tonya "mtbchick" b.'s Profile

The Gardner is a great place to see relics, antiques and tools from the Choctaw Indians. The Choctaws were moved from Mississippi to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears and here you can find the history and the relics.

The (remains of ) 2000 year old Cypress Tree is very cool to see. Gives a bit of perspective.

It's worth the stop to meet the owners and to learn about the beginning of Oklahoma as a state, and the Choctaw Indians and the history of the removal.

The museum is located near the Mountain Fork River, so if you are planning a float trip, you can stop by the museum before you hit the water.

I love the Forest Heritage Center at Beaver's Bend. I stop every time I visit McCurtain County.

The dioramas are very cool and are painted by the artist who painted Smokey Bear, my favorite Bear. (Harry Rossel). It's like a regular Natural History museum, walking you through the history of the area in geologic terms.  And as an added bonus, there is an original Smokey Bear metal sign along the way. Very very cool!

You will also find art installments, this time it was a history of the CCC in the area and the history of logging in the area with the focus on Dierks and their depression era logging towns. It's interesting to see this perspective. There was also a wood working installment with beautiful pieces, well worth the walkthrough, which takes all in, about 30 minutes.

The museum is free and worth the stop especially if you have kids. It's a great educational opportunity. Also, the nature center is currently housed here, so you can meet Great Horned Owls and the like!

The Center also includes customer service who can set you up with maps, books and information about the park. Always nice!

There are also a few installments inside the circular Forest Heritage Center building, fun to look and learn about the back in the days!

5 stars because I have to think apples to apples here. (Catfish Dinners). If you want fried catfish in the Southeastern Oklahoma area, look no further!

Yes, I am from LA. Altadena to be exact, but that doesn't matter really.

I came here so that my SO could try authentic fried catfish. We'd been working on the ranch, and then hiking around Beaver's Bend all day and met my Grandma and Parents for dinner (after the two of us had a beer at Grateful Head).

The portions are enormous! I ordered a Catfish snack which is a basket filled with fries, hush puppies and fried catfish. Really enough for two small eaters. But-- the prices are such that you can order two separate meals, and still be way under budget.

The fried catfish are juicy, crispy and spicy. Now. I have eaten fried catfish at quite a few places, and at "home", mind you. I loved the catfish and the hush puppies. The fries were also delicious, but as I am accustomed to pommes frites...

I ate both catfish strips. They were delicious. No regrets. Even my Dad says he prefers and loves the catfish at Steven's Gap.

ATMOSPHERE: Fluorescent lights with predictable tables and chairs. Not the most inviting or comfortable, but when your meal is $5, you don't worry so much about that. When you pull up, you may second think your decision, but go on in and enjoy, or you can carry out, however-- the fried catfish are best eaten right at the table!

Our server was patient with me, and tolerant of our party, and she did a great job.

My Mom sent me here when I was in town with my significant other. And having just returned from a Napa and Sonoma and Carneros wine trip...

It is actually incredibly amazing that Broken bow has anything like a wine shop, much less a place where you can taste and purchase wine made on premises! The ladies were wonderful, friendly, professional... and fun!

I did read other reviews of the place, and was amazed by the 3 star review by Katherine T who says: "Eh, it was okay. The wine was pretty tasty, if that's what you're going for."

Um, excuse me, why ELSE would you go to a wine tasting establishment?

The wines were quite tasty, although perhaps a little light on the alcohol. The wines are made on site, and we did not have time to return to ask the winemakers more about their craft. The reds, including the Zins, Pinots and Cabs were light enough to enjoy, not giant fruit bombs like the wines you get in California, although the grapes do come from California.

Ladies, I look forward to getting back in to the shop when I return to visit my family, and keep up the good work!

~mtbchick

First of all, I am wondering why Yelp has filtered all of the good reviews of this establishment? Owners might want to give them a call.

I like to say I grew up holidays and summers in Broken Bow. Dining out has always been difficult for me in Broken Bow. I love the people and the authentic foods: fried catfish and so on, but I am a city girl, at least part time. My family even makes special dishes for me when I visit McC county, free of ham bones and bacon fat.

Pizza is something I make at home from scratch, crust included... and something I love to eat if it has an authentic and homemade feel. (authentic Italian is thin crust.)

I was pleased with the service and the beer selection, given the county laws, and I can't wait to come back. We loved the taxidermied animals looking down on us as we sipped our Choc. Would love to see more selection of craft beers on tap, or even in bottles. We're Belgian beer lovers, and craft beer lovers, so while we mitigated our expectations, we were pleased with the Choc.

thank you Grateful Head for opening, and I will soon post a small review with my BB visit story on my web site.

Keep up the good work. You are doing an amazing job! I wish you all the success and prosperity in the world, and stick around until I am in town again, please!

~mtbchick

Rooms: typical hotel room. Could be anywhere in the world.

Food: severely overpriced and terrible. The Rainbow Lanai breakfast buffet. I don't eat at buffet, first of all, secondly, we ordered from the menu: $40 for 2 people to eat pancakes and waffle. Not even local fruit on the plate. And nothing fresh on the menu.

Check out: we checked out 3 days early. I called the front desk, was put on hold 6 times, asked why we wanted to check out by 3 different people, and finally after 10 minutes I had to walk to the front desk in the rain to ask for check out. Which made me late for an important meeting. (we checked out early since we had a cottage reserved on the north shore, and were staying at the hilton on business.)

Atmosphere: typical canned vacation. I wouldn't call this a resort. I would call it a large hotel complex. Resorts are relaxing and exclusive. This place was packed and stressful with shopping malls and bad restaurants.

I was relieved to get to Waialua and live with the locals for a few days.

underwhelming.

portions gigantic. (I really don't need 2000 calories in one sitting thank you very much!)

I'd much rather have 2 teeny tiny scoops of incredible gelato than 2 gargantuan scoops of ice cream.

the chocolate and coconut macadamia tasted good, not great. I ordered two scoops, one of each, and my bowl was overflowing with ice cream. just too much, too gross, and nothing to write home about or go back to.

the snow puffies are a bit much, I didn't like all the cream.

the butter rolls are great. I enjoyed the coconut turnover. not too rich and sweet, just right!

bread is good. and the market next door is the real deal local market, so check it out for some great finds!

an excellent day!
we had the chance to ride some incredible polo ponies-- well behaved and agile. although relaxing, the trail ride was a tad boring, but beautiful. The horses were actual polo ponies, which was a relief although I did have to ride in a western saddle which I went into kicking and screaming.

the scenery is the ocean and mountains. And we were graced by rainbows. it was so nice and so wonderful.

I played polo in college and worked at the Cincy polo club, so it was a throw back to the old days for me... and the owner allowed a little extra fun for us! there will be more about this experience on http://mtbchick.com in a week or so, so stay tuned!

knowledgeable and friendly
super cool vintage digs
great selection of craft beer and wine.
we're actually trying 2 new IPAs today!
wish we had found this store on our first day in Waialua!