Iguana Cafe

LOCATION: 500 North Muskogee Avenue, Tahlequah, OK

FOOD GENRE: Sandwiches and deli items

PRICE: Not too bad, the sandwiches ran about $6-8 each.

My favorite part about this place was the atmosphere. It was in a really cool 2-story wooden-log-cabin-like place. It was covered in Native-American sculptures and paintings that you could actually buy. The second floor had a huge opening to the first floor so it felt like one enormous building. The employees there all seemed to be college-age, but they were very nice. They forgot part of my order, but they were extremely apologetic, fixed it, and brought it right out to me!

The menu was on large boards posted on the wall, so there wasn't a ton of menu options to choose from, however, they were very unique. They also had "Healthier choices" that they offered. I tried one of their specialty sandwiches, which came with a jalapeno-spread. It was good, but it was SPICY! They advertised a mango smoothie, which I ordered, but quickly realized afterward it's only the smoothie mix, not an actual smoothie with real fruit. So the smoothie options weren't that great. But they did offer a huge variety of coffees and flavored drinks (like Italian Creme sodas) so that was really neat about them. We went during the normal lunch rush, but they were big enough that it was still easy to find a place to sit. It definitely seemed like one of those places that would be a lot busier during the school year.

It was very unique, and had a cool "small-town" feel to it. The food wasn't fantastic, but it was unique and good for the price you paid. I would definitely recommend going there for lunch if you were craving a specialty sandwich, that's what the place seemed built/designed the best for.

RATING: 7.5/10

Vidalia's Cafe

LOCATION: 319 North Muskogee Avenue, Tahlequah, OK

FOOD GENRE: Deli and Bakery: Salads, Sandwiches, Pastries

PRICE: I'd consider it one of those more upscale lunch places... salads will be around $4-5, although they're very generous portions!

This was obviously an incredibly popular place to go for lunch. There was no sitting space when we arrived, and we had to stand to wait for our meals to be served. Thankfully, right as we got our meals a table freed up, so we nabbed it. It is in a rather small building, maybe able to comfortably hold about 30 people, which it was obviously past capacity when we went there. It was an order-and-sit-down place, so I didn't have any waiters or waitresses. However especially for being super busy the cashiers there very polite. Both of us ordered large salads. essentially they took paper french-fry rectangle boats, and piled everything in there. It was very hard to mix up the salad without making a huge mess, and they saturated my salad in raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I wasn't very hungry to begin with, so I was only able to eat about half my salad. It wasn't anything special... there wasn't any meat or hard-boiled eggs on it or anything, but it was a nice way to grab a quick healthy lunch.

They had a wide assortment of pastries, desserts and drinks like Italian sodas and coffees. We weren't hungry enough to order any extras, but I'm sure they were edible.

It was a nice place to eat, although crowded and limited in menu options (The menu was propped up on big signs above the cashier). If you're local to the OKC area, it would be comparable to a La Baguette bakery, although I would say La Baguette has more options. Still, it was very nice for a small college town like Talequah, and I wouldn't mind going there again and trying a different item on the menu for fun, although I would make sure to avoid the lunch rush next time I went!

RATING: 7.5/10

Sam and Ella's Chicken Palace

LOCATION: 419 North Muskogee Avenue, Tahlequah, OK

FOOD GENRE: Pizza and related side dishes

PRICE: If you've ever eaten at Hideaway pizza, the prices are very comparable. I would say it's a decent-priced price for a sit-down pizza place.

Okay, first of all the restaurant name is misleading. When I first heard it, I was expecting a place where all the meals have Chicken-related ingredients. However, that is not why it's named so! The real reason is when you walk in... EVERYTHING is chicken themed. The decorations, the placemats... everything has chickens on it. Which results in a really neat casual atmosphere. Granted, it's right next to the college (Northwestern State University) so most of the restaurants around there have a very relaxed atmosphere.

The one warning I was given before eating here, and it proved true when I went, is that it will take awhile for your food to get there. Which is usually a good sign, meaning it's fresh. The restaurant is VERY busy, and it is in an old downtown building... I'd say maybe 30-50 people can eat in there... it's not very big, but it was definitely crowded when we went at lunchtime.

The menu is limited... it's not big, and they only have a few specialty pizzas, but I doubt you'd ever get tired of them! For the life if me I can't remember the pizza we had, but it was SO GOOD! A few of the ingredients were grilled pineapple and ham with honey drizzled over it, so you can only imagine what the rest of the pizza ingredients were like! And the crust; SO THICK! I LOVED it! Think crust lovers: They do have a thin crust option, but I can't imagine why you'd stray from their hand-tossed homemade crust... it was phenomenal.

Because we'd heard that the food would be awhile, we ordered an appetizer: a Spinach and ricotta cheese calzone-style appetizer. Unfortunately it came out right as our pizza did. Also: the appetizer was HUGE! We got WAY more food than 2 people could eat. But both the appetizer, and pizza, were to die for, even if our bodies were dying afterwards from the enormous amount of cheese, bread, and various other less-than-healthy ingredients. But I would go back there in a heartbeat.

It's a great unique pizza place for a small town... easily worth the money and the drive. They also sell neon-colored shirts of the place for $15, which I almost snagged, but didn't. It's very comparable to Hideaway pizza, and dare I say, possibly a little bit better (especially in regards to the specialty pizzas and appetizers). The staff was busy and therefore a little slow, but they were VERY polite to us, and greeted us as we entered/left the restaurant. For anybody in the area, I'd highly recommend it for a casual, yet very enjoyable and affordable experience!

RATING: 9/10

Pepper's Grill

LOCATION: Utica Square in Tulsa, OK

FOOD GENRE: Southwest/Mexican

PRICE: I'd say moderate. I've only gotten to be there for the dinner prices, but I think the price was around $15-25 a person, depending on what you order for starters/drinks.

This is one of my favorite Mexican places to go in Tulsa! First of all, the atmosphere is really unique. It has an old feel to it, yet it does NOT feel run-down. It almost makes me think of a Saloon from the Old West. The decorations are a good blend of Spanish and Western, and all in all makes for a really fun environment. It is not a black-tie place to eat... several people were there in shorts and flip-flops (this was during the summer obviously). The staff is professionally dressed and very down-to-earth and friendly. Our waitress pointed out several of the special dishes for the evening and was more than helpful with answering all of our questions with the meals and appetizers. Very well-informed and very polite and thorough about checking in on us for refills etc.

But the food... WOW!!! First of all, if you order the queso bowl... they bring out this HUGE tortilla bowl with your choice of white and yellow queso (we got the white because our waitress said that's their more popular dish). It definitely kept our dinner party of 3 entertained until our food got there. And by the end of the night, we had all but devoured the queso and the queso bowl (which was the best-tasting part in my opinion!)

Everybody got different meals, but everybody was blown away with how good they were. I ordered Chicken Enchiladas (a safe default meal) but they definitely stood out from the other Mexican places! There is also a huge menu selection... they have a great variety of meals for everybody to choose from. And all the meals are very generous... we barely managed to clear our plates.

I ate here for the first time in 2008, and it was so good that I recommended to my audit team above all other restaurants again this year, and it did not disappoint! If you are a fan of mexican dishes, I would highly recommended this place to anybody that visits the Tulsa area. With it being in Utica Square, it's surrounded by a vast majority of upscale places to shop, a very fun experience!

RATING: 9/10

1492 New World Latin Cuisine

LOCATION: OKC, over on North Walker Avenue

FOOD GENRE: The title says it all... essentially Mexican dishes here

PRICE: Probably a little pricey... when I went the cost for both of us to eat lunch was about $30 altogether.

This restaurant wasn't bad, but it definitely hasn't been one of the best places I've ever eaten. Some of the dishes are unique, although you do pay for that uniqueness. I got a basic plate with enchiladas and rice, which the meal didn't stand out any more than every other Mexican place I've eaten at (El Chicos and Ted's are just as good in my opinion). However, our starter of a giant bowl of white queso was delicious. It was loaded out with everything sitting on top of the queso so you could mix it together or eat them separately if you wanted. Honestly the queso starter was my favorite part. But note: the queso was not free with the meal. They give you free chips and salsa, but no queso.

The staff was impressive. Our waiter memorized our meal and returned with everything just like we ordered. One of the few times I've seen waiters work so well without having to write things down. The dress is a little fancier... you sure wouldn't want to show up in torn jeans and a T-shirt, that's for sure! The environment is decent... the music they play is a good blend of modern latin beats, yet they don't blast it from the speakers. It isn't a huge restaurant, it might be a good idea to do reservations to avoid the lunch/dinner rush hour if you hope to get in and out. The location of it was unique... it's more on the outskirts of downtown, yet there's an assortment of chic restaurants like like it right in the area... a little exclusive restaurant neighborhood if you will.

All in all, the food is good, although not exceptional, the staff is very impressive. If people wanted to eat here again, I would go with them, but it wouldn't be my first recommendation.

RATING: 7/10

In The Raw

LOCATION: There's several, but so far I've been to the one in OKC by Lower Bricktown, and the one in Norman by OU's campus.

FOOD GENRE: Sushi... yum!

PRICE RANGE: Around lunchtime, you can get a good meal for $10. In the evening, however, it will probably cost you $20-25 a person.

I will go ahead and say that the one in OKC, in my opinion, is a lot better. The one in Norman had a "trendier" feel to it, but the staff there wasn't NEARLY as polite/helpful as they were at the OKC location. Norman's locations seem to consist of OU college students, and they had an "I don't really care just tip well" attitude about them.

For Norman, we sat at the sushi bar area, which was really fun to get to watch the cooks prepare the rolls. And the cooks were fabulous, super polite and helpful... I wished they were the waiters! We ordered 4 sushi rolls and the Edamame, and overall the meal wasn't too bad! Now, most of the rolls we ordered were $7-9 each, and the Edamame was another $6, so that including drinks and the tip it cost about $50 for the two of us to eat there. Not too bad, but like I said, I wasn't a fan of the Norman atmosphere.

Now, the OKC location, is a different story. I've only been there for lunches so far, but I already like it better. The staff seems to enjoy their job, and and super pleasant and helpful with all your questions/comments. The restaurant is much larger, with a separate room that includes a sushi bar for large groups. It helps keep the noise level down, and all in all, has a much classier feel than the one in Norman. With the OKC location, that have a lunch special, where you can get two sushi rolls (or other options as well) for $7. Which, when each roll alone costs that, you don't want to miss out on the lunch special! Every time I've gone there the sushi has been delicious... and in my opinion, better than the one in Norman. The rolls are more tightly-wrapped, and the flavor just seems to be better.

With the Bricktown location, you can also eat outside, which offers a wonderful view, with the restaurant being in lower Bricktown right by the theater, Starbucks, Red Pin, Sonic, and of course, the Canal. It would be a great location and option for a Dinner-and-a-movie type event.

All in all, one of my favorite places to go for Sushi (especially with the lunch special). I highly recommend going to the OKC location of this place.

RATING: Norman Location: 6/10; Bricktown location: 9.5/10

INTRO: Auditor = Food Conisseur

So after only a few weeks working at an Accounting firm, I have quickly learned that as an auditor (or for the official term, "Assurance Services") I will eat at more fancy restaurants than I ever have in my life. I have already obtained a nice long list of places I'd never heard of, yet I discovered were quite delicious. And then I thought "Why not put all these pricey meals and fattening calories to good use?"

So I've decided to start a food-blog, and write about every place I eat at that's worth mentioning, for good or ill. So if anybody else gets to travel to these places, they will know where to (or where NOT to) eat!

Bon Appetite!