Taste Of Oklahoma: LoFi Bringing Woodfired Pizza And Vinyl Tunes To Cherry Street In Tulsa

Chefs at a Cherry Street restaurant are firing up unique pizzas in a woodfired oven while DJs spin vinyl records.

LoFi is a wine and cocktail bar with woodfired pizza, unique sides and cured meats.

DJs spin at the restaurant several nights a week, all to bring a new music-first concept to Tulsa.

The lights are low, the vinyl is spinning, and the wood fire is burning, ready to turn the pizza dough into a deep golden crisp.

“Everything kind of led to this place.”

Owner Noah Bush and Chef Trevor Tack have had a hand in opening and managing dozens of restaurants all over the Tulsa area for years.

Two of those iconic establishments were the downtown restaurant Lowood and bar Hodges Bend, which burned down last year.

Related: Cleanup Begins After 4-Alarm Fire Damages Hodges Bend, Lowood Restaurant In Downtown Tulsa

After the fire, the two searched for ways to move on and find new work for employees.

“You in term don't get to grieve your loss for a second,” said Tack.

Cherry Street’s Prairie Fire Pie closed, and LoFi moved in. 

This music-forward concept was something they always wanted to bring to Tulsa, and the fire sped up the process.

“He loves music,” Tack said. “He's a nerd about it. I like music quite a lot.”

The pizza oven was already here, so the focus became delicious drinks and a special crust.

“Let’s make really good bread, a sourdough crust, and we’ll start from there,” Tack said.

That sourdough base begins with Chef Isa Morrow.

“It's tedious but it's really fun,” she said.

LoFi uses the sourdough starter she’s had for years, lovingly named Megan Thee Starter.

“We do a 48-hour fermentation,” Morrow said. “That's our goal.”

Like many other employees here, Chef Isa previously worked at Lowood, tending to the wood fire.

“I like anything with a fire aspect,” she said. “It’s just a really natural way of cooking.”

The first pie she’s making is the white pizza.

She hits it with homemade chili oil, olive oil, and diced mozzarella before sliding it in the oven.

“About three minutes, give or take,” said Morrow.

The pizzas get moved around the nearly 600-degree oven to perfectly crisp up different parts of the pies.

“I finish it over there,” she said. “It's called leoparding. You get the black sexy spots on it.”

The white pie gets finished with cold stracciatella, a pulled cheese from their fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of honey.

“The crust is insane,” she said.

Perhaps you’re a more adventurous type. The Northern Exposure takes it up a notch.

“This is our most eclectic pie on the menu,” Morrow said.

Chef Isa adds smoked provolone, house-made Canadian bacon, hot cherry peppers, and a unique pesto.

“We have a broccoli rabe pesto broccolini. We blanch it like a typical pesto. We don't have regular or basil in it,” she said.

Once the pizza gets its blast of heat in the oven, Isa finishes it with maple syrup and freshly grated cheese.

“The woodfire really takes it to the next level.”

A bite of this one hits you with heat and unique flavor.

There are also non-pizza options. LoFi cures some of its meats and offers pork rillettes made with local pork.

“A pork rillette is pork confit,” said Morrow.

The pork is cooked for a long time in fat and served as a spread to go on top of crostini, with grainy mustard and pickles.

“It’s got a really nutty flavor,” she said.

For dessert, the Banana Panna Cotta is a standout.

Even with all these unique ingredients, the chefs want people to feel like this isn’t a stuffy place.

“It’s a perfect vehicle for all these interesting flavors. You can share a pie and a bottle of wine and relax about it,” Bush said.

That's what LoFi is all about--the sounds, the sips, and being that third place where people can sit back and come together.

“Every day, we’re humbled and grateful to get to keep doing what we love,” said Tack. “Maybe it's not the same place they’re used to, but a new place for them.”

LoFi is located at 1301 E 15th St, Tulsa, OK 74120.

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