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Carrabbas Italian Grill in Tulsa - Locally owned and operated!

A few nights ago, Byron and I and two guests, Angela and Rhonda, all who live and work in Tulsa, decided to pay a visit to Carrabba’s Italian Grill at the 4848 S. Yale location. We were greeted warmly by our hostess and within minutes had a great large table in a very welcoming and open dining room. Now, I have been to Carrabba’s once before several years ago and our 2 guests, Angela who works for Omni Air International and Rhonda who works for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklhahoma have both been there as well but TulsaTonight.com co-founder, Bryon, a travel agent at AAA - who has quite the discerning palette, had never been to Carrabba’s before. My last visit was memorable but since I am so busy checking out the latest and greatest Mom and Pop owned restaurants, I haven’t had time to return to Carrabba’s until this week. I am glad I did… read on…

I was VERY pleased to find out that Carrabba’s is locally owned and operated. Now many of you know that I have nothing against franchise operated restaurants but since there are so many locally owned and operated establishments in this great city, I always feel it’s best for me to patronize those places before I would patronize a large, franchise operation. Don’t get me wrong here, I have enjoyed the cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory but I prefer Roberto Vargas’ cheescake from El Rey Mexican. He’s won awards for his cooking and his cheesecake. His entire family works at his restaurant and I am all about family run businesses. Needless to say - the lure of a locally owned and operated restaurant such as Carrabba’s gets a vote in my book as a ‘must re-visit’ before I even look at the menu.

I was also pleased to find out that each Carrabba’s menu is talored to the locale in which the restaurant is located, taking advantage of some of the local’s flavor faves.

As the four of us perused the full menu, our server Joshua proceeded to tell us about the specials of the evening and since Rhonda and I both enjoy wine, he suggested ‘Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay which has a bright fruity taste with a very subtle toffee aroma. I am not a wine expert but this was on of the best wines I have tasted recommended by our server Joshua after Rhonda and I told him about the types of wine we normally enjoy. At $33.00 for a bottle, the price was right in line with costs in most restaurants I have been to in Tulsa. No compromises here.

Bread was served quickly along with peppered and herbed olive oil. The bread was warm, soft and quite good with no hint of defrosted frozen bread tastes that I have found at several un-named large franchise restaurants. A small bottle of olive oil was left at our table so we could drench every bit of the tasty bread.

For an appetizer we ordered Calamari Ricardo - Calamari served with a spicy pepper and lemon butter sauce. (7.99) A perfect blend of spice and butter… I wanted to take more of this home, and I did.

Angela ordered her favorite, Pasta Weesie - Shrimp sauteed in a garlic lemon butter, white wine sauce with sauteed mushrooms and scallions served over Fettucini Alfredo. (13.99) Her portion was large enough and so full of shrimp that she had to take some of it home. I had a small taste and was amazed at the perfect combination of wine and garlic lemon butter. I have tried several times in the past to cook a dish similar to this, but Carrabba’s wins hands down. Their cooks are no amateurs.

Linguine PescatoreByron, our Carrabba’s first timer, ordered Linguini Pescatore - another delicately prepared shrimp dish with mussels and scallops tossed with linguine in a spicy but not overbearing marinara sauce. (13.99) Remember what I said earlier - Byron is very particular about what goes on his palette and by the look on his face - he was pleased with the Linguine Pescatore so much so that he ordered some for his wife who was unable to attend because of a conflicting work schedule.

Rhonda has to follow a strict gluten free diet and it is sometimes difficult for her to find a quality menu that has selections of food from which she can order. Carrabba’s, I am pleased to report has one of the most extensive gluten free menus I have ever seen or heard of. Rhonda ordered Sirloin Marsala - 10 oz USDA choice center cut grilled and topped with mushrooms, prosciutto and Carraba’s Lombardo Marsala wine sauce. (15.99) The meal was prepared without a grill baste to further cut down on the amount of gluten in the meal. Carrabba’s Gluten Free menu is provided to patrons upon request and in cooperation with GIG - Gluten Intolerance Group. The steak was cooked perfectly according to Rhonda and she said the flavor of the Marsala wine used was the best she has ever had. I am a fan of Florio Marsala but Carrabba’s Lombardo Marsala has a better overall aroma and flavor to it as I found out when it was my time to feast. Sirloin Marsala

I ordered what was quite possibly the best dish I have ever had at a large family restaurant - Mrs C’s favorite - a combination of two dishes - Involtini di Pollo - chicken stuffed with Italian fennel sausage, spinach, ricotta and Romano cheese topped with Marsala wine… then, add in Pollo Rosa Maria - chicken filled with fontina cheese and procisutto ham topped with sauteed musrooms and basil lemon butter sauce. (15.99) This incredible dish was served with a side of Italian green beans. One bite and I was hooked. Only in Thai food have I experienced a marriage of flavors as good as that of this dish. Nothing was overpowering in this dish, nothing left out and the care that was taken to perfectly cook this dish is something I am sure has taken years of practice to accomplish.

For those patrons that prefer a more ‘red sauced’ Italian menu, Carrabba’s has a great selection of traditional favorites including Lasagna, Manicotti, Spaghetti and Chicken Parmesean (9.99 to 13.99) but please do try Carrabba’s signature family plates for something unique and mouth watering. Carrabba’s also offers a great selection of wood fired pizza like their Quattro Formaggi with extra virgin olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, romano, mozarella, fontina and goat cheeses. (9.49) I will be visiting Carrabba’s again to try the pizza as well as their Mezza Luna - delicate half moon ravioli stuffed with chicken, ricotta and spinach in a tomato cream sauce. (11.79)

My grandmother, Rosemary and my Uncle Rich, have owned and managed restaurants in New Jersey since the early 70’s and I have worked for them as a bus boy and waiter - I know the attention to detail that has to be there when working in a fine dining restaurant. My uncle is the toughest boss I have ever had and my grandmother was very particular about how food in her restaurant was prepared… with the freshest ingredients - sparing nothing for her customer’s delight. Carrabba’s reminds me of how well my family ran their restaurants - with much love for the pallete and attention to detal and above all, attention to the customer.

We highly recommend a visit to Carrabba’s Italian Grill - with two locations in Tulsa.

11021 E 71st Street, Tulsa, OK 74133
Sun: 11am-9pm
Mon-Thur: 4-10pm
Fri: 4-11pm
Sat: 12-11pm

(918) 254-8888

4848 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74135
Sun: 11am-10pm
Mon-Thur: 4-10pm
Fri: 4-11pm
Sat: 3-11pm

(918) 481-9500

VIEW MENU | VIEW WEBSITE

Thanks for reading!

Vince L, Byron M, Angela D, Rhonda M.

A Dog Park? In Tulsa?

I have been looking for ages for a dog park in Tulsa or the surrounding area but until recently I had been unsuccessful at finding one. Last month, a fellow dog owner told me about an unoffical dog park located in Tulsa - near rhe arboretum at 21st and Harvard. It’s a small park but appears to be well maintained by both the grounds caretakers and the visitors alike. You do need to clean up after your dog as you do in most official dog parks across our country - let’s face it - our dogs are important to us and having a park for them to socialize in is a needed thing, but a dirty one is not.

Emma at the dog parkI term it as unofficial because technically there are no dog parks in Tulsa - at least none that I have found crusing the local forums for that matter. You do have to have your dog on a leash OR he must be controllable without a leash. I have been there 4 times since first finding out about the park and my dog has never had a better time chasing after the other well mannered dogs that are usually there on the weekends. The park is most crowded on a clear, warm day around 5PM - I counted 40 dogs 2 weekends ago at that time. Around 1 or 2 you can expect to find 10 to 20 dogs romping around or catching frisbees on the well manicured lawn. The park can be a little difficult to find for first timers but I found the easiest way to get to the park is to head south on Peoria from Cherry street going through 21st and passing the first entrance to the park just driving ahead to about 24th street and making a left at the entrance to the Tulsa Historial Society and then driving straight till you can’t go any further - That’s where the unofficial dog park is. No worries about having to bring pooper scoopers to the park since the park has an adequate supply of small plastic bags to aid in the disposal of your furred friend’s mess. The park also has a water fountain with a ground level bowl for your thirsty hound to drink from.

The park is not gated but it is fenced in with two open entrances on either side. You may be worried that your pouncingEmma meets the BIG DOG pooch may run off through the open entrances but he will be more than happy to stay inside because there is just too much fun for him to have with all of the other dogs.

I met dog owners from Broken Arrow, Sand Springs and all parts of Tulsa so it is apparent that word is catching on about the park quickly.

If you are a dog owner and are ever at the park, I’ll be the short guy with the black pug named Emma - sometimes I bring a lab or two as well depending on whether or not I am taking care of one that week.

UPDATE: MAY 11, 2008

I went for a visit to the park again this weekend and was told by several folks that several tickets were issued to pet owners that did not have their dogs on a leash. The tickets started at $75.00 each and it was reported that at least 20 were issued. The tickets were issued this past Thursday and Friday. I think it is an outrage that tickets were issued at the park whether the tickets were issued legally or not. These are DOGS and their owners, not criminals but apparently the officers that issued the tickets felt otherwise. Because of the incident this past week, visitors to the park have expressed an interest in a legal and of course, official dog park. It is evident that the unofficial dog park at the arboretum has attracted many dog owners and I might add, VERY RESPONSIBLE dog owners… so if the unofficial dog park has been working up until the incident this week, then why doesn’t the city of Tulsa opt for a legal dog park where families, friends and their dogs could gather together. Heck the revenue the city of Tulsa would make on the potential dues and fees should be enough to get even a smal park opened. If you are a dog owner and if you are interested in joining the Tulsa Bark Park Yahoo group, to discuss this topic and lend support to fellow dog owners, please use the sign up link below.

Related: Channel 2 News story - DOG PARK CONCERNS IN TULSA

UPDATE MAY 18, 2008

Please help us get an official Dog Park underway. We’ve had several people join our Yahoo group but the power is in numbers. We need more of YOU. If you are interested in helping us petition the city of Tulsa for an OFFICIAL DOG PARK in Tulsa, Please join as soon as you can by clicking the link below.




Click to join tulsabarkpark

All the best!
Vinnie

Ring Central - Putting Your Business in Command

I speak to small business owners on a regular basis and was talking to an associate of mine about Ring Central.
Ring Central’s Virtual Phone System
from $9.99/month for professionals and small businesses. There are many businesses that are cutting costs everyday and one great way to cut costs is to do away with your antiquated and probably expensive PBX systems and replace it with Ring Central’s virtual phone system.

How does it work? Let’s say you own a business and need to have your customer calls routed to your business phone or perhaps any number of other extensions… traditionally you would have needed expensive hardware to handle this function or you’d have to pay your local bell a large monthly fee to handle this type of service. - Ring Central eliminates the high cost of operating a system of this type because of the technology is handled in one central location though a “Virtual PBX”. Ring Central lets YOU connect our team wherever they are. Ring Central let’s you create a large company image with an auto attendant. You can even add extensions as your company grows… for instance, today your business may have a sales department and a tech support department but as you grow you may want to add an extension for several sales desks and an extension for advertising accounts. Using Ring Central and your own online control panel you now have the power to make your own business sound more professional and you can track all of your calls online. Ring Central also has business quality voicemail so you can track your messages anytime and anywhere using your PC, online or by phone. You can get notification of new messages on your cell phone. You can even receive voicemail as email if you like. You can set up multiple mailboxes with an auto attendant. Your customers will always be directed to the correct department or to wherever you are as needed.

Ring Central has NO CONTRACTS to sign, NO HARDWARE is required and you can be up an running instantly!

I’ve signed up for Ring Central myself to handle calls for my web design business to help facilitate my current small number of calls today - but since my business is increasing every day, Ring Central will help my business grow and compete in this world wide market. Ring Central offers a great cal screening feature that lets you screen incoming calls by phone or online. You are able to see and hear who is calling you. YOU CAN UNBLOCK HIDDEN CALLER IDs and you can BLOCK UNWANTED CALLERS FOREVER! I love the FAX FEATURE that let’s me send and receive faxes via email or my web account. I can even send and receive faxes from Windows applications and I can create custom fax cover pages. I can edit and sign faxes electronically and send faxes by phone with fax in demand.

Do you see what I am getting at here? Ring Central takes your business into the 21st century making YOU sound like a true professional and all at a fraction of the cost of traditional PBX services. Ring Central plans start at $9.95 per month and you can even add a toll free number or toll free vanity number to your account!

Ring Central lets you create conference calls in one click - this is great if your lets say a carpet restoration service that needs to get in touch with a plumber while your on the phone with your customer. You have the ability to record your phone conversations if needed which is a great feature to get all of the terms down for a new contract.

Ring Central has one of the best features for anyone that owns a website. Ring Central’s Click-to-call Me feature lets you embed a clickable image on your website that when clicked will dial your Ring Central phone number and connect a potential new customer to you in real time. Visitors world wide can call you toll free with a click.

Ring Central was voted PC Magazine’s EDITORS CHOICE and Inc Magazine voted Ring Central “Best for …. toll free numbers”.
RYou can find out more about Ring Central’s Virtual Phone System and Services Here

Bali Fusion Cafe - Bubble Tea, A taste of Indonesia and Italian Sanwhiches!

I was in the area of 71st and Memorial a few days ago and I stopped off for lunch at Bali Fusion Cafe. This place has a delightful mix of foods from Indonesia with over 40 types of Bubble Tea drinks. The owner of the restaurant, Ervintha  told me that she used to have a kiosk in Woodland Hills where she had many regular customers that came to buy her Bubble Tea Drinks that she now serves at Bali Fusion Cafe along with her Indonesian dishes. I ordered a Grapefruit / Black Tea drink- it is served cold, over ice in a plastic container that is then shrink-wrap sealed after it is freshly prepared in the restaurant. It was very good! My first exposure to Bubble Tea was at the Ivangie Tea House in Ridgewood, New Jersey so after living here in Tulsa for 10 years, I am so glad that I can have Bubble Teas once again - here in Tulsa.

 For lunch I ordered Chicken Satay - 4 skewers of delicately marinated chicken served with rice, homemade peanut sauce and fresh veggies.  Most peanut sauces are prepared staring with commercial grade peanut butter but Ervintha at Bali Fusion Cafe makes her own peanut butter first and then incorporates the peanut butter into her own recipe for the peanut sauce itself. The Chicken Satay is the best I have had in a long time. The first time I had Chicken Satay was at a Hmong Restaurant in Manhattan - it was also well prepared but the Bali Fusion Cafe Chicken Satay had a better marination process it seems because the flavors were a bit more pungent without being overwhelming. I dipped the chicken in the peanut sauce for yet another level of outstanding flavor. The peanut sauce had a touch of sweetness that made the chicken satay a perfect lunch.

The flavors of the food are wonderful - so much so that I returned again today to sample some more varieties of Bubble Tea. I also ordered Sumatra Beef Curry (Rendang) - a well marinated beef seasoned with curry sauce,  also served with rice. The presentation of the food is wonderful - the chef has an eye for presentation - The food looks as if it came from a 5 star restaurant with the entrees looking like works of art on the plate.  For dessert the chef prepared a Banana Egg Roll - Wow! A fried egg roll wrapper around sweet banana drizzled with caramel topping… very different, very good!

If you are in the mood and Eclectic mix of Indonesian food, then Bali Fusion Cafe is the place to go. If you have friends that are like mine and perhaps too hesitant to try something new then they won’t feel left out in the cold because Bali Fusion Cafe also has a fine selection of Italian Panini sanwhiches, also prepared fresh with high quality cuts of meat.

Salad lovers will love the mix of salads available at Bali Fusion Cafe from their Ceasar salad to the Matahari salad - A salad of fresh greens, with marinated grilled chicken, tomatoes and served with a sesame ginger dressing.

You can also find great slushes that incorporate your choice of four flavors. You can also select from several Big Train coffee drinks and a wide variety of fruit juice drinks as well.

Prices are very fair with Juice Drinks and Bubble teas from just inder $3.00 - Appetizers from $2.00 and sanwhiches, salads and dinners from $6.49.  Dinner for 2 with an appetizer, main dish, bubble tea and a dessert would run about $30.00 - My lunch on my own was $11.50 including bubble tea.

Bali Fusion Cafe at 6808 S. Memorial Dr. Suite 302 - Tulsa, OK - 74133 - In The Village Shopping Center behind Pep Boys and a few doors down from The Looney Bin.

IMDELIVERED.COM - Local Grocery Delivery in Tulsa, Jenks and Broken Arrow Oklahoma

Are you just to busy to do your grocery shopping? Want some food delivered? Need a prescription picked up? For a small fee, ImDelivered.com operated by Jenks resident Patrick Cuningkin will deliver to your home or place of business.

While the concept is not new, it is new to this area ok Oklahoma.  Patrick has set up his website to accept online orders for grocery shopping, restaurant delivery and prescription pick-up and drop off.

I am helping him streamline the online shopping system as we speak but even now you can go to ImDelivered.com and place orders. Most grocery orders in the ImDelivered.com delivery area are processed and delivered within 24 hours.

ImDelivered.com

What do I like most about his business? His professionalism and the fact that he is LOCAL! He also operates a myspace page here. Currently you can have your groceries delivered by Patrick for the following vendors: Walmart, Wild Oats, Walgreens, Big Daddy All American BBQ, Sub Station, Daylight Donuts, Krispy Kream, Nikko Enterprise Corp (Sushi), Subway and The Cheesecake Factory, wit more vendors and restaurants being added soon. 

Orders can also be placed by telephone by calling 955-SHOP (7467)

El Rey Mexican - Revisited

I reviewed El Rey Mexican Restaurant back in April of 2007 and I’ve been back several times since then. I am writing another review because there have been some changes that I really think need to written about.

El Rey is serving Mexican style breakfast. There is no shortage of breakfast restaurants in Tulsa - but El Rey is one of the only full service restaurants serving authentic Mexican breakfast so if you are looking to try something a little different on the weekend or any morning before work - stop by and say hi to Roberto and his family at El Rey.

Did you know that Tulsa World voted El Rey as the BEST MEXICAN RESTURANT in Tulsa and that El Rey also placed thrid overall amoung restaurants in Tulsa, Browken Arrow and Owasso? -  If it’s not breakfast you are looking for - go for the Cheesecake or for goodness sake, try one of the largest Burritos in Tulsa. If you can finish an El Rey Burrito - leave a comment here and tell me about it!

El Rey is located at 2146 S Garnett in Tulsa of course. 918-794-3780.

Blues City

Just south of 31st at Mingo lies a great little pub called Blues City. Blues City is under new ownership and I stopped by there last monday to listen to the music of El Trio. El Trio plays every Monday night from 10PM - 12AM. Blues City is a small, intimate bar that is biker friendly, blues friendly and features a good selection of brews and shots.

Brett was the bartender monday night and handled the crowd well. Most of the patrons are local to the area and quite a few came to see El Trio perform accoustic versions of Citizen Mundi’s music.

Blues City has a pool table, a CD jukebox and a wrap around outdoor patio. There is plenty of on site parking. What is really nice about Blues City is that when the weather is nice, the front of the can be opened right out to the patio.

I am told that in warm weather months, they’ll have a grill outside so that they can serve food for special occasions.

Here is the current weekly line up at Blues City

Mondays: Mundi Mondays (El Trio playes live - 3 members from Citizen Mundi and some musician friends) 9PM - $3 Imports and $3 Wells.

Tuesdays: Rock The House Night

Wednesdays: Ladies Night - $1.50 Domestics All Night

Thursdays: Shot and Beer Night

Fridays: Band Night - $8.00 Domestic Buckets

Saturdays: Open Mic Night

Sundays: Mullets 3 Ball Tourney and Beer Specials 

Blues City
3156 S. Mingo
Tulsa, OK 74146

Kawnar - Tulsa’s Own

I have been watching this young Tulsa artist grow into a music sensation for a while now. I have seen him perform twice and have always been electri-FRIED by his work.

At just 19 years old, Kawnar has done what many performers only dream to do and that is to perform his music before a large fanbase here in Oklahoma. Kawnar will be releasing his newest CD, “Unclear” on February 22nd in Claremore, OK. My favorite cut by Kawnar is “In a Heartbeat” that features old school style piano and lyrics even my Dad can understand…:)

Kawnar needs our help in getting his music promoted to the masses and he is in a video music contest and has qualified for the round of the top 50 in the nation of his genre (Hip Hop / R&B) If he wins this contest, he’ll be awarded a substantial amount of money and be able to forward his music career even more.

From Kawnar’s MySpace listing:

….Born Connor Scott McFarland,Tulsa MC Kawnar began to internalize the rhythms and cadences of soul,funk and rock pioneers such as The GAP Band, Micheal Jackson and The Eagles: “I listened to more Micheal Jackson then I probably should have…” Suprisingly Kawnar was not an immediate fan of hip hop, but credits DMXs classic album Its Dark and Hell is Hot for changing his mind and career path: “I don’t know why but that album blew my mind…I never had to press next while listening…after that I think I realized what I wanted to do for a living…not be gangsta rapper or nothing…but be involved in music…” With his newfound love of hip hop music, Kawnar began to put words to paper, scribbling rhymes into notebooks by age 9. Unfortunatley, his words were a bit brash, disappointing his mother and causing her to throw away the notebook. Even though he was dissapointed that she was unhappy, he realized at age 9 that words are a weapon. Kawnar began recording in 2003 under the name CMAC: “Me and group of other rappers from school would meet at my house and place a cheap computer mic up to some speakers and play instrumentals through it…cause we could only record on one track without stopping…even though the quality was worse than bad…I was so excited..” Kawnar was eventually able to purchase his own equipment, which gave his music a more polished sound. High school for Kawnar was an akward and often painful experience. As a white rapper, he was immediately faced with being an outcast. Luckily, he was able to channel his teenage angst into his rhymes, which made Kawnars music very wise beyond his 16 years “I relized my only friend was my music…and I felt at that time my music wasn’t ME…it was what people wanted me to be…. so I changed my name….I thought of KAWNAR… which is my given name but spelled differently…the reason I spelled it different is because I felt like my music was giving you the most you could get of ME without actually being ME… I stated making less gangsta of tracks and started exspressing feelings…”. Kawnar has done shows all across Oklahoma and surrounding states, improving his stage show with each performance and building a huge fanbase…

Now, Kawnar is asking for our help by voting for his latest video, Bittersweet. Help this young talent achieve greater heights (and win some cash!) by VOTING FOR KAWNAR AND SEEING HIS LATEST VIDEO HERE.

MORE ABOUT KAWNAR ON MYSPACE.COM

Citizen Mundi


Tulsa Glassblowing Studio

Reprinted from Nuspun Apparel Bulletin on MySpace.

Tulsa Glassblowing Studio (formerly Tulsa Gathering Place) is having a HOT Re-opening this weekend after being closed for a month due to ice-storm repairs. We invite you to come down and see our guest artist, Jeremy Burdge of Ohio, performing FREE GLASSBLOWING DEMONSTRATIONS on Sunday January 13, 2008 from 11-4. Jeremy Burdge will be demonstrating how to make fish out of glass. He will donate some of his works to the Oklahoma Aquarium, and allow Tulsa Glassblowing Studio to sell some as well. There is a $5 suggested donation, all proceeds go to the non-profit, Tulsa Glassblowing Studio.

Jeremy Burdge has been blowing glass for 15 years, and is an instructor at The Corning Museum of Glass in New York, and operates his own studio in Columbus, OH. His particular interest is in both English and Italian goblet forms. Mr. Burdge enjoys helping students become as addicted to hot glass as he is.

Tulsa Glassblowing Studio is extremely vital to the downtown revitalization efforts in Tulsa. Give us a hand in spreading the word of our unique craft. TGS has the only open-access glassblowing studio in Oklahoma, where people can stop by and just watch us work or jump in and create something as well. We offer one-time experiences, formal classes, guest artist workshops and more.
Contact info:
Tulsa Glassblowing Studio
Sarah Diggdon, Founding Artistic Director
918-582-4527
http://www.tulsaglassblowing.org