Hey guys. I'm not a food or entertainment critic, but I've been visiting Bricktown for the better part of 15 years now and have traveled some, and thought I'd toss my two cents into the coffee cup here.

The biggest problem with the restaurants in Bricktown: well, there are a few. I can't believe the number of times I've been to Bricktown on a dead night and had to wait, seriously, 20 minutes to get a table because the wait staff are nowhere to be found, and then have an equally long wait to order and get some food. Another big problem is that some of the restaurants' food is just not very good. I hate to single anyone out, but the last time I went to whatever Varsity Sports Grill is now calling itself I had an exceptionally bad experience. I thought that any of the items we ordered I could have easily created in my kitchen at home and it would have tasted about 10x better. I think another big problem with Bricktown restaurants is something that isn't within their control -- I think there are too many humongous open warehouse-sized locations. It is hard for any restaurant to generate the kind of revenue that would be required to support that much overhead. The building owners should consider finding ways to partition some of their buildings into numerous smaller locations. I think this would help add stability to the food scene. Also I think it is a problem that the only things that seem to be able to survive down there are Mexican, steak, Italian, and Hooters. There is just no diversity in the Bricktown menu. I think this has a lot to do with what Bricktown has become and who it is marketing to, discussed further below.

Another problem I see is the "flakiness" of Bricktown. Case in point: I went down there one night with some friends on a weeknight to have dinner and some fun and found that probably half of the establishments (or more) simply weren't open. I guess they were having a slow night and decided to bail early. I understand a business owner wanting to save costs on a slow night, but it is really hard to have any kind of consistency when this is the norm. Honestly I just don't go to Bricktown anymore unless it is a Friday or Saturday night because I don't want to drive 20 minutes, drive around finding a parking spot, pay $5-8, and then walk for 5 minutes only to find the place I'm heading to is closed up for the night.

The DJ'd music is pretty good in Bricktown, with selections including Skky Bar, CityWalk, LIT, and Venue. It's a shame that *live* music can't seem to survive though, other than country. I really liked Bricktown Live when it was around because it was a real music venue but had kind of a bar-like feel to it. Hopefully someone will be able to pick up the slack.

The biggest problem with the development in general: at least early on I heard a lot about trying to make Bricktown into this new hip place, but then we decided to do that by immediately putting a bunch of old and extremely conservative people in charge of development. Later on the focus seemed to shift to creating a touristy family-friendly atmosphere. And today... I just don't know what Bricktown really is. To me, I think Bricktown is morphing into a Dallas West End. I think development needs to consider this appropriately. For example, folks who live in Dallas don't necessarily visit the West End because it is for tourists. If you want a good restaurant you go to another part of town, maybe Addison or Plano, or in old downtown along Lemon. If you want a hip club maybe you go to Deep Ellum, Lower Greenville Ave., or someplace else near SMU. This is really what is happening with Bricktown. If you want good food, you hit NW OKC, if you want something touristy you head to Bricktown. If you want upscale shopping, you go to NW OKC, if you want something more middle-of-the-road and touristy, you go to Bricktown. That's where we are at now. Along-side that you have Lower Bricktown, which seems to be creating a typical suburban atmosphere that attracts high school students. I actually don't like these concepts and think it can be and should be changed (explained next). I have to wonder if the 'Bricktown Master Plan' or whatever it is called makes any conscious choices as far as who it is targeting and the type of atmosphere being created down there.

The crowds have changed a lot in 15 years. I'll be real blunt... Bass Pro, Toby Keith's, Wormy Dog, etc. increase the 'bubba factor.' Lower Bricktown increases the HS wanna-be-gangsta quotient. Why would a guy like me, who goes into a bar and orders a $30 glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label, want to have to deal with this? Lots of people feel the way I do.... I think Bricktown is actually driving a certain demographic away that could have easily supported it all by itself (e.g. the "young professionals" or the "creative class" the city seems so hell-bent on trying to attract).

Okay, so if we assume that we're stuck now and it is what it is, why aren't we going all in and marketing to the families and kids and the bubbas? Why are there no attractions like miniature golf, or laser tag, or an arcade, or western wear, etc.? To me it seems like the folks in Bricktown just don't know what to do with Bricktown. The city may have plans, but I think the business community there needs to get together and make some plans of its own.

If it were possible to 'reboot' Bricktown and start over, I'd like to see lots of retail there. I'd like to see restaurants with big, inviting entrances at the canal level that draw people in. Not a bunch of windows with some non-existent door buried deep within a cave inside a building. I'd like to see restaurants and retail co-located on the same spot, not spread out in different locations. I'd like to see some entertainment: a GameWorks, some *good* music venues, maybe even some culture and art! Ever been to downtown Chicago? You can hit coffee shops, fantastic Italian or Chinese restaurants, a modern art museum, cathedrals, historical markers, great jazz and blues clubs, etc. all within walking distance. I'd like to see a more upscale Bricktown instead of the cheap-feeling nightmare part of it has turned out to be. I'd like to see a large, well thought-out cheap or totally free (city-provided) parking garage there.

Well, I guess this turned into a bit of a rant. Please don't take this as a big negative, the truth is I really care about our city and want the best for Bricktown and just feel myself shaking my head these days at the things that go on down there. I think Bricktown still has a lot of potential and I really hope that folks can change the direction of things there because I don't like what I think is to come.