South - Oklahoma City in March

I'll be in OKC for 5 days in March for a convention, actually arriving one day early (it's part of a multi-city itinerary). First time visiting this city/state - any suggestions for places to eat/see/party/avoid/etc? I'll be on my own for the first day and then will have several of my grad school buddies there during the convention.

Funny; I've been searching this forum with the same question (perhaps we are going to the same convention?). So far, I've come up with Earl's Ribs Palace and Cattlemen's for places to eat, and the Bricktown area in general for some sight-seeing, as well as the memorial site.

Cool - thanks for the recommendations; we'll definitely check them out!

What convention are you going to - ACDA?

Yep; I suspected as much (OKC can't host that many conventions in March, can they? :) )

The choir I sing in will be performing: http://acda.org/conventions/2009/choirs/borromeo_choir

The National Cowboy Hall of Fame (http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/) is an interesting place to see.

Bricktown is definitely your best bet for nightlife. If you like beer, Tapwerks in bricktown is a great place to go.

The choir I sing in will be performing: http://acda.org/conventions/2009/choirs/borromeo_choir

Nice! I look forward to hearing your performance!

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is quite nice. Dale Chihuly's wife was from OKC and there is a great display of his art at the museum. There is a Waterford/Dale Chihuly chandelier. It is one of two Chihuly Waterford Crystal Chandeliers in the world, is comprised of 203 individual blown lead crystal parts, each etched by Waterford artisans. The Chandelier is 9 ft., 7 inches in height, 5 ft., 5 inches in diameter, and weighs 2,000 pounds. It is mounted in the Noble Theater lobby in front of a fully mirrored wall. It may be viewed from the ground floor lobby or from the mezzanine lobby, which overlooks the theater lobby.

I would recommend you take a few minutes to visit the memorial to the OKC bombing. It is a moving site, even if a little disturbing to remember.

I'll be in OKC for 5 days in March for a convention, actually arriving one day early (it's part of a multi-city itinerary). First time visiting this city/state - any suggestions for places to eat/see/party/avoid/etc? I'll be on my own for the first day and then will have several of my grad school buddies there during the convention.

Museum Cafe
Ranch Steakhouse
The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro (more bistro and less wine bar)
Deep Fork

Bricktown is a safe bet for food, spirits, and sights. It can be busy if either the NBA team or the minor league hockey team is playing at home.

Another vote for Cattlemens in the Stockyards; very rustic, and a great steak.

In Bricktown, Nonna's is one of my favorite places for a nice dinner. It's right across the street from the Ballpark. If you're looking for a fun place to get a drink after dinner and enjoy some music, I'd go to Makers. They have live music most evenings. Over by Harkins Theater is Redpin Bowling--not your typical bowling alley. They have great food and drinks. It's best to call ahead to reserve a lane.

Another good place to go with friends is McNellie's Pub on 10th & Walker in Plaza Court. They have a huge selection of beer. Irma's is just a few doors down from McNellie's--it's a great place to get a burger. Also in the same area: 1492, a modern take on Mexican food, and Cafe do Brazil, authentic South American cuisine.

If you want to see a little more of the city, I'd really recommend going up Western between 40th & 50th. Dinner at Sushi Neko or the Wedge (great pizzeria!). Party at VZDs (check out their website to see if anyone's playing), Cafe Nova, or 51st St Speakeasy. There's also several boutiques and vintage shops along Western.

...the Art Musuem - they also have a theater in the museum (check what movies are playing at http://www.okcmoa.com/film)

...the Bombing Memorial - a must see

Enjoy OKC!

I would recommend you take a few minutes to visit the memorial to the OKC bombing. It is a moving site, even if a little disturbing to remember.

"On Friday, March 6, 2009 at 9:02 a.m., the moment of the explosion that took place on April 19, 1995 and forever changed Oklahoma City, the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) will gather at the site of the National Memorial and Museum for a Peace Event led by choruses gathered from their membership. The public is invited to join conference attendees for this Peace Event which is free to all...

...In addition to brief choral presentations by the featured musicians and ensembles, the expected 3000-plus attendees will participate in an extraordinarily special collage of community singing, spoken word and shared silence."

http://acda.org/node/641

I'm anything but a fan of the Sheraton Downtown, with the Marriott across the street being a better choice. Of the local hotels, even though a not always convenient location, my best experiences have been at the Waterford Marriott.

I went to Cattlemen's last night; damn fine ribeye and don't get me started on the rolls. ^

Tonight will be Earl's Ribs Palace in Bricktown after my concert.

Wow, I know it has been said many times, but FT is such a great place. If you are willing to do the searches/ask the question, you can pretty much find an answer to any inquiry.

I will be in OKC (Yukon) during the week of the 16th...thanks to all for their recommendations on places to eat and other events. Noticed that the Thunder is in town against the Bulls on the 18th. For those local to OKC, is it easy to get good seats at Ford Center on a walk-up basis? (I am a FT snob, and only sit close to the floor...not Jack Nicholson/Spike Lee close, but, in the lower level :))
Just as an aside, it is a shame what DL can charge to fly ATL-OKC (on a ASA RJ nonetheless)...14 days is still $700+...so I am flying to DFW (< $200..thx AirTran) and driving...looks straightforward - up I-35 correct - 2.5 - 3 hours...where are the speedtraps :)
Lastly, as Yukon is in the suburbs, am I looking at typically strip-mall chain restaurants on the nights when I don't venture downtown?

Having lived in OKC for a several years this decade I can agree with most of the posters above...except for Nonna's...not my cup of tea. For upscale-ish I would prefer the Museum Cafe, though it is not located near the pedestrian "friendly" areas of Bricktown.

If you like Airplanes you can go to the airplane heritage park out side the Midwest gate at Tinker AFB. It is free and has a dozen airplanes from the last 5 decades of Air Force history. You need a car to get there but just go East on I-40

Ciao,
FH

Earl's in Bricktown was terrific; the baked beans were some of the best I've ever had. Our concert was just so-so with lousy acoustics at the venue. I'm here for the food, anyhow. :) I think we'll hit Tapwerkes tomorrow night; looks like fun.

Earl's in Bricktown was terrific; the baked beans were some of the best I've ever had. Our concert was just so-so with lousy acoustics at the venue. I'm here for the food, anyhow. :) I think we'll hit Tapwerkes tomorrow night; looks like fun.

Tapwerks is good, often times there will be a band playing upstairs. Usually you get better bar service downstairs. 100+ beers ontap and imported.

Ciao,
FH

Well, it's been quite a week - a good convention, overall. I didn't get to eat all that many real "sit-down" meals since much of the time was spent running between events, trying to catch up with my grad school buddies and other people, etc., but the Museum Cafe was very nice, Thai Kitchen was fine and very reasonable...

...and the discovery of the trip, hands down, was Leo's BBQ on N. Kelley Ave (near the memorial). Little hole in the wall with great ribs, brisket, some of the best greens I've ever had, and a strawberry-banana cake that is truly delightful. For those who are into this kind of thing, I wouldn't miss it!

One thing about the city that took some getting used to was the fact that it seemed that EVERYTHING shut down "quite early" (i.e. by 10 PM), particularly on weeknights. I guess I'm used to NYC and college towns. :) But overall, it's been fun!

P.S. FlyinHawaiian - I saw your performance on Thursday night!

Tapwerks was fun; we ended up sitting downstairs and the service was fine. I would have expected the place to have been standing room only on a Friday night. Decent food and what can I say about the selection of beers on tap?

We also did the bombing site and museum before our concert and was glad to have done so; we also were able to peek inside St. Joseph's across the street (p.s., for the life of me, I can't understand why ACDA couldn't have found any of the beautiful churches in OKC with acoustics better than St. Luke's). We had lunch at Markie's Deli across the street after that.

Yesterday, we visted the Cowboy Museum and I was really impressed by the exhibits there. We then drove around Western Avenue and enjoyed the nice houses in that neighborhood. We had lunch at VZD's and then caught our flight home.

I can't say enough on what a help this thread was; everyone travelling with me was in awe on how I was able to find such terrific places. ;) I will carry away many fine memories of the city and all of the friendly people there.

FlyinHawaiian - I saw your performance on Thursday night!

Hey, thanks for coming to hear us! Sorry I couldn't figure out a way to say hi, but if you were looking closely, you would have noticed me walking to the choir loft with my backpack that has a FT tag and a TED teddy bear attached to it. :)