You Can Bank on The Vault

Marshall's Pretzels - The Vault 

I love returning to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the holidays. In addition to being around my family and friends who I don't get to see often, as a lover of food I also get the opportunity to try new restaurants that pop up over the year. Lucky for me the lovely owners of Elote, opened up a new restaurant this year that serves pretzels! What used to be First National Bank (Tulsa's first ever drive-thru bank) is now home to The Vault. Located on S. Cincinnati between 6th and 7th, this trendy new restaurant and bar adds a modern twist to the bank's original art deco design. The Tom Tom lounge, situated above the restaurant, was like walking into a scene from Mad Men.

My friend, older sister and I sipped on our cocktails and treated ourselves to Marshall's Pretzels - made with Marshall brewery grains, everything salts, cheddar cheese and served with herb butter and dijon mustard - these tiny twists were soft, fluffy and flavorful.

While I didn't have time to treat my taste buds to some of their other tasty selections this time around, rest assured I will be returning to this place the next time I come home. 

Gaumenkitzel: Berkeley, CA

I recently got to spend a week with my sisters, brother in law and nephews in San Francisco (well really Berkeley). The day after Thanksgiving we decided to go on a hike to Muir Woods, but before we left town we stopped by Gaumenkitzel to grab a pretzel.

This little bakery/restaurant had several different types of pretzels.  Naturally I opted for the salty one, but my sister ordered the one with sesame seeds so I got to try both. Now that I have been to Germany I can say that these pretzels were fairly authentic - the bread was a bit tough, minimal salt and served with butter.

I preferred the one with salt as the other one just reminded me of a bagel. I think my sister liked the one with sesame seeds better so win-win.

This Berkeley pretzel was definitely a step up from the other pretzel I had in Berkeley, but it doesn't even begin to compare to some of the tasty treats I have had the pleasure of eating in Portland. .

Gaumenkitzel also had garden gnomes scattered throughout their restaurant. This might have given them an extra cool point.

Some OKC Pretzel Love: RePUBlic

Thanks to my little pretzel blog when I travel home or to other cities, people tend to recommend restaurants to me that serve pretzels. A couple of weeks ago I spent a few days in Norman/Oklahoma City and while I lived there for about 5 years it wasn't until this little trip back that my friend introduced me to the Home-Made Pub Pretzel at Republic. In general they have an amazing menu, from salads and burgers to fish and chips. In fact I actually celebrated here after my college graduation but that was before I started rating pretzels as a hobby...

This pretzel was so good. Not only was it super soft and proportionately salty but it was served with Serrano-honey mustard and beer-cheese fondue sauce. I am partial to salt on my pretzel, but add in a mouthwatering cheese-sauce? You have yourself a winning pretzel every time in my book. (Note: For your Portlanders reading this post, I might remind you that Widmer and Deschutes breweries have amazing cheese-sauces to compliment their pretzels.) 

So if anyone reading this post wants to escape the Portland rain and head to Oklahoma City where the weather is sunny and in the 60's, be sure to pop into Republic (5830 N Classen Blvd) and have yourself a nice cold American beer and Home-Made Pub Pretzel! 

P.S. Boomer Sooner ;)