There's a new Thai place in town, across the parking lot from Zio's on 81st & Lewis. The wife wanted Thai, and if I didn't see it while cruising around last week we would have gone to Thai Siam instead (I like Thai Siam as well).

We both started by splitting an order of (2) Spring rolls, which had a nice pineapple dipping sauce. For the main course, the wife ordered stir fried rice (she has to go with less than spicy dishes because of her current medical treatment), and it was very good. I ordered my favorite dish, the beef Pa-Nang, which is beef, bell peppers, coconut milk and red curry. I have to say that I havent had Pa-Nang this good in years! I've already spotted some other dishes I want to try in the near future.

The food was presented in a very nice fashion with generous portions, the overall atmosphere of the place was neat, clean & inviting.

The price range of the dishes are consistant with most Thai places, around $10.00 each, some a little higher some a little lower.

We will be going back!

Ive known about this place for years, but only being open on weekdays for the lunch crown made it all but impossible to try it out and even when I had a day off it didnt dross my mind until it was too late... until now. Just recently, the resturaunt was sold to his brother, and the hours have been changed to 11-6 Monday - Saturday. We got to try them out today for lunch, and it was great! Their burgers are in the tradition of Hanks, Hardens and Arnolds with big fresh cooked patties, fresh veggies, and good seasoning.

Its nice to have a choice on the west side now for good burgers, both Arnold's and Linda Mar's are top notch!

If you arent familier where Linda Mar is located, its on the westside just east of West 51st off of Union (1614 W 51st St)

 

Buffalo Wild Wings finally opened their doors In Tulsa Hills today, and though it was a bit chaotic being opening night, it was excellent.

Dave and Busters is finally open, its like Chucky Cheese, but for adults. I havent been to our new one at HWY 169 & 71st yet, but if it is anything like the one in Dallas we have been to, it should be fun. The food is quite good (I like their Philly), not overly priced (unless it has changed in the last year), and the arcade is a lot of fun, with things like basketball, skee-ball,  & arcade games.

KOTV Story on their opening

 as an FYI for those waiting...

"Our new West Tulsa location is tentatively scheduled to open in January."

UPDATE: Hotties is now only open Mon-Fri 11:00AM to 3:00PM
UPDATE #2: Hotties is now closed

A new restaurant from an older endeavor...

I think it was three years ago I was in the made in Oklahoma section of the Tulsa State Fair checking out the various salsas and BBQ sauces. One booths, Hottie Pickles, had a combination sweet and hot pickle. Even though they were good I didn't give them much thought after that, probably because it is so hard to find things like that while doing your normal shopping routine.

Fast-forward to earlier this year, around September. We were disappointed to find out the "new" Ike’s Chili on Union & 51st had already closed, but a new restaurant was going in, sadly I didn't connect the name to the vendor at the fair.

Last week we decided to give them a try (and again last night, and again for lunch today). They serve up build your own subs, a really nice Philly Beef Steak and some pretty good cheeseburgers & fries, all at reasonable prices. A couple of combo meals will run you about $12.00.

The atmosphere isn't much to talk about, but like many upstart diners, I'm sure that will improve as business grows, and I hope it does, cause they have one of the best Philly beefs I've had in a long time.

And if you like their Hottie Pickles, they have those for sale as well!

 

While on a cruise into the Yucatan and Belize a couple of years ago, I stumbled onto something that I had not had in a long time. I had a Coca-cola, a real coca-cola with real sugar in it, not the stuff with high fructose corn syrup that fill the coolers and shelves of our QTs and grocery stores.

Some of you may remember the whole "New Coke" that came out in the 80s. The theory is that  if Coca-cola switched from sugar to the cheaper corn syrup that people would notice, so they released "New Coke" and it was so universally despised that people litterally begged Coca-cola to bring back the "real thing", well the did... kinda... but time has a way of dulling the senses, and to most people the switching of sweeteners was not apparent.

Last week I was walking through Sam's club on 71st and mingo, and there in all of its glory was cases and cases of Mexican Coca-cola, with real sugar in it. needless to say I bought a case, and hopefully it will stay in stock.

In what may be Tulsa’s best kept secret, is a little English style pub and restaurant just north of 71^st and Canton (east of Yale at the next light).

Inside the now smoke free environment you will find a quaint, and quiet dining experience with some food that is hard to beat! I was with a group of 8 people last Saturday night so I got a good sampling of what they had available. We started with 3 of the appetizers (sausage rolls, mushrooms and toast and cheese and toast) then for dinner, the Beef Wellington, Fish and Chips, The Beefeater (burger), the Devonshire (a chicken dish with a pastry baked on top), and the Ploughman’s Lunch (bread, ham and an assortment of cheese) were ordered. If you aren’t a risk taker start with the fish and chips or the DevonshireThe atmosphere is what you would expect a pub from the old country to look like, with the furnishings coming from the owner’s native country.

We will deifnitally be going back, but with a seating capacity of 75 you might want to make reservations.

I dont know what happened, but sometime in the last few years Spaghetti Warehouse lost a step or three. Maybe I got bored with thier form of Americanized Italian food, or their quality has slipped.

Becasue of this I have been out trying other Italian joints, most of them being large chains. Johnny Carrinos is pretty good, as is Tulsa's own Zio's, but a new entry in the Tulsa market has really got my mouth watering.

Napoli's Italian Restaurant on 61st & 33rd West Ave is the location I have been to, but there is also one in BA. We have been there three times, the last time hauling some friends along and every time its been fantastic. We've had the Lasagna, The Manacotti, the Italian Sausage and Peppers plate (I dont remember the name right off hand), the stuffed mushrooms and the Calizone.

Most of the dishes run about 7.00 with a side salad tacking on another buck fifty. the service is quick and friendly, the atmosphere is pretty basic looking more like a cafe, but the food more than makes up for it.

The do not accept Discover

Overall Ill give them a 5 out of 5 for the food, 5 out of 5 for the service and a 2 out of 5 for the atmosphere.

Go see them, you wont be sorry!

If you need to call, their number is 445-7702

Though it took over 4 months for them to open from their original timeline, the Tulsa area now has a Buffalo Wild Wings, and it was worth the wait!

As you can guess by the name they serve up Buffalo, NY style hot wings (traditional and boneless) with 14 different sauces to choose from. My personal favorites are Spicy Garlic and  Caribbean Jerk, but we have also tried and liked the Mango Habanero, Asian Zing, Sweet BBQ, Teriyaki and the more traditional Blazin. If you dont want to stick with one flavor (I know I dont) you may try several sauces with your order, how many is determined by how many wings you buy. The wings are a good size and cooked right.

The service was good, keeping in mind it was opening day. The dinning room is split in two to conform with smoking regulations and on each side there are Large screen and regular sized TVs that line the walls showing various sporting events that are going on at the time. The prices are what you would expect to pay for a hot wing, coming in at about 50 cents a wing (35 cents on Tuesday)

Besides wings they also have ribs, burgers, nachos, onion rings and a whole slew of similer styled foods on the menu, none of which I have tried... I go there for the wings!

Sticks Chicken House, 96th Street North & Garnett, Owasso, OK

Ive heard mention of this joint from a couple of people that live in Owasso, so I figured I would give it a shot. Let me start by saying the food we had was good, but not great, and I felt it was a bit overpriced. I had the chicken shishkabobs, which came with a serving of rice, but for $5.50ish I expected to have a bit more food that what I recieved, maybe I was expecting some peppers and onions on the stick, but all I recieved were two sticks with chicken on them, neither having much more meat on them that a standard drumstick. The wife had a 1/2 chicken and for $1.50 more she got her moneys worth, though the meat seemed a bit dry. Also in the order was some deepfried spring rolls, which were very tasty and at $1.50 for two was a good deal. My dinner left me wanting more, so I got a bit more chicken off of my wife's plate.

UPDATE: Sorry,I was in a bit of a rush when I wrote this, so I left out a few things.
The chicken was marinated in a ginger, garlic, vinegar and other spices, also on the menu were beef and pork kabobs, pork steak, and more, all done up Philippine style.

Over all if you are in the area, its worth swinging by. Because of the 45 mile drive round trip, the rarity we are in Owasso and the price per serving we will probably skip it unless we are in the area.

MadOkie Rating 3 out of 5 (maybe it was a bad day, I know that happens from time to time, and they are a new resturaunt)

On a side note, I am sad to say that Field of Wings in west Tulsa has closed down
 

It's been 23 years since I last ate at Monterey's, and that was the one on 18th & Sheridan. This time I visited the one over on the west side. the resturaunt is a lot smaller than it looks on the outside, and it definitally hasnt been updated in years, but the food was good.

I had the Fajitas Azteca, which is a pork variation of your traditional Fajitas with a BBQ sauce, onions and cheese. The wife had tamales, she always complains that she cant find good tamales at resturaunts in this town, those complaints have now been curbed.

Next time I wont wait 23 years to come back!

IMO some of the best wings anywhere can be found at Buffalo Wild Wings, and up until recently a I was only able to get them in Indianapolis, Kansas City and Joplin (they also have stores in the OKC area).

Sometime in the near future Broken Arrow will have one as well (71st street & 169th east ave). Though I would have liked to have seen it in Tulsa, I guess it is a blessing in disguise, otherwise I would be spending way too much time and money there.

now the waiting is the hardest part...

Without a doubt, Sand Springs has a great pizza parlor in The Minuteman. They have been in operation since 1970, though through different owners. The first thing you notice when you walk in the door is the aroma, it smells like those old time pizza parlors like Shakeys or Shotgun Sams, I knew right away I would like what I was about to order.

I am not a big fan of most Oriental food, I dont know if its the taste, the texture, or something else... as it stands, Thai food is the exception to the rule.

Thai Essence was formerly Basil Spice, but other than the name/ownership change and a few added menu items the food is just as good now as when it was under the former marquee.

The resturaunt itself is not much to look at, its an old egg roll express that was built back in the 70s (IIRC) but they have done their best to make it look more like a formal dining establishment.

As for the food, it is fantastic, MrsOkie and I have a few favorites that are carry overs from the previous ownership and they havent missed a beat. We started the evening with the Fried Spring Rolls & BBQ Chicken served with a cucumber sauce and a peanut sauce. For the main course you cant go wrong with the Red Beef Curry ( which is on the hot side and sweet all at the same time) over a bed of steamed rice. Other items we have tried and enjoyed is the stir fried rice.

Okie Rating: 5/5