The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

what are your favorites pizza places, I usually go to Umbertos, Marios or NYC, but I want to expand my horizons a bit, dont even mention Mazzios or any other chain pizza, I am a pizza snob. I miss Kens, I know they have one in Sapulpa, and its close, but not the same.


I hear very good things from minuteman in Sand Springs, I may try that tonight.

Umbertos & Joe Mommas.   B52 is good also, but they are no longer in my area.

Pie Hole is a hop-skip-and-a-jump from me. I like their dough.

I'm a big fan of Mario's.

I'm happy with Joe Momma's, but to me it's pretty new.

I have kind of given up on Hideaway.  I eat it from time to time, but it seems to much like a chain now.

Umberto's is mighty good.  I love that they deliver.

No thread about pizza in Tulsa can be complete without a mention of Mary Jane's pizza.  Are they still around?

I actually don't hate Mazzio's, but it is what it is.

I like deep dish and that place on 11th is decent.

Stonehorse makes good pizza.

Savastanos.

Savastano's for deep dish and umbertos for thin crust. 

Enjoyed Jo Mama's the only time we were there.  Brothers is very good.

1. Joe Mommas
2. Brother's
73. Everything else
Still wanting to try Savastano's

This demon stays out of pizza joints. Might get squished.

Joe Momma's and Pie Hole, hands down.

Minute Man in Prattville....None better...Been to them all....Make sure and order the Hall of Fame....

Pie Hole for Take-Out, close to the house.
Joe Momma's for sit-down.
Mario's for a single slice. It's next door to where I work, so once we close I probably won't go there often. Umberto's instead, which is great NY style.

Little Chicago on 11th is good for deep dish.  I've not had anything at Joe Momma's so far that I did not like.  Pie Hole and Umberto's are great.  The garlic knots at Umberto's are to die for.  Mario's is also pretty good.  One of these days I'll try Savastano's everyone out south seems to like it pretty well.

Pie Hole is damn fine pizza, as is Joe Momma's.

And I strongly encourage people living up north to make the trip to Savastano's in Bixby.  Their deep-dish pizzas are a cheese explosion.  Five cheeses, and any one of those would be enough to cover a regular pie.  A large pizza weighs 10 pounds or so.  Fantastic.

One I forgot is Sonoma's on Peoria.  They actually make a pretty good pie.

Jeno's.

anyone remember Hemis?

makes me think of a few that I miss,
Hemis
Shotgun Sams (the original, w/ the live music, not the version towards the end)
Shakeys on Admiral
Leas

My Pi

La Roma near 61st & Sheridan is one of my favorites that hasn't been mentioned.

Good call.

The make the best tiny folded pizzas of anyone.

Even I will make the drive to Savastano's and the places I deem worthy of a drive out south are few and literally far between.  Really like their Italian sausage.

Years ago, the night before a long car trip, I ordered a pizza from Umberto's.  It was so salty that the next day we were stopping for beverages and therefore needing to stop....every hour or so.  This happened last century and I've heard things have changed since then.  I guess it's time to try Umberto's again.

La Roma is terrific.  Simple, unpretentious, made-with-love kind of pizza.

Joe Mama's is also very good.

Sonoma and Stone Horse have good stuff, although 'fancy' pizza is a different genre in my book.

At Hideaway, I have a spec pizza - thin crust, light cheese, light pepperoni; with garlic, oregano and basil.  If they're not too busy to get it right, it's a great pie.

I tried Pie Hole a few times many moons ago, just after it opened.  Terrible.  It must be better these days than formerly...

My favorite pizza in Tulsa is Marios. Its just like the pizza I grew up on in NYC and its close to where I live. I was pleasantly surprised how good Joe Mommas was when I took the family there a few weeks back, My hard to please mother in law actually enjoyed it too. That was a bonus so I  could enjoy a dinner without her complaining. Actually if the right worker makes your pizza Whole Foods has some good pies.

Tucci's.

I've got to give big kudos to Mario's and Umberto's as they are without question the best NY style pizza places in town. They also both have a cozy pizza joint atmosphere that compliments their big foldable slices.

Tucci's, while not a pizzeria, makes great pies and has one of the most romantic atmosphere's in town. It's a great place to go for a nice evening out on Cherry Street.

Hideaway is an institution and made higher priced specialty pizza a viable offering in this town. Without them, Joe Momma's would struggle to convince people that paying anything more than Mazzio's prices was acceptable. (Even though higher priced specialty pizza remains an excellent value - You can feed three people from one large at under 7 bucks a person. Beat that, non-pizza places!)

Speaking of Mazzio's - I have to say that our local chain guys are far superior to the national chain guys at Little Ceasar's, Domino's, and Pizza Hut. Papa John's....I like.

Savastano's, Andolini's, Pie Hole, Brothers, and La Roma all do it well and Hungry Howie's, though not my style, is doing something right as they seem to be always busy. Tulsa's a great place for pizza. There are tons of options, lots of diversity, a great selection of very local places and nearly all of them do a great job. There's only one place in town that makes pizza (it's not their primary offering) that seems to be universally considered to be offensive. Those are pretty good odds. I've been to cities much larger than Tulsa and made the rounds of their pizza places and every time I come home more proud of Tulsa's pizza. Maybe I'm just a homer, but I really think we do it well in Tulsa and I'm proud to be a part of the pizza scene here.

TU does a thing each year for the incoming students where they have all of us bring them pizzas so the students can sample all of the local offerings. I've always thought it was a great idea and wish the rest of us had an excuse to enjoy a sampling of Tulsa's pizza in one setting . 1st annual TulsaNow pizza party anyone? Drizzle, we should think about this.

That TU pizza sampling sounds great, when is it and is it just for TU students?  This thread has convinced me of something I've known for a long time: Tulsa has a lot of great pizza places! 

Give Joe Momma some points for showing class in acknowledging other pizzeria's.

+1 was thinking along those lines myself.   Just puts em higher in my books because they can come out and say "these folks are good too". Even gave props to Mazzios  ;D

Boy, I agree.  Hut, Papa Johns, and Ceasar's are dog food.  Nasty, nasty, nasty.

They are all "connected wise guys". They will probably break my kneecaps for saying so.

Mr JMB is all class in my book.

I don't see the appeal to Savastano's earth crust sized pizzas.  Guess it's just me but, come on.. a mountain hill of cheese and grease??? Shudder.

For take out, Papa Muprhy's is awesome! 3 locations to boot (according to Yahoo, I just go to the BA one)
Tulsa: 111th and Memorial
Broken Arrow:81st and Aspen (145th)
Owasso: 86th and Olive (129th)

Their prices were/are really rock bottom, but it looks like they're starting to curtail the coupons and raise the prices a a bit :(

Try all of their "De Lite" thin crusts :)

Good call.
I have written about the quality of Papa Murphy's before. The one in Bixby is within walking distance from my house and I have made that trek on several occasions.

You can save a lot of money if you don't cook the food. McDonalds should follow in their steps.

lol big time.

51st & sheridan now also

I don't see the appeal to Savastano's earth crust sized pizzas.  Guess it's just me but, come on.. a mountain hill of cheese and grease??? Shudder.


Well, have you tried it....
I have!
Bring on the crust/cheese/grease/meat....

Yes I have... twice :(

I know he probably won't answer me, but I'm going there tonight for a 'Meet and Greet' with the new coach of the Tulsa Oilers.

What do any of you (yes, you included Gweed if you're so inclined to respond to me) suggest as a first meal there?  This will be my first time, and I'm more of a Napoli's kind of Italian eater, not necessarily a huge pizza fan although I LOVE Napoli's Stromboli.  I don't want anything real heavy (I know, difficult for Italian eateries).

Thanks.

The take and bake Papa Murphy's is AWESOME.  We have had them for years in Oregon, glad to see them catching on here.  $12 for a family size. 

Tried Savastanos last weekend after a concert.  Service was HORRID.  But the pizza was decent.  We ordered 2 chicago style, and 2 regular.  The deep dish was cold, but even so...was still really good.

I am gonna chalk that visit up to chance, and try it again.

The garlic knots from Andolini's are the BEST! 

I'm hitting up La Roma tonight...any tips?  I haven't  been there before.

Pie Hole is excellent but I usually ask for minimal cheese and it never seems to compute  and the past couple times the pizza has been downright burnt on the bottom...not pizza oven spotty char, but black on most of the bottom.

I admit I have been haunting Papa Murphy's lately becaue they have a low-carb thin and I can stand here and monitor the cheese.

Joe Mamma's...Yes, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mazzios...well, who grew up around here on school pizza parties with Mazzios?  After sports game buffets?  They definitely were a part of growing up.

Marios, yay

A guilty pleasure for me used to be those yummy sausage calzones at Simple Simon's with lots of alpine sauce.  Ah, to be in college again!!

Umberto's for dinner last night.

Had leftovers for lunch.

Dig the thin crust.

Did you get garlic knots? 

Nah, digesting just fine.

Went to Savastanos night before last for the first time.  We absolutly loved it.  and you do get your moneys worth.  We both ate, and got full, then took the left overs to her dad and my mom, and I still took some to work the next day.  (we didn't share as much as we kept though)

Umbertos definately has the friendliest staff, James, the delivery guy is the best, I walked in once and he greeted me by name, that really goes a long way for a customer, makes you feel special.
I used to live nearby and got to the point when they saw me coming they asked if I want the usual, thats the only place that has ever done that.

It's also easy with a small menu. I get my drink automatically at Joe Mommas over half the time.

That happens after 55 visits or so...

I fully expect the new Nelson's to have my iced tea and chocalate pie waiting on Day 1.

Minute Man in Prattville....None better...Been to them all....Make sure and order the Hall of Fame....


I love this place...

Can't believe throughout this entire thread, (unless I tard-read) nobody has mentioned Uncle Vinny's. Never been to the Sheridan one - just the one out in BA. Larry, the owner, is a great guy. It is still run by the family. (not "The Family", Larry's family), and after I visited once, he has always greeted me by name. He's a New Yorker and knows how to make great pizza. On Friday nights, it is fun to watch the families come and go, and Little League teams, etc. A real sense of a "back east" community pizzeria.

Savastano's was good, but incredibly expensive for pizza.
Umberto's is good, but skimpy on the ingredients.
Hideaway is OK, but not my style.
Mario's changed after Mike passed away - the one in BA is no where near 51st street good.
Only tried NYC once... too much of a traffic hassle where they are to even remember the pizza.
Mazzio's is great for kids who think it is pizza.
Most chains are acceptable in a pinch. Pizza Hut's pastas are nasty. Worse than frozen dinner nasty.
Papa Murphy's just didn't do it for us.

Joe Momma's is great - mostly because "Mr. Joe Momma" (don't know if I can use his real name here) is on top of EVERYTHING. He takes his business seriously, and I think he understands that he is building something that will say "Tulsa" for a long time. I'm just happy to watch this business grow as downtown renews itself. He is also one of the few owners that listens to his clients, and welcomes feedback. The pizza is good, but not newyorky enough for me - even though I've been about 15 times. The calzone was very good last week.

Went to Savastano's recently. Excellent pizza.

Also, it's the only place around I've found with a real Chicago dog. Several places claim to have Chicago dogs, but it's not a Chicago dog if you don't make it with Vienna beef and all the other correct ingredients.

I'll never understand the fascination with NY food in Tulsa: pizza and coneys mainly. That stuff is seemingly on every corner but the much better Chicago pizza and dogs are very hard to find.

It has to do with how many people here are transplanted from the east coast.

Yeah - I'm from the east coast (Baltimore, MD - Bodymore, Murderland), maybe that explains my love and preference for NY style pizza - but coneys, meh. I'd much rather have a Chicago dog any day. When I lived in NC, they prepared the hot dogs with cole slaw on top - those were good, too. Even when I lived in Puerto Rico, I hunted down NY style pizza. Speaking of Puerto Rico and food - man, I wish I could get some mofongo!

I've had NY style once, and that was while I was visiting DC.  Been wanting to find some more that measured up to that.  Savanastano's was the first time I've ever had chicago, and I loved it.  Also love Joe Momma's.  There is a place out in Catoosa called AJ's Heavenly Pizza that I used to eat years ago and have been wanting to eat at again, but they keep strange hours so they never seem to be open when I decide I'm going to get some.  Since this thread has started I've been trying the differant places as I can, and now I have a hard time doing delivery anymore, thanks folks lol.

I've got to ask, what is the differance between a NY coney and a Chicago coney? I've never found any that are the way I like em, with plump weiners, smothered in chili, with sour cream, cheese, and saurkraut.  Chili dogs should not be eaten any way but with a fork!!!

This is a pizza thread - but at the risk of rebuke, I offer the following hot dog guide (stolen from interwebs) -

Regional Variations
Hot Dogs are served countless ways and vary greatly by region. Many cities are well known for their unique style of blending and configuring the ingredients on their Dogs. Hot Dogs not only differ by how they are prepared and accessorized, but also in size. Regular Hot Dogs are 6 inches in length (15 cm) and "footlong" Hot Dogs are twelve inches (30 cm) long. Here are some of the many popular ways Hot Dogs are served throughout the country:

Chicago - Vienna beef hot dog topped with chopped onions, diced/wedged tomatoes, a dill pickle spear, pickled hot peppers ("sport peppers"), pickle relish, mustard, and celery salt, and served on a poppyseed bun. 

Cincinnati - Usually served as a "cheese coney" with Cincinnati chili, shredded mild cheddar cheese, and sometimes chopped onion and/or mustard.

Upstate New York - There are two distinct types of hot dogs. There are Red Hots and White Hots. Red Hots are "normal" hot dogs while White Hots are plumper and were first made by Zweigles of Rochester N.Y.

New York  - The street cart-style hot dog is the Sabrett all-beef natural casing frank, boiled and served with onion sauce and deli mustard—or sauerkraut.

North Carolina - Also with chili and cole slaw, with the addition of mustard and onions. Referred to as a hot dog 'all the way.'

Pacific Northwest - Often enjoyed with some combination of ketchup, mustard, relish, and mayo.

Boston - Often served steamed as opposed to grilled. Ketchup, mustard, relish, picalilli, and chopped onions are common toppings. The "Fenway Frank" is a fixture for Red Sox fans.

West Virginia - Hot dogs are usually served with chili sauce (usually without beans) and cole slaw. When served without a wiener, it is locally called a "chili dog", much to the confusion of non-residents.

Rhode Island - Called New York Style Hot Wieners, and served with meat sauce, chopped onion, mustard, and celery salt.

Providence Rhode Island - Home of the excellent New York System Frank, your basic hot dog covered with a watery, all-beef chili, raw chopped onions and curry powder.

Detroit - Served as a "coney" with chili sauce, mustard, and onions on a steamed bun.

Kansas City - A Dog with sauerkraut and melted cheese.

New Jersey - Several styles of Hot Dogs are popular here: A "Potato Dog" has diced and stewed potatoes, brown mustard and served on spicy Sabrett® brand Hot Dog. "Texas Weiners" (chili dogs everywhere else) are Hot Dogs served with brown mustard, hot and spicy chili and diced raw onions. An "Italian Dog" has fried onions, peppers and potatoes.

Georgia - Especially, South Georgia, has a "Scrambled" Dog (or dawg). This is a cheap, usually red-skinned hot dog, on a toasted white bun and topped with mustard and spicy chili sauce.

Southern Slaw Dog - Topped with mustard, chili and cole slaw.

reference: http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/funfacts.php

Apparently, our coneys are actually "Detroit dogs" or Cincinnati dogs, not NY dogs. Coneys and Coney Island Amusement Park confusion? "Get yer Detroit and/or Cincinnati Coney here! Served in Tulsa, Oklahoma in a restaurant cleverly named after the park in New York where hot dogs were first introduced into the Americas! Get yer coney here!"

For a head's up I don't recall ever hearing anyone referring to them as "Texas Weiners".  Also...potato?  Nope, no potato.

Dude, it's Noo Joi-zee, waddaya expect? Ever been to Jersey? Doesn't surprise me they put taters on their dogs. I don't think I'd eat them, either.

LOL, actually, I think Townsend IS from New Jersey.

Old joke:

The difference between garbage and Jersey girls?  The garbage gets taken out every now and then. 

I suspect the angry, ugly white women will start protesting me now.

I am indeed.

It's made fun of as much as Oklahoma is but for different reasons.

No potato on hotdogs and never "texas weiners" though.

Oh crap!
No offense.
I meant that in the best way possible... (another old Jersey joke)

Townsend, have you seen this? http://www.unwind.com/jokes-funnies/locality/jersey.shtml

My favorite: You might be from Jersey if... * You once said, "It smells like New York in here."

Oh man, no worries.  There is alot to be made fun of. 

The spray on tan guido's and their ladies are way creepy...though fun to party with in Vegas.

I'm lucky, I'm Scottish so I come off as more normal.

the pie hole is no longer offering their lunch special - personal size pizza with drink.  i think they may have changed ownership recently.  anyone know?

Pie Hole changed ownership in 2008, bought by Andy Park, a seasoned Pie Hole Pizzeria delivery guy. 

I didn't know they no longer offered the lunch special, but to be fair the personal pizza special was a better option before they served slices.  We would go through dozens of those little pizzas and when we started slices the mini size dropped off significantly.  Really the only personal orders were made for the specialty pizzas that had too many toppings or if they wanted a sauce other than the red, as that is the only option on the slices.  The other problem I found with the personal pizzas vs. sliced was the amount of time it took to make and bake. 

Hmm, that's funny, I think Joe Momma's wound up doing the exact opposite.  Grizzle or Blake will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they said pizza by the slice was slowing down lunches too much so they started doing personal pizzas.

They did. It was mainly a logistics issue.

You go some place like pie hole, one person walks up and orders two slices. You go someplace like JoeMomma's that same patron orders two slices while his girlfriend orders pasta, a friend orders a sandwich and two coworkers split a medium. That means that they need to cook all that other food and hope slices are available when the other food gets ready.  It's easy to see on the computer when someone orders a pepperoni that you need to cook a pepperoni, but when you have 7 people across 5 orders each getting 1 or 2 slices, it's hard to keep the pizzas made. JoeMomma's doesn't have shelves of hotplates like Mazzios or a warming oven to accommodate for overcooking so if they cook too many, the money goes in the drain. Not to mention, at JM, the same two guys who come in an order 2 slices of pepperoni each could've just ordered a small pepperoni and saved $ and the pizza would be out in 10 minutes or so.

It all comes down to a restaurant's focus, facilities, and customer base.

What makes you such an expert? Oh. Wait. Nevermind.  ::)

Yep, MAJOR investor in JM's.

Where's your DH playing this week?

The Hunt Club, Friday and Saturday nights. I think they're gonna have a regular twice a month gig there.

At this rate,  if Blake got hit by a bus, they would probably call me to fill in.

Speaking of, Happy Hour tonight at Joe Momma's!

Is there a reason we have the happy hours on Weds. nights always?  I either bike or row usually on Weds.  You don't want me getting into unhealthy habits, now do you?

Sounds like either way, no chance of you driving home drunk.. ha!

Wednesday is usually the most open day, not much going on elsewhere.

Hey now, don't mess with the Wednesdays - I'm off work and have a babysitting on Wednesday nights...and as a bonus, next month my birthday is on the Happy Hour night.

Well, I can't miss that one, then.

I was at the bar this past wednesday at Joe Momma's and it looked pretty packed I was trying to go to McNellies but they were out the door packed so got a beer at Joe Mommas.  I might have to check out the food but don't know if that would be a regular place for me.

Weds = $3 burger night at McNellies, get there early.  Well worth it when you don't have to wait 45 minutes to get a seat, unless you are willing to stalk the bar and pounce on an opening seat.

You were at Joe Momma's on a TulsaNow happy hour night and didn't join us?

So busted

My family has three favorite pizza places Mario's (51st and Harvard), Savastano's (105th and Memorial) and The Pizza Shop (in Bixby).  We eat at The Pizza Shop most often but like them all.

Mario's is long gone and so is the building.

Marios moved across the street, just east of Food Pyramid.

 

Leon's