The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

The food is very good, the "mixologist" is a legend in his own mind.

my only complaint is about the enormous tv's at the bar.  Two 36" plus flatscreens at either end of the 15 foot bar (approximate and probably wrong dimensions on both).  Would be much classier without them. Same problem at the Chalkboard.  leave the TV's to the White Owl.

my only complaint is about the enormous tv's at the bar.  Two 36" plus flatscreens at either end of the 15 foot bar (approximate and probably wrong dimensions on both).  Would be much classier without them. Same problem at the Chalkboard.  leave the TV's to the White Owl.

Could it be said that, as for as the police are concerned,  they had it in for the ladies in question

Headed down there tonight with the wife and another couple.  Thanks for the heads up on the pork belly...I probably would have ordered that thinking it would be similar to pulled pork.

Will try to post a brief review of our experience.

I went Saturday before seeing August: Osage County at the PAC.  Very nice restaurant, pretty small/quaint and more separated from the hotel lobby than I would've liked it to be.  The food was really good minus the Caesar Salad, which was pretty average.  Perfect place to go before a BOK or PAC event.  

About the PAC, when was the last time it was renovated?  I hadn't been in several years and couldn't believe how 'dated' it looked.  Hate to compare us to OKC but their Civic Center Music Hall is much nicer and I used to think the opposite.

What kind of ignorance would lead the so-called "city leaders" to come up with the idea that there is a need for a new center (crashed UFO) when they can't even be bothered to take care of the civic center they have???

Convention Center wows both young, old

by: KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Sunday, January 17, 2010
1/17/2010 4:41:59 AM

In a way, the image didn't seem quite right — a young person taken aback by a public building.

But there was Brad Thurman, 17, walking through the Tulsa Convention Center's new ballroom Saturday morning with real excitement in his eyes.

"I just have to find out how much it costs to rent it for an after-graduation party," said Thurman, a high school junior from Broken Arrow. "That would be pretty cool."

Thurman, it turns out, wasn't the only one impressed.

Bill Wilke, 77, hadn't even made it into the ballroom when he began singing the praises of the newly renovated Convention Center downtown.

"Tremendous, what I saw, absolutely tremendous," he said as he stepped out the building's exhibit hall.

Wilke then walked down the hallway with its pearl-colored terrazzo flooring and into the 30,000-square-foot ballroom.

Inside, a band played, strobe lights swirled around the room, and wait staff dressed in red shirts and black pants served cheesecake, punch and a mix of raspberries, blackberries and melon served on toothpicks.

"Holy cow," Wilke said as he entered the ballroom.

Thurman and Wilke were just two of the estimated 4,600 people who attended Saturday's open house showcasing the Convention Center renovation and expansion.

"I was really happy" with the turnout, said John Bolton, who manages both the Convention Center and the BOK Center. "So many people saw it for the first time and the positive reaction really was gratifying to see."

The $50.5 million project was paid for with Vision 2025 funds and marks the second major renovation of the building since it was constructed in 1964.

The ballroom is the centerpiece of an addition built north of the existing convention center where a surface parking lot used to be.

The addition features a 250-panel glass curtain wall entrance along Third Street that is much simpler in design but meant to echo the nearby BOK Center's signature glass wall.

Also, a new plaza-style entrance on the south side of the building is home to the sculpture Amity, which used to be outside the former City Hall.

Repairs and upgrades have also been made to the 8,900-seat convention center arena, which is where Brenda Craft and Royce Stalter stopped on their way to the ballroom.

Stalter said he used to come to the arena when the University of Tulsa basketball team played its home games there. On Saturday, he stood inside the renovated structure and watched the Tulsa 66ers basketball team practice.

"We just wanted to see what they were doing," Stalter said. "I like it so far, the improvements look nice."

Jennifer Thomas-Ardt was one of the first people to stop by the open house, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. She was looking for a place to celebrate her recent wedding.

"I'm trying to see if it will be the best place for a reception," Thomas-Ardt said.

The 47-year-old Tulsan was married to Army Command Sgt. Major Dervyn Ardt on Jan. 7 in Eureka Springs, Ark. The two have known each other for 28 years.

"I called and they told me come down today and see if I like it," she said. And she does. "It's beautiful," Thomas-Ardt said. "But we didn't get all the pricing yet."

Tulsa Convention Center by the numbers
1964 — The year it opened

10 — Number of new meeting rooms

8,900 — Number of seats in renovated arena

20,000 — Events held at center since it opened

30,000 — Square feet of the new ballroom

102,600 — Number of square feet in Exhibit Hall

$50.5 million — Cost of renovations and expansion

2010 — renovation and expansion completed

...and the mirrored tubes hanging from the ceiling not only should go, but should never have been put there in the first place!!

I love that artwork! I guess that's why it is why they say that art appreciation is a subjective thing...

I was in the Cox Convention Center in OKC (formerly the Myriad) yesterday, and can't see that it's maintained any better or worse than the Maxwell House was prior to it's major overhaul.

Hoss, my comment on the  Cox in OKC was simply they don't seem to take any better or worse care of their assets.  I'm a fan of the BOK center, not a hater.

I never said you were a hater Co; I know you were one of the quiet skeptics who were going to take a wait and see attitude.  I am talking about those people who find fault in it regardless of what the numbers say.  I'm glad it's here.  I'm glad I can pump money into the economy in which I live instead of going to the Metroplex or DT KCMO or God forbid, Bricktown.

Oh, I forgot to mention I HATE Oklahoma City.

We'd have never gotten Sir Paul, EC, Elton/Billy, and countless others to come without BOK.

Now I'm waiting for Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters.  I haven't been to many down there, but I'd dish the dough to see those guys.

Now I'm waiting for Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters.  I haven't been to many down there, but I'd dish the dough to see those guys.

Saw them at Caines before the overhaul on a summer night (no AC and a packed house).  Grohl changed the words to one of the songs and sang about how hot it was.  I appreciated the band much more after that show.

On topic, I'm a regular at Trula and now that one of my friends lives at the Mayo, I assume I'll be there more often.  Adam, James, and Travis are all good bartenders and now they have a bar menu and a new sommelier.

As in Travis from Arnies?

Back to OKC for a minute...please listen carefully all you people who are so much into the idea that Bricktown is the "cat's meow";

Tulsa has NOTHING to be embarrased or ashamed of relative to OKC!!
Never has had!!
Tulsa always billed itself as America's most beautiful city.  And it ain't too far off that now.

Before buying that idea that OKC is so much better, take the time to go spend some time there so you can have a valid comparison.  It's not that OKC is all that bad, it's just that Tulsa is that much better!  (Now if we could just get more people to recover from the Fox Cheney/Rove talk radio coma they are in...)

Well, maybe just a little bit for for Crashship?  But only because Tulsa let itself be unfavorably compared to OKC, and worse yet, bought into the notion.

Well, gotta go and catch the end of American Idol!!

I agree for the most part, however having been to shows at the Civic Center Music Hall in OKC and the PAC in Tulsa within the past few months I'd have to say I like the Civic Center better.  I was trying to remember the last time it had a renovation because it really needs one.

I don't know if we would want to renovate the PAC.  While it may not be "the latest thing" style wise, the facility seems to be in good shape.  It was designed by a famous architect and reflects the era in which it was built.  Could perhaps use some freshening up decor wise "carpet, fabrics, etc." But I would considering leaving the basic design and structure itself as it was intended.  However,,, when I was there last, waiting for the show to start, I couldnt help but look around and see that with some fairly siple modifications, you could really turn that space into a contemporary showstopper. Would hate to see it go through what the Brady did and end up a mess.

I agree a major overhaul isn't needed but a renovation would be nice to give the PAC a more contemporary look.  The building is already a great piece of modern architecture.  Although I do think it would be neat to see the circulation in the lobby/atrium improved and maybe opened up more with more glass along 3rd street.  There is a great skyline view from there that you could see if the curtain wall went all the way up the south facade where the main entrance to the 3 seating levels of the Chapman Music Hall are located.  If you have been to the Civic Center in OKC you can see they did an amazing job and it's a first-class facility.

I never hear anything about Trula's in the Mayo anymore.  Anyone still go there?

I had a pork belly dish that really kind of put me off there.  I had no idea it would be a slab of fat.  I figured it was rendered down a good deal.  Aside from being somewhat disgusted, I found it off-putting that the new chef assumed that Oklahomans who would eat at a more upscale place would eat like hillbillies.

Conan wrote in another thread:

I went there NYE with the Mrs.

I'm afraid it has gone downhill and I don't believe I'll be back unless it's someone else's idea.

That is very disappointing to say.

Wow! That was quick. Did it make six months before the wheels fell off?