Sugar Llamas, a Tulsa business specializing in miniature doughnuts, ice cream and coffee drinks, has opened its fifth area location, 5509 E. 41st St., in the Highland Plaza Shopping Center.
Doughnuts are cooked to order and come dusted in such things as cinnamon sugar, or drizzled with caramel, Nutella or peanut butter, or in such creations as the Hazelnutty (vanilla and Nutella), Flintstone (vanilla and Fruity Pebbles cereal) and the Boss Hog (maple and bacon). A dozen flavors of ice cream are available from vanilla to Blueberry Crunch. A dozen doughnuts are $6.50.
These hidden gems of local restaurants are great places that provide “guilty pleasure” (or just pleasure) food. Also, a look at upcoming Scene features, including where to support local businesses this holiday season.
Sugar Llamas’ first store was in south Tulsa, at 10030 S. Mingo Road. Other locations have since opened in southwest Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Owasso.
Hours for the new location are 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
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918-340-5979, sugarllamas.com
A blast from the tiki bar past
The Saturn Room, 209 N. Boulder Ave., is offering limited-edition tiki mugs designed by the legendary Frankoma pottery factory for the Club Trade Winds (later called the Tiki Nook Bar) that once operated in the Trade Winds West motel at 51st Street and Harvard Avenue.
The mugs, which use the “War God” motif, can be ordered with a classic mix of rum, coconut, apricot and lemon during the release party, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16.
The Saturn Room is also taking part in two benefit programs during December: the Sippin’ Santa promotion, where the purchase of several specialty cocktails will benefit the Seva Foundation, a global nonprofit eye care organization that works with local communities around the world to develop self-sustaining programs that preserve and restore sight; and a coat drive for Family & Children’s Services.
918-794-9422, thesaturnroom.com.
Lowood offers holiday dinners
Lowood, 817 E. Third St., will be serving two special dinners this holiday season: a Christmas Eve dinner and a New Year’s Eve meal.
The menu for the Christmas Eve dinner will begin with a shaved kale and black currant salad; fire-roasted parsnips with a honeyed chimichurri, jalapeño and herbed creme fraiche; a crispy potato confit with celeriac puree, smoked shoyu and peanuts; cavatelli pasta with lobster that has been prepared with saffron, capers, citrus and a tomato broth; and a tomahawk rib-eye steak from Creekstone Farms serve with foie gras butter. Cost is $120 per person; wine and cocktail pairings are available.
The New Year’s Eve menu includes oysters with apple and champagne aspic; bucatini pasta with tomato confit, crispy capers, chèvre and fennel pollen; pork belly “lardon” with sweet potato purée, Calabrian chili, maple and arugula; wood-fired filet with crispy Brussels sprouts and truffled demi-glacé; and chocolate pot de creme with butterscotch and almond. Cost is $80 per person.
The restaurant is also offering Holiday Cheer Wine Packs, selected by Lowood’s in-house sommelier, Pablo Aguilar. They include the Holiday Six Pack of wines for celebrating ($206); the December Case featuring earthy, citrusy and bright wines, perfect for the cold weather ($140); and the Luxe Six Pack of rare and highly allocated wines ($216).
For reservations and Wine Pack orders: 918-960-7349, lowoodtulsa.com.
Velvet Taco has holiday meal in a taco
Each week, the regional chain Velvet Taco has what it calls the “WTF,” or Weekly Taco Feature. For the week of Dec. 21-27, that special will be the “Fa-La-La Brisket Feast” taco, which includes slow-roasted Angus brisket, cheesy hash brown casserole, roasted carrots, beef gravy, crispy fried onions and fried sage on a flour tortilla.
In addition, Velvet Taco is offering to cater your holiday get-together with taco boxes that hold enough to feed 12 to 48 guests, along with sides, sauces and red velvet cake for dessert. Tulsa’s lone Velvet Taco is at 1444 S. Peoria Ave. 918-221-5881, velvettaco.com.
Melting Pot to benefit St. Jude
The Melting Pot, 300 Riverwalk Terrace, will help its patrons help young people in need through its Donate & Dine program, which benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Through Dec. 31, visitors to The Melting Pot who donate $10 to the cause will receive a special Donate & Dine card entitling them to $20 off a future dinner at the restaurant. The restaurant will donate $10 per Donate & Dine card to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which works to help treat and defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Since 2003, Melting Pot has donated more $14 million to St. Jude through the program.
See Santa at Whataburger
The newest Tulsa location for the burger chain Whataburger, 10028 E. 71st St., will host a special holiday event 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Children will have a chance to meet and take a free picture with Santa, enjoy free milk and cookies, and take part in holiday crafts (while supplies last). Adults will receive one free Whataburger with each purchase of a kid’s meal. A trivia contest will also be held, with prizes ranging from holiday gifts to free Whataburgers for a year. 918-615-4666, whataburger.com.
Meet Tulsa World Magazine’s Tulsans of the Year for 2022
Tulsans of the Year: Saint Francis mass shooting first responders, victims, co-workers
Some of the questions left swirling in the aftermath would take more time to answer.
Like, who was the shooter? And why did he do it?
But one question — how would Tulsa respond? — was put quickly and definitively to rest.
Following the June 1 mass shooting that claimed four lives on the Saint Francis Hospital campus — Dr. Preston Phillips, 59; Dr. Stephanie Husen, 48; Amanda Glenn, 40; and William Love, 73 — many of the Tulsans who’d stepped forward in response would be singled out by community leaders.
Mayor G.T. Bynum set the tone, speaking for a grateful community in remarks he made at a news conference at the hospital.
Starting with praise for emergency responders, he said: “Everywhere I looked, to my left, to my right, there were officers running toward that building, jumping over bushes, getting around anything in their way, between them and that threat, so that they could save people. That is the law enforcement community that we have here in Tulsa.”
The mayor then shifted focus to Saint Francis’ own staff members and employees, for whom the horror came on top of two trying years of COVID-19 response.
Speaking to them directly, he said: “I want to thank all of you for coming to work today. Every day for years, including through the worst public health crisis we have ever faced as a city, you have put yourselves at risk to save the lives of people in this city. I hope you know how much it is appreciated. How grateful this community is for you and your work and the risks that you take and never even appreciating that you had to deal with this kind of risk and this kind of premeditated violence. And yet you are still here, ready to save more lives today.”
Tulsans of the Year: Gary Brooks
He’s the man with the key to the city — but no, he hasn’t unlocked it yet.
That’s just how Gary Brooks’ coworkers have joked with him since Tulsa’s mayor honored him with the golden award.
“Everywhere I go, people still shouting at me,” the native Jamaican said, sighing with a smile that revealed a missing tooth. “‘That’s a hero right there!’ and I’m like ‘Oh, my god.’”
The tooth fell out the day after the 52-year-old intervened in a Tulsa Transit passenger’s rage-filled attack on a bus driver in August. Officials say he likely saved the driver’s life, and Brooks wasn’t even riding the bus.
Nor did he report the loss of his pearly white, which cost him several hundred dollars to replace.
Tulsans of the Year: Bryan Crowe
Who knew what live events might be like in a post-pandemic world? Uncertainty gave way to prosperity. BOK Center and Cox Business Convention Center came rocking and rolling out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of General Manager Bryan Crowe, multiple venue records were broken and the community was the beneficiary of support beyond just economic impact. Crowe is a newcomer to Tulsa after spending 17 years in El Paso. When told he was being honored as a Tulsan of the Year, he expressed appreciation for his “team.” “I’m honored and humbled,” he said. “Tulsa has been so welcoming and generous, but this recognition should go to our entire ASM Tulsa team, from front line through leadership. Our successes are a tribute to the efforts of so many who believed and continue to believe in the power of live experiences and that Tulsa is the premier destination for music, comedy, sports, professional conferences and more. I’m grateful to be in Tulsa with this team.”
Tulsans of the Year: Evan Dougoud
Evan Dougoud’s parents got divorced while he was a teenager growing up in Virginia.
“And life got really, really hard,” he says.
Some of his favorite school teachers took it upon themselves to check on him, ask how he was doing and, sometimes, simply listen.
“They kept me alive,” Dougoud says. “They really did. And so I wanted to kind of do that for somebody else.
“I wanted to help people — I just wasn’t sure how.”
Tulsans of the Year: Hau Suan Khai
For many newcomers to the United States of America, the country’s initials might easily stand for “U Start Again.”
Hau Suan Khai smiles as he relates this witticism, but it is a sentiment he knows all too well.
“Everything here is different,” he said. “It is more than just the language barrier that many people have to deal with. The Western culture is so very different from the Zomi culture, that for some people it is hard to navigate life in an American city.”
Khai is a member of Tulsa’s Zomi community, made up of some 10,000 members of a people native to Myanmar, the southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma, as well as India and Bangladesh. While Zomi communities are located throughout the United States, Tulsa has what is believed to be the largest such community in the country.
Tulsans of the Year: Brit Hensel
Brit Hensel makes films — and history.
In 2022, Hensel became the first female citizen of the Cherokee Nation to direct an official Sundance Film Festival selection. Because she brought positive attention to Tulsa and the Cherokee Nation, she has been selected among Tulsans of the Year. Keep reading to find out why animal lovers will endorse the honor.
A Tulsa resident since 2019, Hensel crafted a film, “ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught),” that was selected for Sundance’s short films program. The film is about community and our responsibility to it as Cherokee people, said Hensel.
Asked about the importance of sharing Cherokee stories, Hensel said, “I am Cherokee, so the things I create are innately Cherokee. I believe I have a responsibility to work hard to uplift my community and the people around me. I believe I have a responsibility to keep learning and growing in the ways of my culture and language. One of the ways I do that is through creating and telling stories. As long as my work accomplishes that, I believe I’m moving in the right direction.”
Tulsans of the Year: Isaiah Jarvis
It’s been several months since Isaiah Jarvis of the Tulsa Nationals Little League team went viral for his remarkable moment of sportsmanship. Although a lot of unrelated things have changed in his life since, his appreciation of that experience hasn’t diminished.
After getting hit in the head with a pitch during the Little League World Series Southwest Regional final on Aug. 9, Jarvis eventually made his way to first base and noticed that the pitcher, Kaiden Shelton of Pearland, Texas, was visibly upset and crying because he thought he’d hurt Jarvis.
The two had become friends at the hotel during the weeklong tournament, and when Jarvis saw how upset his friend was, he walked over to the pitcher’s mound and hugged Shelton, letting him know that he was OK.
Although Tulsa eventually lost that game, and the chance to play in the prestigious Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, that one moment was the one everyone remembered.
Tulsans of the Year: Rick Guild
You might not know commercial real estate agent Rick Guild, but it’s a safe bet he knows you.
And your alma mater, golf handicap and name of your pet dog.
Guild’s business is getting into yours in the most pleasant way possible.
“Relationships are an art form for him,” said Harry Birdwell, chief operating officer of Newmark Robinson Park, Guild’s employer. “It’s unbelievable.”
So is Guild’s résumé.
Tulsans of the Year: Carrie Moss
Carrie Moss has dedicated her life to helping people with disabilities.
It’s the reason she went to Ukraine in the first place. It’s what’s kept her there for the past eight years.
But after the Russians invaded in February, the Tulsan’s skills as a physical therapist were no longer what her patients needed most from her.
With millions of Ukrainians forced to flee the country, Moss and her colleagues temporarily switched gears, converting their clinic in Lutsk into a checkpoint, providing refugees with food, shelter and supplies.
Serving refugees wasn’t something they were prepared for, said Moss, who works with patients with spinal injuries.
But “we learned fast,” Moss said.
Tulsans of the Year: Rebecka Peterson
On a visit to Union High School one September morning, Rebecka Peterson could barely get past the front foyer without getting inundated by hugs from former students.
The 2022-23 State Teacher of the Year, Peterson is taking a paid sabbatical from teaching pre-calculus and Advanced Placement calculus at Union this school year to travel around the state as an advocate for teachers and public education.
“It’s so inspiring to be in other grades or other parts of the state and see that good and important work that educators are doing every day and get to highlight that by being one of their voices,” Peterson said. “It is an honor of a lifetime.”
Although she is enjoying the opportunity to meet colleagues throughout Oklahoma, that the student hugs are now fewer and farther between is a downside to the time away from her south Tulsa classroom, she said.
“That’s the part I miss, the student interactions and building those relationships,” she said. “I love spending my day with high schoolers. They’re so fun and funny and inspiring. They give me so much hope for the future.”
Tulsans of the Year: Rodgers family
Cain’s Ballroom is a unique-to-Tulsa treasure.
For the past 20 years, members of the Rodgers family have been caretakers of the historic music venue.
Job well done: The Rodgers family was selected by Tulsa World Magazine among Tulsans of the year.
“I think I was the only one of the family who had been inside Cain’s Ballroom prior to us buying it, but I wasn’t familiar with the history and significance of the venue,” Chad Rodgers said.
“Our family owning the Cain’s Ballroom and with Hunter and I running it over the last 20 years, we’ve always felt a huge responsibility to continue the Cain’s Ballroom legacy by continuing to bring world-class performers to the city of Tulsa. We want everyone to be proud to have the Cain’s Ballroom here in Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
Tulsans of the Year: Malcolm Rodriguez
In his first NFL game, Detroit Lions starting linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez took a five-time Pro Bowler to the mat.
Clutching at the shoulder pads of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, Rodriguez — a high school wrestling and football star at Wagoner who was an All-America linebacker at Oklahoma State — planted his feet and swung Kelce over his hips during a play in the second quarter.
Rodriguez, who weighs 70 pounds less than Kelce and is 11 years Kelce’s junior in NFL experience, had just successfully hip-tossed the center.
Just 15 minutes into his NFL career, Rodriguez — whom Lions coaches quickly dubbed “Rodrigo” in training camp — went viral.
“I thought I had him,” Kelce said afterward. “It was impressive.”
It’s just a small sample of why the Detroit faithful have become enamored with him and why he has been named a Tulsan of the Year. He went from a sixth-round pick at the bottom of the depth chart to a starter by the first game of the season, something no scout or coach predicted. The unlikely journey was all documented on HBO’s popular “Hard Knocks” weekly TV series, which showcases NFL rookies as they try to make the team.
Tulsans of the Year: Andy Scurto
The local sports scene got a big boost when Andy Scurto, an insurance and IT entrepreneur and sports investor originally from California, bought the Tulsa Oilers hockey team in September 2021, vowing to revitalize the fan experience.
Since then, he has continued to have a major local impact.
Scurto helped improve the Oilers’ marketing efforts, contributing to Tulsa ranking fourth in the ECHL in attendance. An average of 5,834 fans watched the team play its home games at the BOK Center last season, the team’s most since 2017-18.
Scurto also brought in a showcase for elite-level women’s hockey in April, when the Premier Hockey Federation’s Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts, both owned by Scurto, faced off at the BOK Center.
Scurto then purchased the Oilers Ice Center, the only full-size ice rink in Tulsa, bringing all the ice under one ownership and implementing impressive renovations to the facility.
After that, Scurto bought the former Macy’s building at the Promenade Mall. It is being converted into a rink facility with two ice sheets, which will be a boon for the local youth hockey, figure skating and curling scene once it is ready next year.
Finally, in July, Scurto announced he had bought an expansion franchise in the Indoor Football League, to begin play at the BOK Center in March 2023. There was a name-the-team contest, resulting in the name Oilers for the football team, and since then, the Tulsa Oilers football team has hired a coach (Marvin Jones) and started signing players, with a big local tryout session in late October.
Tulsans of the Year Nick Sidorakis
Tulsans whose livelihoods center on the occupation of hotel rooms and the sale of food and drinks probably remember May 16-22 as having been their favorite week of 2022.
For the Tulsans who love important, well-played golf, May 16-22 undoubtedly was the best week of the year.
All of those people — the ones whose finances needed another PGA Championship and the ones who couldn’t wait to spend big on tickets and merchandise — should regard Nick Sidorakis in the same way that this Tulsa World Magazine does: as a Tulsan of the Year type of figure.
Sidorakis’ relationships with PGA of America decision-makers were a significant factor in Southern Hills Country Club scoring an eighth professional major championship.
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
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