A steak, cabbage roll and tabouli from Freddie’s. JOHN CLANTON / Tulsa World

Freddie's Steak House has over 50-year-old Lebanese cuisine tradition

Freddie's Steak House has its roots in Drumright, where Saliba and wife Amelia opened Freddie's Cafe on Main Street in 1946. About 10 years later they purchased the Fondulac Club west of Drumright from the Saffa family -- Amelia was a Saffa -- and changed the name to Freddie's Supper Club.

A huge black-and-white photo of Freddie and Amelia behind the bar of the supper club hangs on a wall at the Mannford restaurant. Look closely in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo and you can see the hand of a man, otherwise out of the picture, at the end of the bar holding a handgun.

A sign in the background advertises "hickory log" barbecue for 95 cents and extra-large T-bones for $2.00

"Guess those were a little different times," said son Rickey Saliba, who has operated the Mannford restaurant since 1975. "I remember they even had lingerie shows, which were really popular, on the big, wooden dance floor there."

Rickey said an area banker, L.F. Jones, wanted to build a steakhouse on Lake Keystone, and persuaded Freddie to manage it and to use Freddie's name. It opened in 1969, four years after work on the new lake was completed.

"There wasn't much of anything out here then," said Rickey, who added that his dad purchased the restaurant and property in 1971. Another Saliba son, Paul, still operates the Drumright restaurant, and Rickey's nephew Brian owns the Freddie Paul restaurant in Stillwater.

And, for those wondering, Ricky Saliba said his family's restaurants have no connection to the Freddie's Bar-B-Q Steak House in Sapulpa, a sometimes confusing coincidence to customers of both restaurants.

We made the short trip (20 minutes from downtown Tulsa) to Freddie's in Mannford on a recent weeknight to celebrate the 18th birthday of a niece who lives in Stillwater. It was a lively crowd, and we ordered a variety of dishes off the expansive menu.

The hands-down best was a big, beautiful, 10-ounce coldwater rock lobster ($34.95). The lobster had incredible texture and flavor. A bowl of drawn butter was a simple yet perfect complement.

Nearly as impressive was the 11-ounce filet mignon ($22.95). It was thick -- maybe 1 ¹/2 to 2 inches -- and cooked to a perfect medium-rare. It had a slight crispiness to the edges and was wonderfully tender inside.

We had two of the 15-ounce ribeyes ($18.95). One of these wide pieces of beef was almost as tender as the filet, while the other was a bit tough. The four shrimp on the fried shrimp dinner ($12.95) were good-sized and cooked to a golden brown.

We also had three chicken-fried steak dinners ($7.95) at our table. They were smothered in cream gravy and fully covered a dinner plate, but all three were tough.

Also tough, over-battered and overcooked were the frogs' legs ($14.95), which, in retrospect, probably was a poor choice in the first place considering all of the enticing seafood selections (17 entrees) available.

All entrees come with a relish tray of celery, carrots, radishes and peppers; oily, garlicky hummus that was terrific; flavorful, well-balanced tabouli; a tossed salad of lettuce, purple cabbage, carrots and red onions; small loaves of good homemade bread, and a choice of potatoes or rice.

Baked potatoes were on the small side but well-cooked, and homemade ranch and bleu cheese dressings were tasty but thin. A Parmesan-pepper dressing was a better choice. Thick croutons for all of the salads were fresh and homemade. Butter and sour cream came in paper packets.

A Caesar salad ($3.75) had a lot of flavor, with a nice blend of garlic, anchovy paste and lemon juice. Rickey Saliba said he was given his recipe for the Caesar dressing by Mike Samara, owner of Tulsa's Celebrity Club.

A red salmon Caesar salad ($10.95) was an impressive combo of the basic Caesar topped with a flaky salmon filet grilled in garlic-butter sauce.

A cabbage roll, small smoked rib and barbecue bologna come automatically with steak dinners; they are 99 cents extra with other entrees. I loved the cabbage roll but wish it had been served on a plate separate from the meats because barbecue sauce pooled under the cabbage roll. Ribs ranged from a tough end piece to a more tender middle rib.

A popular all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet (11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) features eight to nine meat dishes, such specialties as Lebanese salad and baked chicken and more than 100 items altogether.

The Salibas grow their own peppermint for use in the Lebanese dishes.

The lounge room includes a renovated bar with a granite top and wood trim. The remainder of the room still has a '70s look with wood-paneled walls, a ballcap collection, aquarium, beer signs, wooden captain's chairs, a model car collection, diamond-shaped mirrors around a small dance floor and country music on the sound system.

Surrounding the top of the bar are 1970s-era action photos from University of Oklahoma football games. Rickey said that through two of his daughters he has ties to both OU and Oklahoma State University; the football photos were a gift from a former newspaper photographer.

The main, L-shaped dining room is a bit more quiet and is decorated with photos of Freddie and Amelia Saliba, another aquarium, an art deco mirror and wall lanterns. Tables have black cloths topped with glass, white cloth napkins and glass candleholders.

Both rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to the lake, a dock available to boating customers and sand volleyball courts. Freddie's has held a volleyball tournament on the Sunday of every Memorial Day weekend for the past 15 years. Patio dining also is available in good weather.

The Salibas' daughters -- Jessica, Sarah, Megan and Chelsey -- all have worked or are working in the restaurant, continuing the family tradition.

Another note of interest for longtime Tulsans: Amelia's sister and brother-in-law, the late Lorice and Frank Wallace, once owned the Cedars and Chalet restaurants, Harvard Club and Cup Club.

FREDDIE'S STEAK HOUSE