The plates that define Tulsa: what they are, and where to eat the canonical version.
The plates that define Tulsa. what they are, where they came from, and where to eat the canonical version.
Oklahoma barbecue is a mixed-plate tradition: slow-smoked brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, and thick-sliced smoked sausage served together on butcher paper with white bread, dill pickles, and raw onion. The smoke source is typically hickory or oak, and the cooking time runs 12 to 16 hours at low heat. Sauce is offered on the side rather than applied during cooking, putting the focus on the quality of the smoke ring.
Where: Albert G's BBQ Downtown
Price: $12-22
A beef round steak pounded thin, dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk, coated again in flour, and pan-fried until the crust is golden and shattering. It arrives blanketed in white cream gravy made from the pan drippings, with mashed potatoes and green beans completing the plate. The gravy-to-steak ratio is taken seriously in Oklahoma: it should be generous.
Where: Tally's Good Food Cafe, Polo Grill
Price: $12-24
A loose-ball of ground beef pressed flat on a hot griddle with a handful of thinly sliced raw onions pushed directly into the surface of the patty as it cooks. The onions caramelize into the meat, and the underside develops a lacquered crust. It is served on a toasted white bun with yellow mustard, dill pickles, and optional American cheese.
Where: Tucker's Onion Burgers
Price: $7-12
A round of deep-fried flour dough, blistered and chewy, topped with seasoned ground beef or beans, shredded cheddar, diced tomato, shredded lettuce, and sour cream. The fry bread base gives way under pressure, combining the crunch of the exterior with a soft, slightly yeasty interior. It is larger and more filling than a flour tortilla taco by a considerable margin.
Where: Mother Road Market
Price: $8-14
American Solera's mixed-fermentation sour ales have put Tulsa on the international craft beer map. The style involves fermenting beer with wild yeast and bacteria in open vessels or barrels, producing a tartness that ranges from gently bright to intensely acidic, with fruit additions and blending across vintages adding layers of complexity absent from conventionally brewed beers.
Where: American Solera Brewery
Price: $8-14
Oklahoma barbecue is a mixed-plate tradition: slow-smoked brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, and thick-sliced smoked sausage served together on butcher paper with white bread, dill pickles, and raw onion. The smoke source is typically hickory or oak, and the cooking time runs 12 to 16 hours at low heat. Sauce is offered on the side rather than applied during cooking, putting the focus on the quality of the smoke ring.
History: Oklahoma barbecue developed alongside the state's cattle ranching economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing on both Texas beef-smoking traditions to the south and Kansas City pork-smoking traditions to the north. The result is a mixed-protein plate culture that predates the regional specialization that defines Texas and Carolina BBQ today.
Where to try it: Albert G's BBQ Downtown
Watch out for: Gluten
A beef round steak pounded thin, dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk, coated again in flour, and pan-fried until the crust is golden and shattering. It arrives blanketed in white cream gravy made from the pan drippings, with mashed potatoes and green beans completing the plate. The gravy-to-steak ratio is taken seriously in Oklahoma: it should be generous.
History: Chicken-fried steak arrived in Oklahoma with cattle-drive cooks who adapted German Wiener Schnitzel to the tougher beef cuts available on the range. The frying method tenderized the meat; cream gravy made from pan drippings replaced the butter sauce. By the 1920s the dish appeared on Route 66 diner menus across Oklahoma, and Tally's on South Yale remains the most-cited example in Tulsa.
Where to try it: Tally's Good Food Cafe, Polo Grill
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs
A loose-ball of ground beef pressed flat on a hot griddle with a handful of thinly sliced raw onions pushed directly into the surface of the patty as it cooks. The onions caramelize into the meat, and the underside develops a lacquered crust. It is served on a toasted white bun with yellow mustard, dill pickles, and optional American cheese.
History: The fried onion burger was born in Depression-era Oklahoma around 1926 in El Reno, where a cafe owner discovered that pressing onions into the beef stretched a small amount of ground meat further. The technique spread across Oklahoma and became a regional standard. Tucker's Onion Burgers carries the tradition to Tulsa with a smash-burger interpretation on a flat-top griddle.
Where to try it: Tucker's Onion Burgers
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy
A round of deep-fried flour dough, blistered and chewy, topped with seasoned ground beef or beans, shredded cheddar, diced tomato, shredded lettuce, and sour cream. The fry bread base gives way under pressure, combining the crunch of the exterior with a soft, slightly yeasty interior. It is larger and more filling than a flour tortilla taco by a considerable margin.
History: Fry bread was created in the 1860s when the U.S. government relocated the Navajo Nation and provided commodity rations including white flour, sugar, salt, and lard. Native cooks developed fry bread from these limited ingredients. The dish spread across Native American communities in Oklahoma, and the Indian taco version emerged at fairs and festivals in the 20th century. It is now a staple of Oklahoma state fair culture and is found at pow-wows and Native American food stands across the region.
Where to try it: Mother Road Market
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy
American Solera's mixed-fermentation sour ales have put Tulsa on the international craft beer map. The style involves fermenting beer with wild yeast and bacteria in open vessels or barrels, producing a tartness that ranges from gently bright to intensely acidic, with fruit additions and blending across vintages adding layers of complexity absent from conventionally brewed beers.
History: American Solera opened in Tulsa in 2017 and quickly developed a national reputation for its wild and mixed-fermentation ales, drawing on Belgian farmhouse and lambic traditions but developing a distinctly American style. The brewery put Tulsa in conversations usually reserved for Portland, Denver, and Chicago in the craft beer press.
Where to try it: American Solera Brewery
Watch out for: Gluten
Tulsa's signature dishes include Oklahoma-style BBQ, Chicken-Fried Steak, Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger, Indian Taco (Fry Bread Taco), Tulsa Craft Sour Ale. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.