Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza at Old World Pizza is one of the few pies available only in the large, 16-inch style.
Old World Pizza
732 W. New Orleans St., Broken Arrow, 539-367-2563, facebook.com/oldworldpizzaBA
Pizza is understandably the star attraction. Pies come in 10- and 16-inch sizes, with prices ranging from $9 for a 10-inch cheese pizza to $27 for a 16-inch Ultimate Meat Lovers, which is topped with beef, pepperoni, salami, pork sausage and Canadian bacon, along with two kinds of cheese.
Old World Pizza cooks its pies in a brick oven manufactured in Italy; with temperatures hovering in the 650-degree range, the oven can cook a pizza in about four minutes. It results in a crust that has a crisp bottom with just the right amount of spotty char marks, an edge that is dotted with puffy blisters that turn golden brown, a good chew and robust flavor.
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An order of happy hour truffle fries sits on a table at the patio outside Rosa Cantina.
Rosa Cantina
302 S. Cheyenne Ave., 918-576-6641, rosatulsa.com
Rosa opened in late March with a menu focusing on shareable snacks, gourmet tacos and what it bills as “Damn Strong Drinks.”
The queso (which can be augmented with chorizo or esquites for an additional charge) was topped with a sprinkle of finely crumbled cojita cheese, chopped tomatoes and sliced scallions and was served with fresh, well-salted tortilla chips. The queso itself was thick and creamy, full of flavor and just a hint of peppery heat, and we left little, of any, of it behind.
The Pork Belly Don includes broccoli, grated carrot and a soft-boiled egg, along with chunks of grilled pork belly, served over steamed white rice. For those who do not like soft-boiled eggs, a hard-boiled egg can be substituted.
Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya
4820 E. 61st St., in the Shops at Warren Place, 918-779-7060, ichitoriramen.com
When it comes to ramen, the two most important elements are obvious: the broth and the noodles. Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya offers eight choices of broth, from a clear chicken broth used for its gluten-free offering to spicy pork and chicken broths.
Ichitori offers about a dozen types of saké, four choices of wine and 15 beers available on tap, in bottles or in cans that include Asian and domestic commercial brands, as well as some examples from local brewers.
The Mediterranean bowl (clockwise from lower left), the hummus appetizer, and the brick chicken entree are shown at Bar Serra.
Bar Serra
1876 Utica Square, 918-727-7227, barserra.com
Bar Serra was designed to let as much of the outside in as possible, with a glass roof, and glass-paneled walls and doors, that can be opened.
The menu lists six snacks, four salads and six entrees that manage to cover an array of culinary bases, from classics such as a Caesar salad ($14) and a cheeseburger ($16), to south of the border tastes with fish tacos ($17) and guacamole with chips ($10), to nods toward a Mediterranean diet with a hummus appetizer served with assorted poached vegetables ($12) and a Mediterranean Bowl ($16), which includes samplings of quinoa, hummus, marinated cabbage, feta, herbed tomatoes and a cucumber-mint yogurt sauce, and topped with a choice of chicken or falafel.
The Classic Cheesesteak at Capriotti's Sandwich Shop.
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
8115 S. Olympia Ave., 918-576-7007; 915 E. Kenosha Ave., Broken Arrow, 918-893-3826, capriottis.com
You can celebrate Thanksgiving every day of the week at Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, just as long as you ask for Bobbie.
“The Bobbie” consists of roasted turkey — a mix of light and dark meats — a chunky cranberry relish and a layer of sage-forward stuffing that, truth to be told, reminds one of something that might have started out on a “stove top,” but gussied up with some extra ingredients. A spread of mayonnaise adds a touch of creaminess.
All the Dips and Chips with the Strawberry Basil Fan Favorite Margarita are seen at Salt and Lime Social.
Salt & Lime Social
1121 S. Elgin Ave., saltandlimesocial.com
The same sort of invention that can turn Brussels sprouts into a craveable snack is evident throughout Shelby Remy and Spencer Snow’s new concept, Salt and Lime Social.
The two women had been friends for years and had long talked about opening a restaurant. In 2020, they were selected for the Kitchen 66 program, the food business incubator sponsored by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. They opened Salt and Vinegar in November 2021.
A side of churri potato salad served with a three meat combo with ribs, burnt ends and chicken with house pickles and a side of beans sits on a picnic table at Alley Cat Ranch.
Alley Cat Ranch
723 E. Second St., 918-808-7562, facebook.com/AlleyCatRanchTULSAOK
The brisket was chopped and mounded on a corn tortilla, with three pork ribs atop that, all streaked with lines of house-made barbecue sauce. The grits came in a cardboard bowl, and a small pile of pickled onions, candied jalapeños and dill pickles completed the meal.
The ribs were very good, requiring the slightest pull to get the meat off the bone, and flavorful enough that no sauce was needed. The brisket was finely chopped, which helped it to have a melt-in-the-mouth quality; we mixed together some of the regular and hot sauces to pour over the brisket, which complemented the meat perfectly.
McKinney's Modern Dining's take on shrimp and grits includes sautéed gulf shrimp with tomatoes, garlic, white wine, butter and chives over creamy bacon grits, with a side of green beans sautéed with garlic.
McKinney's Modern Dining
305 N. Main St., Broken Arrow, 918-286-6770, mckinneysmoderndining.com
McKinney’s Modern Dining recently opened on the ground floor of the new Brio apartment complex in downtown Broken Arrow. The restaurant shares space with Toast, the breakfast-brunch restaurant that McKinney purchased from original owner Ben Buie in 2017.
The dinner menu when we visited included a half-dozen pasta dishes, a trio of steaks, along with such staples as an airline chicken breast, pork chops and pan-seared salmon, along with a collection of appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches.
Smoked wings with a side of mac & cheese at Nomad BBQ Deli.
Nomad BBQ Deli
3023 S. Harvard Ave., 918-584-8794, nomadbbqdeli.com
The interior has a utilitarian vibe. It has about a dozen tables for four in the dining area, which is decorated with bags of Hasty Bake charcoal and a Hasty Bake Continental grill that looked so familiar, I had to check my backyard to be certain mine was still there.
Nomad’s pastrami was meltingly tender, the smoke flavor was distinct without being overwhelming, with just enough fat to keep everything juicy. It was one of the better pastrami sandwiches we’ve had in Tulsa.
The Bourbon Street Special a bourbon glazed angus sirloin topped with three bacon-wrapped jumbo gulf shrimp served with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli at Bourbon Street Cafe.
Bourbon Street Cafe
211 E. Second St., 918-583-5555, bourbonstreetcafe.com
The interior is done up in black and white — white tables and walls with black chairs, banquettes and fixtures. Images of jazz artists and New Orleans scenes adorn some of the walls, while a trio of flat-screen TVs show show jazz-oriented films and music videos.
The bar in the west end of the building has a stage area for the live music that’s presented Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant has a relatively short wine list but an impressive array of craft cocktails, including its take on such NOLA staples as the Hurricane and the Sazerac, and a quartet of bourbon flights.
Chicken, beef, chorizo sausage and shrimp are grilled with onions and peppers for Fajitas Mi Pueblo.
Mi Pueblo
1941 S. Yale Ave., 918-561-6223, mipueblotulsa.com
The dining area is filled with tables and booths that have been custom-made for the restaurant. Brightly colored folk art-style paintings are under heavy layers of clear lacquer on the tables, while the chair backs have carved Mexican vignettes that are equally colorful. The booths are adorned with carvings and the restaurant's name.
Among the authentic dishes are the quesabirria tacos, slow-cooked beef folded with cheese into corn tortillas and grilled on the flat-top; the burrito picoso, filled with chuck roast and whole beans cooked in a jalapeño gravy; and the Juanito's Special, a thin sirloin steak that is grilled and rolled around crispy pieces of bacon and cheese, then topped with Mi Pueblo's red sauce and cheese sauce.
Lilly's Special Salad has been a part of the menu at Chimera Cafe from the beginning and remains one of its most popular offerings.
Chimera Cafe
212 N. Main St., 918-779-4303, chimeratulsa.com
Chimera Cafe has been serving its trademark tacos and burritos, sandwiches and salads from its prime location in the heart of the Tulsa Arts District. In 2016, the restaurant expanded its kitchen and transformed an empty space into the “Chimera Ballroom,” with a stage area, and which also provides additional seating during the restaurant’s busiest times.
The restaurant itself began as an all-day venture, but in recent years has focused primarily on its breakfast and lunch offering, closing each day at 4 p.m.
Tacos at 1907 Cantina in Bixby.
1907 Cantina
2 W. Dawes Ave., Bixby, 918-928-7353, 1907cantina.com
The menu at 1907 Cantina is deliberately focused, with eight specialty tacos, and an almost equal number of sides.
All the meats used in the tacos are smoked at the 1907 Barbecue location at Mother Road Market and delivered daily to the the Bixby location.
