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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Goodbye Golden Grill
Goodbye to one of our new favorites. Golden Grill, 6565 East 71st Street Tulsa, OK 74133, is changing its name to Duffy's. One of the owners had previously ran one of our local Duffy's, so it won't be a big move for them. For us though, it will be a big loss. The official change was Monday, August 13. We were there on Saturday morning. Our waitress said it will be a good thing, but we already noticed some minor changes. The coffee was weaker, Greg's Popeye Omelet was not as large as it usually had been. My pancake was a bit tough. This could have just been an off day, but it may also be the way of the future for the new Duffy's. There are several Duffy's in the Tulsa area. Some have been fantastic and others just so-so. But this has never been on our list of favorite places for breakfast or lunch. We really prefer the non-chain finds for awesome breakfasts. IHOP and others are ok in a pinch but we love those unique places. So goodbye Golden Grill and on to our next find, which we will definitely share with you!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Stone Lion Inn Mystery Dinner
The Stone Lion Inn
Historic Guthrie, Oklahoma
1016 W Warner
Guthrie, Ok 73044
405-282-0012
We purchased two Groupon's for the Mystery Dinner and went on a Friday night in July. Prior to our visit we received an email with details of the characters we would play. Greg would be Judge Roy Clarkston and I would be Doris Dimwitty, fiance of the Judge. Our mystery would be ELMER MCCURDY -- THE
FINAL CHAPTER. We also received a short bit on all the other characters that would be attending and a synopsis of our mystery. Since our Groupon included $20 off the room, we booked a room. I thought it would be better to spend the night there rather than drive all the way back home late at night. Staying at the Inn provided us with breakfast and some more time with other guests. Paying with cash gives another 5% discount, so we took advantage of this opportunity also. I did a bit of shopping for my character, a black dress, old fashioned hat with veil, and got Greg's suit together. We were on our way.
The drive is an easy one down the turnpike to Oklahoma City. Then we took 35 North to Guthrie. We arrived to the old three story house and checked in. When we checked in we each received a piece of paper with more information on our character (or another character) and one or more "clues" that we would read later that night. We took our bags up to our room and began getting ready for our evening. Our room was quite nice, with a four poster bed and a sitting room, along with many antique pieces of furniture. We took a few pictures and proceeded downstairs to the library.
Guests gathered in the library. We had to play our parts, we could make up any story we wanted as long as it wasn't our real life. People were quite shy about mingling, but we talked with some around us and tried to figure out who their characters were. Once the hors d'oeuvres were served people began chatting more. We then were gathered together to go to the cemetery and here the story of Elmer Mcurdy. He actually was a real person, and you can Google him to read all about him. He was a two bit robber that always failed, but made more of a history of himself after death. I'd go into it here but its much too long for a short blog. Please do look up this interesting story. Of course the Inn took license of his character adding several wives and children. Our characters were descendants to claim portions of a buried treasure. At the grave site, the Judge announced his run for Oklahoma Governor and asked for the support of all his new found family. Next we all headed back to the Stone Lion Inn.
Upon arrival we found there had been a murder. (Dum da dum Dum!!) We passed by the "body" on our way to dinner! Our meal started with a very tasty salad. It was crisp and had just enough dressing. Conversation took a strange turn as so much more was known about the Judge than he or I knew about! Next course was a Green Chile Bisque. I'm not a fan of peppers of any kind, but I tried it. The soup was creamy, and if you like peppers it would be very tasty. Greg loved it, as did the rest of my table. Our main course arrived with half a roasted Cornish Game Hen, Rice, and a vegetable mix. The hen was tender and juicy with a crispy skin. Conversation continued while we devoured our dinner. We commenced back to the Library for desert of Cheesecake bites. Here we read our clues in numerical order. Wow, no one was who they seemed to be! Who did the killing? People were sleeping with each other, some were in the KKK, others were planning evil doings and all had a reason to kill. By the time we were through I was so confused, i didn't remember who was sleeping with who and what motive each person had!
Our group was separated into two rooms, males and females, to solve the crime. We went through most likely suspects to choose a killer. This time around the women figured out the solution. We all then went to our rooms, those that stayed at the Stone Lion went upstairs. Some stayed at the sister inn, The White Peacock, and others may have stayed local. Our night was uneventful, but others claimed to have had some sort of run in with the home ghost. We would learn more about that in the morning.
Morning arrived early, but we were ready. Having taken some pictures upstairs we ventured downstairs for breakfast and stories by the proprietor, Rebecca Luker. Breakfast consisted of Coffee, juice, fruit, and an appealing plate of quiche, sausage, banana nut bread, and apple crisp. The quiche was full of pepper (again one of my least favorite foods), but looked very nice. Greg thought it was well done and tasty. I loved the apple crisp. Becky told us stories of the history of the home, when she acquired the house, hilarious guest stories, and the story of the ghost, the little girl that died in the home from an overdose of medicine given by the nanny. Several well known ghost hunter groups have been to the home and it is mentioned in several books. You can read some about it at http://voices.yahoo.com/haunted-america-stone-lion-inn-bed-breakfast-in-371702.html. One guest claimed that their bathroom sink turned itself on during the night then shut itself off, but we had no visit or noise from a ghost, which I don't expect a ghost to ever reveal itself to me because i have my own beliefs which do not include ghosts being spirits of once living, now dead people.
We had an awesome time at the Stone Lion Inn at our Murder Mystery Dinner, and I'm sure you will too. We hope to visit again soon. There is food and fun to be had by all!
The drive is an easy one down the turnpike to Oklahoma City. Then we took 35 North to Guthrie. We arrived to the old three story house and checked in. When we checked in we each received a piece of paper with more information on our character (or another character) and one or more "clues" that we would read later that night. We took our bags up to our room and began getting ready for our evening. Our room was quite nice, with a four poster bed and a sitting room, along with many antique pieces of furniture. We took a few pictures and proceeded downstairs to the library.
Guests gathered in the library. We had to play our parts, we could make up any story we wanted as long as it wasn't our real life. People were quite shy about mingling, but we talked with some around us and tried to figure out who their characters were. Once the hors d'oeuvres were served people began chatting more. We then were gathered together to go to the cemetery and here the story of Elmer Mcurdy. He actually was a real person, and you can Google him to read all about him. He was a two bit robber that always failed, but made more of a history of himself after death. I'd go into it here but its much too long for a short blog. Please do look up this interesting story. Of course the Inn took license of his character adding several wives and children. Our characters were descendants to claim portions of a buried treasure. At the grave site, the Judge announced his run for Oklahoma Governor and asked for the support of all his new found family. Next we all headed back to the Stone Lion Inn.
Upon arrival we found there had been a murder. (Dum da dum Dum!!) We passed by the "body" on our way to dinner! Our meal started with a very tasty salad. It was crisp and had just enough dressing. Conversation took a strange turn as so much more was known about the Judge than he or I knew about! Next course was a Green Chile Bisque. I'm not a fan of peppers of any kind, but I tried it. The soup was creamy, and if you like peppers it would be very tasty. Greg loved it, as did the rest of my table. Our main course arrived with half a roasted Cornish Game Hen, Rice, and a vegetable mix. The hen was tender and juicy with a crispy skin. Conversation continued while we devoured our dinner. We commenced back to the Library for desert of Cheesecake bites. Here we read our clues in numerical order. Wow, no one was who they seemed to be! Who did the killing? People were sleeping with each other, some were in the KKK, others were planning evil doings and all had a reason to kill. By the time we were through I was so confused, i didn't remember who was sleeping with who and what motive each person had!
Our group was separated into two rooms, males and females, to solve the crime. We went through most likely suspects to choose a killer. This time around the women figured out the solution. We all then went to our rooms, those that stayed at the Stone Lion went upstairs. Some stayed at the sister inn, The White Peacock, and others may have stayed local. Our night was uneventful, but others claimed to have had some sort of run in with the home ghost. We would learn more about that in the morning.
Morning arrived early, but we were ready. Having taken some pictures upstairs we ventured downstairs for breakfast and stories by the proprietor, Rebecca Luker. Breakfast consisted of Coffee, juice, fruit, and an appealing plate of quiche, sausage, banana nut bread, and apple crisp. The quiche was full of pepper (again one of my least favorite foods), but looked very nice. Greg thought it was well done and tasty. I loved the apple crisp. Becky told us stories of the history of the home, when she acquired the house, hilarious guest stories, and the story of the ghost, the little girl that died in the home from an overdose of medicine given by the nanny. Several well known ghost hunter groups have been to the home and it is mentioned in several books. You can read some about it at http://voices.yahoo.com/haunted-america-stone-lion-inn-bed-breakfast-in-371702.html. One guest claimed that their bathroom sink turned itself on during the night then shut itself off, but we had no visit or noise from a ghost, which I don't expect a ghost to ever reveal itself to me because i have my own beliefs which do not include ghosts being spirits of once living, now dead people.
We had an awesome time at the Stone Lion Inn at our Murder Mystery Dinner, and I'm sure you will too. We hope to visit again soon. There is food and fun to be had by all!
 |
| The painting on the side of the bathtub in our room |
 |
Our serving table was once an embalming table when the house was a funeral home
So our reviews of The Stone Lion Inn
Food - 4 Stars Service - 5 Stars Ambiance - 5 Stars Restroom - Used Room Restroom Prices - $$$$ Mystery Dinner Theater |
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Ridge Bar and Grill
Last night Greg and I went to The Ridge Grill. How did we decide to go there? We were running errands and saw a billboard on Hwy 169 and said, "Hey, lets try that place, the picture looks good!" We hadn't been there and always love to try new places.
The Ridge Bar and Grill is located at 9999 S Mingo Rd Suite J (101st and Mingo) Tulsa, OK 74133
Website is: http://www.ridgegrill.com
We walked in and were pleasantly greeted by the hostess who sat us right away. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting, with shades of brown decor. I expected the dining area to be larger but it was warm and cozy. On the left side was a bar area. Outdoor seating is also available.
Our waiter came to our table right away and asked if this was our first visit, which it was. He explained that the chef had been head chef at Atlantic Sea Grill for many years and many of the menu items reflected the same dishes. We needed time to look at the menu but he informed us of a special appetizer for the night, a Seafood Martini. Greg, loving seafood, ordered it. I started with a Caesar's Salad. The salad was wonderful. The chef makes all his dressings and this was tasty. The lettuce was crisp, evenly covered with dressing, and had crunchy croutons and lovely shredded Parmesan cheese. I was happy on two accounts, many places give you too much salad and not enough dressing, where this was a perfect combination. Also many places give you a bowl full of the rib of the romaine, which I do not care for. While this had some of the most tender pieces, most were the wonderful leafy part. We also had a tasty crunchy sliced bread with butter and a plate of olive oil and an olive mixture.
Now this Seafood Martini was something else all together! It comes with about an ounce of vodka to pour over the seafood, which enhances the horseradish in the sauce. But this glass was chock full of lobster, crab, and more! I don't care for either lobster or crab but i could tell the freshness of this meat and the taste almost made me want to change my mind! So many places, when they give you seafood dishes use old or imitation seafood or are very stingy. This was fresh, and real, and they were not stingy with it. Greg gives it a thumbs up and says it was worth the money.
For dinner Greg had the Frutii de Mare' which is Shrimp, Scallops, Mussels, and Lobster with linguine and a pesto cream sauce. This dish also was loaded with fresh seafood. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the sauce was outstanding. I had The Ridge Filet which is char grilled and topped with a fresh herbed compound butter. This came with Yukon Gold smashed potatoes and Fire Roasted vegetables. The potatoes were very good, and the filet was heavenly. It was so tender and cooked just right. The butter flowed over the meat and danced on my tongue. This is one of the tastiest filets I've ever had! I wish I had taken pictures with my phone to show off these dishes, I'm sure they would have made your mouth water!
Even though we were totally stuffed, we had to try a desert. They had a lava cake which almost tempted me, and a bread pudding which I'm sure would have been outstanding, and a flambe custard. I chose a chocolate torte with raspberry sauce. Oh My Gosh! It looked so pretty, and the chocolate tasted like fudge or a ganash and was so rich and tasty. The raspberry sauces was drizzled across the plate and there was a tuft of whipped creme alongside the chocolate. This was sure to keep me sweet the rest of the night!
Prices are anywhere from $10 for hamburger or pizza, to $39 for Filet of Dover Sole. They also carry Alaskan King Crab legs at market price.
So our reviews of The Ridge Grill are
Food - 5 Stars
Service - 5 Stars
Ambiance - 5 Stars
Restroom - 5 Stars
Prices - $$$$
Casual Upscale Dining
If you get by 101st and Mingo, stop by The Ridge Grill, it gets the Dine In Tulsa approval!
New* Dine In Tulsa, food reviews!
My husband, Greg, and I go out to eat fairly regularly. We both have many years experience in the food industry and love good food. We hope that blogging some of our experiences might help others make a decision to try out some of our choices. We will have anything from fast food to fine dining from Tulsa and the surrounding areas. Sometimes we will even blog about a place from our travels. So keep watching and you will see some exciting things and good food at Dine In Tulsa.
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