The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

As per recent requests for more threads, I suggest moving this conversation here and uncluttering the Unicorn Bar thread.

I never saw the old Arnie's, but I like the new one a lot.

The Colony - local pub, live music later, very diverse crowd.

Cellar Dweller - bar has character (you feel like your entering a speak easy), seems to attract a low key crowd

Sound Pony - I love telling people we should stop by the biker bar, only to then see them realize it is a bicycle bar

Rooftop of the Mayo - the views & had to have one classy bar on the list

Soul City tulsasoul.com

Great owners, great music, awesome outdoor space, excellent food...they really have it all.

Yeah,  after I posted I thought this was probably best as a new thread.  Thanks.

- The Colony.  I thought of that one later on.  Love that place.  Should have been on my list.
- Celler Dweller.  Have not been there.  Now going to have to check it out.
- Mayo - Well, yeah, when the weather is right that's a great place.  Maybe not the vibe I was looking for, but a good upscale add.

- Soul City.   I STILL have not been there.   Wife has been there a couple of times and gives it thumbs up.   I may go there today, just to say I did.

Thanks!  Anybody else?

Either bar at the Vault is great.  I'm a mid-century modern freak so either one simply has a neat vibe and their cocktail menu is fantastic.

As far as the old Arnie's Rex, it was in Drake's on 15th.  You can pretty well get the vibe of it only add in the shuffleboard table on the west wall there and you can get an idea how tight that place was.  Mighty damn smoky too!

Soul City is a cool place as mentioned.  Last evening they had a concert with Marc Benno (of Asylum II Choir/Leon Russell fame), Jamie Oldaker and Junior Markham.  They also broadcast the concert on Facebook live. 

I haven't been to crow creek in a decade, back when the bikers were on the other side of the street, not that the two are related. I liked the food there though.

I also like Blue Rose, it just always seems crowded, pricy and slow.

I seem to remember the space where R Bar is now being a big biker scene but I was too young to remember the name. Is that the right place? And if so, what was the name?

Blue Rose

It was the old Blue Rose, but I don't remember that being biker bar.  I loved that place and was in there all the time.

Crow Creek fits the mold that I'm thinking.  I was there not long ago.  "Not bad", but not someplace I'm going to frequent.   But that's personal taste.

I actually like the Blue Rose (apparently more than others on this forum), but it's more a "restaurant with deck on the river" than a true hangout bar.

Inner Circle across from Cain's.

I've only been there for HH but I liked the space.

Asked a friend of mine who is not on this forum, and he added MixCo.   I've been a couple of time.  Fits the mold.  Probably good to add to the list.

Was there a place on the East side of the street that was always swarmed by motorcycles? Maybe like in the '90s? Childhood memory is foggy.

I'd categorize the Vault, Hodges Bend, Valkyrie and the like as "cocktail bars".  All are great, but not the vibe as what I was going for.  

And yeah, the smoke at the old Arnie's was my biggest problem with the place.  I miss that shuffleboard table.

 

I'm not saying there were no bikers at Blue Rose, but they were the "Biker Chic" kind.  Not real bikers like the place down further South.  So maybe we are talking the same place.  If there was a real biker bar there, I wouldn't have been in it.

IMO the best two bars in Tulsa are Valkyrie and Hodges Bend. Both do the classics well and have their own craft cocktails. Always something good/interesting to drink. The staff at both are also highly knowledgeable and great to talk to. I've never had a bad experience at either. Often we will meet people from out of town, more so at Valkyrie than Hodges Bend, and have great conversations with them about things to see and do around Tulsa while they are here.

The Saturn Room isn't bad, but can get a little full of what I call the bachelorette crowd at times. Same goes for Inner Circle. Not bad places, but at times the like, total, like, vapid, like "OMG I can't even" crowd make them difficult to be in.

MixCo seems good.

As a person who doesn't drink, I'm not sure what I'm doing on this thread.

Credit card bikers, definitely not the Kick Start Lounge or Snakepit type bikers.

And the place was jam packed with them constantly during nice weather.

I can't remember where Kickstart was...remind me??

What was that place across from LaNelles...do you remember it?  We  used to gather there for the toy runs, go downtown, then back to the bar in the very early days.  When there were more following pickups than bikes....   And plenty of hassle from the cops.

Rabon Martin's, (Attorney At Large) place.  As I recall it was out by Jack’s on Admiral.  Rabon was the local coordinator for NORML for years and advertised for pot bust cases.  I think he also did a lot of work for ABATE on thwarting the helmet law. He also wrote for Urban Tulsa and Uptown News under several pseudonyms.  Pretty interesting character.

Yeah - that is the one across from LaNelles... knew Rabon for many years.  Good guy.   Too young to go...

Worked quite a bit with us in ABATE when I was active.  Knew him before that in a previous life, too.  Very interesting!



Another one I have lost track of, but spent some quality time in that small house he rented out behind the shop at Starship...

http://tulsatvmemories.com/brucwing/bunyan2.html

Could always get the latest 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' comics.  Probably still can...

I'm a fan of The Saturn Room (fun drinks for those who like fancy stuff, good beer for others). It varies on crowd though from being mostly empty to packed. Great for patio though.

Rusty Crane is a mix of restaurant/bar, but when it's not too busy to get good service, again the patio is pretty fantastic.

Vintage 1740 is definitely my go to spot. I saw a recent write up where it was said the place is not pretentious, though there can be that feeling. The bartenders are great and know their stuff

Jack's, wow that brings back a lot of mixed memories for me. Last time I was there was to unload what was left of my brothers Guzzi after getting it from Al Storey's lot 26 years ago this weekend.

New places, I nominate the Beehive in the KW.  Older places I nominate the Bounty. 

I guess I like my bars a little more for their cheap beers.    Crawpappies and Sutures have cheap drinks and surprisingly good food.  I still love the Brook, both north and South.  Fat Daddies isn't a Paddy's Irish Pub, but as a corner bar, it fits the bill.

If you get WAY south, PJs is pretty good and it is in the same corner as Paddy's reboot..

BA has a few, but that's another thread.

My wife and I have been going to the Rusty Crane since they opened and it's our go-to spot.  They've got a great patio and it's close to the ball park.  We're always there on First Fridays, starting at the Crane and then moving on to Living Arts, Zarrow, 108 Contemporary, AHHA, Valkryie, etc.  In fact we are usually at the Crane every Friday around 4-4:30 and sit at the bar.  We know all the staff and they all know us.  In fact, the Crane gave us a $100 gift certificate for Christmas last year for being such good customers.  They've got a varied menu which is very tasty from their apps to their meals.  We've met a lot of interesting people sitting at the bar.

Speaking of Paddy's, has anyone here visited the reincarnation of it?  I loved the Wagoner's hospitality and Kenny is a pretty gifted chef.  They were one of the few places in Tulsa which could get fish and chips right.

Say hey to Lee for me. Good guy.

The wife and I went the week they opened. It was not good, very disappointing. Food was slow coming out, wife's Shepard's Pie was cold and had to be sent back. My fish & chips were ok, but were cooked a bit too long and were greasier than I would like. The worst part was the service, slow and disorganized. I knew we should have waited a bit longer to go after they opened.

I have since heard that they got their act together and have turned things around. Haven't been back yet though as the wife is reluctant due to the poor experience we had the first time.

I think the best bar in Tulsa is found at the Thursday night Tulsa Drillers baseball games. $5 admission and $1 beers make a fun night for little money.

The regular crowds get a baseball game and the college kids all hang out behind center field at that concession stand.

The Rusty Crane is good, but like a lot of other great places that have been mentioned it has a full menu.   One of my regular places is R Bar, but I didn't include it on my original list because I was/am looking for places that are primarily a bar.  No food, or minimal bar-food kind of stuff.   If it's a place you would eat dinner, it isn't what I was going for.

Also Tavolo.  Went Friday night. Sat at the bar.  Great drinks (I had a Vesper made exactly per Ian Fleming, and it was awesome...) and great food. But still, more a restaurant than a bar.

Another of my favorites from the deep dark past - probably the one I went to most in my younger days - was Veterans Bar.  Run by Ross and Juanita Catron.  Ross always looked kinda "mad", but that was just the way his face was...he was an all right guy who was always treated me and friends well and was good host.  We would go there for lunch and a beer several times a week - if we didn't go to the Savoy, or take the little longer walk to Nelson's Buffeteria.  Beer, red beer, and Coca-Cola - all one price... 25 cents.   Go in front door and turn left, you went into the round domed room where there were pool tables.  If went in straight, past the bar, into the back room, there were always tables full of old guys playing dominoes!  And smoking a LOT of cigarettes!!

First place I ran across Landshire Sandwiches - my favorite was always the 'Chuckwagon'.  Was reminded of this just a few months ago when the deli at work had those in the cooler.  I got one and tried it for lunch - yep, just the same as late 1960's - not horrible, but not really great either.

Today part of the sign looks to be the same, except for the name.  Says Arnies Bar now... Guess I need to go in and check it out...