Food for Thought – Tulsa, Oklahoma
BurnCo. BBQ’s famous Sausage Fatty mixed in with eggs for breakfast!!!
Smoky, fatty, flavor!
Oh yeah, I have a Tapatio problem…,
Here’s the actual Fatty! – taken at a live tapping of OKfoodie – get tickets!
And the fatty on a Hasty-Bake Grill/Oven/Smoker – made right here in Tulsa.
Burn Co BBQ
3208 e. 11th St.
Tulsa,OK,74104
tel: 918-574-2777
Doc’s is now the most exciting place to eat in Tulsa. Genius chef Ian van Anglen helms the kitchen. His new menu adopts the “new Southern” idea and takes it to a higher level. My dinner last night started with an appetizer that Ian created just for me. Perfectly cooked pork belly lounged on a bed of hominy and other vegetables. It was the quintessence of Southern cooking. The pork fat and the hominy joined to provide a complex rich flavor.
Southern cooking, complex rich flavor and perfectly cooked meat were also the hallmarks of my next course. Rack of lamb ($26). I’ve never had lamb so flavorful and juicy. It came on a bed of crunchy greens and pickled onions, whose savory and sour flavors were the perfect counterpoint to the meat. Part of the meat was coated with a subtle Creole mustard glaze and that just added to the goodness.
Ian also recommends the duck ($19) and hopes to add many memorable new dishes when the fresh produce starts rolling in from the farms around 2 months from now. So go.
Doc’s Wine & Food
3509 S. Peoria Av, Tulsa
949-3663
Here is an informative New York Times article on “new Southern” cuisine: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/dining/06indi.html
My original review of Doc’s, which stressed the “new Southern” theme.
http://tulsafood.com/brookside/docs-wine-food-new-southern
Ian’s found a great number 2 chef. Mr. Lopez worked at some of Miami’s finest restaurants (and yes that’s Miami Florida, at South Beach) before coming to Tulsa.
If you want to stuff yourself with mediocre food for $11, then head for Himalayas Aroma of India Restaurant. It’s where Kolam used to be. Kolam was a Tulsa treasure, offering rare dishes from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu and from Kerala in south India, dishes you can’t find anywhere else. And Himalayas, which took its place when Kolam closed, has a branch in Norman which has some of these same dishes. So I had high hopes for this place. Unfortunately, those dishes are not on the Tulsa branch’s menu. Perhaps the dishes from the a la carte menu are good. Sadly, the dinner buffet isn’t.
Oh it looks just fine, lots of variety. And you can make yourself a fine-looking plate.
But the Chicken Tikka Masala, that pretty red thing at the lower right, is completely tasteless, and so is the Lamb Korma that’s the other meat dish. Vegetarian dishes are somewhat better. The green Palak Paneer has a spinach flavor, the chickpeas (on the left of the photo near the spinach) have a hint of spice, the yellowish shredded cabbage have an interesting spice flavor too. But they’re not worth the trip. The rice, a biryani, is… well, just rice with a bit of oil taste.
Desserts are pretty good though. The sphere on top of the photo is a Gulabjaman, which is like a pancake with maple syrup, and there was a neat white liquidy pudding. Still, not worth the trip.
Himalayas Aroma of India
4844 S. Memorial Dr.
270-1445
http://www.himalayasok.com
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Who would have ever guessed that La Hacienda on Brookside has an amazing chicken sandwich? Who goes to a Mexican place and orders a chicken sandwich anyway? :p I hear they have a good burger too… try it for yourself! By the way their Chili Relleno might be the best in town!
Don’t forget to checkout this wonderful review by Brian Schwartz > Better Mexican Food at La Hacienda
La Hacienda
(918) 712-8645
4518 S Peoria Ave
Tulsa, OK 74105
That looks amazing. I love La Hacienda.
** Special announcement from The Boston Deli – GET 25% OFF LUNCH AT BOSTON DELI THIS FRIDAY MARCH 9TH 2012 **
This Friday March 9th OETA is filming a special segment on the Boston Deli from approximately 11-1pm.
We would like a full house thru lunch and will offer all people that mention this post 25% off + free raspberry or mango decaf tea.
Plz call w/ any questions or comments. Thank you!
Boston Deli, Grill & Market
6231 E 61st St, Tulsa, OK 74134
918.492.4745
Warehouse is a great place to hang out on Saturday night and I’ve been there more times than I remember. But I never dreamed of eating there until Urban Tulsa tipped me off to Tuesday’s steak special. So I rounded up my friends and went last Tuesday afternoon. For $9 you get a salad (I chose the tasty Blue Cheese dressing) and then you get this.
A nice little sirloin steak, overly spiced perhaps but good flavor, some toast, and a monster baked potato big enough to be a meal in itself. Not a great meal perhaps, but for $9 certainly a great deal.
Where is the Warehouse located?
3346 S. Peoria in the heart of Brookside.
It’s easy to pass by La Altena. It’s just a nondescript shop at the side of a strip mall at the corner of 21st and Garnett. It looks like it’s closed or even vacant, except for a sign that says “Helados”. It’s pretty drab inside too, but there’s some great Mexican ice cream there. They make it in back. When I stopped by, they had mostly run out but the friendly clerk, fluent in English and of course Spanish, told me the flavors they had left. Mango, bubble gum, strawberry and guava. I got a two-scoop cup for only $1.25, and they were big scoops. Of course I got mango and guava. It was lovely. Full, rich ice cream and not, as I was expecting, shaved watery ice. I won’t pass by there again without stopping for a cup.
La Altena
11330 E 21 Street
706-9647
The Phat Philly’s Facebook page has been making some noise this week with news of their return to Tulsa. The message below outlines some detail. Before this update their last Facebook communication was August 27, 2009. Tulsa has been waiting for this!
We will keep you posted on any news we find out.
Also check out this post from Tulsa Food Guy about Phat Philly’s closing – Rasta Lavista Old Friend – RIP Phat Philly’s Great poem at the end…. you can feel the love.
Hey Tulsa! We are almost reopened…… just another week or two and Phat Phillys will be back! We are currently accepting applications for all positions. applications online http://www.phatphillys.com and can be dropped off at our new location 1305 south Peoria btw 12-2pm monday-friday
see everyone soon!
Very excited! Unfortunately I had only eaten there once before they closed. Glad to have another local place reopen!
Next time you’re at Kilkenny’s Irish Pub off Cherry Street in Tulsa, don’t miss the deep-fried ribs. Being a rib man I was concerned they would lack the flavor I look for in a good rib, but think about it…. its pork baby! These ribs are battered, deep-fried and seasoned with basic seasonings. Served with a side of warm BBQ sauce they make the perfect pub dream come true.
That night we also ordered the meatloaf sandwich, stay away from this one. It was late and I can’t remember why it sucked, but we sent it back for more ribs 
. All I remember thinking is… they need to remake this sandwich. That was the first bad dish I’ve ever had at Kilkenny’s.
Kilkenny’s is one of my favorite restaurant in Tulsa. If you are looking for the full experience I recommend hitting them for a lunch, dinner and their underrated brunch.
Kilkenny’s Irish Pub – Tulsa, Oklahoma
http://www.tulsairishpub.com/
1413 East 15th Street Tulsa, OK 74120
(918) 582-8282
Get the chips. The chips (French fries) are English style and very very good.
Hey Brian, glad you enjoyed the ribs. One of my favorites. Sorry about the meatloaf sandwich, usually don’t have complaints about it. Thanks again for the review.
January is soup month, check out the Butternut Squash its delicious.
thnx for the nice in formation on fried ribs
Genius chef Doug Atkinson left long ago but Go West still soldiers on. And they’re doing a great job! Some of the entrees are the same, some have been tweaked a bit, and some are new. All are in the flamboyant cowboy style which made Go West famous. The cowboy-themed decor’s the same too.
Thanks to owner Johnny Wimpy, the welcome is as warm as ever. Even warmer was the soup, a fiery (and lovely) cream of jalapeno. The bread platter is so good you’re tempted to fill up on that. I got one of the new entrees. Campfire Steak Medallions ($18).
Have you ever tasted a memory? Tonight… I did.
1998 – A 20 year old Oklahoma State College student and his pals pull into a parking spot along “The Strip” in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on a Thursday afternoon. Eager to get in line and order the Thursday special… 2-for-1 Pulled Pork sandwiches and 75 cent Budweiser bottles. For $6.00, you got 2 mouth-watering sandwiches and 2 ice cold beers that were so cold (the beer, not the sandwiches) the ice would be stuck to the bottle. But this day was different. This day, the beer was not ice cold. The smell of smoked meats was mysteriously absent. There were no longer Oklahoma Joe smokers lined up along the windows. The long hardwood tables and benches where we had shared so many Thursday specials, slabs of ribs and ice cold brews were no more. The building was a ghost… a good friend who just disappeared without warning. A memory that would only live on as an anecdote in our personal accounts of our youth.
So it is understandable that when I read the Tweet from @tdmarkit8dude that the old Runt’s BBQ building in Broken Arrow (and also formerly Gameday Tailgate Bar & Grill) stating that the building’s marquee read “Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ Coming This Fall”, my excitement over this new addition to the Tulsa BBQ scene rose to epic levels. And my excitement has held no boundaries. I, along with many other Tulsa and Broken Arrow natives, have taken many side-trips over the last 3 months to follow the progress of legendary pit master Joe Don Davidson’s latest venture. From the addition of signs to the building, to new construction going on in the back of the building (which turned out to be Joe’s smokehouse, equipped with the same models of smokers that have made him an icon in the competition BBQ circuit), to a personal tour of the restaurant’s progress with Joe himself… all this anticipation spread out over 3 months came down to this one epic Manly Food moment… The moment I sat down at Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ, picked up the bottle of BBQ sauce as I do at every BBQ joint I visit, and squeezed out that drop sublime nectar onto my finger and stuck it in my mouth.
You see, my love affair with this development wasn’t tied to the fact that Joe Davidson has won over 300 barbeque championships. It wasn’t tied into the fact that he was the co-founder of one of Kansas City’s finest and most successful BBQ restaurants… the restaurant that Anthony Bourdain labeled as one of 13 Places to Eat Before You Die. It wasn’t even tied into Joe’s countless television and media appearances. This infatuation stems from memories of my youth. Memories that molded me into the Manly Food connoisseur I am today. Memories I can taste.
This moment. This single, solitary point in time when Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ sauce hit the tip of my tongue tonight for the first time since 1998 was, perhaps, my single greatest moment as a foodie so far. It was a moment that reminds me why I take pictures of the food I eat. Why I tweet those pictures out for anyone who cares to see them. That moment is why I do what I do.
Check out the full post and pics here.
So…Oklahoma Joes serves minors?
Well, when you’re 20, you find ways around that. Especially when all your friends are older. 
Thanks for this great review! I can’t relive your memories, but I WILL check out Oklahoma Joe.
Let me know when you go. If I’m around, I’ll meet you there.
I went. Rush job, no time to contact you. The ribs were amazing!!!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/383048_10150450045368918_671118917_8533425_1034029149_n.jpg
Yeah, those are some fantastic ribs. The Carolina pulled pork sandwich is awesome too. Wife loves the Joe’s Dip sandwich. Have yet to find anything there I don’t like. Which is extremely rare to find with a new restaurant.
You should submit this review for the main Tulsa Food page, most people don’t read the Talk section.
Oklahoma Joe’s will be on Great Day Green Country tomorrow morning at 110:00. I’ll try to remember to link the vid over here once it’s up. Should be some great video food porn!
I’ve read that (at least in Kansas City) you can get a pulled pork Z-man sandwich on request.
Yes. The Z-man with chicken is popular too from what I’ve heard.
As I said, you should submit this for the main page of this website, no one reads the talk section.
Celebrity Restaurant’s holiday décor works to provide a great alternative for an elegant, yet intimate meal to enjoy with out-of-towners, friends and family. We suggest getting a reservation soon as the list fills up quickly this time of year.
So, one night this holiday season, take the night off and let the staff at Celebrity Restaurant bring you “good cheer”.
Celebrity Restaurant Fine Dining
3109 South Yale Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 743-1800
http://www.celebritytulsa.com/
Mole Poblano is a rich, complex Mexican sauce with a rich, complex history. The history goes back almost 400 years (more, if you count the Aztec origins) and the sauce is so complex it takes almost a whole day to prepare. I wrote a long description of Mole Poblano in my review of Tres Amigos in South Tulsa. A reader commented that the spectacular mole at El Fogon is the best in Oklahoma. But El Fogon is almost twenty miles from midtown Tulsa and, because the dish is so hard to make they serve it only once a month (and not on the same day of the month either). So I forgot about that.
We saw you there that night! We love El Fogon. The family are super nice people and all the food is home made!
Eating at El Fagon is a weekly ritual. The family that runs the restaurant is like our family after years of visiting them for our “family night” meal on the town.
I thought I had discovered all the “goodies” but I tried something new a few weekends ago that was spectacular: torta ahogadas. I think I have that correct. Its a smallish (think 6-inch Subway sandwich, and then not as bulky) torta compared to some of the monsters you can get around Tulsa at independent Mexican restaurants. It was packed with my meat of choice, the spicy pork (al pastor at many restaurants). It is soaked in a tasty and not-too-spicy sauce that reminded me of a wet burrito from El Rio Verde or Costa Azul. Also included were two “sealed” tacos, almost empanadas that were easily dunked in the sauce.
I was in heaven.
A week later? It was a special again and I ordered it without considering other options. A month has passed and its not been on the menu again. If it is, I’ll order it. Unless the mole winds up on the menu, at which point I’ll order one to go for lunch the next day.
The most consistently wonderful mexican food I have found in OK is in the humble little building in North Owasso, El Fagon.
On a dark and desolate block near Sheridan Road, right where you’d least expect it, there’s a magic golden door to the Orient.
Step through, and Vietnamese food and friendly service await at Binh Le Restaurant, a restaurant run by members of the same family that have run Vietnamese restaurants such as Ri Le for 30 years. I found the food average at best, but several friends have advised me that the dishes, especially those on the vegetarian menu (which I did not try) are exceptionally good. Here’s what we had.
Deluxe Bun Cha Gio, a cold and pleasantly flavored noodle salad with beef, chicken and egg rolls.
Fried rice.
Binh Le
5903 E 31 St.
835-7722
Open daily (except Sunday) from 11 AM to 9:30 PM
What exactly makes this block so “dark” and “desolate”?
Is it the thriving shopping centers which surround it? The headquarters of one of Tulsa’s largest companies within sight? You seem to use this imagery an awful lot…that Tulsa is some kind of ghost town.
The food here? It’s amazing, for sure.
I didn’t realize I used the imagery a lot. I’m sorry. That particular block, 31st between Yale and Sheridan, driving it by night seemed so dark and empty until we got to the strip malls at the end. I walked that block by daylight several times years ago and it’s so very long and empty in the middle.
Brian – How can you go to Ri-Le and not eat vegetarian? He is the true guru / master / king of all things veggie protein. I love this place. And I have never ordered off the menu. Usually, Ri-Le himself is our waiter and creates a dish for us. I’m sure it’s probably the same thing every time, and it is the #3, but he makes us feel special regardless.
They had a death in the family once and closed the restaurant for 2 or 3 months so they could go back to Vietnam. Longest few months of my life. Such a sweet family, and true mainstay of Tulsa cuisine.
I’ve never eaten at Ri-Le. Now I really want to go there. What dish does he create, maybe I can ask for it.
OMG! I just realized this was about another restaurant. I am so sorry. I saw the picture of the doorway and thought it was Ri-le’s. They have the SAME one.
Anyway….just just order anything and you will certainly like it. The sesame chicken is really good, although it isn’t chicken…it’s soy protein. Yummy and healthy.
Way too much MSG in there food for my tastes. You could say it is suited for American palate.
Brian S. is discussing. 
Jon G are discussing. 
Felipe is discussing. 
Brett, and 
DG are discussing. 
Oklahawg, and 
Jon, 
Henry Norder 12:36 am on April 30, 2012 Permalink |
I’ve learned a few important things through your post. I’d also like to convey that there will be a situation that you will have a loan and never need a co-signer such as a Fed Student Support Loan. When you are getting credit through a standard financial institution then you need to be made ready to have a cosigner ready to enable you to. The lenders are going to base that decision on the few issues but the most important will be your credit history. There are some loan companies that will likewise look at your work history and determine based on that but in many instances it will be based on on your scores.