“That was one of the best brunches we’ve had in a long time,” Ed said as we walked back to the truck. I can’t disagree. Oren, a restaurant in the Brookside area of Tulsa, certainly delivered the goods. 

We were in town the night before for the wedding of two of our dearest friends, and naturally, we needed to find a place to have brunch the next morning. I asked Hillary Rankin of 918 Plate for her recommendation and her email cracked me up: “OREN OREN OREN!!! Please go to Oren and get the French toast. And literally anything is amazing.” We made a reservation at Oren, obviously. 

Sorry to disappoint, Hillary, but I didn’t order the French toast (I’m not a fan of sweets for breakfast). But I did order the Avocado Toast with nigella seed, pickled onion, radish and Badio Olive Oil and it was fabulous. The bread itself was killer—crispy, grilled in olive oil—and basically melted in your mouth. I added an over easy egg, as I do, and went to town. This is one of the most filling avocado toasts I’ve ever had, and I ended up taking half home. 

But holy crap. The Biscuits & Gravy, people. I never have order envy because I usually can’t eat what Ed orders, but in this case I 100% did. The flaky, crispy biscuits were served with an herb gravy, poached egg and parsley and the whole thing was simply incredible. The gravy was somehow super creamy, and the biscuits were square little slices of heaven. Order this dish, people. You won’t be sorry. 

Be sure to ask for some hot sauce, too. Our waitress brought us two bottles of Baby D’s Bee Sting sauce, the Original and the Sweet Stang. Baby D’s is a brand out of Tulsa that creates all-natural, fermented, premium hot sauces; I’d never had their products before but thought they were top notch. The Original sauce sort of tasted like Tabasco, and the Sweet Stang sauce was basically a spicy honey. Add this to the Biscuits & Gravy for a flavor explosion. 

So thanks so much to Hillary for the spot-on recommendation! We will definitely be back. Heads up that they also have Shakshuka on their brunch menu, which I almost ordered, and tons of tasty-sounding greens on their dinner menu. Props to the folks from Oren for, as Ed rightly declared, serving up one of the tastiest brunches we’ve had in awhile.