Bricktown etc.

We%26#39;ll (2 adults, late 40s) be in the city for a day in early July and are staying at a Best Western in Yukon. I%26#39;m thinking that%26#39;s a suburb? I%26#39;ve been reading that Bricktown is the place to go for restaurants, entertainment etc. Is it a relatively easy drive from hotel to Bricktown? Any recommendations on favourite restaurants in Bricktown? Thanks for your help.

Bricktown etc.

I assume you are at the Inn %26amp; Suites on the I-40 service road in Yukon?

If so, you can head straight east on I-40 from there to downtown OKC. You exit I-40 at Walker Ave and follow the signs for Bricktown. (Or use Mapquest for more specific directions.)

Bricktown has a good selection of restaurants and the entertainment is also there. (They had the Blues and BBQ festival this past weekend...) You don%26#39;t say what day you will be in town. If it%26#39;s a weekend you%26#39;ll have better luck with entertainment in Bricktown.

Bricktown etc.

Yukon is a pretty distant suburb on the west side, about 15 miles out; Bricktown is just east of downtown. I-40 connects the two pretty easily as long as it%26#39;s not rush hour. Bricktown is a very lively place, with all variety of restaurants, clubs, a new movie house, minor-league ballpark, canal, etc. In my opinion, the best restaurant in Bricktown is The Mantle, a cozy place with well prepared food and attentive staff; some folks find it pricey, but I think you get what you pay for. A less expensive alternative might be the Bricktown Brewery, with typical brew-pub food. All manner of chain restaurants are also in the area; my personal favorite is Abuelo%26#39;s, a Mexican restaurant with several locations in OK and TX.

If you%26#39;re wanting to spend some time in Bricktown, you might consider switching your hotel reservations to something closer. The downtown Marriott and Sheraton are nice, and the Bricktown Courtyard is only a year or two old.

I missed the part about restaurants.

Here is a website to start from:

http://www.bricktownokc.com/

It might help if you give an idea of what you are wanting to spend on food. The Mantel is a great restaurant, as Radio said, but he is right that a lot of people think it%26#39;s pricey. (Dinner for two will run between $75 and $150 depending on what you order, wine and/or drinks, desert, etc.)

I also like Abuelo%26#39;s when I want something different from the standard Tex-Mex, but I also like Chelino%26#39;s for Tex-Mex.

The Bricktown Brewery has some fine home brewed ales and other beers, and the BBQ is pretty darned tasty and not all that expensive.

I haven%26#39;t been to Toby Kieth%26#39;s, but from what I have heard it%26#39;s pretty decent food and they do have entertainment. Not sure about admission prices, if any or when they may be in force.

As noted by Radio there are several chain restaurants in Bricktown - Zio%26#39;s, Spaghetti Wherehous Italian Grill and Mickey Mantle%26#39;s (not to be confused with the aforementioned The Mantel). There are also some different places - Bourbon Street Cafe, which is pretty good the few times I%26#39;ve eaten there, and a new Steak place called Daddy Hinckles (I haven%26#39;t eaten there, but I%26#39;ve used the rub that%26#39;s been for sale a long time and it was tasty! I have heard some good reports on the restaurant, though.)

You have a lot of choices on places to eat as well as a big range of prices - anywhere from $25-30 for two all the way to $150+. If you like baseball, check the Redhawks and see if a game is available. The ballpark is really nice and they also have a large variety of food available.

http://www.oklahomaredhawks.com/

Have a great time!

:)

Just rechecked the pricing. The price range at the Mantel starts at about $50 for two (entree, soft drinks, tax and tip - but that%26#39;s for the least expensive items.)

http://www.themantelokc.com/

Just wanted to correct that one item. :)

Welcome to Oklahoma! I have a few cousins who live in the Toronto area, too! Anyway, I recommend as well The Mantel, Abuelo%26#39;s, and Toby Keith%26#39;s. My favorite is Mickey Mantle%26#39;s Steakhouse, but it is pricey, and not worth it for some. I%26#39;ve heard that Mexican food and barbecue isn%26#39;t all that common up north, so maybe Abuelo%26#39;s or Earl%26#39;s Rib Palace is in order.

Do you have other sightseeing plans?

Hi, wow, what a great forum! I wasn%26#39;t expecting this much information. You are all very friendly and helpful. We are going to be on a cross USA trip more or less following Route 66. We start in Chicago and end in California. We wanted to see as many states as possible and go to the major attractions along the way. In Oklahoma City (what%26#39;s the short name? i.e. for Toronto we%26#39;d say T.O.) we%26#39;d like to visit the memorial and also just get a feel for the city. We%26#39;re looking forward to meeting people along the way so Bricktown seemed like a place that would be fun. Thanks very much for the restaurant info. I expect we%26#39;ll wander and see what catches our attention.

What a great trip! I%26#39;ve never done the whole length, but I drive parts of it from time to time on the way to someplace else. Problem is, I would like to drive it all at night to photograph all the old neon signs still in use. Be sure to get to Tucumcari, NM at night; they have some of the best neon.

The locals call it ';OKC'; or, more often, ';the City.'; As opposed to the other city, Tulsa, whose nickname, I guess, is ';T-Town.';

The Memorial isn%26#39;t far from Bricktown, actually; a few blocks west and a few blocks north. The new OKC Musem of Art is in the same neighborhood, as is the new library and the old Civic Center.

Be sure to detour from Route 66 into the center of both OKC and Tulsa where you%26#39;ll find some of the greatest art deco archtecture anywhere.

So you are planning on spending most of a full day in OKC. Glad to hear it!

I would definitely try to get by the OKC Museum of Art .

http://www.okcmoa.com/

Stop by the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge

http://www.myriadgardens.com/calendar.html

Ride the water taxi while in Bricktown.

And the OKC National Memorial is a must see for most visitors.

http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/

Everything is within a reasonable walk of everything else, but if you want to ride, then the Trolley is the way to go:

www.travelok.com/toDo/attractionsDetail.asp鈥?/a>

The best thing to do is to take your car to one of the covered parking garages in the Bricktown area (parkingokc.com/images/downtown_parking.pdf), I think the costs are between $10 and $20 for the entire day, and then walk and ride the trolley around the rest of the day.

It will be a busy day - and probably hotter than blazes - but it will be fun! Enjoy yourselves!

A few notes about Route 66 through the city; it%26#39;s changed over the years, and it%26#39;s not a straight street through OKC. A large part in the center is NW 23rd, one of the city%26#39;s more economically diverse streets. You%26#39;ll find a mix of fast food chains, Vietnamese/Chinese and Thai restaurants, small businesses, and Oklahoma City University. You might want to take a picture of the Gold Dome, one of the few Buckminster Fuller-style geodesic domes in the country, on Classen. Trust me, you will not miss it going west.

At Western (actually right before Classen going west), Route 66 converts to NW 39, which around the Pennsylvania crossstreet, is a gay and lesbian district. Its Habana Inn is reputed to be the largest GLBT resort in the country. But you really can%26#39;t tell all this from just driving on NW 39th. Going westward, you%26#39;ll pass suburbs Warr Acres, Bethany, and maybe Yukon.

There are more miles of Route 66 in Oklahoma than in any other state. More background, if you wish:

鈥tate.ok.us/memorial/route66/index.htm

www.historic66.com/oklahoma/det-ok5.html

If you have any other questions, let us know!

Did you know, Urban, that Oklahoma has at least three gold geodesic domes? In addition to the one you mention on NW 23rd, the Kerr gymnasium at East Central University in Ada and the Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University are of the same architectural style.