Thanksgiving in Tulsa: A Staycation

Ah, Thanksgiving. 

Usually we roadtrip somewhere south. But I started to realize how many Tulsa places we hadn't yet visited. Why spend 12 hours driving somewhere when we could just stay home, and spend that gas money on local attractions and restaurants? 

A Tulsa Thanksgiving staycation it was. 

I don't mean the following as any kind of flex or clickbaity "Top 10 things to do in Tulsa" kind of post. 

Rather, it's just meant to show some of the diversity of entertainment and activities available here on a given week.

So - what all did we do?

We've said it so many times but I'll say it again: our favorite part of Tulsa is the music scene. You can catch live music of all different genres just about any night of the week. During our week-long experiment we enjoyed performances from two of  Tulsa's top bands.

We met Weston at a previous solo performance (MsBoyink and I were the entire audience for the first half hour) but hadn't seen him with his big band. Think Roomful of Blues, Brian Setzer with his orchesetra, Huey Lewis and the News, or the Fabulous Tbirds if they added horns:

With matching suits and on-stage choreography this was more than just a concert - it was a show. You could tell they were having as much or more fun performing as we did listening. Learn more at westonhornandthehush.com

These guys were one of the first concerts we went to in Tulsa. With New Orleans traditional jazz arrangements of pop, classic rock, and country songs they remind me of bands like Bonerama, Marchforth, and Trombone Shorty. I'm glad we went back a second time as we enjoyed this show much more than the first.

King Cabbage seems to be one of the favorite local bands and with good reason. Learn more at kingcabbagebrass.com.

Since moving to Tulsa we've seen theatrical performances including Hamilton and The Book of Mormon. But the one show we hadn't seen is a local favorite. Running in Tulsa for 70 years, The Drunkard claims to be Americas longest-running play. 

Originally written as a morality play against the evils of drinking, the Spotlight theater turned it into a comedy you now enjoy while imbibing drinks purchased from the house. Here's the intro:

Lest you think that, after 70 years of practice, each performance would be pitch-perfect, let me reset those expectations...;)  

The Drunkard is all volunteer with a revolving cast playing each character. Audience participation is encouraged, and the snarkier the better. The experience is more akin to that time you saw Rocky Horror Picture Show in college with some miscues, faulty curtains, and actors breaking the fourth wall. 

But save your toast and carry some spare change to rent (fake) tomatoes to throw at the villain. 

For an extra-immersive experience, reserve the first-row table at center stage.

Don't ask how I know.

Learn more at TulsaSpotlightTheater.com.

We've been to local museums like The Philbook, but there were other significant museums we finally visited on our staycation.

Yea - I know. This memorial isn't in Tulsa, but rather 100 miles down the road in Oklahoma City. This had been on my radar since our days on the road with the kids. For whatever reason we didn't have time to stop then, so we made the time now.

The FBI says "the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 was the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history." 168 people were killed and 600 wounded.

The case had ties to Michigan where MsBoyink and I were relatively newlyweds planning to buy a house and start a family.

This was a tough, but powerful visit. What struck me was just how much the world has changed since this attack, and how naive we were back then. This was a federal building with FBI offices, yet you could park a vehicle right next to it and hardly be seen by the one security camera. There is no footage of the actual explosion - just an audio recording captured by accident. 

Learn more at memorialmusem.com

This is a recording studio created in Tulsa in 1972 by local musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. 

Considered the home of the "Tulsa Sound", the studio has changed hands and undergone a significant restoration. It's still a working recording studio, but also hosts tours to show off a large collection of artwork, artifacts, and historical items. 

Names like Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Joe Bonamassa, Tommy Emmanuel, Air Supply, and more get dropped during the tour. 

We missed a Tulsa Remote event at the studio, so went back for a tour this week.

I wasn't familiar with Leon Russell before moving to Tulsa, but I'm having fun seeing how he connects to many musicians that I do know and appreciate.

Learn more at thechurchstudio.com.

We made the time to stop at a number of other Tulsa attractions that we hadn't yet.

You might think, as now empty-nesters, our days of being zoo-visitors is over. Nope! We took advantage of a mild, sunny, and calm day to enjoy Tulsa's Zoo.

The zoo has a baby giraffe born on our anniversary of July 26th - but I missed getting a photo and all the giraffes headed inside.

Learn more at tulsazoo.org.

The Botanic Garden scheduled its holiday lights during our week off, so it was a good excuse to finally get out there.

Learn more at tulsabotanic.org.

We found this by looking at the Roadside America website while in OKC. The monument captures the moment people from Oklahoma became called "Sooners" by jumping the canon in a land run.

The installation is impressive, with its large scale and embedded stories you only find after looking at it for a while. We liked how the artist incorporated the river into the storyline.

Learn more about the Oklahoma City Land Run Monument.

We've driven by this kitschy little curio stop dozens of times as it's literally right up the road from our apartment. Stopping in, we found it to be a great source for Tulsa and Route 66 goodies. Plus Robots. Learn more at buckatomson66.com. 

We love shopping for used vinyl and Joseys is the second record store within two miles of our apartment. We knew roughly where it was but hadn't made work of finding it - mostly because we were so happy with the selection and prices at Studio Records.

Joseys is a bigger store with a wider variety of music-related items like t-shirts and posters. Music-wise, we mainly look for jazz and blues artists. Joseys had a ton of Jazz, but not as much Blues. Still, we found three albums and with Black Friday discounts paid less than $12 total.

Learn more at joseyrecords.com.

There are 110 restaurants in downtown Tulsa and 90% of them are locally owned. We've hardly scratched the surface of experiencing them so challenged ourselves to try some new places during our staycation.

Ali Baba serves Mediterranean and Persian food at 4709 E 51st Street in Tulsa. Located next to a liquor store in a strip mall, it's not going to impress you with its architecture or ambiance.

We stopped in borderline hangry but unwilling to settle for yet another burger. We ordered a Mediterranean plate with lamb meat and side of hummus to share. The service was quick, the food was tasty, and the prices reasonable.  

Learn more at https://alibabaok.com/

This was a bit of a punt. We were hungry for late breakfast on a Sunday early afternoon while out shopping. We had been to another Black Bear location once before and enjoyed the meal. 

This visit was to the location at 9039 North 121st Street in Owosso. The location felt a bit older, and we waited a bit longer for service than we should have during a slow time. Watching a group of employees socialize while we waited made it a bit more frustrating.

But, the meals arrived quickly once ordered and were good. Black Bear has some of the best biscuits and gravy we've found locally. 

Learn more at blackbeardiner.com.

Update: According to this article in the TulsaWorld, this Black Bear diner location is slated to close December 20th, 2023.

We're semi-regulars at the Boulder Grill for two reasons. One - it's the closest restaurant to our apartment. Two - they have a good happy hour menu and are open seven days a week.

We usually get a $7 flatbread pizza, chicken strips, or chicken chips and cheese. If you order the latter make sure to get the queso on the side as they can be a bit generous with it and it makes the chips soggy.

This is also where the Press Club refugees are meeting every other week on Thursdays.

Learn more at thebouldergrill.com. The restaurant is at 17 W 7th Street downtown Tulsa.

"The Harv" serves soups, sandwiches, and freshly-baked bread in a corner-facing former Chrysler Plymouth dealer in Oklahoma City. It's just a few blocks away from the Memorial.

It's a busy college hangout, but the line moved quickly and there was plenty of seating. Our sandwiches were good and the blonde pecan bourbon brownie was worth the calorie investment.

The restaurant is at 301 NW 13th Street in Oklahoma City, online at theharveybakery.com.

Ti Amo is an Italian restaurant with two locations in Tulsa. We walked over to the basement-level downtown location at 219 S Cheyenne Ave. 

We were a bit early so the crowd was light and we were seated right away. The restaurant has a cool speakeasy vibe with brick walls and local artwork. I almost think the restroom doors used to be a church confessional.

Our server was attentive and our pasta dishes were tasty. Prices, however, are a bit upscale. My bowl of Fettuccini Alfredo was $17 before adding a $9 chicken breast. With one cocktail, two entrees, and no dessert, I think this was still our most expensive meal of the week. 

Learn more at tiamotulsa.com.

Tulsa has two New Orleans-themed restaurants. We had already been to the other one so were happy to stumble across Nolas while looking for something interesting.

Located on the end of the Cherry Street district at 1334 E 15th Street, the restaurant is largely basement-based with seasonal outdoor seating. The "downstairs vibe" of the main seating areas felt simiilar to Ti Amo.

We happened to visit while lunch, dinner, and happy hour menus were all in effect, so had a wide variety of meal choices. MsBoyink went for a sampler of red beans and rice, gumbo, and Jambalaya. I had a Cajun omelette that was gone far too quickly. We wrapped up Cafe DuMonde style with a serving of beignets. Nolas puts a bit of a spin on them with a rum-based dipping sauce.

Considering that staying in Tulsa was plan B after deciding not to drive to New Orleans, our meal at Nolas was a highlight of the week. The food had heat, yes, not so much that I lost my voice (which happens). Our server was attentive and the prices were reasonable. 

There's no doubt we'll be back.

Learn more at nolastulsa.com.

You'd think all that was enough, but nope. We squeezed in some additional meetups during our staycation.

Tulsa has a local community offering camaraderie, criticism, education, and mentoring to writers of fiction. The group hosts an annual conference where you can pitch your ideas to agents. 

I'm (slowly) getting the nerve to try and write a fiction book, so joined the group.

The monthly meeting happened during our staycation so I made the time to go. I'm glad I did - I made a contact in the historical fiction publishing world, and also learned about a regional magazine I might be able to publish in.

Learn more about the group at tulsanightwriters.org

Tulsa Remote has a Slack channel where we can communicate with other TR folks. A "friendsgiving" topic popped up and Rachel posted that she was generously opening her house for Thanksgiving and providing the meal.  

We opted in and reconnected with some old friends and met some new ones. Rachel put out an unbelievable Thanksgiving spread. We lacked for nothing in our new adopted city! 

A fellow Press Club refugee, Roy Lee, is a street photographer. He was artist of the month at the 473 Bar in the Kendall-Whittier district of Tulsa. I stopped in to see his exhibit before it changes out. See Roy's work on Instagram, and check out the bar at 473bar.com.

As if all of this wasn't enough, we had to fit in a quick photoshoot for a Business Insider article about our experience with Tulsa Remote. 

My first-choice location was locked, so we headed to another place where I knew the background would show some of the unique Tulsa architecture. We had to work quickly against the setting sun because the weather forecast for the next day was gray and rainy.

We were busier in our new home town than any vacation I can remember - but we enjoyed it.

And can you believe, there are some places we still haven't gotten to.

Maybe we'll do Spring Break in Tulsa as well.