As I sat down to begin researching for my next article, my wife, Cheyenne Gray, made an exciting discovery. Just 10 feet from our front porch, was a strange clump of grass. For years we would mow it over in the summer, and each year it would just grow back. My wife, being the green […]
Restaurant Review: Velvet Taco
Outside of the giggle-worthy name, I never thought to see what Velvet Taco was all about. I didn’t know the concept, or care that it was a franchise that corporate marketers sometimes shoehorn into the corridor of Cherry Street when another place closes. In this case, the old, unlamented Long John Silver’s on 15th and […]
Reporter’s Notebook: American fast food brands grow in popularity in Kazakhstan
During the last decade, I traveled to Kazakhstan, a republic of the former USSR. (Kazakhstan has long borders with Russia in the north and with China in the south.) I noticed several American fast food restaurants were increasing in popularity there. I visited some of the restaurants and could see similarities as well as differences […]
Reporter’s Notebook: Olad’ya is a babushka’s recipe and a delicious meal for breakfast you need to know
Olad’ya is small size pancake or fritter and a popular breakfast meal in the former Soviet Union. The recipe of olad’ya was passed from babushkas (grandmas) to vnuchkas (grandaughters) in that part of the world for centuries. Olad’ya is usually about two and a half inches long and two inches wide. Here is a recipe […]
Reporter’s Notebook: How to cook squash – two delicious recipes from Kazakhstan
Squash is a vegetable and is sold at every supermarket. They are usually green and yellow colors looking like fatty comas. Some shoppers mistake the green squash for cucumbers. I have not seen squash served too often at parties or restaurants in Oklahoma. I think it is because of the lack of good recipes. […]
Reporter’s Notebook: A manti restaurant brings The Silk Road ancient taste to visitors in Kazakhstan
The Silk Road was a trade route from Europe to Asia from 300 B.C. to the 16th century. A part of The Silk Road went through Kazakhstan where my home was. During a summer 2021 trip to central Kazakhstan, my fellow travelers and I stopped at a manti restaurant situated in the corner of a […]
Restaurant Reviews – What is Detroit Pizza, and who does it the best?
So, hey? What is Detroit pizza? One might ask. Back in the day they used to build a lot of cars in Detroit and had a lot of steel 10 x 14-inch oil pans laying around. At some point, someone decided to make a pizza in one—and thus, a style was born. Essentially, it is […]
Reporter’s Notebook: Which food to try when traveling in the former USSR
In the former Soviet Union, someone’s first stop to try local food should be at a supermarket. There is plenty of products at the stores. So, a tourist can be lost trying to make a choice. In this essay, an individual may find valuable advice on popular Russian, European and Asian food in Kazakhstan and […]
Reporter’s Notebook: Russian Non-Alcoholic drinks will keep you cool in summer
In Kazakhstan and other republic of the former Soviet Union, there are popular non-alcoholic drinks, which can greatly satisfy someone’s thirst in the hot summer. These are kvas, lemonade, and kompot. A variety of kvases and lemonades are sold at every supermarket or small shop in the former USSR. They have sweet and sour tastes. […]
Restaurant Review: Piehole Pizzeria
A Tulsa institution on the tail end of Cherry Street, for roughly 20-years, Piehole Pizzeria continues to craft some great, comforting New York-style pies. Originally founded by bar and restaurant entrepreneur Zachary Matthews, before being sold to current owner Andy Park in 2014, it was always a place that (as an expat New Yorker myself) […]