Swadley's menu describes the ribs as "Hand Rubbed Honey Rib Dinners," and I thought the flavor was one of the best I had tried. Three types of sauce were available, but before applying any of them I tried the "eating the meat plain" test to see if the flavor was worthy of standing on its own, and it passed with flying colors. I thought it had just the right amount of smoke flavor, but it seems that everyone has their own preference, so this is just my opinion. The meat left a smoky aftertaste in my mouth after the meal was finished, but did not overwhelm the other flavors while I was eating the food.

The really important factor of the ribs, though, was the tenderness of the meat (and this is even more of a factor now that my teeth are no longer in the best shape). This is the one thing I most often find lacking in ribs, especially in other parts of the country (but sometimes even in Oklahoma). I would have to judge Swadley's ribs as being just about perfect in every way, although this does not mean I could not find others (especially in Oklahoma) that are as good or better.

Three meat dinner with ribs, sausage, and brisket

Brisket is probably the next most popular item at Swadley's. This meat is "24 Hour Sugar Cured" and while it is not meat that will fall apart when touched by a fork, it has the kind of barbecue flavor that would be expected in a good Oklahoma "Q" restaurant. The brisket, though, has shown the greatest variability of any item over the times I have tried it, ranging from moist to dry. This, along with the hot links, has been my biggest disappointment at Swadley's.

One way to try different types of meat at Swadleys's is by ordering the "2 Meat" or "3 Meat" dinners (as shown in the photo above). One surprise for me was that Swadley's has excellent Turkey, which I tried on one of the plates. In this case I thought Swadley's was better than most other BBQ restaurants that serve turkey. When ordering turkey I do not like too much smoky taste, and I thought Swadley's was just right, as well as having very good meat.

Sausage was one of the choices on the 3 Meat dinner shown in the photo (and is barely visible under the ribs). This choice was not very exciting, not because there was anything wrong with it, but because I prefer the sausage at the German and other specialty restaurants.

Sampler plate with turkey, sausage, brisket, hot links, ribs, and pulled pork

Take out orders are quite popular at Swadley's, and one that offers a large variety of meats is the sampler plate with six items (shown in the photo above). As in other instances, I was impressed by the number of meats that were better than at other barbecue restaurants (but I would not say that any stood out over the ribs). The Pulled Pork, which I tried for the first time with this order, was cooked well with burnt ends, and I thought was excellent. The turkey was as good as it had been the first time I tried it. The Hot Links seemed too spicy to me, and I thought were not as enjoyable as the sausage.

The owner pointed out on one visit that sandwiches are popular at lunch, and this may be a way for people with a light appetite to enjoy the food here (the sampler plate and some other combination plates seem clearly designed for families rather than individuals). I agree that dinner plates (even with only one meat) take a pretty good appetite to finish, but I enjoy choosing the side items, and I am usually able to finish all of it.

Three types of sauce are served at Swadley's-- original, sweet, and spicy. None of them made a big impression with me, and after several visits I pretty much stick with the original sauce.

Unlike many restaurants that offer beans and cole slaw as sides, Swadley's serves an array of choices that makes it difficult to try all of them. Baked Beans come in two styles-- sweet and hot (I was told the hot one was really hot with jalapenos included, but it was not any spicier than most Mexican food). The sweet baked beans were too sweet for me, but were good quality and are something I would order again.

The Okra was extremely non-greasy compared to most versions, and I think is one of the best choices for a side dish.

The Green Beans were a little bland on flavor but were good quality (and I prefer this to the other way around).

Corn on the Cob was cooked just right, and I thought was very good.

The Cole Slaw had chunky pieces of cabbage with a weak dressing, and I thought was not very impressive.

The Iced Tea is especially good, with both sweetened and unsweetened available.

A free Ice Cream Cone is also served with each meal.