Stonehorse Cafe, Tulsa, OK

Yesterday I drove to Tulsa to go shopping with Tony. We had lunch at the Stonehorse Cafe in Utica Square. I'd been at Stonehorse once before over a year ago, but the kitchen was closed and all we did was have a glass of wine. Tony had actually eaten there recently, so he was raving about their pistachio-encrusted halibut with leeks and shrimp. It's a popular socialite gathering spot on the corner across from Saks Fifth Avenue and Harold's, and it seemed appropriate for our lunch since it's neither as pretentious as The Wild Fork nor as expensive as the Polo Grill or Fleming's.

The location has been a succession of popular restaurants over the years, and I've eaten in that geographic location dozens of times. The current concept is much more "urban cafe" and about a third of the dining room is partitioned off with a sleek, contemporary, glass and brushed steel wall which masks the bar area. The dining room itself is filled to the gills with so many two-top tables that every time a waitress walked by, I instinctively pulled in my elbow and leaned away from them. Our table was right up against the window, so we got a good view of the al fresco tables.

Tony started his luncheon with a cup of the lobster-shrimp bisque, which he liked a lot, and reported little chunks of lobster and tiny shrimp. I had a tiny sampling, though, and thought I could taste a bit of "can," which led me to think either the shrimp or the seafood stock were canned instead of fresh; there was enough cayenne, though, I couldn't be certain. For his main course, he had a whole California pizza, which came with mozzarella, goat cheese, roasted garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes on a hand-tossed crust.

Taking a cue from the lady at the next table, I ordered the kosher chicken salad sandwich, but on a bed of lettuce instead of on bread. I got a surprisingly large serving of chicken salad that was flavorful, yet rather plain and unadventuresome. It had a tiny bit of minced celery and chopped parsley for color and texture, but I really thought it needed a little more character with perhaps some nuts or water chestnuts or something. The bed of lettuce was a melange of mixed greens in a heavily vinegared dressing.

We both had their "tropical iced tea," which was a fruit-flavored tea with strong hints of mango and raspberry. They also offered baskets of bread consisting of pieces of round country wheat loaves cut by hand by the waiters at a special bread table near the open kitchen counters.

It was a fun lunch spot, and the prices were very reasonable, I thought.