Osaka Steakhouse of Japan - Tulsa, OK

Okay, I believe there is more than one Osaka in Tulsa and I am not sure at all if they are under the same ownership so I am going to specify that this review is based on the Osaka on E. 81st St.

Jim and I went to Osaka this past weekend in hopes of having good Hibachi. When you first enter the restaurant you get a good feeling. The restaurant is immaculate and decor is very modern and beautiful. To the right is an exposed kitchen where the chefs/cooks look very professional and hard at work.

It will benefit you to know that we had made prior reservations and actually had reservations to a show following dinner. We had a friend with us and were seated right away at an empty table. The server came quickly for our drink order. When I gave her my order I also inquired about how the lobster was prepared. She said she didn't know but would find out and come back. She did come back with drinks but never answered the question. At this point we had been waiting a solid 15 minutes and plenty of tables were being sat and filled but no one had joined our table. This is important because if you go to many Hibachi grills then you know that especially on a Friday night the chef if not likely to begin cooking at your table and until it has reached capacity.

So we were hungry and decided to order the Tempura calamari and some sushi. The calamari was prepared differently from what I am accustomed to. Instead of being sliced into thin rings, it was dipped in the tempura batter and fried in tubular pieces, about 5" long. It was amazingly tender and served with two different dipping sauces, both of which were good. The sushi was a tuna roll and was okay but nothing really special.

At this point we are easily into half an hour of being there and still no one has joined our table. I knew we could never make the show on time so I went ahead and changed that reservation from 8 o'clock to 10:30. This at least allowed us to relax and not worry any further about missing the show. The wait continued and still other tables (three to be exact) are being sat, already have a chef at the table, and at at least one of them, the diners were already being served their Hibachi meals. I just kept thinking why the heck did I bother making a reservation.

After about another ten minutes the server, whom finally admitted that it was her first day, came back to say that the chef was coming out to cook for just the three of us. When I asked more questions about the menu she could not answer any of them. In the midst of this the chef arrived and I again asked our server about the preparation of the lobster. She said "oh yeah" and then turned to the chef to ask him.

So at long last Hibachi was cooked for us. There was absolutely nothing special about any of the food. The ginger dressing on the salad was just so-so, the rice was well below par in my world - flavorless and somewhat undercooked, and the meat was mediocre. This place was a major disappointment and that's unfortunate because the first impression made one think that a wonderful meal could be expected.

White River Fish Market - Tulsa, OK

My husband, Jim, has been working weekly in Tulsa for nearly two years now. Every now and then I have an opportunity to travel with him which has landed me in Tulsa twice now. The last time I was in Tulsa I decided to do a little restaurant hunting, via the Internet, in search of some new places for Jim and his fellow co-workers to go. One of the first places that I found was White River Fish Market.

This truly is a fish market with cases of fish for sale however, it does operate a restaurant as well. Jim and I stopped in on a Saturday for lunch. The portions seemed ample enough so we simply ordered one entree which was the grilled seafood K-Bob. (Their spelling, not mine.) We were right to only order one entree. We shared this dish and left with food still on the plate. It was truly excellent. There are about five different types of fish on the kabob which I would suspect can change daily depending on what is available. This was a great dish but I have yet to tell you about their best.

We have been back together since and Jim has now been numerous times with several of his co-workers. Take my advice and treat yourself to the grilled Sea Bass. It is a little pricey as sea bass generally is but is definitely worth it. For value and flavor this is honestly one of the best pieces of fish I have ever eaten. I now know several people that like to order the sea bass regularly at White River.

I have only mentioned grilled dishes to this point but broiled, fried, or smoked dishes are on the menu as well as gumbo and red beans and rice. Don't go here for fancy decor. As I mentioned earlier, this is a restaurant within a market; the tables are Formica, the floor is tiled, and there are cases of fish on display. What is important is that the restaurant is clean, the service is efficient and friendly, and the food is great! If you love seafood and are in the Tulsa area, trust me, I am not steering you wrong. White River Fish Market.

Bocado - Midtown West

I went to Bocado with my husband and a couple of friends. We were greeted by a friendly host and as we had a reservation were immediately seated. It was 8 p.m. on a Saturday night and the place was sufficiently packed. The restaurant interior has a loft-like feel and is furnished minimally. I point this out because unfortunately a large open space with no barriers and high ceilings with a crowd of patrons makes for a noisy environment. There is a nice patio in back and on good weather days I would opt for sitting out there.

Lets get to the food and the service. First we ordered cocktails and a four-cheese plate with bread. The cheese was very good but I would say the portions were a bit on the small side for four people. We then ordered entrees. Two of us ordered the organic chicken picatta, one had the Bocado burger stack, and the other chose the Chesapeake flounder and we chose a white wine to have with dinner. We barely had received the cocktails we ordered when the server brought out the white wine which was well ahead of the arrival of our entrees. On a good note he did have the foresight to bring an ice bucket so that it remained chilled.

The food arrived within about half an hour and was presented very well. Every one of us truly enjoyed the food. I was not able to finish mine but was really looking forward to taking the leftovers home to have later. (It was just as good heated back up!) Since the restaurant was so busy when the server came back we went ahead and ordered another bottle of wine. Once again we had barely gotten the first bottle open when he brought out the second bottle. This wine was a red and he did not bring new glasses.

So to sum it up, the service overall was friendly and adequate and the food was well worth the price and met expectations. The only two negatives were the noise and the wine service. I think this restaurant has a lot of potential and I will definitely go again. It is still fairly new so I highly suspect as they become more established that they will work out the kinks.

Gato Bizco

Since I just finished up a bad review I want to up my karma with a good one. So Gato Bizco...this is a tiny but homey little joint in Candler Park. There are only a few tables that all seat six and maybe about six bar stools. The decor may seem a little kitschy but if you understand the name then it makes since. (Gato Bizco is Spanish for cross-eyed cat.) The owner is very friendly and always on-hand on the weekends. The staff is friendly as well and they all work together like a well-oiled machine.

The menu consist of breakfast and lunch only and is Mexican-American fare. I personally love having breakfast here so I have never tried the lunch items. My favorite dish hands-down is the Huevos Rancheros. I really cannot count how many times I have had this! My next favorite dish is the Senor Sparky. I will warn that on the menu this dish has six eggs but if one asks they will gladly make it with two. Their biscuits and grits are both yummy too!

The service is consistently good, always getting one seated and served as quickly as possible. I have only  had a mistake made once with my order and the owner recognized the mistake, quickly brought me a corrected dish, and took the charge off my bill. Maybe this is because my husband and I are regulars or maybe he just knows good service. So forget about Flying Biscuit and do yourself a favor. (You won't wait nearly as long.) Go to Gato Bizco!!!

Urban Cannibals Bodega & Bites

Okay, did I miss something about this place? I had breakfast at UC with my husband. Hmmm...not so much. I will say that the owners were very friendly  and accomdating when we ordered off the menu but the food fell short. After ordering at the little counter in back we grabbed a table. The few tables and chairs they have are awkard in comfort and are situated oddly.

When our order was ready we went and picked it up. I had an egg and cheese biscuit and I have to say that the biscuit was so dry it crumbled when I attempted to bite into it. The egg was scorched and this is particularly annoying to me so I didn't have but a couple of bites of my breakfast before giving up on it. My husband ordered fried eggs and they were over-cooked as well. All in all nothing was special about this food or worth paying for.

Since UC also doubles as a general store, while you eat and sit in uncomfortable chairs you can also view the tampons for sale on the shelf a few feet away. Seriously? No one wants to see that while eating.

We prepared to leave when we were called upon to bring our dishes to the back of the restaurant. Even that was strange as there was no obvious place to put them.Upon asking we were pointed to some rusty metal contraption in a corner to leave them on. ???

What I like in ATL

Okay. While I may review some of these at some point for those of you who just want to know where to dine in the city I am going to make a list and sort it by neighborhood. Of course I will continue to add to the list and please don't hesitate to let me know if you think of something I should add. Just note that unless I have been there I won't add it since it's my list.

East Atlanta Village
Grant Central Pizza
The Glenwood
Graveyard
Soba - Vietnamese
Holy Taco
Spoon

Glenwood Park/Grant Park/Cabbagetown
Vickery's
Agave
Six Feet Under

Inman Park
Il Localina - Off my list. Please read my post on it. :)
Parish
Across the Street

Little Five Points
The Vortex
Little 5 Pizza
Corner Tavern
Fox Brother's BBQ

Candler Park
Gato Bizco - breakfast & lunch only
Fellini's Pizza

Decatur
Watershed
Taqueria del Sol
The Brick Store Pub

Virginia-Highland
Murphy's
LaTavola
Mali
Fontaine's
Alon's Bakery

Midtown
Publik
Trois
Marlow's
South City Kitchen
Eats
Baronda
Einstein's - not the bagel place.
Lobby at Twelve
Vickery's
MuLan
Nan
Tamarind
Rosa Mexicano
Pasta da Pulcinella
Lupe's

Midtown West
The Real Chow Baby
Figo
Taqueria del Sol
Six Feet Under
Spoon
Nuevo Laredo
Flip

Buckhead
Atlanta Fish Market
Fado
Houston's
Nava
Pano & Paul's
Blue Ridge Grill
Bluepointe
Buckhead Diner

Downtown
Legal's Seafood
Ruth's Chris

Chesire Bridge
Las Margarita's
Alfredo's
Roxx

Ansley Park
One Midtown Kitchen

Other Notables not by Neighborhood
Rathbun's
Two Urban Licks
OK Cafe
Canoe

Mulate's - French Quarter

Ugh! Yet another waste of time that resulted in leaving to go eat elsewhere. We had been here once before. I cannot recall what I had so it wasn't memorable in a good or bad way. This last visit will ensure that we don't return.

The atmosphere is fine and so is the service - no complaints there.

We ordered dinner. Jim asked for the rib-eye and wanted to have the Crab Au Gratin. It came out in a timely manner and once again i only took one bite. Here's the thing. If you are charging 24.99 for each of these dishes it should be good. Jim's steak was tough and marbled to the point it was difficult to cut and chew. More importantly, it wasn't even a ribeye steak, it was a NY strip. One server insisted that it was a rib-eye and didn't want to take it back to the kitchen. When our server made it back to our table she commented instantly that it was a strip. My Au Gratin looked and tasted as if it had been over-cooked and then left to sit out for 20 minutes. You know how cheese gets tough and chewy when it is over-baked? That's what I am talking about! I simply won't pay $50 for a mediocre dinner for two.

Sometimes I wonder if I am just spolied by Atlanta restaurants. I can name a lsit as long as my arm (probably longer given enough time) of restaurants here where you can get a really great entree for $25. But then...I find a little gem like Roberto's and I feel a glimmer of hope.