One of the great things about going to a new place is that you get to experience their food culture and Tulsa seems to be a place that isn't overrun with national food chains. They have a ton of smaller, local restaurants which is great for getting a taste of how it is to live in the city. I was lucky enough to get taken out to an absolutely fabulous pizza place called Andolini's Pizzeria, located in one of the little hot spots of Tulsa. It has a great vibe and was full of energy. You can watch them making the pizza and hand tossing the dough. They have a great selection of wines and beers. They even have beer flights served in a pizza paddle. We decided to go all out and so we started off the meal with some fried mozzarella. The cheese is made in house and you can definitely taste the difference. It was creamy and silky with the perfect, crispy coating. The marina had tons of flavor and was the perfect finishing touch to the cheese. Adding oregano to it was a great way to add a tiny bit of earthy goodness. However, it was just as good plain as it was with the marinara and it was quite possibly the best fried mozzarella I have ever had.
Next, we opted to split a pizza that was half "Frederico" and half "Andolini's Combination". The Frederico was a white pizza with alfredo sauce, baby spinach, mushrooms, and speck. What is speck you may ask? It is smoked proscuitto and pretty delicious, even though I am not a huge fan of proscuitto in general. This pizza was delightful and everything blended together so well. The other half was an upscale supreme pizza with lots of veggies and meats. The best part was that there was the perfect amount of sauce. It wasn't overwhelming and balanced well with all the yummy toppings. They know how to do pizza because there was plenty of toppings, so that it didn't feel like you were just eating crust and sauce. Honestly, it was too hard to say which half was better, but they were both winners!
Ending the meal on a sweet note is a nice treat for me, since I don't usually order dessert. I love tiramisu, so when I saw they had a gluten free tiramisu and cheesecake dessert, I got really excited. Named the "Tiramocha", this seemed like a great twist on two classic desserts, so we decided to give it a try. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, but fell a little flat. It had a very interesting flavor and texture. It was served with some shortbread like ladyfinger cookies dusted in powdered sugar that were really good with the tiramocha. It added tons of flavor, but overall I was not really pleased with it. I guess it was one of my not so awesome dessert choices, but luckily the bf was a sport and muddled through with me. This isn't something that I would order again, nor would it be something I recommend, but at least now I can say I tried it. Overall, the meal was delicious and if I lived there is would definitely make my list of favorite places in Tulsa. If you are in the area, you need to stop by and grab a piece of this perfect pizza pie!
While the cookies are baking and cooling, you make the icing. It uses raw honey, coconut oil, almond extract, lemon and lemon zest. Again, Whole Foods failed and didn't have lemons. The icing was good, but unfortunately there wasn't much of a lemon flavor. Mix together and chill in the refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Spread on the cookies and then enjoy! Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be like a shortbread. The consistency was a crust on the outside and a somewhat crumbly texture. The icing really kicked up the flavor, so I would say it is a must. The best part about these cookies is that they had no flour, sugar, or eggs, so they were pretty healthy. I am glad that I tried them and was pleasantly surprised. Don't be afraid to try something new. You never know what you will get.
