Tulsa, Oklahoma

===Cuisine===
Tulsa restaurants and food trucks offer a number of cuisines, but several cuisines are particularly prominent in its culinary landscape because of its distinctive history.

====BBQ====
Tulsa is known nationally for its barbecue offerings; its barbecue reflects its midpoint location "between pig country and cow country," that is, in the transition zone between the South and the West.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Martino|first1=Justin|title=The Heartland of BBQ|url=http://www.okmag.com/blog/2016/05/26/the-heartland-of-bbq/|access-date=August 14, 2016|work=Oklahoma Magazine|date=May 26, 2016|quote="We’re right in the heartland," says Nick Corcoran, pit master at Burn Co. Barbeque in Tulsa. "We’re right between pig country and cow country, so we get the best of both worlds. We’re also right between Kansas and Texas, two known barbecue meccas as well, so we get a melding of those two pots."|archive-date=August 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807135058/http://www.okmag.com/blog/2016/05/26/the-heartland-of-bbq/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city's barbecue is also helped by its geography; the wood used in barbecuing is abundant in Northeastern Oklahoma (including [[pecan]], [[oak]], [[hickory]], [[mesquite]] and [[maple]]). The region's ethnic diversity is felt, too: its BBQ traditions bear the influences of white, African-American and American Indian foodways.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wilson|first1=Linda D.|title=Barbecue|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=BARBECUE|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date= August 14, 2016}}</ref>
Tulsa is also home to the nationally acclaimed premium smoker manufacturer Hasty-Bake Company. Some Tulsa based barbecue joints have expanded even beyond the state's borders, including Leon's Smoke Shack, [[Rib Crib]] and [[Billy Sims Barbecue]]. The prize-winning [[Oklahoma Joe's]] was founded by Oklahoman Joe Davidson, who mastered his craft at Tulsa's T-Town BBQ Cook-Off.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vaughn|first1=Daniel|url=http://www.tmbbq.com/interview-joe-davidson-of-oklahoma-joes-bar-b-cue/|title=Texas Monthly BBQ|access-date=August 14, 2016|date=May 28, 2014}}</ref>

Oklahoma barbecue is also unique in its emphasis on hickory-smoked [[barbecue bologna]], nicknamed "Oklahoma tenderloin," and its [[fried okra]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Ardie|title=Barbecue 'Oklahoma Tenderloin' hard to find in KC — that's no baloney|url=http://www.kansascity.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/chow-town/article337138/Barbecue-%E2%80%98Oklahoma-Tenderloin%E2%80%99-hard-to-find-in-KC-%E2%80%94-that%E2%80%99s-no-baloney.html|access-date=August 17, 2016|work=The Kansas City Star|date=January 23, 2014}}</ref>

====Lebanese steakhouses====
Lebanese steakhouses were once numerous in the region stretching from [[Bristow, Oklahoma]] to Tulsa, but now mostly exist in the Tulsa region.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schallner|first1=Nancy|title=Lebanese Steakhouses|url=http://www.tulsagal.net/2010/09/lebanese-steakhouses.html|website=Tulsa Gal|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> These restaurants were founded by [[Syrian Americans|Syrian]] and [[Lebanese Americans|Lebanese]] families who immigrated to Oklahoma before statehood.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gainey|first1=Spencer Livingston|title=BBQ bologna: Oklahoma's legendary Lebanese steakhouses|url=https://nondoc.com/2015/12/08/lebanese-steakhouses-its-just-different/|access-date=August 14, 2016|work=NON DOC|date= December 8, 2015}}</ref>  Traditionally, many of these restaurants had live entertainment (including performers like [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and the [[Ink Spots]]) and featured Mediterranean dishes like [[tabbouleh]], rice [[pilaf]] and [[hummus]] alongside local favorites like smoked BBQ [[Bologna sausage|bologna]].

====Chili and Coney Island hot dogs====
Oklahomans have been consuming chili since well before statehood, owing to the influence of [[Mexican-American]] culture on the state.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Everett|first1=Dianna |title=Chili|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=CHILI|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> In 1910, iconic Tulsa restaurant Ike's Chili Parlor opened and Ivan "Ike" Johnson is purported to have acquired his recipe from a Hispanic-Texan named Alex Garcia.

Greek immigrants to Tulsa who came by way of [[Brooklyn]], [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Michigan]] brought with them the tradition of [[Coney Island hot dog|Coney Island-style hot dogs]] with chili on a bun.<ref name="cauthron">{{cite web | url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-2179765/one-hot-dog-how-tulsa-became-a-coney-town | title=One Hot Dog: How Tulsa Became a Coney Town | access-date=July 26, 2015 | author=Cauthron, Matt}}</ref>  Today, a related group of [[Greek-American]] families operate Coney restaurants around the city, including [[Coney I-Lander]] which opened in 1926 and was described by food writers [[Jane and Michael Stern]] as perfectly delivering "the cheap-eats ecstasy that is the Coney's soul".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stern|first1=Jane|last2=Stern|first2=Michael|title=500 Things to Eat Before it's Too Late:and the Very Best Places to Eat Them|date=2009|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-547-05907-5}}</ref>  Many of these restaurants sell Greek food, either year round or at Tulsa's annual Greek Holiday, sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (which dates to 1925).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Everett|first1=Dianna |title=HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH (Tulsa).|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=HO019|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref>

====Southern "homestyle" food====
By and large, Tulsa's traditional cuisine reflects the influence of Southern foodways, particularly "upland South and... Texas where many of Oklahoma's nineteenth-century population originated."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Everett|first1=Dianna|title=State Meal|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=ST023|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> The prominence of certain foods reflects the agricultural heritage of the surrounding regions. For instance, at the suggestion of experts at what is now [[Oklahoma State University]], peanuts became a major crop in now eastern Oklahoma as a means for lessening the reliance on cotton cultivation.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Everett|first1=Dianna|title=Peanuts|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PE002|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> [[Chicken-fried steak]] is part of the state meal of Oklahoma and is the signature dish at a number of Tulsa restaurants.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cherry|first1=Scott|last2=Watts|first2=James|title=Where, why and how: 5 great chicken-fried steaks at area eateries|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/food/where-why-and-how-great-chicken-fried-steaks-at-area/article_20e8bb1b-5e10-571d-b64a-cd98aa2561ca.html|access-date=August 14, 2016|work=Tulsa World|date=May 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Weaver|first1=Bobby|title=Chicken-Fried Steak|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=CHICKEN-FRIED%20STEAK|website=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref>

====Wild onion dinner====
The [[wild onion dinner]] is a festive gathering that originated with the [[Southeastern tribes]] which call Eastern Oklahoma home. The meals often feature [[wild onion]], [[pork]], [[frybread]], [[corn bread]], [[Pokeweed|Poke salad]] and a unique dish known as grape biscuits.<ref>Middleton, Nicole Marshall. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=39&articleid=20120314_39_D1_CUTLIN99137 "Grape Dumplings Make Unique Dessert with American Indian Influence."] ''Tulsa World.'' March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.</ref> The Tulsa Indian Women's Club has been holding annual Wild Onion Dinners since at least 1932.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zanger|first1=Mark|title=The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students.|date=2008|publisher=Oryx Press|location=Phoenix, AZ|isbn=978-1573563451|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTBSpuCkl9AC&q=1932+wild+onion+dinner+tulsa&pg=PA61|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref>

====Baking and confectionery====
Tulsa is home to the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show, a premier sugar craft competition hosted by Tulsa-based [[Food Network]] personality [[Kerry Vincent]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dino-Ray |first1=Ramos |title=Kerry Vincent Dies: Food Network Star And Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Co-Founder Was 75 |url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/kerry-vincent-dead-obituary-food-network-oklahoma-state-sugar-art-show-1234664194/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=5 January 2021 |date=3 January 2021}}</ref> Tulsa is also home to the nationally renowned Pancho Anaya Mexican bakery, recognized by [[Food & Wine]] as one of America's 100 best bakeries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/best-bakeries-in-america|title=The 100 Best Bakeries in America|website=Foodandwine.com|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> Tulsa is home to several national dessert companies: [[Daylight Donuts]] was founded in Tulsa and remains headquartered there, as is the Bama Pie Company.

====Breweries====
Brewing in Tulsa dates back to at least the late 1930s with the Ahrens Brewing Company and their Ranger Beer line. The Ahrens Brewing Company opened in May 1938.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marshallbrewing.com/tulsa-brew-history/|title=Tulsa Brew History|work=marshallbrewing.com|access-date=January 23, 2021|archive-date=November 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130165958/http://marshallbrewing.com/tulsa-brew-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tulsa's craft beer scene has boomed since legislation passed allowing for microbreweries to serve the public directly (Tulsa's first microbrewery in the post-World War II era was [[Marshall Brewing Company]] in 2008).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/07/the-craft-beer-guide-to-oklahoma.html |title= The Craft Beer Guide to Oklahoma |work= Paste Magazine |date= July 14, 2014}}</ref>