Category Archives: Eating

Caz’s Chowhouse – Tulsa

We had some customers come in for a meeting. They were flying in and out the same day with time for dinner. I work downtown so I needed a place that was convenient to downtown and the airport.

I thought of Caz’s Chowhouse in the Brady District at 18 East Brady. I hadn’t eaten there in several years. So I called them (918 588-Chow) and made reservations.

So we went and were not disappointed. It is in a funky old building, is nicely appointed and had blues and jazz music going on. The service was very attentive but not obtrusive. We stayed there for a couple hours and had a great time.

The prices are quite reasonable, most of the entrees are under $10. They have a wide selection of comfort food, salads, hamburgers, and salads. My companions had the grilled salmon, and a salmon salad. They all thought their food tasted very good.

I had my favorite. Sweetie laughs at me about it and so do my coworkers. My customers were very polite but you could tell they were amused. I had the chicken and waffles.

Yep, that’s right, chicken tenders on a waffle. With syrup, with a side of black eye peas. Hey don’t knock until you try it. My suggestion, do like I did, ask for a go-box right away. That way you can put half of it away until the next day. Otherwise, you will be bloated.

For desert, we shared the bread pudding. It is made right there in the restaurant, and it is great.

I rate Caz’s Chowhouse 3.5 stars out of 4.

Easter Weekend Happenings

Whirlwind Easter Weekend. Saturday SuperPizzaBoy and I were by ourselves most of the day. I had taxes to do but the weather was too nice, plus I had a brand spanking new Garmin Nuvi 500 crossover GPSr that needed a workout, so we went Geocaching! Found two, one in east Tulsa took an hour to hike to and then find. SPB got a little tired of that one.

First two ticks of the season. One for him, and one for me. So we are tied!!!!

Then Sweetie and Nana made it up from Antlers with Nana’s two kittys. Meet Gypsy (calico) and Piwacket (“Wackycat”). They are spending their time getting acclimated to Nana’s new house in Broken Arrow. Gypsy was nervous and moved into Piwacket’s crate, Wacky wasn’t too happy about that. Move in is later this week! Got to meet one of Nana’s new neighbors also.

Sunday night dinner, Yogi cooked his specialty fried chicken. Hadn’t cooked it in about 15 years. It took me a little to get the hang of it again but everybody said it was pretty good. Sweetie says that I can cook it for Mother’s day. I think I will!!

The drumstick on the left tasted better than it looks.

Then a cut throat game of Farkle. A very fun game with 6 dice that I got as a birthday present. Its fun. But I never win!!! What’s up!!

Oh yeah, and I finished the taxes.

Pete’s Place – Krebs, Oklahoma

I love little “creases” in time and space. Things that one would not expect. Did you know that Oklahoma at one time had a pretty sizeable mining industry? Yep, nothing left of it now except a few superfund sites in far northeast Oklahoma. In southeast Oklahoma there used to be a sizeable coal mining industry. Many of the miners came from Italy and lived in the town of Krebs just on the other side of McAlester. The coal played out a long time ago but the town lives on. Krebs is known for several things but what it is most famous for are its Italian restaurants and the most famous one is Pete’s Place.

I was introduced to Pete’s Place by Sweetie’s family. We have celebrated many birthdays there and Sweeties parents used to have their employee Christmas parties there. Sweetie’s Dad has passed away and her Mother, Nana sold the pharmacy so we haven’t been there in a couple years but we stopped there on our way back from Antlers this past weekend and celebrated my birthday! For Sweeties family celebrating birthdays is a process, not an event so there are several meals involved, sometimes several cakes, and it goes on for days. I really like the way they do it.

One thing about Pete’s if you have kids, they have a little kitchen set up. You can stir the dry spaghetti if you want and bang on the pots and pans and nobody cares. SPB started doing that when he was about 2 and he still likes it. Here is a shot of him in action.

Pete’s is a little different in that they don’t have a big common dining room. Your dining party gets their own small room with a door. The food is served family style and they bring lots of it. I intended to photograph the food but but the time I thought again, it was all gone.

The pasta is old school. I love the ravioli. This time they had something new, gnocchi. It is kind of a potato based pasta dumpling. I loved it.

The other thing about Pete’s is that they have a brewery on site. One warning though, they only serve their 3.2 beer on Sunday because of local regulations. I had their Peach Beer and it was great. (Jeez, how come Tulsa doesn’t have a brew pub any more?)

Pete’s is open for lunch only on Sundays, other days they open at 4 pm. I rate is four stars out of four.

Krebs has other restaurants also. I’ve been to all of them and they are all good, Roseanna’s, Giacommo’s, and Isle of Capri. Most of them are open during the day. Also try the Italian Grocery, Lovera’s.

Bodean Seafood for Valentines Dinner

SuperPizzaBoy had a sleepover at his friend’s house Friday night so Sweetie and I went out to eat to celebrate Valentines Day a day early. We went to Bodean Seafood. One we have not been there since they moved to their new location across 51st street from their old location. Two we had a very generous gift card that we had got as part of a basket we purchased at a fundraiser last week.

Surprisingly I was able to make reservations after work for 8 pm. We got there a little before. Their old place across the street was nice but a little cramped. This new place is very spacious with a very airy feeling. The waiting area is kind of small but they have a very spacious and attractive bar area.

The dining room is very large and very attractively decorated. The table are ordered in rows and columns rather than a more random arrangement. In a quiet place it could make it seem like you have no privacy but the night we were there the place was very lively. It had a feeling of energy rather than being irritated.

Our server was very inobtrusive but there whenever we needed her. She had a lot of customers to take care of but took very good care of us.

Sweetie ordered the “Pecan Wood Grilled Mahi-Mahi” they came with Goat Cheese “smashed potatoes” She reports that the fish was very good but the smashed potatoes were ok.

I had the Yellowfin Tuna with chilled Soba Noodle Salad and a soy reduction and wasabi sauce. The tuna was cooked “rare” with a sesame seed crust. It was delicious. I’m become a big fun of this type of “almost raw” tuna. It had a fresh clean taste and I loved the sesame crust. The wasabi sauch on the side helped keep my sinuses clear. One advantage I have found with rare tuna is that nobody ever asks me for a bite. For my part once I started eating raw oysters when I first moved to the Texas gulf coast years ago, I’m pretty much game for anything.

I loved the soba noodles. I had never heard of them before Pei Wei’s came to town several years ago but now I’m a fan.

The meal was delicious, the portions were generous, the prices although a bit high for the Yogi family budget were a good value for the food. The dining room atmosphere was energetic and light. We really enjoyed ourselves.

I rate this place 3 and half stars out of four.

Impressions Restaurant – Tulsa

Downtown Tulsa has two great lunch spots on Bartlett Square (you know, where the circle is). This past Monday with the ice storm coming I went to Impressions for some comfort food.

Impressions is the best lunch spot downtown. Its not the fastest, Tom and the folks that work with him, make everybody’s order one at a time. Nothing is prepackaged. If you want a sandwich, they make it in front of you. They are very efficient but its not like Arby’s a block north on Main. At Impressions, they take the food very seriously. Sometimes there is a line, its worth it.

I splurged. I had a bowl of the stew (the stew is the best in Tulsa outside of the Yogi household, where Sweetie is the chef) with French Bread, “buttered and toasted?” asks Tom. “Absolutely” I always answer, today a treat for me, the best Carrot Cake to be had anywhere.

Next time you are downtown and are hungry, and are not in too much of a hurry. Let me know, we’ll go have lunch at Impressions.

Let me tell you about Tom. Each and every customer that comes into his restaurant is treated courteously, their food is prepared carefully, and each customer is thanked personally for their business by Tom and wished a good day.

You can spend a lot more money for a lot less than what Impressions gives you.

Palace Cafe – Cherry Street

After Sweetie and I attended the Color Purple on Saturday we went to eat. Going to the PAC shows has turned into “date nights” for Sweetie and I even though we go to matinees. So I guess really they are date evenings. Are we getting old? Nah, I’ll just leave it at that.

So the mutual question is, “Where do you want to eat?” I mentioned the Palace Cafe, Sweetie thought it a good idea so we cruised by. It was 5:05 and they open at 5 pm. “Are we going to be the only ones there?” “That’s no fun.” So we cruised down Cherry Street. “Tucci’s – no we ate Italian yesterday. Not eating at a deli, no Panera on a date, not in the mood for Full Moon.”

Turn south on Utica, “Hey how about PF Changs, uh OK… Howabout McGills – thats a good place.” We pulled into their parking lot. We didn’t get out. Sweetie says “Lets go try something new.”, “Lets, who cares if we are the only ones there.” So we drove back to the Palace Cafe.

Boy, did we make a great decision. We weren’t the only ones there and we would not have cared. The place is perfect for a date. Its small and intimate. The staff is very good and non-intrusive. All that is necessary for a date. We’ve been to restaurants with good food but the experience is spoiled by indifferent service. Not here.

The food here is wonderful.

Sweetie had Tomato Bisque for starters and then the Salmon for dinner. It is pictured below. It had a delicious mushroom rice cake with it.

I started with the house salad. I had to take a picture of it. It tasted wonderul. It had some sort of aged vinegar on it. Sweetie can fill you in on the details. I was too busy eating it.

For dinner I had the “Catch of the Day.” It had some sort of italian name but was basically a seafood stew with salmon, shrimp, and clams. It was seasoned perfectly. This may be one of the best restaurant dishes I have ever eaten anywhere. (“Gee, that’s really impressive Yogi- is it really better than the Coney Island chili cheese hot dogs?”) Believe it I have eaten some great meals at some great restaurants and I will put this dish up against any of them.

I give the Palace Cafe four stars out of four.

Reading Program, Book Bags, and a Chili Coney Special

If you live in Tulsa County and you like to read and get free stuff then head over to your local library and get started with the 2009 Adult Reading Program. You pick up an enrollment card, read 6 books by the end of March, turn in the card, and get a book bag! You can enroll online if you want. Check out the details here.

Afterwards head over to Coney Island Hot Dogs and get the Three Coney Special. Three dogs, with cheese, onion, and chili if you wish and a soft drink for $4.70, including tax. Bring your own nitroglycerin pills.


Three coneys, with chili, onions, and cheese, with hot sauce and chili powder for an extra kick.

They are good but really, really, bad for you. You want to know the secret of eating healthy? Uh? I’ll tell you, If it tastes good, spit it out. You’ll live to be a 100! But you won’t enjoy it.

I’m doubling up on my Zocor tonight.

Bluestone Steakhouse and Four Christmases

Saturday night we had a sitter for SuperPizzaBoy so Sweetie and I went out for a date. Dinner and a Movie.
For dinner we went to the Bluestone Steakhouse and Seafood Restaurant in south Tulsa at 101st and Sheridan. It is in a strip shopping center but the interior is very nicely done. That night they had a pianist playing which was a nice touch.
Sweetie had the Salmon Salad and I had one of the specials, the Ivory Tuna. The Salmon Salad featurd a huge portion of Salmon for only $12. Sweetie gave me a taste and it was great. The Tuna was very mild and fresh and cooked just right.
The service was very attentive. I had never been there before but we will be back.
Afterward we went to see The Four Christmases.
The movie has a great cast, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play the leads, Robert Duvall, Kristin Chenowith, Sissy Spacek, Tim McGraw, and Dwight Yoakum are in supporting roles.
Vaughn and Witherspoon do a good job together. He goes over the top, as expected and she brings him back in. Many of the pieces of the movie are hilarious but the whole thing doesn’t hang together very well. The end especially doesn’t quite hang together. Overall though it is worth seeing. I give it 2.5 stars out of 4. Which is where 95% of romantic comedies end up.

Afterward we ran into Baloney and Doc in the lobby. Turned out they saw the same movie. We chatted a bit and then headed home.

My Lucky Day at the Yogi Employer Cafeteria

Thursday was another crappy weather day. There was no ice but a cold misty rain at lunch. I brought my workout stuff but I was starving at 11. So I went down to the good old cafeteria.

Pickings are generally slim down there. Tuesday is meatloaf day and Friday is pizza day and those are good but the rest of the time its dismal.

I lucked out. It was turkey and dressing day. So I had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and broccoli. I had it put in a very politically correct, very green, and fashionable biodegradable to go box and grabbed the similarly biodegradeable, no longer plastic I’m not sure what its made of, plastic silverware and retired to my cubicle to eat lunch. With these new boxes you have to eat fast because the food biodegrades the box quickly! Take my word for it. Small price to pay for sustainability, right?

I had to use my cell camera which has no flash. The food looked and tasted a lot better than the picture indicates. Time for a nap afterwards.

You can deal with almost anything, even $39 per barrel crude oil, if you are eating good and sleeping well.

Ron’s Hamburgers

I hate ice storms. We had sleet Sunday night and ice Monday morning. I stayed at home until 10 and then went to work. Very slowly. I hate ice.

At lunch I was going to walk to somewhere downtown. Problem, ice everywhere. So I walked through the tunnel to the parking garage and drove to the Ron’s Hamburgers on 15th street.

I used to go there a lot but they are very bad for you even though they taste good. My favorite was the chili cheeseburger. I have not eaten at a Ron’s for close to 10 years, so it was about time.

I ordered the sausage cheeseburger. Half beef, half sausage, mashed together and grilled. Take a look. I gained half a pound just by ordering it. It has onions grilled in the meet, cheese, pickles, the whole deal. You eat it with a fork by the way.


I shouldn’t have done this. I’ll be back a lot sooner than 10 years I guarantee you that.

I rate this place 3 stars out of 4.