33 Hours in Tulsa in Lists: What to do in Tulsa, OK
on May 16, 2012, Updated Nov 21, 2021
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Lovely people I spent time with:
- Jeff Martin, the founder of BookSmart, who hosted a “Moms’ Night Out” event at the adorable Blue Moon Cafe and Bakery
- April Brooks, who knows so much about Tulsa that she should be elected mayor of Tulsa, and is making me seriously consider living there. She makes amazing things out of concrete for a living.
Wonderful things I ate:
- Chicken Nachos and Shrimp Fajitas and insanely good salsa at Cancun
- Tuna “Nachos” (notice a theme? but these were not really nachos, but crispy wontons with seared tuna, bell peppers, onion, Sriracha aioli, & hoisin) and fresh spring rolls at Keo
- Beer and soft, salty pretzels imported from Bavaria at Fassler Hall (Go Oklahoma City Thunder!)
Things I saw at the strangest, yet most inviting, chain of convenience stores I have ever seen, QuikTrip. It turns out that Tulsa is an ideal test market for new products — who knew? Here is a sampling:
- Doritos JACKED: Enchilada Supreme Flavor
- Sweet & Salty Bugles: Chocolate Peanuts Butter Flavor
- Snyder’s Pretzels: York Peppermint Pretzel Sandwich Dips
- Spitz Sunflower Seeds: Dill Pickle Flavor (I bought these)
- Chex Mix: Muddy Buddie and Turtle flavors
- Snickers: 3X Chcolate
- Combos: Buffalo Blue Cheese Pretzels
- And finally, they have a food area called the Cheeseburger Roller. It’s kind of it what you think it is, but with lots of flavors.
A store I could spend much more time at:
- Dwelling Spaces: the coolest store featuring handmade things from Oklahoma artists
Gorgeous Art Deco buildings:
- Philcade
- Philtower with Edward Delk’s bar
Most surprising moment:
- Getting to know a city where a whole bunch of entrepreneurs are creating new businesses that are simply reflections of what they would like to see happening in their city (Elote, a Mexican restaurant and bar centered on luchador wrestling!; a whiskey shop called Whiskey Business!) just because they can.
