Java Dave's - Sapulpa, OK - REVIEW

Java Dave's
122 W Taft Street, Sapulpa, OK

While Mark and I were visiting his parents in Sapulpa (which, for you non-Oklahoma folks, is about 30 minutes outside of Tulsa), his mother offered me a gift certificate for Java Dave's, which she had been given by a co-worker, but didn't want to use since she's not really a coffee person. Free coffee from a local shop? Yes, please!

Java Dave's is a bit easy to miss - it's a shop or two to the left of Reasor's in a strip mall, next to Felts Shoes. Also, the website seems to be very focused on prospective franchise owners and the brand of the store, rather than a menu. Once at the counter, I asked the barista if they had soy milk (often very small town coffee shops won't). She told me that not only did they have soy milk, but almond milk as well.

I may or may not have done a small happy dance. I plead the fifth.

They also have a very helpful sheet on the counter that describes what goes into all of the fancy coffee drinks, so vegans can avoid anything with caramel or white chocolate, and so on. I ordered a hazelnut mocha with almond milk. (Sorry, no picture of the drink - Java Dave's didn't have any non-disposible cups that I could see, so I used my Firefly travel mug, and it wasn't very picturesque.) It was incredibly tasty - possibly a bit on the sweet side for some, but I loved it.

Besides coffee drinks, they also have a "soy shake", which *might* be vegan (I didn't ask). They also have a bunch of fruit smoothies that might be vegan as well. (If anyone finds out that they aren't, let me know?)

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Be Le Vegetarian Restaurant, Tulsa, OK

Be Le
6634 South Lewis Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74136-1040
(918) 499-1414
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:00-2:30 & 5:30-9:00, Saturday 11:00-9:00, Closed Sunday


Be Le is a 100% vegetarian Asian restaurant that specializes in mock meats made from soybeans, seaweed, and yams. They use no MSG, alcohol, preservatives, or eggs. The owner is incredibly nice and can answer any questions about the menu items and what's vegan.

I've tried many different things here, but my favorite has got to be the Egg Roll Noodle Salad Bowl, which features noodles topped with salad greens (mostly lettuce, I think) and vegan "shrimp", "chicken", and "beef", along with two fried vegetable spring rolls and a clear sauce served on the side.


The Combination Noodle Soup was also a great dish (let's call it a second favorite).


Out of all of the other things I've tried, the one that was a bit of a letdown was the Fried Fish with Ginger Sauce. This was actually fairly tasty with the first few bites, but wasn't nearly nuanced or exciting enough to last through the entire dish. If you're looking for variety, this one isn't for you; it's just the "fish" on a bed of lettuce with a side of clear sauce.


For desert, I love the vegan cake and ice cream. The chocolate soy ice cream has more of an "ice" consistency than "creamy", but still tastes great, and the slightly sweet spongy cake provides an excellent follow-up to my often over-zealous hot chili sauce application to my main dish.


Moo Goo Gai Pan -

Restaurant Review - Gypsy Coffee House, Tulsa, OK

Gypsy Coffee House
303 North Cincinnati Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74103
(918) 295-2181
Hours: Mon 7am-10pm, Tues-Thur 7am-11pm, Fri 7am-2am, Sat 11am-2am, Sun 11am-10pm


Gypsy Coffee is a really cute coffee shop in downtown Tulsa with a bohemian feel. It's a good place to go for a light lunch, and also a welcome escape from too-loud bar music late at night. (I love Mark's Irish rock band, Poor Paddy, but I prefer to love them from a distance so that my ears don't explode.) *grin*


The vegan food selection can vary, but the menu has a Boca Burger, listed as a "totally vegan burger with organic greens and tomato on wheat", Veggie Delight, with "avocado, tomato, sprouts or greens, and onion", and the Veggie Wrap, with "greens or sprouts, tomato, avocado, and onion" (ask for them to leave off the ranch dressing on the Delight and Wrap). There's also the Gypsy Greens - "garden greens, sliced almonds, raisins, and mandarin oranges", as well as chips and salsa, pickles, and fresh fruit. At once point, they had a delicious vegan apple pie, but the people who made it for them changed the recipe and are now making it with eggs. (Perhaps if enough people go in and express their dismay at the absence of vegan deserts, they'll come up with something good...) As far as coffee goes, they've got a good selection of good coffee house fare - mocha, latte, cappuccino, etc., all of which can be made with soy milk (though make sure to request that they leave the whipped cream off of mochas and other coffee drinks, or they'll put it on by default).



As I was leaving the last time I was there, the barista thanked me for coming and asked if I'd had a good time. I told her everything was great, though some vegan deserts would really have been welcome. She replied that all of the companies in town were either too expensive or just weren't doing that sort of thing right now. She also mentioned that she'd tried to make some vegan baked goods in the past, and they'd never turned out correctly. I told her about the '1/2 banana = 1 egg' replacement, and she thanked me, saying that she'd never known something so easy could work (plus, they have bananas in with their fresh fruit that she says can go bad before they're all sold, so I mentioned that using them as "eggs" in baked goods could be a win-win situation). She said she would also mention it to her boss, so hopefully some vegan baked goods will be forthcoming!

They've got live music every Friday and Saturday night (usually acoustic solos or duos), as well as open mic every Tuesday.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - The Dog House, Tulsa, OK

The Dog House
1101 S. Detroit, Tulsa, OK
(918) 938-7740

My friend Jeffrey works at this small, quirky hot dog shop in downtown Tulsa. While he isn't vegan/vegetarian himself, he is very proactive about making sure that the restaurant has vegan options. Separate skillet for sautéing vegan items only - no meat. They have falafel and portobello mushrooms as a vegan option, and they can be put in the poppy seed bun with any of the vast array of vegan toppings, or the falafel can be served by itself or as a slider. No meat ever touches the fryer, so vegans can enjoy the french fries with a clear conscience. As Jeffrey says "You can literally come in every day of the week and never eat the same thing twice".

I absolutely love the falafel dog here - I think they make the falafel themselves, and it's actually "hot dog" shaped. I always get Sriracha and peanut butter on mine, but I've played around with various other toppings as well.

This dog starts with falafel and adds grilled onions, avocado, cucumber, mushrooms, peanut butter, and Sriracha.



This dog starts with falafel and adds grilled onions, mushrooms, tomato, avocado, peanut butter, and Sriracha.






There's currently only a couple of small tables and several old-fashioned school desks inside, though customers can stand at two bar-height long tables if they like. There's also two or three picnic tables out back, which are lovely places to eat when the weather's nice.