Tahlequah, OK is one of my favorite communities. Nestled in the Cherokee Hills of Eastern Oklahoma, the beautiful Illinois River flows adjacent to the town, forming its Eastern boundary, and draws thousands of visitors, including yours truly, every summer. Tahlequah is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, home to the Cherokee Heritage Center and Northeastern State University.

It was also voted, a few years back, as one of the “Best 100 Places to Live in America”. In short, it is a great community with a heritage that predates our state by decades (as does much of Eastern Oklahoma).

This week’s post adds one more attribute to its many positives.

It all started innocently enough. We were in Tahlequah for our annual summer trip to the Illinois River. After an afternoon on a beautiful rock shoal at Peavine Hollow (the Illinois is festooned with hollows... No Head, Round Head, Stunkard...) we retired to a hotel room at the Oak Hill Inn, rather than our usual tent at Eagle’s Bluff (hey, its hot in August in Oklahoma and I’m past my “sweating through the night” phase). At some later date I will submit a full post on the Illinois River but, suffice to say, since I was a little boy growing up in Eastern Oklahoma this is one of the best summer places to be.

So we decided to go out to dinner. I was secretly endeavoring to steer us toward the Echota House (a great steak house and the subject of yet another future post), but, in a moment of implied fairness, I said, “ Let’s walk around downtown and see what there is...”

Famous last words.

We noticed Sam & Ella’s (okay, say it fast and you get the joke) Chicken Palace and thought, “Chicken’s good.”

The moment we walked in the door we knew something was not quite right here. It did not smelled like chicken (unless, of course, it was Chicken Cacciatori)!

But,then the Pizza paddles hanging on the wall were something of a give- a-way.

Even after we were seated we did not fully comprehend. We looked at the menu and considered the sandwiches, which looked interesting and were very reasonably priced.

Then a pizza went by...

... and that, as they say, was all she wrote.

Returning to the menu we decided to economize with one of their single topping mediums, half pepperoni and half Italian sausage. When it arrived it was a thick, bubbling beauty with the meat just peeking through the quiche deep layers of cheese.

We both took one bite and just looked at one another...

Wow!

“ Its crisp like I like it and chewy like you like it, “ Sheryl said, “How’d they do that?”

As always, Sheryl was right on the mark. It had the crisp crust of a thin pizza but with the chewy, thick crust of a deep dish. My guess, a really, really hot oven.

And, then, there were the cheeses. I’m not sure, but I know, at the least, I tasted Mozzarella, Provolone, and Parmesan (maybe more) perfectly balanced with a tangy basil and oregano tomato sauce. The sauce tasted made-from-scratch, but I honestly do not know if it is or not. The whole package was a delight with every bite.

We could not finish it. We took part of it back to the hotel and I’m here to tell you, its almost as good cold as hot. And, I am not a big fan of cold pizza but this one would easily pass the “morning after” breakfast pizza test, if there had been any left over the next morning.

Bottom line, you can walk into Sam & Ella’s and have more pizza than you can eat in one sitting for about $11 to $12. The sandwiches, which we almost ate, are only $5.95. They also offer the usual array of combination pizzas with multiple items for more than the $12 we paid. Given how good the one item pizza was, I can only imagine how good one of the combos would be to eat.

Sam & Ella’s is a fun place to just sit and enjoy downtown Tahlequah as well. It has large windows which look out over a city park. It is also only a block from Northeastern State University and the Town Branch Creek, which meanders through the central part of town. The night we were at Sam & Ella’s there was a picnic of some sort in the park. The hot summer air was filled with grilling smoke. From our vantage point we watched people come and go, as well as folks just out for the evening. The people watching would have made it a delightful evening, the pizza, however, made it a memorable one!

The restaurant itself lives up to its name (its real name, not the inference). There are drawings of chickens, paintings of chickens, chicken ceramics, and even chicken trivets. But, at least to the best of my memory, except for one of the sandwiches, there are no chickens on the menu.

My kind of place. Nice environment, no pretensions, efficient and attentive staff, a great inside joke with the name, and, most of all, the best pizza you have every laid your lips upon.

After dinner, you might want to cruise down to either the River City Players at the University Theater(in the summer time) or the NSU Jazz Lab, both within walking distance. If you don’t mind a short drive, and its a summer weekend, take in the play at the Cherokee Heritage Center on the outskirts of Tahlequah. Or, if you have room for coffee and dessert, take in the Iguana Cafe just across the street. Great Americano and brewed coffees.

There will be more posts of Tahlequah in the future, but suffice to say, if you love pizza a pilgrimage to Sam & Ella’s should be on your list of religious experiences. Fall foliage drive time is coming to Eastern Oklahoma. Sam & Ella’s would make a great lunch or dinner stop on such an outing.

I could not find a website for Sam & Ella’s but their phone is (918) 456-1411 and they are located at 419 W. Okmulgee, Tahlequah, OK 74464. Give Sam & Ella’s a try, it will be worth the stop.