Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Doing Laundry Means Having Fun at University Wash

By Bridgette Gonzales

Let's face it: a college student’s priority isn’t cleanliness. That being the case, we often end up with a load of laundry that will take hours to take care of in a single load machine.

Taking our dirty clothes to a Laundromat sounds so tedious and boring. Who wants to sit and wait hours while your clothes are in the wash? I don’t.

I would rather be out somewhere having fun or attempting to be productive. But what if there was a way to take care of laundry and take care of something most of us find as a priority: Having fun.

There is.

University Wash Laundromat on 15th St. isn’t your typical laundromat. They have pool tables and video games to help pass the time. More to the point, it's a place where you can have a beer. I’m not encouraging alcoholism, but enjoying a nice cold beer is almost always nice. And University Wash gives you this option with their beer-only bar.

At University Wash, you’ll find a few TU students doing laundry, having a beer, and enjoying time with their friends. It’s a great way to socialize and be productive.

The people are friendly. It's close to campus. It’s fun. And most of all one can truly be productive so long as they don’t forgot to turn on the wash or place the clothes in the dryer as I did. Also, the pool table can be quite the distraction.

University Wash Laundromat, 3132 E. 15th St., is the perfect place for a student to have fun with friends and get clean at the same time.
Tulsa Scenes: Kilkinney's Offers Irish Charm

By Emily Gibson

Location
Since I came to the University of Tulsa from out of state, I have had to discover the local hot spots for myself. One of my favorites is Kilkenny’s Irish Pub on 15th St just east of Peoria. The moment I step into the pub, I am transported “across the pond” to Ireland. The music overwhelms me, I have to stop myself from doing a little jig for fear I’d embarrass myself.
All of the decor is straight from Ireland, even down to the signs on the bathroom doors which read Lasses and Lads.

Drinks
Kilkenny’s serves 16 types of beer, ranging from your typical Guinness to specialty wheat ales. They also have an abundance of Irish whiskey and scotch. Like most pubs in Ireland, Kilkenny’s offers more than just beer. They have a full lunch and dinner menu, and offer brunch on the weekends.

Food
The food is moderately priced for the average person, although for the typical college student it is a bit on the pricey side. It is perfect for a date night, birthday, or “I just got paid today, let’s go out” meal. I have to recommend the Chatsworth Boxy, and the Ballybunion Beef Tenderloin Kebabs, which is my personal favorite.

Dessert
The dessert menu is top notch. My mouth waters in anticipation for their well known Irish Balloons; fried pastry balls dusted with powdered sugar and served with sweet Irish whiskey butter sauce.

Irish hospitality
I always leave Kilkenny’s in a better mood than when I arrived. Maybe it has something to do with the wonderful service I received, or my full tummy. I don’t think that’s it though. Kilkenny’s is the type of place where you can leave all of your worries behind and enjoy in the magic that is the true Irish pub.

Linguistic Sidebar
• Boxy: A traditional Irish dish common to rural Ireland consisting of a grilled potato pancake stuffed with different fillings

Link
• You can find the menu, directions to, and more information by clicking here.
Tulsa Scenes: Kilkenny's as a Family Tradition

By Ryan McKinzie

It’s a beautiful end-of-summer day outside when I decide that some thirst quenching is order. Walking up and down Cherry Street with my parents, hitting every little shop and boutique along the way, made me particularly parched.

We enter Kilkenny’s Pub and are instantly whisked away into a place that seems to be a thousand miles away from the shops that we were browsing in just minutes earlier.The floor is dark, almost chocolate-colored maple that creaked with every step. The walls are dark mahogany.

I had a mission when we walked in: beer! But the smell of pub fries and the sight of delicious-looking salmon got my stomach involved in the conversation. At that moment I decide that I need to eat.

The host sits us in a corner booth which gives a vantage point of nearly the entire bar. I begin to notice the other customers. There is an elderly couple eating lunch, a group of raucous businessmen sit in the center, and the bar is nearly with people enjoying their favorite pint.

After ordering and receiving our food and drinks I sit back and bask in the glory that is Kilkenny’s and decide right then and there that this will be a family tradition. Food and drink at Kilkenny’s.

Monday, September 17, 2007

More Tulsa Stories Coming to Street Stories Soon

The fall 2007 TU News Gathering class is hard at work on a new batch of Tulsa Street Stories. I'll be posting news stories and photos soon, so check back regularly to see what TU students are writing about Tulsa and Tulsans.

The first three stories below are part of an assignment for students to use their powers of observation to describe a public place. I asked them to use their senses to describe the place and the people in it, to create a verbal "snapshot" of some interesting place in Tulsa.

If you like what they've done, please comment and tell them so. If not, you can tell them that too. Meanwhile, they'll keep writing. I hope to post more photos on the site soon as well.

--John Coward, Faculty of Communication
Tulsa Scenes: A Battle over Trees in Woodward Park

By Stephanie Smith

I was 5 years old and already hugging trees.

I loved going to the park to climb up their knots, and my parents never let me leave without a million pictures being taken.

Something about their size and age amused me, and ever since then, my appreciation for these creatures has grown deep.

Woodward Park is home to some of Tulsa’s oldest and most beautiful trees. Until recently, the city was allowing them to be destroyed. Park officials said it was cheaper to remove the problematic trees and replace them with newer, smaller ones than to trim the sprawling branches of the older trees.

I wonder how they think this is a solution. I would like to challenge those in charge to explain why no budgets have been cut, no workers were lost, no diseases have struck, and yet there are trees still falling at the hands of those with chainsaws.

People around Tulsa are rallying together in hope to prevent further damage. Petitions are being signed, fliers are being posted and planted all over mid-town, even a Facebook group has been created by an Oklahoma State student—all in an effort to stop the chop.

Our pleas have caught the attention of some officials. City Hall has discussed tree removal, and progress has been made.

Stopthechop.net reports that a large part of the battle has been won. The writers for the site say that before any tree can be removed, the Park Department has to retrieve approval from either the Tree Advisory Committee, or the mayor herself.

I assume this makes things more difficult, but it doesn’t stop things from happening.

I love that picture I took as a little girl. Me hugging a tree that must have been at least 100 years old. I look at it now, and know that majestic tower of bark and branches has seen more in its lifetime than any of us could ever hope to even learn about.

It would be a disaster to lose a piece of history, and the city always seems to find new ways of chopping down a lot of it.

There is still a war to be won, and citizens are not giving up the fight to save the beauty and life of the foliage at Woodward.

Try hugging a tree someday, as a child it made me smile. It may just convince you to join in on the drive to stop the chop.
Tulsa Scenes: My Impressions of Impressions, a Restaurant

By Jacob Niebergall

Impressions sits on the southeast corner of 5th and Main, downtown. It's an eatery that feeds the workplace lunch rush.

The restaurant is long and narrow, with a kitchen in the back. Separating the kitchen from the dining area is a tall counter where you tell the crew what you’d like to eat.

I walked in around 12:30 p.m. to find the place packed. Nearly every table was occupied, and the line was almost to the door. Half of the people in line chatted amongst themselves, while the other half gazed wide-eyed at the large chalk-board menu above the counter.

I already knew what I wanted. Of all the specialty sandwiches on the menu, the Sirloin Dip on French bread was calling my name. As the line drew nearer to the counter, I could hear conversations between the customers and the owner Tom Butcher. Tom greeted many of the customers by their first name.

When it was my turn to order, I was greeted with a hearty hello and a smile. I asked for the Sirloin dip, hot, on French bread, which comes with a cup of Au Jus sauce.

Minutes later I received my plate and slid my tray down the line past the pies and cakes towards the register. Despite how busy and crowded the place was, I was greeted with another smile.

After filling myself up a soda I weaved through the crowd and found myself a table. Just half of the plus-sized sandwich would have filled me up, but I inhaled the other as well.