This sweet little record store had a big impact on Tulsa's music scene while is lasted. One of my favorite memories was going to one of their anniversary parties, where they had live music crammed into a tiny corner of the store, and a grill going with free food and a communal art project out back. Sadly, they had to close their doors a couple of weeks ago. Rest in Peace, UTM.

I love me some Joe Momma's!

Reasons why:

1) The pizza is awesome. They have a large selection of delicious specialty pizzas as well as a large list of toppings to custom order. My personal favorite is the Natalie Portman. The food other than than the pizza is delicious as well and they have a decent beer selection.

2) The atmosphere is fun and comfortable, often with local art on the walls available for sale (one time they had paintings done by animals at the Tulsa Zoo) and on some nights they have live music or trivia for charity.

3) The servers are always super-friendly and accomodating. On one visit a server accidentally gave our pizza to a table that had ordered the same thing, only after we did. They swiftly apologized and offered us a free small Natalie Portman, and had our original order out to us just a few minutes later.

4) Pinball!! in the back room. Seriously.

McNellie's Public House has quickly become a Downtown hotspot. The atmosphere is laid back, the crowd is varied. and McNellie's beer selection is absolutely the best in town, with a long list of hard-to-find bottled and draught beers from all over the world. They even carried my favorite cider for a while.


The food is above average for pub fare. The sweet potato fries (try them with they honey mustard) and artichoke dip are held in high esteem, as is $3 burger (or $4 for veggie) night on Wednesdays. Along with your standard burgers and fries they offer a tasty array of salads and entrees such as a spinach salad with raspberry basil champagne vinaigrette and cajun style meatloaf. Service varies depending on how busy they are, but I've found that they servers are generally attentive and friendly.

El Rio Verde is easily one of the best Authentic Mexican restaurants in town, if not the best. Sure, it's on the small side and the neighborhood it is located in isn't ritzy, but Mexican food connoisseurs know that the best food is to be found in little neighborhood hole-in-the-walls like El Rio Verde.

Don't come here if you're in the mood for Tex-Mex. This here's the real deal, folks. The ingredients are fresh and tasty, and their cilantro topped Cajun Chicken taco ($1.99) is one of the best tacos I've ever had. Try one or two with a Mexican coke for lunch. Perfection!