Hoop's Philly Steak Food Truck...Daaaaang Good!

Hoop's Philly Steaks...serious good eats. Words can't do this place justice. You have to try the Philly Steak & Cheese though...really.

     It was "Food Truck Wednesday" and I walked all the way around the trucks to see what I hadn't tried yet (not much I haven't tried). Ran into some awesome people I know...hi Serene, Brady, LB, Terah...and the new people I met :-D, it was great to see you all!

     Okay, on to the goodness. I decided to try Hoop's Philly Steaks. They have jumbo hot dogs, footlong Polish sausage and fried pickles.  They also have some tasty beverages on the menu like lemonade. Oh, and the people servicing were super friendly...I love that.

     I digressed...the Philly Steak & Cheese was delicious. The beef and the onions were cooked tenderly and packed with flavor...almost tasted like a slow braise or roast on both meat and onions.  The sauce was savory and had a slight kick to it.  That Swiss cheese just melted lusciously...ever so creamy and satisfying. You have to try it. I tried to capture the flavor with photos but I didn't have my Canon with me, so Samsung had to step in and try to get the job done. Honestly, the photos don't do this tasty sandwich justice. Try it for yourself. It was only like $7...which is pretty standard pricing for food truck menu items.  Okay, turn on the porn tune...and feast your eyes on THIS.

  

     Hoop's Philly Steak Food Truck...it's that good. Okay, turn the porn music off...it's still good :-)  Cheers!

El Taquero Food Truck...Mexican Hot Dogs? Si, Muy Bueno!

      

                                                     Mexican hot dogs? Sure! Why not? There's always a first time for everything, right? :-D

     So my sister came over for a visit and asked if she could pick us up some Mexican hot dogs for lunch.  I was like...whuhhhh?  Never heard of them. But, ever the curious foodie, of course I said, "SURE!!!"  I'm so glad she did. She stopped by El Taquero Food Truck and informed me they have two locations. One off 2nd and Lewis and the other off 31st and Mingo area.

     As you can see from the photos, this one had a frankfurter, topped with fresh onions, tomatoes, crema, a tasty spicy taco sauce, mustard, cheese and wait for it...BACON!!!  It was good...I could've eaten three more, but I had one and split a 2nd with my sister. Yum.

     Any way you bite it, it was satisfying and scrumptuous! Buen provecho!

Gyros (yee-rose) Palace, Food of the Gods...for realz!

      Seriously, amazing...UH-MAY-ZING flavors. Out of this small little hole in the wall café comes tasty, savory and juicy meats, fresh veggies. Fresh would be a good way to describe this Gyros Palace. Fresh AND flavorful.

 

     I had the "D" on the menu by the register.  It tasted like roasted lamb...O.M.G. It was juicy, literally packed with savory flavor and just beyond good.

     The "D" came with pita bread, hummus, fresh Greek salad, roasted meat and a side of  tzatziki, a cucumber yogurt zesty sauce. This sauce complimented and cut through the rich meat beautifully.

     I highly recommend you at least try Gyro's Palace...they're located just west of Sheridan off 31st street. ζήτω!


 

Asian Cuisine...Family recipes, atmosphere and goodness!

   

     Asian Cuisine, yes it's Asian, yes, it's made from scratch and yes, it's GOOD.

     Located in the old Steak & Ale location off 51st & Yale...this retro building and location makes this made from scratch Asian restaurant a perfect place. Not only is the location great, it spews family owned, made-from-scratch deliciousness.  Some might think this place needs a face-lift, but honestly, the retro-vintage building literally goes hand in hand with the "family-owned" and family recipes food.  You can taste and see the difference in the dumplings too. I've never had any like these.

     I had a special little guest with me so we ordered a few traditional Chinese menu items and shared.  We started with the fried spring rolls. Spring rolls are lighter and crisper in outer texture from that of "egg rolls" and I actually enjoy them more.

     Next we tried their traditional made from scratch steamed dumplings...wow.

     We also tried the calamari...when you see the "youthfulness" of my little guest, you'll be impressed that she tried and elevated her foodie tastes :-)

 Next, we tried the Sesame Chicken and rice...all traditional yet nothing ordinary.

     There wasn't any room for desert. Service was fabulous as was the food and the restaurant was VERY clean. Mom and pop eatery, Asian Cuisine is two thumbs up... even from this lil youngin'...享受！

R Bar and Grill...Gastropub Goodness

     
     R Bar is a Gastropub extraordinaire. The owner, Bill Grant, a top notch, kind, yet savvy Tulsa business man, knows how to run a great establishment. And when he's present, things run smooth.

     I've been going to R Bar since it opened and for the most part, it's been great. From the food, to the service, including the menu items and beer selections.  I would say the Old Fashions, of which I'm a huge fan of, are made too sweet for my taste.  The food is pretty good, usually...but on this particular day, they were off...from service, to food and just overall treatment. I didn't see Bill, which may have been a big part because usually, when he's there, it's always good.

     My brother and I ordered the Margarita Pizza and the Lamb Shank.  The Margarita came with cherry tomatoes, which should never be true to the recipe. They should come with thinly sliced roma tomatoes...always.  And should also come with fresh basil, which in this case, seems like it came with jarred pesto, sprinkled with some fresh and waaaay too much cheese. It was super oily too. The crust was pretty good...a little heavy, but all and all it tasted fairly decent, just not like a true Margarita Pizza.

Margarita Pizza

     The Lamb Shank entree should have come with red beans...RED BEANS. As you can see, that day, they came with pinto beans. Yes, foodie or not, anyone could see they were pinto beans and they were from a can, then sauteed in a pan to cover that up (eek).

Lamb Shank with eh hum, red beans? No, pinto beans today.

     Okay, the lamb was cooked B-E-A-utifully! For real. Look at it. It was falling off the bone, tender and flavorful. I wished they'd served it with red beans because red beans have so much more flavor than canned pinto beans. I will say that the chef did a good job of making those pintos savory...they just weren't deep enough.  I like R Bar because of the staff too. Today, there was a little old man on the patio moving people around, making room for the cover band (I'm not a fan of cover bands, sorry) as the World Cup games were wrapping up. Keep in mind, we had just ordered our food and this man was not asking, not apologizing for the inconvenience, but telling us we HAD to move to make room for this band. He was rude and I didn't appreciate it at all. So when we got our food, yes, I was less forgiving for this honest review of the Margarita Pizza being made overly cheesy and greasy with jarred pesto and cherry tomatoes rather than all fresh ingredients and lack of roma tomatoes and fresh basil. The lamb dish being served with canned beans rather than fresh red beans because it was hot outside and rudeness made it all worse. Now, having said that, I love Bill and the rest of his staff and bartenders so of course, I'll go back. But maybe I'll be rude to the man that was rude to us...okay, no I won't because my mom raised me to respect my elders, but still...gerrrr.

Escolar aka Waloo/Walu...Explosive Facts You Should Know!

     
     Escolar also known as walu/waloo, butterfish, oilfish, super white tuna and king tuna is a delicious oily/buttery fish served in restaurants, often in sushi/sashimi dishes in fine sushi and Japanese restaurants. This is seriously my all time favorite. Recently, I visited one of my favorite local establishments where the chef/owner informed of a new dish he had with the main protein being escolar.  



     He said he could only serve it in a maximum of 6 oz. at a time. He didn't go into detail as to why, and after researching it, I realized he didn't go into detail because we were getting ready to eat lunch and it's not a topic one should discuss prior to dining :-D 

     According to a recent article I found at thekitchn.com titled 'Use Caution When Eating Escolar', ["Escolar is a type of snake mackerel that cannot metabolize the wax esters naturally found in its diet. These esters are called gempylotoxin, and are very similar to castor or mineral oil. This is what gives the flesh of escolar its oily texture. As a result, when full portions of escolar are consumed, these wax esters cause gastrointestinal symptoms.

To be frankly and bluntly specific - and I'm sorry for this - consumption of escolar causes explosive, oily, orange diarrhea. People have reported that the discharges are often difficult to control and accidents can happen while passing gas. I personally know someone who ate an escolar steak one night, unaware of its side effects. The next day he was riding the elevator to his office when out of nowhere his bowels unleashed a surprise attack on his pants. As he said later, "Thank God I had my gym bag with me, which had a clean pair of underwear in it." This explains why escolar is also called the "olestra fish" and the "ex-lax fish."]

     Thank goodness for responsible chefs and restaurateurs for knowing this and not allowing patrons to not consume more than 6 oz.! For more info on this delicious yet cautious consumable fish, visit http://www.thekitchn.com/use-caution-when-eating-escola-66602.

Celebrity Club...Old School Swank with Romantic Charm

     

                                                                               

      Celebrity Club, a true part of Tulsa heritage for 

almost fifty years!

      

     A last minute lunch, my date suggested Celebrity Club...it's been years since I'd been so I was excited about it.  It's RED inside...but an old school swanky red!  Not bad, but it could use an update. Perhaps updated black and white large nostalgic photos and artwork hanging on the walls to replace and refresh what they currently have, as it doesn't really fit the theme of the restaurant. It's late 80's early 90's framed artwork, yet the ambiance is retro 60's era.

     Service was awesome. Debbie, a server there for over nine years was great.  The food came out really, REALLY fast. Almost too fast if you can believe that. But my date had coffee so that enabled us to have more time to chat ;-)

     He had the tomato soup and a steak and potatoes.  The soup, (yes he let me have a taste, he's awesome) honestly, was okay.  It was tasty and went with the retro theme.

     See below, even the potatoes are retro. My mom used to fix potatoes in rippled slices like that. I really like old school "good" food now and then...it brings back great childhood memories.

     I had the Asian Chicken Salad...it was seasoned well and was good to the typical Asian salad...with mandarin orange slices, almonds and those crispy Chinese noodle things. It was good.

      All and all a great experience. In my case, it was the company with whom I dined that made it the best experience possible.  I think it would be best for dinner...with the warm, red colors and soft lighting, it would make for a wicked good romantic experience. Bon appetite!