Restaurant Scene TUL vs OKC

[Spartan]

OKC is not an immigrant-based city...

The crazy is really flowing in this thread. And how on earth is Mid-town a "neighborhood ghetto of OKC" (I assume you mean ethnic neighborhood) ?? I'm guessing you haven't been to Mid-town...Cafe do Brazil is about as ethnic as it gets...

James E. McNellie's is pretty ethnic, though.

[Floyd]

while I agree both cities tend to have similar cuisine when it comes to American palates, OKC is hand's down the leader when it comes to ethnic food and particularly Asian. This mostly comes from OKC being much more of an immigrant city and it's restaurant scene reflects that (ie, organic 'authentic' food establishements). This is especially true in the districts and neighbourhood ghettos of OKC like Asian District, Capital Hill, and Midtown and others.

Tulsa tends to be a bit more upscale and national chain oriented in general - not a bad thing, but definitely different than OKC's 'immigrant based' cuisine offerings in my opinion.

When was the last time you made the journey from Seattle to Tulsa to sample the ethnic food offerings there? Or are you just making things up? Just curious.

[Floyd]

Sounds like a good Gazette article to find out. The ones here are unique compared to other cities - steamed buns, type of chili, shredded cheese, onions, mustard, type of hot dog (the one on Main in OKC uses a red dog and the ones in Tulsa are brown), etc.

That would be a DELICIOUS article to research.

[dankrutka]

So which city has the original Coney, OKC or Tulsa? Both have downtown coney restaurants that started in the 20's and are still around. Tulsa has more of them now though with Coney Islander locations throughout the city. How unique is the Coney to Oklahoma, and which style (OKC or Tulsa) do you like better?

http://www.eataroundokc.com/coney-is...ty-since-1924/

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n16635809/

First, Coney Islander in Tulsa is 100 times bettern than the coney place downtown. Having said that, I am a Tulsan living in OKC. I love Tulsa and have come to love OKC. On the whole, OKC has better restaurants, but it is really because of what has happened recently. I'm a big fan of Good Egg and I think they've raised the bar in general. Unfortunately, I've gained 15 lbs since I've been in OKC...

[metro]

OKC hands down, although yes Tulsa has some good restaurants but not near the diversity or quantity. If someone wants to pay for the research and create a scoring sheet, I'm up for the challenge.

[kevinpate]

My favorite Tulsa place ... wasn't. I still sometimes miss the Avalon Supper Club.

[Spartan]

I ate at the Blue Dome Diner and it was pretty terrible. I would encourage people visiting Tulsa to avoid at all costs. Wanted to go to Joe Momma's but the wait was longer than I could do.

[Urban Enthusiast]

I ate at the Blue Dome Diner and it was pretty terrible. I would encourage people visiting Tulsa to avoid at all costs. Wanted to go to Joe Momma's but the wait was longer than I could do.

What did you have? My favorite thing there is the pancakes with walnuts (best pancakes I've ever eaten). I'm not terribly crazy about their potatoes though.

[Floyd]

OKC hands down, although yes Tulsa has some good restaurants but not near the diversity or quantity. If someone wants to pay for the research and create a scoring sheet, I'm up for the challenge.

What were the last five restaurants you visited in both cities?

[HOT ROD]

When was the last time you made the journey from Seattle to Tulsa to sample the ethnic food offerings there? Or are you just making things up? Just curious.

I was in Tulsa last year, for some business. I wasn't very impressed with the diversity of food offerings and the city seemed more run down than I remember. I hope you guys can pick things up.

[Urban Enthusiast]

OKC hands down, although yes Tulsa has some good restaurants but not near the diversity or quantity. If someone wants to pay for the research and create a scoring sheet, I'm up for the challenge.

Okay, so here's a little analysis. I used InfoUSA data based on the following two NAICS codes (note: this analysis only looks at quantity, not diversity).

7221 Full-Service Restaurants
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing food services to patrons who order and are served while seated (i.e., waiter/waitress service) and pay after eating. Establishments that provide these type of food services to patrons with any combination of other services, such as carryout services are classified in this industry.

7222 Limited-Service Eating Places
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing food services where patrons generally order or select items and pay before eating. Most establishments do not have waiter/waitress service, but some provide limited service, such as cooking to order (i.e., per special request), bringing food to seated customers, or providing off-site delivery.

Tulsa - 389,625 pop est; 1,010 restaurants; 385.77 persons per restaurant
MSA - 929,015 pop est; 1,778 restaurants; 522.51 persons per restaurant

OKC - 560,333 pop est; 1,349 restaurants; 415.37 persons per restaurant
MSA - 1,227,278 pop est; 2,536 restaurants; 483.94 persons per restaurant

So, OKC does have more restaurants, but not per capita. The fact it has more makes sense, since it is 3 times the size of Tulsa in terms of land area. As for diversity, I have no idea. . .

[Swake2]

I was in Tulsa last year, for some business. I wasn't very impressed with the diversity of food offerings and the city seemed more run down than I remember. I hope you guys can pick things up.

Where did you stay and where did you eat?