spicy mix and is drizzled in aoli and served with a roasted tomato sauce. Now, the Caesar salad is truly unique. I just hate a bland Caesar salad, but Red Rock's has a dressing with a distinct taste of Worcestershire sauce that gives it a kick. It is also topped with red bell pepper, plenty of (real) Parmesan cheese and house-made cornbread croutons. I've never had a salad quite like it.

For my entree, I chose the chicken enchiladas, which are huge huge huge! They are served topped with plenty of melty jack cheese and a green tomatillo sauce, with rice and guacamole on the side. We all tried the guac and identified soft, fresh avocados, cilantro, red onion, plenty of lime juice and tomatillos. The tomatillos gave the guac a really unique taste- I though it was pineapple at first! My Dad tried the house rotisserie chicken, which was served with red skinned mashed potatoes and carrots. The carrots are glazed and taste as sweet as a sweet potato. Mom ordered salmon, which had a deep, smokey flavor and crispy skin.

The previous time, I tried the house meatloaf which is made with ground beef tenderloin, pork and cheeses and topped with a brown tomato sauce. It is the best meatloaf I've ever tasted in. my. life.

So, there you go- I thoroughly recommend either location, even with the small differences in staffing. Bon appetit!