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.

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!

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

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.

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/

http://www.facebook.com/celebritytulsa

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.

 

 

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