pizza crawl

last weekend, T and i embarked on a new ride okc tour of pizza! you heard me right, a tour based on tasty, mouth-watering pizza from six pizzerias. normally, i wouldn't be able to finish six slices, but the biking in between helped us to work off some of it before we were set to try another one. plus, how awesome of a way to get to know more about our city. 

[ready for pizza!]

stop #1: the wedge

slice: the italian stallion - port wine sundried tomato sauce, house made italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, and fennel

[pizzas waiting to be eaten...mmm]

verdict: tasty, and the perfect start to our pizza tour. 

[bike tour knowledge being dropped]

stop #2: hideaway pizza

slice(s): pizza of the gods - olive oil and garlic glaze, mozzarella, provolone, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and roma tomato; the bratza - garlic glaze, bavarian mustard, mozzarella, sauerkraut, bratwurst, red onion, cheddar, jalapeños, and parmesan-herb shake

[pizza tossing demonstration]

verdict: surprisingly my favorite pizza had all day and i say surprisingly because the bratza completely caught me off guard. it tasted like having a bratwurst with spicy mustard and sauerkraut aka octoberfest. had i gone in outside of the tour and the waiter told me about this pizza, i would have politely declined thinking it couldn't work. but, i was floored to find that it was so well paired and crafted. so, this slice gets the gold star for the tour!

stop #3: pizzeria gusto

slice: the margherita - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, basil, and evoo

[perfect way to quench our thirst]

verdict: classic. you really cannot go wrong with a crisp, fresh margherita. also, the co-owner of this restaurant, who runs the kitchen, came out to speak with us. after hearing her talk about their wood-fire oven (which is always burning, regardless of if they are open or not), her ideas about pizza, and her overall demeanor, i was impressed. so much so that it completely changed our thoughts about the restaurant!

stop #4: empire pizza

slice: foghorn leghorn - sweet marinara, roasted chicken, bacon, jalapeño, and sriracha drizzle

verdict: a great by the slice pizza, but not sure i could do a whole pizza. not that it wasn't tasty, which it was, but a little went a long way. 

[biking to the next stop]

stop #5: hall's pizza

slice: saturday night - pepperoni, sausage, housemade sauce, fresh basil, whole milk mozzarella, and parmigiano reggiano

[cheers-ing to our city]

verdict: hot, steamy (which i loved during a cool bike ride) and delicious. plus, hall's is a personal favorite for T and i so it would be hard to not love everything they do. also, hall's uses a wood-fire pizza oven too and are one of two pizzerias (with pizzeria gusto) that does not use gas. aka, all that heat is coming from the classic wood-fire oven which takes some finesse to get the temperature just right.

stop #6: joey's pizzeria

slice: bianca neve - fresh chopped baby spinach, fresh garlic, smoked bacon, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese on our signature alfredo sauce

verdict: delicious, and the perfect way to close out the pizza tour, especially since it had started to rain on our way to the last stop. 

we learned so much about our pizza community and have so much more appreciation for the work and creativity that goes into each slice. added bonus was that i found new favorites to order when we go back to visit. 

thanks ride okc for putting together such a great day!

vintage wine bar

for T's birthday last month, he had one request: to enjoy a great bottle of wine while listening to blues music. sadly, i couldn't quite get the blues part to work out (sadly, we are in the wrong state for regular blues music), but i could make sure the wine could happen. to help substitute for the lack of his music request, i went for a venue that was something out of a classic, modern 70s cocktail lounge...enter, vintage wine bar.

T and i were huge fans of its original location, vintage 1740, and couldn't wait to see what their new location and concept would be like. the setting was perfectly made for what we were looking for - chic, cozy, and relaxed. their selection of cocktails was just as inventive and enticing as their original location. their varieties of wines by the glass or bottle were mouth-watering. and last, but not least, the service was attentive, warm, and friendly. while the location and look had changed, T and i were pleasantly surprised everything else that we loved about their original location had remained. 

[the wine vault]

[a very happy birthday gent]

this visit, we opted for a bottle of chenin blanc (which was a-mazing by the way) that was paired with a killer cheese tray. fun fact, i am not a bleu cheese fan by any means. however, after the manager enticed me with a bleu cheese he paired with our wine selected, i am a fan! well, maybe not of all bleu cheeses, but that one i'd have again and again. in fact, everything on our cheese tray was a perfect compliment to our wine. i couldn't get over how much it opened up new flavors for our varietal. 

[impromptu fireworks for the birthday gent]

thanks again vintage wine bar for treating us to quite the birthday celebration and we cannot wait to return!

okc zoo

[snacktime]

saturday afternoon, T and i decided to brave the oklahoma heat to spend the afternoon at the okc zoo. i hadn't been before and T hadn't been since he was little so, it seemed like the perfect mini day date. 

[black bear, black bear, what do you see?]

[making friends]

it was fun to watch T reminisce about his favorite spots at the zoo while we saw the exhibits and picked out our favorite animals. plus, i got to snack on my favorite out and about snack - dippin' dots. i mean, how can you say no? 

[hi little one]

[just a couple of gorillas, hanging out]

we had such a fun time and i can't wait to come back when the camels and rhinos arrive. 

ride okc

last saturday, T and i took a bike tour through downtown okc with ride okc. ride okc recently opened as a bicycling tour guide throughout the metro area offering art + architecture, cookies, and brewery tours. with options like those, who could say no, right? 

after mulling over our options, T and i decided to check out the art + architecture tour. it seemed like the perfect activity to get into on a sunny summer morning. 

[learning about okc's oldest hotel]

[T and our awesome guide, ryan]

[the largest bronze sculpture short of buddhist temples...crazy, right?]

[admiring the boat-shaped boathouse]

[my favorite mural]

[i love this house]

the temperatures may have been a little toasty, but our tour was dynamite. we couldn't have been happier with our tour guide and can't wait to take another tour. thanks again for everything ryan!

405 day

last thursday, T and i enjoyed 405 brewing's fiesta for april 5th aka 405 day. 405 brewing celebrated all things 405 with local brews, music, food, and community. it was their first 405 fest, but, the crowds came out in full support. T and i, of course, love supporting local, but it makes me even happier to see the support of the community. 

to add to the festivities, 405 brewing debuted a new beer called stu aka their west coast ipa.  

[all the crowds in the tap room]

[coconut lavender lemonade - so, so good]

[taylor prince]

[the fried taco's bbq jackfruit taco - unbelievable]

in between the killer musical talents, T and jonathan (one of the owners of 405 brewing) had raffle drawings for local prizes from their 405 sponsors. i may be biased, but a certain baldy was a pretty great emcee. 

[couple of cuties]

['you are magical']

[camille harp and john calvin abney]

it was such a great night supporting local, and i already can't wait until next year's 405 day!