Tulsa's Best Chinese Restaurant
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article and photos by Kathryn Mann
Tulsa has great and well-known restaurants in almost every category, but the best authentic Chinese food for those with discerning tastes is a hidden gem called Be Le located at 6634 S. Lewis. It is a family run business and the chefs are a master duo mother and daughter who combine an array of unique ingredients and spices to create some of the best Asian food I have ever tasted. Everyone I have talked to has a different favorite dish from Be Le from their Peking Duck, or Mongolian Beef to Chow Mein. My current favorite is their shrimp Lo Mein which is the best that has ever crossed my lips.
Exceptional Lo Mein dinner at Be Le
Be Le offers all the Chinese dishes we love with one thing no other restaurant in Oklahoma does; all their dishes are vegetarian. No this is not a "hippie" restaurant with tofu in place of meat, but "mock" meat and seafood that actually taste as good or better than the real thing. All their dishes are ingeniously blended and healthy; they are low in fat, with no cholesterol, and no MSG.
When you are hungry and looking for somewhere to enjoy a great meal, look no further than Be Le. Their staff is friendly and their food is delectable. Unfortunately this restaurant has suffered a sharp drop in business because of the road construction along Lewis Ave in front of their restaurant. This work is scheduled to go on until August of 2011 and unless more people who enjoy great Chinese food endure the small inconvenience this restaurant may not survive.
My dad and I enjoying a meal at Be Le
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India Palace Review - Tulsa
This buffet plate includes vegetable fritters, cabage masala, naan bread, and pillau rice
Basmati rice
Matar Panir
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article and photos by Kathryn Mann
The India Palace at 6963 South Lewis Avenue in Tulsa provides exceptional Indian cuisine at very reasonable prices. Since moving to the area seven years ago, I have often searched for an Indian restaurant that would rival some of the best I had been to in London, New York, and San Francisco, and now I have finally found one.
These dishes highlight the quality of the assortment one can choose from in the daily lunch buffet at the India Palace
In their lunch buffet, which is offered every day of the week, The India Palace includes the best items you would expect to find in an upscale Indian buffet. The wide selection will satisfy both vegetarians and those who enjoy eating meat. While many of the items in their buffet remain the same, several are frequently updated so the offerings never become static since there is always something new.
This buffet plate includes vegetable fritters, cabage masala, naan bread, and pillau rice
Even though the buffet is very good, I highly recommend ordering from the menu, which has an exceptional variety of great dishes. For example, I recently had the matar panir (pronounced “mahtah pahneer”) with basmati rice and whole wheat naan bread. Matar panir is a dish of peas (matar) with a spicy tomato gravy and fresh cheese (panir). As someone who enjoys cooking at home, and has made this dish on several occasions, the India Palace far exceeded anything I had been able to create in my own kitchen. The presentation was also very nice, with an ample helping of each of these items served piping hot in beautiful silver dishes with large serving spoons.
Basmati rice
Matar Panir
Matar Panir and basmati rice - both ordered from the menu
Whole wheat naan bread
One thing you will find with this restaurant is the phrase "you can't judge a book by its cover" applies, since you cannot discern the quality you will find inside from the exterior. While the outside does not have any trappings of a fine restaurant, the interior décor is well appointed and provides a warm and inviting ambience. This combined with exceptional food, service, and good prices, will leave you and your dining companions with savory memories that make you want to return.
Open every day of the week
Lunch with Buffet: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Fine Dining: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
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Wolfgang Puck Bistro Review - Tulsa
Kathryn Mann enjoying dinner at the Wolfgang Puck Bistro in Tulsa
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article and photos by Kathryn Mann
New Wolfgang Puck Bistro at 3330 S. Peoria Avenue, Tulsa
I am not typically a fan of chain restaurants, preferring instead to find places that are run by an entrepreneur who has risked a huge investment of time and money to create a quality restaurant that is uniquely his own. Some examples of such places in Tulsa are The Palace Café, The French Hen, The Blue Moon Café, Café Ole, Old School Bagel Café, and The Brasserie. While I know that some chains start from these roots and grow due to their popularity, it seems that more frequently they originate as a “concept” with an atmosphere and menu designed to appeal to a very broad audience. This typically means one will not encounter food or décor that is truly original and "outside the box", lest some of its traffickers be turned off by the "unusual". To me, discovering the unusual, particularly if it is of very high quality, is what life is about.
However, I do make exceptions to this general rule, and in the case of Wolfgang Puck I go further, welcoming the expansion of this franchise. The menu offerings are distinctively delicious (thanks to the man behind the menu, Wolfgang Puck himself) and the quality control second to none. I have never been disappointed by a Wolfgang Puck Restaurant/Bistro/Express. To find a great meal I am willing to travel far and wide, typically finding my favorite restaurants in cities like New York and Paris. Because Tulsa is much closer to home I was thrilled when I learned that a Wolfgang Puck Bistro would be opening in my favorite part of town, Brookside.
Kathryn Mann enjoying dinner at the Wolfgang Puck Bistro in Tulsa
Before the bread or appetizers were brought to the table, my dinner companion and I were served a complimentary treat called a "muse". Tonight this deceptively tasty concoction consisted of smoked salmon with cucumber, onion, and goat cheese on a wonton. This was a pleasant start to the evening, but, sadly, not something that one can order from the menu.
Complimentary "muse" at Wolfgang Puck Bistro
The bread basket was nice as well, featuring a flatbread with parmesan, ground pepper, and other spices, and a focaccia bread that was slightly sweet and savory, but paled in comparison to the flatbread. Clearly I should have tried the focaccia first to give it a fighting chance, but no one warned me.
Bread basket, Wolfgang Puck Bistro
Next up was the main course… pizza and a side dish of garlic mashed potatoes. I know this sounds like an odd combination, but these are two foods that I have traveled hundreds of miles to eat separately, so I was not going to miss the opportunity to try both at the same time so close to home. Once again, Mr. Puck rose to the occasion.
Margherita Pizza from Wolfgang Puck Bistro, Tulsa
I had ordered the margherita pizza with fresh basil, mozzarella, tomato, and goat cheese. All this atop Puck’s signature thin crust pizza dough which has an almost cracker-like consistency. After savoring an entire piece of this wonderful pie, I asked for a bite of my dining companion’s pizza, pesto with four cheeses. Boy was this a mistake. Having discovered my newest favorite pizza on my dining companion’s plate, I proceeded to try to convince him to give the rest of it to me. He traded a couple more slices, but beyond that he was not willing to budge. I settled for a 50/50 swap, getting to enjoy two halves of amazing pizza. Both were fabulous so this was hardly something to complain about.
Pesto Four Cheese Pizza from Wolfgang Puck Bistro, Tulsa
When the check was delivered to us, I was pleasantly surprised to note that it was a very reasonable amount, given the quality of the food and speedy service. To the man who decided to open this franchise and bring the goodness of Wolfgang Puck to Tulsa, I say simply… “Thank you.”
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Maude Maggart and the Meaning of Life
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by Kathryn Mann
Maude Maggart (right) and me (left)
There are a few great singers who truly sing from their soul, but only one I have experienced who will touch yours. Her name is Maude Maggart, and she is labeled a cabaret singer because she primarily performs American pop standards from the 1930s in intimate and sophisticated dinner clubs in the world's most dynamic cities.
Maggart is actually a troubadour in its finest tradition. As a very young at heart, thirty-four year old, she is preserving the traditions and folklore of the finest period of American music, interspersing it with her amazing life story and contemporary songs that combine to transcend time and place. As someone six years younger than Maude, but also with a lifelong passion for jazz and popular vocalists of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, I have found that she is the only contemporary voice able to render this great songbook in a way that can make it come alive to people born in the last thirty years.
Her voice is angelic, mystical, and purely authentic. After hearing her rendition of any great song, it is unlikely you will ever be satisfied with another version of that song. In live performance, her music, presence, and storytelling combine to create a universal poetry that is the nearest to human perfection I can imagine. She weaves stories about her life, family, and search for love that thematically coincide with everyone's quest in this world: to find love, harmony, and come to terms with our childhood.
Go to CDBaby, Amazon, or iTunes to purchase her music, and if you can, see her perform live. There is no more ennobling experience than listening to Maude Maggart.
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My First Bird Painting - the Spotted Towhee
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For many years I have enjoyed painting and photography. I recently combined these two passions in a website dedicated to showcasing the wonderful assortment of birds and butterflies living in Oklahoma. Visit Oklahoma Birds and Butterflies.
Several times a week I hike through forests and open pastures, enjoying the natural beauty of Oklahoma, and often bring a camera along to take pictures. I don't currently have as much time to paint as I would like, but have decided to focus on paintings of birds and butterflies for the next few years.
My first bird painting is of the rarely seen Spotted Towhee.
Spotted Towhee painting by Kathryn Mann
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