Plaza District

[Pete]

New mural coming to the Plaza District.

One on top to replace the one below:

[Pete]

Also, The Mule posted on Friday that they are open for business.

[BBatesokc]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I liked the style of the previous mural - the new one looks like something you'd see on a Scientology mural. But, what do I know - I'm one of the apparent few who thought a sign of a woman urinating above the Womb Gallery was tacky.

I don't find the Saints mural 'tacky' it's just very alien looking to me. I'm sure it has some meaning that is way over my head and education.

[Praedura]

I like the style and coloration of the new mural. But... is that alien giving us the finger?

[Praedura]

Oh, and notice the wooden palettes converted to bike racks (the latest urban trend?)

[CuatrodeMayo]

Oh, and notice the wooden palettes converted to bike racks (the latest urban trend?)

They were constructed as part of Better Block back in May: Better Block OKC | May 18-19, 2012

Not a fan of the mural. Which is unfortunate for me since I can see it from my porch...=(

[Mel]

Maybe it's a saintly urologist.

[Pete]

Here is the sandwich portion of The Mule's menu.

They just posted they are taking a couple of more days to recalibrate then continue with their soft opening.

[metro]

Healthy.

You want a bar to serve tofu and kale chips?

[BBatesokc]

You want a bar to serve tofu and kale chips?

Mmmmmm, Kale Chips! To me they are like black licorice - I don't really like the flavor of either, but I can't stop eating them.

[Pete]

The Mule looks like it is fully open now, every Tuesday through Saturday 11A - 2A.

Who wants to provide the first review??

[OSUPeterson]

The Mule looks like it is fully open now, every Tuesday through Saturday 11A - 2A.

Who wants to provide the first review??

I went at noon during the plaza fest hoping to get some good food and drinks and watch the baylor v WVU game.

The crew working seemed to be struggling, maybe hungover, that morning. Normally not a bad thing that I would complain about, but not wise seeing as the Mule was going to be slammed due to the festival and the fact it was raining.

Waited over an hour for 2 grilled cheeses. The lost our ticket a couple times. The guy also couldn't separate my order and my buddies so we could pay separately at the bar when we ordered, but whatever. Almost 50 bucks for 4 beers and 2 sandwiches. they do not have a great system of tracking your order either. They just take the name off the credit card used to order, but if you need to ask them about why your order is taking forever, they seem to struggle to find out anything. They also seemed to not care that we had to wait over an hour. I wasn't looking for anything free, but seeing someone care that we waited that long would have been nice.

We had been told by the girl working that one sandwich with a soup side would be plenty to split for 2 people at lunch. Now, my fiance and I are not crazy huge eaters, and I totally disagree with the normal oversized portions of oklahoma food you normally see, but what the Mule offered was not enough to share for anyone. Sandwich was the size of standard bread slices from the store, about .5 in thick. While my portofcatoosa was good, it seemed like it was not seasoned at all. The other sandwich my friend got, was a 5 cheese grilled cheese, and it tasted like something worse than what anyone on here can make at home with white bread and kraft slices.

The fries we got with the order were really good. The tomato soup was very very bland. Needs seasoning. At least salt and pepper.

I was hoping for some interesting local breads to be used, and some interesting combos, nice and thick, but was disappointed.

Now, for disclaimer, they had a very basic menu of only 3 sandwiches available, so maybe they have better offerings in store. On the flip side, if you only offer 3 sandwiches, you should not take more than 10 min to make 2 of them. Slammed or not slammed, hungover or not.

The prices for those 3 sandwiches were higher than what was listed in their regular menu. So I guess during special events, they will offer less and charge more. I don't really understand why they would do that, nothing good can come from overcharging people. At least when you do it, please remove the normal menus so I don't know I am being overcharged per normal times. All the sandwiches were 10 bucks with either fries, or a couple shots worth of soup. Way overpriced for what you received. My fiance has some pictures I think that I will try and post later.

I was surprised at the amount of small children running around inside. I guess it is a restaurant and all, but I had more of a bar feeling when I was imagining this place in my mind. That will definitely deter me from coming as often.

I will probably go back and give them another try, hopefully the prices are not still increased, and I don't have the crazy wait time. Im really hoping this was a one off horrible experience. I would love to see this place succeed so that I have more eating options in the neighborhood. On the upside, we all ran over to Saints and had an amazing meal there. We were all still really hungry and did not want to spend another 50 bucks for another round of beer and 2 sandwiches.

[dankrutka]

Who wants to provide the first review??

Here you go: The Mule totes first-love flavors to the mountaintop | NewsOK.com

[Pete]

From NewsOK:

[Urbanized]

Whimsical exposed electrical conduit. That's a new one to me. I like it!

[onthestrip]

Whimsical exposed electrical conduit. That's a new one to me. I like it!

Kinda diggin that too.

[jedicurt]

if it ran in an effective pattern rather than their almost random pattern, i think i would like it more... perhaps i need to see it in person, but i think it looks kinda tacky. but then again, if the whole world met my tastes, it would probably be a pretty boring place to live

[Teo9969]

I like it -^(':')^-

[Teo9969]

I just got home from dinner @ The Mule.

I thought it was really good for what it is. The Food was good, nothing over the top fantastic, but nothing is much more than $10 either. I don't personally like the fries seasoned with curry, but it is an interesting take on the french fry. The beer list is not great, but it is heavy on the local side, so you have to appreciate that. The service was good. Pacing worked well for us. My biggest criticism is that they didn't get silverware to us promptly (we didn't ask) and it was only a minor inconvenience during the appetizer. If that's my biggest complaint (a minor oversight) I thought it was really good.

[Pete]

New $75K building permit to remodel the old laundry into a restaurant.

This is the building purchased by the Steve Mason group where they solicited ideas from the public.


Is the breakfast place happening here??

[OKC plaza]

Plaza District in the running to receive $15,000 Grant : https://www.facebook.com/OvationTV/app_255394737897823

We are representing OKC and have the chance to win a $15,000 grant from Ovation TV through the Viewer's Choice Innovation Grant Program!

One of the main issues we face in the district is that the wealth of creativity happening inside the walls of the Plaza District is not being reflected outside. The district lacks in both public art and opportunities to involve the community in creating it. We will bring artists, designers, planners and the community together to conduct an area-wide design charrette to develop public art solutions for design challenges in the district and neighborhood. The resulting strategies will lay a solid and artistic foundation to pursue future funding opportunities for public art infrastructure.

In addition to our area-wide project, we will host a charrette at the elementary school for our neighborhood kids to learn about public art, placemaking, and develop a sense of stewardship for their neighborhood. The funding will pay artist and supply fees to organize both charettes and provide a materials budget to implement the first project conceived. The final results will provide a plan to pursue funding opportunities to hire artists to work with our community and instill a sense of pride of both a DIY (do it yourself) and a DIT (do it together) culture.

[Pete]

New $75K building permit to remodel the old laundry into a restaurant.

This is the building purchased by the Steve Mason group where they solicited ideas from the public.


Is the breakfast place happening here??

To answer my own question, no, the poster from this site (EBAH) that presented the breakfast proposal did not win out. However, he said he learned a lot and may try again elsewhere.


I was told this will be a pizza place and bar.


BTW, I went to The Mule last week and LOVED the vibe. Food was okay but I loved the feel of the place more than I had expected. Even at 5PM mid-week, there was a good crowd and energy and by the time I left around 7:30, it was packed. Lots of people going to the theater but just a good crowd in general. Felt like a really cool local bar with a nice edge to it.

With the pizza place, we've got the makings of a nice little bar district, as Saints is right there as well.

[George]

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has an upcoming event that may be of interest to followers of the Plaza District and/or fans of The Mule...

ULI Oklahoma Presents
The Plaza Distrct: an OKC Cinderella Story
Date: Tues., December 4, 2012
Time: 5:30 - 7:00pm
Location: The Mule, 1630 N. Blackwelder (corner of NW 16th Street)
Members $20, Non-Members $30, Students $10 (Price increase after Nov. 30)
Registration includes beverages and appetizers

The Plaza District is a Cinderella Story, built on the hard work and grassroots efforts of its local community. A glowing New York Times article states the area has been "radically transformed over the last five years." ULI examines the success of the Plaza District with its key developer, Jeff Struble, and its newest retail business, The Mule restaurant. Join us in learning how local developers and start-up businesses come together to create a revitalization success story.

Panelists:
Jeff Struble is the owner of Struble Construction, Inc. and Struble Properties, LLC. A self-made real estate entrepreneur, Jeff has successfully developed residential, office, and retail properties in the Plaza District and throughout Oklahoma City.

Owners/Founders of The Mule: Joey Morris, Cody Rowan, and John Harris. From their days as friends and students at OSU, the co-founders of The Mule have been preparing to launch their own restaurant. Recently described by the New York Times as "in a building that used to be known as a brothel, a new restaurant devoted to gourmet grilled-cheese sandwiches," The Mule is rapidly achieving wide acclaim and a devoted following.

Join us Tues., Dec. 4. Click here to register.

[George]

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has an upcoming event that may be of interest to followers of the Plaza District and/or fans of The Mule...

ULI Oklahoma Presents
The Plaza Distrct: an OKC Cinderella Story
Date: Tues., December 4, 2012
Time: 5:30 - 7:00pm
Location: The Mule, 1630 N. Blackwelder (corner of NW 16th Street)
Members $20, Non-Members $30, Students $10 (Price increase after Nov. 30)
Registration includes beverages and appetizers

The Plaza District is a Cinderella Story, built on the hard work and grassroots efforts of its local community. A glowing New York Times article states the area has been "radically transformed over the last five years." ULI examines the success of the Plaza District with its key developer, Jeff Struble, and its newest retail business, The Mule restaurant. Join us in learning how local developers and start-up businesses come together to create a revitalization success story.

Panelists:
Jeff Struble is the owner of Struble Construction, Inc. and Struble Properties, LLC. A self-made real estate entrepreneur, Jeff has successfully developed residential, office, and retail properties in the Plaza District and throughout Oklahoma City.

Owners/Founders of The Mule: Joey Morris, Cody Rowan, and John Harris. From their days as friends and students at OSU, the co-founders of The Mule have been preparing to launch their own restaurant. Recently described by the New York Times as "in a building that used to be known as a brothel, a new restaurant devoted to gourmet grilled-cheese sandwiches," The Mule is rapidly achieving wide acclaim and a devoted following.

Join us Tues., Dec. 4. Click here to register.

A good number of people have signed up to attend this event, so we have only a few spots left. That said, because the OKCTalk community is so interested and so interesting, if there are any OKCTalkers who are big fans of the Plaza District and would really like to attend this event, if you PM me I will put your name on the reservation list for the ULI Member price ($20, which can be paid at the door). Thanks.

[dankrutka]

They posted last night that Pie Junkie (HOME - piejunkie) is moving into the Plaza District. Seems like a good addition in isolation, but the Plaza could really use another full bar...

If there is anything that OKC lacks to be considered a major city it is a mass of bars in a walkable local area. I've always felt that Saints, a couple bars, a live music place, and then some complimentary restaurant then bars (e.g., the Mule, new pizza place) could creat a nice mass, but it's looking more like they'll just have one bar, which is disappointing. The fact that Tulsa's bar dense, walkable scene (e.g., Blue Dome, Cherry Street, Brookside, Brady District) is dramatically better than OKC's should be a cause for concern as recent college grads see it as a quality of life issue. Bricktown is a good, walkable area, but it's also more geared towards clubs or chain locations. OKC has the market covered on dense local food areas (Midown, 23rd Street, Automobile Alley...), but a similar local bar scene remains spread out and weak.