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Tulsa, OK: The Blue Dome District

The Blue Dome District may be to Tulsa, OK what the Gas Lamp District is to San Diego, CA. A neighborhood of shopping, dining, and entertainment, all jam packed into a square of 12 city blocks, it seems to be where the downtown tourism tends to gravitate towards.

Named for an ancient gas station with an iconic blue dome that once served travelers on the old Mother Road, the Blue Dome District is where you find the night life, the live music, and a broad mix of people from golf-shirt dads, to mother-of-pearl cowboys, to black leather bikers, to nostril-pierced hippies. It's all there.

In my insatiable quest to find cool looking bars that serve the most eclectic beer, the Blue Dome District seems to offer the best choices. McNellie's Public House anchors down the district's influx of visitors with over 250 brands of beer on tap and in bottles. Sash couldn't resist the Shepherd's Pie, while I settled for the tried-and-true fish and chips.

But just caddy-corner away is Back Alley Blues BBQ, said to have some of Tulsa's best BBQ around. Even though I already had eaten a few hours earlier at McNellie's, I just had to indulge in the "Beer Can Chicken", which is a whole chicken roasted over a fire with a full can of beer stuck up its hind side. As the beer boils, the chicken's muscles are infused with malt and hops, intensifying the flavor and moistening the meat. And it indeed was very moist, and smoky too. But I assume they used Coors Light cause I couldn't detect much malt and hops.

Hunt Club Pub & Grill was another place we hung out at for a bit. I sucked down a beer while Sash took in a couple glasses of ginger ale. But not much was happening here aside from the lesbian bartender and her butch friend, looking all of 18 years old.

But there was a lot quality time spent at the Woody Guthrie Center. It's a museum dedicated to the late great folk singer, telling his story in music, photos, and film. Sash seemed pretty touched, making some kind of spiritual connection to her grandmother due to the Dust Bowl experiences that Guthrie sung about. Guthrie never hailed from Tulsa, but he did hail about 65 miles south in Okemah. I suppose they put the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa because one would see it in Okemah.

Joebot's Coffee Bar is probably the most off-beat coffee house I've seen yet. All decked out in toy-robot decor, it celebrates the bicycling community with splashes of Woody Guthrie and The Flaming Lips. Be sure to order a slice of "Candied Bacon Cheddar Corn Bread" while you're there.

Sash was also quite intrigued with graffiti-style paintings canvassed across many of the old brick buildings, giving the Blue Dome District a more youthful, urban feel. You'd never know you were deep in the heart of redneck country.

But it's clear that the Blue Dome District is still decades away from reaching its full potential. There's still a lot of abandoned buildings and empty space. It still has a friendly appeal and everything you need to hang out over good food, beer, and entertainment.