Krebs

  It doesn't have any of the ingredients of a foodie town, but somehow it is.
  Krebs -- about 100 miles south of Tulsa -- is an old coal mining town settled by Italian immigrants in the late 1800s.
  When they weren't working the mines, those coal miners did what every other Oklahoma family did -- they ate. But their food was different than the meat and potatoes their neighbors were eating. It had herbs, garlic, pungent cheeses and wine.
  It didn't take long before their way of cooking caught on, and it went from sharing meals out of each other's kitchens to restaurants open to the public.
  As the Okies learned to love the Italian food, it turns out the Italians learned a thing or two from the Okies. Eventually the Italian food they brought from the old country morphed into something new -- something they now lovingly call OkieItalian.
  Loyal customers from Oklahoma City, Tulsa and every corner of the state make the trek to Krebs for family-style dinners, or for trips to Lovera's market, where hand-molded cheese hangs in a corner near the deli. Homemade sausage, handmade ravioli, imported Italian cookies -- Lovera's has it all.
  In Krebs, restaurants serve Oklahoma-sized portions so no one leaves hungry. Ribeyes butt up against plates of spaghetti, and calf fries are drowned in marinara. It's Oklahoma.   It's Italian. It's OkieItalian.

Planning a trip to Krebs? Don't miss these favorites.

Giacomo's
501 S. George Nigh Expressway
(918) 423-2662

Isle of Capri
150 S.W. Seventh St.
(918) 423-3062

Lovera's Market
95 W. Sixth St.
(800) 854-1417

Pete's Place
120 S.W. Eighth St.
(918) 423-2042

Roseanna's
205 E. Washington St.
(918) 423-2055