Tastes of Tulsa: Dilly Deli

Hello! 

I haven't done a restaurant review in a while because, well, I haven't really been around. It was time to get back into the [eating] game, so DWade met me for lunch downtown at a local Tulsa favorite, Dilly Deli.

It's pretty cutesies inside.

Yeah, I had to Google what a "trifle" was too. But seriously, these looked DELICIOUS.

Lovely little city view. 

The ambiance reminded me of a pre-school classroom. 

see: solar system diorama, shelves full of children's books and "Cereal Bar" which is an actual cereal bar.

guess what I f*ckin love fancy drinks.

 

I had the "Brown-Eyed Girl" which consisted of grilled chicken, arugula, melted brie and a lemon-basil mayo on a freshly baked ciabatta roll.

And of course a giant pickle which a scarfed down first. 

mmmmm MMMMMM!

Dan ordered the "Jillian" which was essentially a gourmet meatball sub. I asked him to describe the sandwich in three words, and he gave me: "smashed," "easy" and "melted cheese" as in, the meatballs were smashed down, making the sandwich easier to eat than your average meatball sub. And there was melted cheese on top. 

He also noted that it was delicious. 

Dilly Deli gets an A! Tulsa, your restaurants are pleasing to me.

*Only negative was that our food did take well over 30 minutes to come out. When you're on a lunch break at work, no es bueno. Perhaps they were short-staffed :)
 
Dilly Deli 

402 E 2nd St  Tulsa, OK 74120(918) 938-6382

Tastes of Tulsa

Blue Moon Cafe 

check out their Facebook page here.

Another hot Saturday afternoon in Tulsa. D and I ran errands all morning like crazy people.  I still can't get over it is how easy it is to drive around from place to place. No traffic, no idiot drivers, no parking woes. It was mid-afternoon when we both realized we hadn't yet eaten that day. 

This needed to be resolved, and QUICKLY.

So, we hopped back in the car and drove the one mile over to Brookside, and walked in to the Blue Moon Cafe, with it's quirky atmosphere and old-school feel.

I chose the: 

ultimate veggie burger 8.95chic peas mixed with fresh cilantro, jalapenos, red onions, alfalfa sprouts, a little egg, grilled, served on an onion bun with lettuce, tomato & our “supersecretconfidential sauce”.

Now the veggie burger was OK, nothing mind-blowing, as the “supersecretconfidential sauce” suggested. (Wouldn't you be pretty excited to find out what that obnoxiously withheld information was, too??) In retrospect, I should have opted for one of their breakfast items, because good lord they sounded good. Example: Pork Belly Cheesy Grits.

exterior + patio reminded me of one of those celeb-studded restaurants in L.A.

view from the bar

could not be more accurate.

adorable salt + pepper shaker collection

Um, they had corgi salt and pepper shakers. 

Obviously I sat at the seat directly in front of them.

No, I didn't steal them.

Atmosphere: A
Food: B+ (...but going back to try breakfast. Final GPA tbd.)


Blue Moon Cafe
Where: 3512 S. Peoria Ave.
When: Monday-Friday, 7am-9pm; Saturday-Sunday, 8am-2pm
Call: (918) 749-7800
Web: BlueMoonBakeryCafe.com

Tastes of Tulsa: Found My First Food Truck!

Smoke on Cherry Street
@smoketulsa

I used to stalk the food trucks in DC like it was my job--I had a whole Twitter list devoted to food trucks only. When I worked in Farragut Square, [Food Truck] Fridays were my favorite day of the week.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I stepped outside of my building for lunch and spotted a little afternoon farmers market, complete with restaurant on wheels.

                           

Hello, new best friend. 

Smoke is a place that I've been wanting to try in Tulsa's Cherry Street District. 

On the menu today: 
-Pulled Pork Sandwich 
-Brisket Taco 
-Smoked Trout Salad
-Parmesan and rosemary fries

I have to tell you, I didn't struggle too much with this decision, because the Smoked Trout Salad literally spoke magical words to me. The chalkboard description was so simple--mixed greens, feta, cherries, candied pecans--but the actual result was anything but. The layers of smokiness were incredible- the saltiness of the fish and the peppery arugula were effortlessly calmed by the sweetness of  the dried cherries and sugary nuts. Paired with a cold, crisp Coke (glass-bottle, the best kind), I was one happy girl.

There was literally an entire fish fillet in that salad. Now I am DEFINITELY not complaining about the amount of trout, but I would have favored a higher greens-to-trout ratio. (Though, I do understand it was meant to be more of a bed of greens to compliment the fish.) 

Still though, delicious, and very gourmet-feeling for a curbside lunch on a Tuesday. A-

I will never not order a Coke in a glass bottle.

Review: Tastes of Tulsa

I keep telling people that I'm going to learn this city best by eating my way through it.

As such, I've decided to post a review of a new restaurant I've tried in Tulsa at least once a week. These reviews will include overall ratings, and a couple of creepy candids I've snapped with my iPhone. I am now that girl who, not only takes pictures of her food, but posts them. 

Up first, Sushi Alley at Utica Square. 

D and I decided to take a break from all of the unpacking and mole-trapping (yep, we've got moles running rampant in our backyard (more on that--or maybe not--later), to grab some dinner close by.

We drove over to Utica Square and walked around eyeing our various restaurant options. We walked by a sign that read "Sushi"-- literally, we walked right by the place looked so small-- and both stopped in our tracks. "I could do sushi?" were the only words exchanged, and in we went.

 Aptly named 'Sushi Alley' - with such long and narrow quarters, I'm guessing it couldn't seat more than 40-50 people. It was, however, pouring rain outside midway through our meal, which made the atmosphere feel extremely comfortable and cozy. 

After placing our order, we were brought hot miso soup- it was delicious, frankly one of the best miso's I've had. And I've had a lot of miso soup in my day. Then came our appetizer- edamame hummus. I'd never seen this on a menu before, and thought it sounded so unique and delicious.  Guess what? It WAS. The serving size was more than enough for two, and our waiter graciously offered extra pita bread (you can honestly never have enough pita bread, amiright?). The pleasant flavor of the hummus was intensified with some fresh lemon squeezed on top.  

Next came glass of wine #2 and the three plates of rolls that we had selected, after some careful consideration and the helpful recommendations of our extremely friendly server. We decided to go with two rolls that were unique to Sushi Alley: the Beef Tataki roll and the Sushi Alley roll, and then one old standard, a Spicy Tuna roll (which did not disappoint).

I am not being overly zealous when I say that this is some of the freshest, healthiest-feeling, best-tasting sushi I have ever had. 

Just look at that. 

Are you salivating yet?

The Beef Tataki roll is topped with fresh, seared beef, basil, strawberries, fresh lettuce, and a spicy/sweet mustard sauce for dipping. It tasted like springtime and was everything that is right with the world.

The Sushi Alley roll featured rock shrimp, crunchy red pepper and--get this--goat cheese. I. was. in. love. If you know me, then you know that I can eat goat cheese by the block. The server pointed out that unlike most sushi locales, they don't use any cream cheese and nothing on the menu is fried. Again, something pretty unique that I really enjoyed.

Sushi Alley gets a solid A. It's a place I would bring my visiting friends and family to- but I'd be sure to make a reservation first. 

Sushi Alley 

1730 Utica Square  Tulsa, OK 74114
(918) 592-5539