Burn Co Barbeque

Adam Myers grew up in Oklahoma cooking at home and on backyard smokers; he opened Burn Co in 2012 after years of weekend competition BBQ and informal pit-cooking for friends. The restaurant occupied a single small storefront at 1738 South Boston Avenue — a converted strip-mall space in midtown Tulsa, not on Route 66 directly but a short drive from the historic 11th Street alignment — and Myers built out the smoking operation in a 40-foot shipping container behind the building.

The shipping-container smoker was a deliberate choice. It produced enough capacity for the small initial restaurant without requiring the major construction permits or kitchen-hood infrastructure that a traditional indoor pit would require. Within a year of opening, the operation had outgrown the storefront's seating but Myers chose to keep the small dining room and add takeout volume rather than expand into a larger space. That choice — keeping the restaurant small and the smoker the limiting factor — is what allowed Burn Co to maintain consistent quality as demand grew.

Myers has not franchised, has not opened a second location, and has not licensed the brand. The original storefront, the original shipping-container smoker, and the original short menu remain the entire operation. The restaurant is staffed lightly — typically Myers plus three or four employees — and Myers himself is frequently visible from the dining room working the pit.

The marquee orders at Burn Co are the brisket and the pork ribs, and they deserve top billing. The brisket is cooked the standard Texas way — heavily seasoned with a salt-and-pepper bark, smoked low and slow over hickory for 14 to 18 hours, rested, sliced to order on a butcher block in front of the customer. The fat cap renders to silky tenderness; the smoke ring is thick and obvious; the flavor is genuinely competitive with the best Texas BBQ. Ask for a mix of lean and fatty if you can't decide.

The pork ribs are the second marquee item — St. Louis-style cut, hickory-smoked, finished with a light glaze, and pulled off the bone with the slightest tug. The pork shoulder, sliced or pulled, is consistently excellent. The signature non-traditional items are the Burn Co "hot links" (a jalapeño-cheddar-stuffed smoked sausage that has reached cult status among Tulsa BBQ regulars) and the "piggies in a blanket" — smoked sausage wrapped in pulled pork wrapped in bacon, which is exactly as gluttonous and good as it sounds.

Sides are short and honest: pit beans cooked in the brisket drippings, vinegar-based slaw, mustard potato salad, and macaroni and cheese. Bread is plain white sandwich bread served at the side of the plate — the traditional Texas BBQ accompaniment. Dessert is a rotating banana pudding or peach cobbler. Total spend per person typically runs $18 to $30 depending on how much meat you order.

Burn Co opens at 10:30am Tuesday through Saturday. The line typically begins forming by 10:45am on weekdays and by 10:15am on Saturdays. By 11:30am the line is reliably out the door and can stretch a half-block down Boston Avenue. The line moves steadily — the restaurant is set up to push customers through quickly with order, payment, and meat carving handled at a single counter.

The sell-out time varies by day. Light weekdays might run until 2:30pm; busy Saturdays often hit the wall by 12:30pm with brisket gone by noon. If you want a specific cut — particularly brisket — arrive at opening or within 45 minutes after. The Burn Co Twitter and Instagram accounts post real-time updates on what is selling out and approximate remaining inventory, which is the best way to plan a same-day visit.

The restaurant accepts cash and cards. Cards are slightly faster through the line because the counter staff handle them with a single tap rather than counting change. Tipping is welcome and goes to the kitchen and counter staff who work the line.

The dining room is tight — maybe a dozen four-tops plus a small counter. On busy days, finding a table is its own challenge after you have your food. The natural Tulsa play is to order to-go and walk across Boston Avenue to one of several adjacent outdoor spaces: Owen Park, the Boston Avenue Methodist Church grounds (whose Art Deco landscaping is itself worth a brief look), or the small park area near Cherry Street to the south.

The neighborhood around Burn Co is the southern edge of downtown Tulsa, on the boundary with the Cherry Street commercial district. The area is walkable and quiet, with several other independent businesses nearby that pair well with a Burn Co lunch — Hammett House for ice cream three blocks south, Hop Bunz for a beer, and a handful of independent coffee shops.

Burn Co does not deliver, does not have a drive-through, and does not take phone orders. Catering for larger groups is available with 24 hours advance notice through the restaurant directly; the catering menu is the same as the dining-room menu, scaled up.

The single best time to visit Burn Co is a weekday between 10:30am and 11:30am. The line is shorter, the dining room hasn't filled, the brisket is fresh from the morning smoke, and there is enough variety on the menu that you can order the full range without scrambling for what's left. Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be the lightest days.

Avoid: Saturday lunches if you have any flexibility at all. The line is long, the dining room is packed, and key items may sell out before you reach the counter. The food quality is identical on Saturday — the issue is logistics, not the meat.

First-time visitors who are committed to trying everything should consider the family plate (a sampler of brisket, pulled pork, ribs, hot links, and three sides) shared between two people. The plate is $40-50 and is genuinely enough food for two adults plus a half day of carrying around leftovers. The standard solo lunch is a two-meat plate with two sides for $18-22.

Burn Co is not on Route 66 itself — it sits one block off the historic 11th Street alignment in midtown Tulsa. The natural Route 66 day plan that includes a Burn Co visit treats it as the lunch anchor: morning at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza and the Tulsa Arts District (Cain's Ballroom, Greenwood Rising, Woody Guthrie Center), drive five minutes south to Burn Co for an 11am lunch, then continue south to the Philbrook Museum or Gathering Place for an afternoon, ending at Mother Road Market or the Blue Dome District for dinner and live music.

For visitors with limited time who are choosing between Tulsa BBQ options, Burn Co is the consensus pick. The other notable Tulsa BBQ — Albert G's, Wilson's, Oklahoma Joe's, and the various south Tulsa chain options — are all good in their own categories, but Burn Co is the one that competes credibly with the best Texas joints and is the operation most likely to satisfy a serious BBQ aficionado.

If you cannot make Burn Co's narrow weekday window, the second-best Tulsa BBQ is generally considered to be Albert G's Bar-B-Q (about 10 minutes east), which has full dinner hours and a similar but slightly more polished menu. Both are worth a visit; Burn Co is the one to plan a trip around.