Tulsa: January 2008 Archives

I just learned that one of my favorite barbecue places has a sparkling new website. Big Daddy's All American BBQ has locations at 46th St N. & Lewis, 11th & Garnett, Main Street in Jenks, and Houston & Aspen in Broken Arrow. (Earlier this month, the 11th & Garnett location moved across Garnett to the old Dairy Queen / Lot-A-Burger location next to Mazzio's.)

The food is not only delicious, it's a great value. My favorite, the pulled pork sandwich special, is $4.95 all day. (There aren't too many barbecue places in Tulsa that serve pulled pork.) It's a big pile of pulled pork between two pieces of white bread, with a generous serving of the side order of your choice and a fountain drink. You'll need a fork: There's so much meat that the bread will either fall apart or the meat will spill out. It is tender, moist, and nicely flavored.

Big Daddy's has ribs, too, and the standard range of barbecue meats, plus cajun boudain sausage, turkey, and chicken. There are stuffed baked potatoes with your choice of meats. For dessert, they've always got sweet potato pie and a choice of other treats.

Go check out the website, then stop by and treat yourself to some delicious barbecue at Big Daddy's.

(I know this entry must read like amateurish ad copy, but I have not received any compensation or freebies for writing this review. I just really like Big Daddy's food, and I can't believe how much you get for what you pay.)

Monday morning on 1170 KFAQ, Gwen Freeman and I talked about top stories at the state and local level. These were my top 10 local stories, in no particular order:

1. Defeat of the proposed Tulsa County sales tax for Arkansas River projects
2. ORU: Professors' wrongful termination lawsuit and resignation of Richard Roberts
3. December ice storm
4. Tulsa Police Department: tenure of interim chief David Bostrom and rehiring of former chief Ron Palmer
5. Illegal immigration: Tulsa County Sheriff's Office qualifies under 287(g) to hold illegal immigrants for deportation; Tulsa City Council passes new policy for checking immigration status of people taken into custody for felonies and serious misdemeanors
6. City Hall move to One Technology Center
7. Centennial celebrations, including the Belvedere unearthing in June
8. City of Tulsa annexation of the Tulsa County Fairgrounds (will go into effect at the end of 2008
9. Arena: first city budget accounting for arena expenses, at the expense of police academy and golf courses; decision not to demolish convention center arena
10. Bell's removal and demolition

We didn't cover these, except to go through the AP's list, but on the state level, these were the stories I thought most notable, beyond those above:

1. Oklahoma's centennial
2. Passage of HB 1804 on immigration enforcement
3. Sidetracking of HB 1648 (competitive bidding for PPPs, killed by big construction lobby)
4. Former State Sen. Mike Mass pleads guilty, turns state's evidence
5. Indictment of TABOR petition leaders (the "Oklahoma Three")
6. Power-sharing in the Oklahoma State Senate

My list tends to be political, and I have probably overlooked sports, business, and human interest stories. What would you add to these lists of top local stories?