Joyner's Home Cooked Food Restaurant

Friday night, with the two older kids at sleepovers, we went out to eat with just the two-year-old along.

For quite some time, I'd noticed a place advertising a soul food buffet in a tiny storefront on the north side of 21st, east of Memorial. It's only open Thursday through Sunday, but the timing finally worked for us to give it a try: Joyner's Home Cooked Food Restaurant.

It's a small place, neatly turned out in black and white with red accents. The stereo played solo piano covers of favorite big band tunes and pop standards from the '40s and '50s -- "April in Paris," "I Only Have Eyes for You." We were greeted by owner Jesse Joyner, who visited with us and the other customers and was a pleasure to talk with.

You can order a la carte or from the buffet. The buffet works like this: You order two meats, which are prepared fresh. When your meat is ready, you go to the buffet of side items and pick out three to start with, plus a bread. You can get as many refills on side items as you like. The buffet also includes dessert.

I had two ribs and a rotisserie chicken leg quarter, with greens, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, and cornbread. My wife had the catfish, chopped brisket, blackeyed peas with okra, greens, and macaroni and cheese, which had more flavor to it than you'd normally expect from mac and cheese. For dessert I had chocolate cake and my wife had a slice of strawberry bundt cake with a lemon glaze. (Sadly, they had already run out of the peach cobbler and the pecan pie.) Everything was delicious and very obviously homemade. The two-year-old enjoyed his kid's basket -- two big chicken tenders, with french fries, a roll.

Joyner's, at 8151 C2 E 21st St., is open Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 to 9 pm, Saturday from noon to 9 pm, and Sunday from 1:30 to 7:30 pm. On Sundays they put meat on the buffet along with the sides, so you simply go through the line as soon as you arrive. On the flyer for Sunday buffet, it says, "We promise to get you in and out." The phone number is 918-622-5003.

Here is the menu for Joyner's Home Cooked Food Restaurant as of June 20, 2008.

Here's a link to Katherine Kelly's Urban Tulsa Weekly review of Joyner's from March 2007. Last August, the Tulsa World's Scott Cherry included Joyner's on a comprehensive list of great locally owned "hidden gems". (That's worth bookmarking.)