Tulsa restaurateur opens ' Ford's Filling Station'

The Brookside area's newest restaurant is Ford's Filling Station at the corner of 33d and Peoria where En Fuego used to be. <br/><br/>It is Middle America with West Coast flair. News on 6 reporter

Tuesday, July 26th 2005, 10:53 am

By: News On 6

The Brookside area's newest restaurant is Ford's Filling Station at the corner of 33d and Peoria where En Fuego used to be.

It is Middle America with West Coast flair. News on 6 reporter Rick Wells stopped in to find out more about Tulsa's newest eatery.

Greg Hughes: "this town is a great test market for food." Greg and Tara Hughes have a new restaurant concept and they are opening it here. Tara Hughes: "it's just good American food." With a high end organic spin to it.

The menu's being developed by internationally known chef Ben Ford. "You might want to put a label on it world comfort food I guess.â€ If he looks a little familiar he should, he favors his actor dad Harrison Ford, his first cooking teacher was his mom. "I've been cooking since I was about 12 at home my mom was good at teaching me."

He's trained with Europe and this county's best chefs, and has worked in and owned some of California's best know restaurants. He and Greg Hughes were fraternity brothers at USC. A couple of years ago they began talking about opening a restaurant together.

Greg Hughes: â€œthe opportunity to have a chef like Ben in Tulsa was one we could not pass up." They re-designed the interior to include two concrete bars one set up for dining. "We have 3 chefs that work out here."

There are a couple of small dining rooms available for private parties. They are particularly excited about the market and deli called Goodeatz. Menu items from both Fords and In the Raw, their Sushi restaurant down the street, will be available to take home. Tara Hughes: "You can come in get 'em to go and make dinner at home." You can, or you can come in, sit down and have someone do it for you.

The trio plan a second location on the west coast which will open in October.

The Brookside restaurant is open right now Monday through Saturday for dinner only. For more information you can call them at 744-1320.