When the folks behind Back Alley Barbecue sensed that the smoked meat market was about to be inundated in the Blue Dome District – the restaurant’s home since 2011 – it was time to consider a change. Thus, White Flag was born into the same space. The simple menu does its best to showcase the gourmet burger and its many incarnations, including bleu cheese and candied bacon on the Blue Dome Burger; bacon, fried egg and maple syrup on The Hangover (Part 4); and habanero salsa, jalapeno candied bacon and sriracha mayo on the spicy Salma Hayek. The common denominator throughout most of the menu – the burger – is well-cooked and properly seasoned, which creates a perfect backdrop for even the wildest ingredients. 116 S. Elgin, Tulsa. www.whiteflagtulsa.com – Jami Mattox
Photo by Natalie Green.
Baked Goods
Heirloom Baking Co.
Another Arctic front blows through Tulsa, and it’s lunch. Bundled in scarves and boots, you head for Cherry Street and a quiet nook to the side of the bustling parade of traffic. When you step through the door, the warmth greets you along with the smell of fresh-baked pastries and hot coffee. The newest offering from John and Margarita Gaberino (Topéca Coffee, Hodges Bend) brings favorite desserts, breads and sandwiches (try the pear and Brie) to the table with rustic charm. Cinnamon rolls, tarts, quiche and other bakery standards look wholesomely hewn and crafted. Whether you’re eating in the bright dining space or picking up bread or cake to take home, your taste buds will be impressed, too. 1441 S. Quaker Ave., Tulsa. www.theheirloombakery.com – Karen Shade
Corey Carolina loves jelly – so much so that he makes his own and distributes it to grocery stores. Inspired by his grandmother, Carolina’s ultimate goal is to make a jelly that would make her proud.
The jelly business, however, is competitive; Carolina knew that his product needed to be different to stand out. Since he had also been recently involved in wine tasting, it seemed natural to combine the two. In 2011, he launched Toasted, and in 2012, he began selling his jellies, which can be found in several stores around Tulsa, including Petty’s Fine Foods, Akin’s Natural Foods, Reasor’s, Whole Foods and GreenAcres Market in Jenks. Now available in at least 54 stores, Carolina hopes to have his jellies in more than 100 locations by the end of this year.
When he began, Carolina made his jelly locally in a commercial kitchen, but because the business has grown so much, his jelly is now made in Lawton by Pepper Creek Farms.
Carolina recently expanded his brand to include flavors beyond fruit. He hopes his red pepper jelly and red pepper sauce will play to those who are looking for a little savory among the sweet.
“The pepper sauce…makes a great marinade for grilling,” says Carolina. “Made with red wine vinegar, it’s a versatile sauce that could be used with tacos, fish and pork chops.”
Carolina is currently working on new products, including coffee syrups and sorbets.
Though Toasted Wine Fruit Spread is great to cook with, Carolina also suggests serving the spread simply with crackers and cheese.
Toasted-topped Salmon
1/4 c. Toasted Wine Fruit Spread (any flavor will do)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
4 (4 oz.) salmon fillets
Lemon wedges for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together Toasted Wine Fruit Spread and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour over salmon and marinate at least 30 minutes. Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.
The pulled pork waffle is served with Maytag bleu cheese slaw and Tobasco honey sauce. Photo by J. Christopher Little.
The pulled pork waffle is served with Maytag bleu cheese slaw and Tobasco honey sauce. Photo by J. Christopher Little.
Once the shining star of the Oklahoma City food truck fleet, local eatery Waffle Champion has traded in the wheels for real estate in the ever-expanding neighborhood of Midtown. But those who might be nostalgic for the days of eating waffles curbside at 24th and Walker need not fret that the switch to a brick-and-mortar location has changed the outstanding bill of fare.
Waffle Champion still offers a more traditional waffle experience – albeit with such exciting options as red chile pecans, roasted grapes and strawberry-anise compote – as well as gourmet waffle sandwiches, including buttermilk and sage fried chicken with maple reduction and crispy leeks, roasted garlic cauliflower mash with lemon crème fraiche and more.
If waffles aren’t your thing, opt for one of the decadent free-range egg bakers with duck confit or turkey chorizo, house waffle fries or green chile corn chowder. The restaurant also boasts the only Maine Root fair trade organic soda fountain in the state. This reasonably priced and scrumptious new establishment is poised to give other breakfast spots in downtown OKC major competition for gold.
No meal is as luxurious or as decadent as Sunday brunch. Breakfast fare is kicked up a notch and served with champagne – what can be better than that? At SMOKE, no brunch is complete without biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are cakey and thick and cut from a pan, similar to that of cornbread. Smothered in creamy sausage gravy, it’s a taste of what brunch should be. Also, be sure to try the chicken-fried bacon, a thick cut of cured pork that is battered and fried and served with a spicy Romesco sauce. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a spicy Bloody Mary from Smoke’s extensive bar. 1542 E. 15th St., Tulsa. www.smoketulsa.com
A Slice
Photo by J. Christopher Little.
Photo by J. Christopher Little.
Sauced on Paseo
Back east, a pizza is a pie, and a pie is done only one way: New York style. Oklahoma City’s Sauced on Paseo takes that formula seriously, dishing out big slices of thin, crispy crust pizza layered with fresh toppings and crowned with awesome names like the Loaded Hawaiian, Green Lantern and Spartacus. Build your own mix, have a salad or sandwich and take in the relaxed and groovy vibe that borrows its cozy, eclectic verve from the art galleries dotting the city’s Paseo Arts District. Fine art aficionados will appreciate Sauced on Paseo’s efforts to inspire and promote creativity through displaying original work. It may be a bit chilly for the popular patio, but there’s plenty of Boho charm on the inside. 2912 Paseo Dr., Oklahoma City. www.saucedonpaseo.com
When traveling, I am often greeted with a common conversation starter: “Where are you visiting from?”
In some cities, strangers often look at me with some combination of sympathy and confusion when I share that my heart and home are in Tulsa.Their responses generally include a patronizing apology and disdain for a state they call intolerant and overly conservative. But I know Tulsa, and I always find myself repeating the same sales pitch, defending my hometown by listing the national retail chains with a presence here, discussing our thriving arts and culture scene and championing the fact that we do indeed have diversity, however unlikely it might seem to them.
This is not to say that Oklahoma has been perfect in its diversity and inclusion efforts. Some of our public policies have earned us a reputation as being pretty unwelcoming. We’ve led the charge in anti-immigrant legislation. We were among the first states to ban same-sex marriage. We voted to make English our official language, eliminated equal opportunity and became, yet again, a late-night television punch line when we banned Sharia law without any evidence of its use. Is there harm to the national perception that we are not inclusive? What is the negative effect?
“Policies like these combine to send a message that Oklahoma fears, rather than embraces, diversity – a message that bears out when you look at our outcomes: We incarcerate people at the highest rates in the world, rank alarmingly high in poverty rates (especially among children) and have been rated the third worst state for women,” says Mana Tahaie, director of Mission Impact and co-director of the Inclusion Institute for YWCA Tulsa.
Personally, I will admit that my goal throughout high school and university was to move out of state to what some people might say is a more inclusive community. Growing up in a suburb where my last name and brown skin stuck out like a sore thumb and where I was bullied over my sexual orientation, I was constantly reminded that I wasn’t part of the majority.
But unlike other generations, Millennials have a deeper appreciation for diversity. They have grown up with an entire world at their fingertips. For the most part, young people have a better knowledge and awareness of the world as a result of the Internet, social media and having access to 24-hour world news. We are seeing distinct social and digital changes, and America is confronted with a generation more diverse than any before- almost 40 percent in the minority by race alone.
Inclusion — promoting a welcoming environment to all people, regardless of race, religious belief, sexual orientation and other characteristics — is important to us. We see the beauty in unique characteristics. We appreciate variety in the arts. We desire equal rights for everyone. We know life isn’t fair, but we’re striving to create an inclusive environment that is as fair as we can make it.
A January 2010 Pew Research Center Study revealed that 67 percent of Millennials agreed that increasing diversity was a good thing. When Millennials look across the nation for communities in which to attend school, find a new job or start a business, they look for ones that champion inclusion, and it should come as no surprise that the communities that do so have a better ability to retain and attract young talent.
Despite the mistaken reputation that others have of Oklahoma, we are doing great work in our community to combat our region’s negative perception when it comes to inclusion.
As Tahaie explains, “but this picture, dire as it is, obscures the very real work being done to make Oklahoma a more inclusive place. Led by community visionaries like TYPros, Williams, Schusterman Foundation, Xposure and Mosiac, as well as community organizations like ours (YWCA Tulsa), there are incredible strides being made to build a community that reflects, welcomes — and most importantly, engages — the entirety of the richly-diverse population of our state. These leaders want to align our policies, practices and culture with Oklahoma’s core values of hospitality, friendliness and open-heartedness. As a life-long Okie, I see change happening and I’ve been encouraged enough to stay.”
And I’ve been encouraged enough to stay, too.
We’ve had some really big wins lately. Most recently, U.S. District Judge Terence C. Kern declared Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage a fundamental violation of equal rights. Although many more steps are needed for LGBTQ Oklahomans to win the fight on marriage equality, these types of efforts are critical in sending a signal nationally that everyone is indeed welcomed in Oklahoma.
As a generation, we need to know that not only Tulsa, but our entire state, will make a commitment to diversity. We need to know that we will continue improving inclusion through advocacy, awareness and community programs. We as a generation place high importance on diversity and we will fight for it. If you are considering Tulsa for your new home or are a young person wanting to leave, I invite you to join the many organizations and community leaders that are aligned in making inclusion a priority for our region. Their growing movement will give you plenty of material for refuting Tulsa’s negative stereotypes— and may even elicit some envy.
Isaac Rocha is the 2014 Chair of Tulsa’s Young Professionals, an organization created to attract and retain Tulsa’s brightest young talent, the region’s next generation of leaders. Isaac writes about current issues affecting young professionals, challenges facing the TYPros mission and other musings from a Tulsa YP. For more information about TYPros visit www.typros.org.
The Cherokee Nation each year gives tribal citizens inventory from its seed bank, such as Cherokee White Eagle Corn seeds.
Photo courtesy Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
The Cherokee Nation each year gives tribal citizens inventory from its seed bank, such as Cherokee White Eagle Corn seeds. Photo courtesy Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Trail of Tears beads, ceremonial native tobacco and rare breeds of corn, beans, squash – referred to in Native cultures as “three sisters” – and gourds have been cultivated by Cherokee people for centuries. Thanks to Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and its citizens, these heirloom plants and vegetables will flourish for many years to come.
The Tahlequah-based tribe’s seed bank program, which began about six years ago, is giving away 13 rare seed varieties – tracing back to the Cherokee’s ancestral homelands in the southeastern U.S. – to tribe members.
“These are varieties of heirloom seeds the Cherokee have planted and sustained long before [European] contact and long before we had a written history,” says Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. “For Cherokee people, the process of harvesting seeds and passing them down has gone on for generations. It is an essential part of our heritage.”
The seeds, genetically superior and drought-tolerant, are vital to preserving American agricultural history, he adds.
Cherokee Nation has received more than 100 requests since the dispersal was announced a month ago and will continue processing requests through April. Tribe members can receive up to two varieties of seeds when they present a tribal citizenship card, proof of age and address.
Oklahoma City Ballet sets the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall stage with three premieres this weekend. George Balanchine’s Rubies, an Oklahoma premiere, opens the program’s triple bill set to music by Stravinsky and inspired by the work of jewelry designer Claude Arpels. Choreographer Matthew Neenan’s Exurgency follows with its world premire. The night builds up to the world premiere of Carmen, OKC Ballet Master Jacob Sparso’s dramatic interpretation of Bizet’s opera of the same name. Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7; 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9. Tickets are $25-$61, available at www.okcballet.com.
The kitchen reflects the couple’s eclectic taste, while small accessories pay homage to the home’s equestrian heritage. Photography by David Cobb.
What was once a wooded setting for raising polo ponies is now a grand, country estate in northwest Oklahoma City. Jerry Ellis and Gina Volturo-Ellis learned of the property three years ago and bought it to complement their lifestyle that includes cooking, entertaining and raising horses. The Ellises share the estate with Frito, a donkey, and Sister, an affectionate Australian shepherd dog.
The 10.5-acre setting features the 7,000-square-foot home, a stable with indoor/outdoor arenas and a smaller home nearby.
A winding road through a secluded area sets the stage for this idyllic portrait of exquisite country living. The home’s two-story entry foyer makes a dramatic first impression.
“We made no structural alterations,” Gina Volturo-Ellis says. “Most of the changes were cosmetic, and we repurposed many of our furnishings. This is our little ranchette. The interior design includes Italian, a little French, a little Western, and a whole lot of eclectic.”
The spacious floor plan is ideal for entertaining. Several areas were renovated for more inviting seating. One was hidden under a stairwell. Ellis used a sofa from her past to create an intimate conversation nook.
The Ellises wanted design drama – thus, a rich palette of turquoise, salmon and orange and a mix of prints. Some white walls are accented with pale tints or glazes.
“I’m definitely not afraid of color,” Ellis says.
Unusual furnishings, upholstery, art and accessories enhance the home’s grandeur. Ellis’s heritage shows in Italian art and accessories, including Byzantine and Moroccan influences.
This home now reflects the couple’s mutual interests, including golf and estate sale shopping. Both have home offices for their oil and banking careers. Jerry Ellis’s office overlooks the formal living room. Ellis’s cozy atelier is adjacent to a guest bedroom. A closet became her gift-wrapping studio.
The renovation’s magnitude required professional help. Ellis knew exactly who to call.
“Dindy Foster and I have been friends since childhood,” she says. “Our mothers were close friends. This is the seventh house Dindy has helped me decorate.”
The owner of Dindy Foster Interiors in Tulsa, Foster, and her associate, Lesa McClish, designed interiors reminiscent of Ellis’s childhood home.
Ellis wanted jewel-tone colors, comfortable but distinguished furnishings and a unified feeling throughout the home.
Working with existing furnishings, the designers added texture with tile, marble, leather, velvet, silk and linen. Shutters provide privacy in many rooms. Existing herringbone-patterned floors enhance eye appeal. Animal prints – foxes, zebras and birds – bring wildlife inside.
“It’s a peaceful setting, and the house is so comfortable, yet elegant,” Foster says. She and McClish were houseguests while the interior was morphing into a grand showcase.
“Staying here is like being on vacation,” Foster recalls.
Guests enjoy the home’s welcoming spirit. The kitchen, adjacent den and cozy dining room are the heart of the home. Guest bedrooms have restful motifs. The poolside cabana is home to bright colors and casual furnishings.
“The result is traditional design with a sharper edge,” Foster says.
Among the home’s surprises is a “19th hole” golfer’s oasis for Jerry Ellis – an unexpected birthday gift from his wife. It includes all the trappings for entertaining his golfing friends, including a golf course simulator.
“The view from every window is beautiful,” Ellis says, especially the pool area – the centerpiece for outdoor entertaining. The terraced lawn leads to a fire pit, with rustic seating.
Although the polo ponies have moved on, the tack room is getting a facelift for additional guest quarters. With the Ellises’ love for hosting visitors, the welcome mat is always out at this company-friendly home.
Shannon Thomas is a professional bodybuilder and fitness model. Photo by J. Christopher Little.
It was healthy competition that drew Shannon Thomas into the world of bodybuilding.
“I saw one of my old high school football buddies at spring break, and he was actually [getting] ready for a competition in a few months and told me to consider doing it,” says Thomas. “We started hitting the gym together, and I got third in my first competition.”
His friend came in second.
Thomas has participated in six more competitions around the country and has since turned pro in the world of bodybuilding. He specifically competes in the Men’s Physique category, which differs from the classic form of bodybuilding where competitors work to develop their muscles to extremes.
“It’s more of a proportional look,” says Thomas. “It’s not about being the most muscular; it’s more about aesthetics, like a fitness model.”
To get that look, Thomas works out at least four to five times a week to sculpt and grow his muscles. And to call his diet strict would be an understatement. It’s precise amounts of protein and carbs that ensure optimal muscle and fat; Thomas’ diet even accounts for his skin appearance. Once a body is as finely tuned a machine as his, everything that goes in is about producing muscle and looking good on stage.
“About a month before a competition I switch protein to fish,” he says. “And before that I’ll be eating sweet potatoes as carbs, then change to red potatoes.”
A cheat meal might be a lean steak, no seasoning. Even something like water intake becomes regimented before a competition.
“I start depleting my water. I just start dropping and dropping until the day before competition, and I just have two glasses of water [that day],” says Thomas.
He puts himself through this strict regimen in the hopes of getting to the Olympia Fitness and Performance competition in Las Vegas, bodybuilding’s premier event.
“My goal [for 2015] is to make it to the Olympia stage. I’m actually a sponsored athlete now, so I can get some more support,” he says.
For all of the depravation and hard work, Thomas works with something bigger in mind to the reach his goals.
“My mom is the reason I try as hard as I do,” he says. “Growing up and seeing her hard work and dedication has inspired me to strive to do better. She battled cancer for five years before it took her life. The reason I can’t give up is because she didn’t.”
Publicity material for Politically Incoherent, a new disc from Oklahoma’s Mike Hardeman, calls it “a contemporary cousin” of The First Family, that trailblazing 1962 album by comedian Vaughn Meader and a host of voice actors that spoofed then-President John F. Kennedy and those close to him.
Certainly, there are plenty of similarities. Both were recorded with ensemble casts. Both feature political humor. Both owe a lot of their success to the radio. And, while Politically Incoherent hasn’t matched First Family in sales – few records have – it’s done all right for itself, jumping into the top three of Amazon’s comedy albums and peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard magazine comedy chart.
There is, however, one big difference between Politically Incoherent and its 50-year-old predecessor, one that Hardeman believes has to do more with the changing times than with the nature of the material.
“Nowadays,” he says, “you can’t just have [political] humor, because if someone doesn’t like the perceived political point of view that’s being expressed, they’ll shut down and not even listen to you.”
Considering that it was created in Oklahoma City, the capital of what many people perceive as the reddest state in the Union, some will find it surprising that Politically Incoherent leans decidedly left, as comedy bits such as “Tea Party Harmony” (a parody of eHarmony dating website ads) and “Citizens United Airlines” make abundantly clear.
“Certainly, on the next album, if we do one, we’ll make our comedy a little more even-handed,” he adds. “But it had to do with time. We had to take a lot of the bits that I’d already produced for the show, and I didn’t have time sit down and think, ‘Well, what is this going to be? Who’s it going to be marketed to?’ I basically kept going with the kinds of things I’d been doing. I just thought, ‘Oh, this’ll be a collection of things we’ve done for the radio show, and people who listen to the show will be able to buy it.’ I didn’t realize the potential for going beyond that scope. And even if I had, I’m not sure I could’ve gotten the material together in time for the release date.”
The “show” he refers to is The Stephanie Miller Show, a nationally syndicated progressive political talk and comedy program originating in Los Angeles. Hardeman’s relationship with it began in 2007, when he began sending the producers short comedy pieces he’d created in his home studio.
That was hardly the beginning of Hardeman’s radio career, however. In fact, if you’re an Oklahoman of Baby Boomer age, there’s a pretty good chance that you heard his radio voice sometime during the ‘70s and early ‘80s.
“I graduated from Charles Page High School in Sand Springs in ’73 and went straight to Oklahoma State University, majoring in radio-TV-film,” he says. “That fall, I went to work at KXOJ in Sapulpa, a 500-watt day-timer right next to Frankoma Pottery. I’d come in on Saturday afternoons and do 2 p.m. until sign-off. Then I started working at the OSU college radio station, KVRO. So it’s been 40 years since I started in radio.”
After a couple of years at OSU, Hardeman left to take a radio job at KXXO in Tulsa and ended up working, he says, “everywhere.” He was in Little Rock, Ark., when he took the name “Michael Evans,” which he continued using during his time on Tulsa’s airwaves. Michael Evans was best known for his time at the adult-contemporary station KRAV, but he also did stints at KELI, KAKC and KMYZ, where he served as program director in the early 1980s.
“Then, in ’84, I made the decision to go back to college and get a real job,” he says, chuckling. A few years later, armed with an engineering technology degree from Oklahoma State University, he began his current business career.
But, to slightly amend the old expression, you can take the boy out of radio, but you can’t take radio out of the boy. Hardeman would periodically return to the microphone, notably for a period from 2001 to 2006, when he hosted the ABC Radio program America’s Best Country Countdown, heard Sundays on more than 150 stations. It was his last regular radio job to date.
Just about a year later, he happened upon The Stephanie Miller Show. By that time, he was doing a lot of home recording and, he notes, “Being the frustrated morning-show guy I am, I’d send in little bits pertaining to whatever the events of the day were. Over the years, it just kind of grew.”
The cover of the Politically Incoherent CD states that it’s “From the mind of ‘Rocky Mountain’ Mike,” a moniker Hardeman picked up when he was living and working in Colorado. At the beginning of 2013, he relocated from there to Oklahoma City and took a new job. At about the same time, he was contacted by Marshall Blonstein, a veteran entertainment-industry executive whose credits include working with the likes of Carole King, The Who, Cheech & Chong and radio personality Rick Dees. A fan of The Stephanie Miller Show, Blonstein had tried to contact Hardeman for some time about doing a CD for one of his current labels, Audio Fidelity. For whatever reason, however, the messages had not been forwarded from the show to Hardeman.
“Finally, they sent me his emails, and I agreed that doing an album would be a good idea,” recalls Hardeman. “I’d thought about it for a long time myself, but I didn’t know how to swing the copyright issues and the problems of distribution and all that. Well, that was his bailiwick.”
Once the record deal was done, Hardeman produced the disc over a four-month stretch, assembling his cast from a variety of sources.
“Ken Picklesimer, Tom Shafer, Debbie Kelley and P.S. Mueller – who’s also a well-known cartoonist – came from Ken’s online podcast show, which had kind of formed off to the side of The Stephanie Miller Show,” he explains. “Mary Dixon and Audra Tracy were fans of the show; we connected with them because we found out they could sing. I met them in the Stephanie Miller Show chat room, which is where I met Richard Henzel. He’s a voice actor in Chicago and a great talent; he’s the morning disc jockey whose voice wakes Bill Murray up in Groundhog Day. Then we got Jim Ward, who’s on The Stephanie Miller Show, on board, which was a major coup.”
Two others recruited for the disc go all the way back to Hardeman’s days at OSU, where he worked at KVRO with Brent Walker, now running Soundscape Studios in Little Rock, and Jeff Hoyt of Hoyt’s Greater Radio in Seattle, who recruited an additional five actors for the ensemble.
The result, he says, “is something I’m real proud of, something I spent a lot of time working on, something that represents a lot of the kinds of things I was doing back in my radio years.”
And even though he’s fully aware that today’s political culture often makes people tense, angry and unwilling to listen to opposing points of view, he’s also hoping that some who’d dismiss Politically Incoherent out of hand because of its left-leaning nature might give the disc a listen anyway.
“I’d like for them to put aside the politics,” he says, “and just look at it for the comedic value.”
