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A taste of authentic New York City pizza in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Archive for May, 2007

Josie’s Tamales

In Tulsa we never have a lack of good Mexican restaurants. but what I don’t always find is a Mexican restaurant that specializes in one thing and one thing very well…  until Josie’s Tamales.

Josie and her husband have opened ‘Josie’s Tamales’ here in Tulsa.

The menu is quite simple as one can predict from the name of the restaurant, HOWEVER the flavors are not predictable nor simple at at all. 

Josie’s offers both meat and no meat tamales, with vegetarian selections that have no animal products in the ingredients. They even have a ’sweet’ tamales section that includes raisin or pineapple tamales.

Meat Tamales include:

  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork

No Meat Tamales include:

  • Cheese
  • Jalapeno with cheese
  • Bean and cheese
  • Bean

Vegetarian Tamales include:

  • Veggies (Zucchini, Carrot, Bell pepper and mushroom)

If you dine in, Josie’s offers about 6 tables inside and you can order their popular ‘Tamal Plate’ which includes Two large tamales, rice, chili beans and salsa for $5.00. (The salsa is HOT so be sure to get something cool to drink!)

You can also order tamales as single items or by the half dozen or full dozen with prices ranging from:

1 to 5 tamales: $1.50 each plus tax

6 to 11 tamales: $1.10 each plus tax

12 tamales or more: $1.00 each plus tax

Side orders include: Rice, Chili Beans and Salsa from 2 oz. portions all the way up to 32 oz. portions.

I ordered 6 tamales,  3 chicken and 3 beef with 8 oz. of salsa for a few pennies over $9.00 . The flavor was authentic with each tamale slow cooked inside of corn husks the way Josie’s family has been making tamales for years.  If you don’t plan on eating your tamales within 2 hours of buying them, Josie’s recommends buying their freshly frozen tamales so you can enjoy them when you are ready.

I will visit Josie’s again to try the other tamale varieties and you should as well… Great tamales at a great price using a genuine, authentic family recipe. 

If you are in a hurry, Josie’s Tamales offers drive through service during normal business hours which are Monday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

Josie’s Tamales

8720 E. 21st St Space 200 (East of Memorial on 21st)

918-619-6700 (You can phone in orders as well) 

Napolis - Italian Restaurant Broken Arrow

Napolis Italian Restaurant in Broken Arrow, serves up some serious Italian food! I was in Broken Arrow visiting some friends and decided to give Napolis a try. My waiter told me he came from Italy and I could detect his accent as he pronounced specials of the day. I ordered one of my favorite Italian dishes, Chicken Marsala… which is boneless chicken breasts hammered thin and sauteed in mushrooms and rich Marsala wine, served with spaghettini. The dish was superb with just the right amount of Italian spice. Napoli’s uses a quality Marsala wine though I didn’t ask which one. (I generally use Florio Marsala when I make this dish at home.)

The pasta - cooked perfectly and was complimented by a good tomato sauce.

The menu is quite reminiscent of one you would find in a New Jersey, New York or Chicago Mom and Pop Italian restaurant, with plentiful pasta choices:

  • Baked Ziti
  • Eggplant Parmigiana or Eggplant Rollatini
  • Meat or Cheese Ravioli
  • Manicotti
  • Lasagna
  • Tortellini
  • Spaghetti

 Pasta sauces vary depending on your pasta selection but include:

  • Marinara
  • Olive Oil, Garlic and Basil
  • Meat Sauce
  • Mushrooms
  • Sausage

Chicken and Veal dishes come in many varieties:

  • Marsala
  • Siciliano
  • Picatta
  • Arrabiatta
  • Parmigiana
  • Diavolo
  • Capelini
  • Damabianka

If it’s Pizza you crave, Napolis serves up some great authentic Pizza, with a wide range of toppings. Iatalian Sub Samdwhiches are a speciality as well at Napolis and include:

  • Calzones
  • Meatball or Sausage or Chicken Parmigiana
  • Stomboli
  • Philly Cheessteak (Napolis uses Mozarella cheese, so while this sandwhich is not a tradional “Philly Cheesesteak”, the “Mutz” works well on this sandwhich!)

Napolis has a great lunch special Tuesday through Saturday for $5.95, including salad.

There is a kids menu with smaller portions of the adult pasta dishes.

Bring a hearty appetite because portions are large, though you’ll want to save room for desert to be able to fit in some Tiramisu or a creamy Cannoli.

Napolis is located at 2039-A West Houston in Broken Arrow (Corner of 81st and 145th, next door to Luv-A-Pet.) Call them at: 918-251-0647

Visit their website HERE.