Questions about Tulsa (Krebs, Peoria: apartments, rent, house)

[greenice]

My husband got a job offer in Tulsa and he's thinking of taking it, but we really don't know anything about Tulsa.


Are there any ethnic markets? Most of the food we eat at home is either Indian or Mediterranean.

Is 74134 an ok zip code to live in?

Are there nearby places to go for weekend trips? I saw Hot Springs is only a few hours away. We like to visit parks and historical places.

Since we don't want to buy until we know we're staying I'm looking at the Palazzo apartments, is it okay? Should we rent a house instead?

[teakboat]

74134 is OK, mostly good. It is on the east side close to a lot of the immigrant areas of Tulsa, with some ethnic food. But that zip code also includes way East and a nice rural area.

There are several weekend trips, Eureka Springs AR is at least as nice as Hot Springs AR, both are fun and interesting trips. Dallas will make an interesting trip or two until you get tired of it. Houston and Galveston are not too far to drive and are probably more fun than Dallas. Lots of nice lakes and state parks in OK and AR should keep you busy for a few years.

[flyingcat2k]

There are a growing number of Mediterranean restaurants here in Tulsa. The famous one is Helen of Troy on S. Lewis but Zoe's Kitchen just opened their first location in Brookside. There are some food trucks that offer kabaps and gyros here.

For Indian food, I like Desi Wok on 41st and I-44. There is also an Indian spice shop in the same shopping center. I haven't tried the other Indian restaurants here.

There are also a couple of Latin supermarkets and at least one Asian market by 31st and Garnet.

Bigger cities are not out of the question for weekend trips. North Dallas is 3 hours away, KC is 4. My wife and I go to Frisco, TX for IKEA and Costco but everything else we shop for is here in Tulsa. I wouldn't drive to Houston since you can go to Austin and San Antonio in the same amount of time. They are far better than H-town IMHO. You could also go to NW Arkansas. It is the home of Wal-mart but there is good scenery and clean streams. Eastern OK is home to the better state parks IMHO. Robbers Cave is pretty cool.

[artsy11]

The 74134 area is where I've lived for a very long time (20+ years) and it's ok. There are ethnic places to eat that I mostly see are kind of scattered throughout Tulsa though there are quite a bit of them on Brookside (starts on 31st and Peoria).

The Palazzo apartments are pretty nice apartments. I think you'll really like them if you chose to move there.

[Bumby]

There are tons of ethnic markets. Mediterranean/Middle Eastern markets abound all over Tulsa. We have a good spot for fresh baked pita bread (Shawkat's/41st and Sheridan) but I haven't found any for lavash or other flat breads, baked fresh. It depends on what I need as to where I go for Indian/Middle Eastern products, these shops are just tucked away all over town.

We have 2 large Asian supermarkets, Nam Hai (21st and Garnett) and Asian Mart (31st and 129th). Nam Hai has very fresh fish and great produce. Asian Mart has great produce. Korean Market (41st and 129th) makes and sells a very good kimche. Kimche is awfully easy to make tho. All these stores have a huge selection.

There are plenty of Mexican supermarkets and smaller mercados. Las Americas and Morelo's supermarkets are the two I shop the most. We have a large Mexican bakery - Pancho Anaya located in Admiral & Garnett area. Fresh tortillas are available at Tortilleria de Puebla/31st and Mingo.

All of the above mentioned stores are in or near the 74134 zip code.

I wish we had a good Italian grocer. I do go to Lovera's in a small Italian community called Krebs which is south of Tulsa about an hour and a half to visit their store. Some of Lovera's products are available at Reasor's, an Oklahoma grocery chain also in Tulsa. Lovera's Italian Sausage is some of the best I've ever had and their Caciocavera cheese is very good. Both items are available at Reasors.

Siegi's Sausage fills some of the German niche. They make excellent sausage and have a very nice meat counter. They also carry lots of German mustards and a selection of European products.

Herbert's at 71st and Lewis carries lots of Louisiana/Cajun products. I can get my Zapp's Crawtaters there. They carry andouille, boudin and other cajun meats.

Petty's, in Utica Square, often comes through for some hard to find ingredients.

You'll do fine cooking in Tulsa!

[theadamjfr]

Indian/Mediterranean market at 51st and Sheridan (2 actually, one behind QT is strictly Middle-Eastern and one across in the other shopping center is Indian and Medi)

[greenice]

awesome, thanks

[swake]

On the south side there are Indian and Asian markets at 71st and Lewis and a little Mercado at about 85th and Lewis.