Lava Noshery in the News, Voted Tulsa's Best New Restaurant of 2007

A Slice of Heaven in '07
By Scott Cherry

A few things popped out at me as I looked back on the 2007 restaurant scene.

After seeing only four truly upscale restaurants open in '06, the Tulsa area doubled that number in '07.

A bevy of restaurants were shuttered in Brookside, and promising newcomers already have stepped in to take their spots.

This year also saw a significant jump in pizzerias, many of which I won't get to until 2008.

Deli-sandwich places were among prominent additions, and "great food at a moderate price" was more than just a catchphrase for a few of the better newcomers.

Anyone remember when our city was the Oil Capital of the World? Today it's the Chain Restaurant Capital of the World, but at least a couple of the new ones that landed here this year are pretty good.

Again, towns surrounding Tulsa, especially Owasso and Broken Arrow, showed the most growth, a trend sure to continue. How long will it be before you won't be able to tell when you leave Owasso and enter Collinsville?

In the glow of all the new kids on the block, we lost a disconcerting number of old favorites, too. The restaurant business seems to be cyclical by nature.

The following ratings (for new restaurants only) and lists are based solely on what appeared in the Spot magazine in the past 51 weeks, and might or might not reflect the number of stars they were awarded in their reviews.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Also, any currently operating restaurant not yet reviewed will go on the 2008 docket.

Dandy Dozen

The best new restaurants of 2007

This was the toughest year yet to rank the top newcomers. But because I've always thought designating co-players of the year, co-champions of the year, co-anything of the year is something of a copout, I just had to suck it up and pick 'em. That being said, one could rearrange the order and make a good argument for it.

1. Lava Noshery

Creative dishes from a rising young chef. The appetizers are as pretty as they are delicious.

Originally Published by the Tulsa World on December 28th, 2007.

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