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.

Posted this on Twitter but thought I’d see what people had to say in here too. The wife got a gift certificate to The Chalkboard so we’re having a fancy little date night tomorrow night. I see the menu has lamb chops, so I doubt I’ll be able to talk myself into trying anything other than that, but thought I’d see if anyone who’s been has any specific suggestions. I know there’s several articles on the subject on TulsaFood.com but I’m too lazy to read them all and thought maybe some other Tulsa Food Talk readers might have some suggestions.

Also, is it so fancy that I should shave my beard?

Found a nice little surprise by accident Sunday morning.  We were looking for a good diner/breakfast and wanted to try something different… as usual.  So we decided to try the Freeway Café up on Sheridan.  But then a quick Google Maps search to confirm location brought up a “Freeway Café” at 51st and Hwy 169.  This was a little closer so we decided why not, right?  Well, it wasn’t a “Freeway Café” but that didn’t bother me… in fact, I actually got a little feeling inside that only a cholesterol-seeking foodie can get, thinking that I’ve stumbled across something new!  Well, a quick Google Search found that I wasn’t the first to stumble across this little hole-in-the-wall locted in a pretty convenient location just south of where Hwy 169 and the BA Expressway collide.  So my impressions?

Well, I judge diners like this on a different scale than I might some other restaurants, and right off the bat, Café 51 took ahold of a huge chunk of my heart…

Dirty Checkered Tile Floor: Check

Post-Menopausal Waitress Who Moves Slower Than I-44 Construction Traffic During Rush Hour: Check

Old Man Sitting In the Corner Reading Newspaper and Drinking Coffee: Check

Primary Clientele of Police Officers/Fire Fighters: No Check

Several Utensils and Sweet n’ Low Packets Under Table That Look Like They’ve Been There a Few Decades: Check

To read more, check out the full article here…

I compiled a quick reference guide to all the places I’ve included in my Manly Food NCAA Tourney Traveler’s Guide.  To read more, check the guide out…

Restaurants/Bars:

Joe Momma’s – http://joemommas.com/

Umberto’s Pizza – http://www.yelp.com/biz/umbertos-pizza-delivery-tulsa

Pie-Hole Pizzeria – http://www.pieholepizzeria.com/

Uncle Vinny’s Pizza -http://unclevinnysnewyorkpizza.com/

Mario’s Pizzeria – http://www.mariostulsa.com/

Savastano’s – http://www.savastanospizzeria.com/

McNellie’s – http://mcnellies.com

Fassler Hall – http://www.fasslerhall.com/

Woody’s Corner Bar – http://www.facebook.com/people/Woodys-Corner-Bar/100000328907311

Arnie’s – http://www.arniesbar.com/

Fat Guy’s Burger Bar – http://fatguysburgers.com/

Bill’s Jumbo Burger – http://www.yelp.com/biz/bills-jumbo-burgers-tulsa

Hank’s Hamburgers – http://hankshamburgers.com/

Claud’s Hamburgers - http://www.yelp.com/biz/clauds-hamburgers-tulsa

Brownie’s Hamburgers – http://www.yelp.com/biz/brownies-hamburger-stand-tulsa

BrewBurger – http://brewburgertulsa.com/Home.html

Elmer’s BBQ – http://elmersbbq.com/

Stutt’s House of BBQ – http://stuttshouseofbarbeque.com/

Oklahoma Style BBQ – http://okstylebbq.com/

The Right Wing – http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-right-wing-tulsa

Wing Run – http://www.yelp.com/biz/wing-run-tulsa

Hooters – http://hooters.know-where.com/hooters/cgi/site?site=105&address=&design=default&lang=en&mapid=US

And here are a few other people I follow who may be helpful during your stay in Tulsa:

Tulsa Food Guy – Well, duh!  Twitter: @tulsafoodguy

Tasha Does Tulsa – I know, I was fooled by the name too!  Tulsa’s #1 resource for everything going on around town.  Twitter: @tashadoestulsa

TulsaFood.com – If it hasn’t been reviewed here, it probably isn’t worth going to.  Unless I reviewed it!  Twitter: @tulsafood

Buzz Sports Network – Oklahoma’s Home for Sports.  Get the latest sports updates and other entertaining commentary here.  Just skip over any of the Sooner crap!  Twitter: @1430theBUZZ

Julie Chin – Tulsa’s perkiest, cutest and most accurate weathergirl.  Whether you’re stumbling in from the bars, or an early riser, she’ll tell you what you need to know.  Twitter: @JulieChin

Ron Terrell – Tulsa’s Morning Ron Burgundy, as seen on Fox 23 Daybreak.  Twitter: @RonTerrell

Additionally, for you Twitterers out there the official Tulsa NCAA Twitter hashtag is #ncaatulsa.  Follow all the excitement for updates on the games in Tulsa, things to do in Tulsa, places to eat in Tulsa and so on.  You’ll probably even see a familar face!

Follow these links/people along with #ncaatulsa on Twitter to ensure your experience in Tulsa for the NCAA Tourney is one you will never forget!

I’ve been putting together a series of posts to act as a resource for those coming to town later this week for the NCAA Tourney at the BOK Center.  Burgers, BBQ, and more!  I’ll be updating  these periodically throughout the week.  Feel free to check it out and please let me know if there’s any Manly essentials I’m forgetting about!

Here’s the link:

TFG’s NCAA Tourney Traveler’s Guide

New Billy Ray’s Catfish and BBQ opened up this week in BA on 91st and Elm. I’ve never been to the other locations but was very pleased with this one. The catfish was probably the best I’ve had in this town and the pulled pork sandwich was awesome. I don’t know if the other locations have this deal or not, but this one has 99 cent BBQ sandwiches if you use their drive-thru. We ate in, so I didn’t get to see what one of these sandwiches looks like… I’m guessing it’s kind of a BBQ slider type of thing. I’ll be back very soon (probably this weekend) to find out!

Egg Sandwich. Simple, tasty, and about as Manly as you can get without having meat. Just fry up a couple eggs, slap a piece of cheese on the bottom slice of bread and another slice on top of the egg, give the cheese a minute to melt and you’ve got a delicious and easy midnight snow day snack!

After 2 weeks of seeing the Church’s Fried Chicken ads for 10 piece leg and thighs for $7.99, I finally broke down and went for it tonight with a craving for fried chicken and looking for something cheap and easy. I prefer Popeyes but thought I’d give Church’s special a try. So I thought I’d post the question here… What is the best fast food fried chicken? Popeye’s… Church’s… KFC? Someone else? At least until Flavor Flave brings his fried chicken to Tulsa, it’s Popeye’s all the way for me.

Pregnant bartenders… where do you stand? (Personally, I think they’re kinda hot)

http://www.tulsafoodguy.com/blog/2011/01/tfgs-daily-dump-pregnant-bartenders/

I started this petition awhile back, but then never really followed through to drum up support, so I thought I’d bring it here to Tulsa Food Talk and see if we could get this thing rolling.  In short, a White Castle franchise would be perfect for this city and I think we owe it to ourselves, as fellow Tulsa food lovers, to at least try to make some noise!  Read more on my thoughts on why Tulsa NEEDS a White Castle, or if you’re feeling lazy, just go straight to the petition and make your voice heard at http://www.bringwhitecastletotulsa.com.  Tell your friends, tell your neighbors.  Tweet It, Facebook It, Like It, Love it.  Digg It, MySpace it (bwahahaha), YouTube it.  WUPHF it!  Stand on your rooftop and scream and shout it!

Thank you for your support!