On our August trip to Tahlequah and the Illinois River, we discovered a new cafe (well, new to us, anyway) right in the middle of downtown Tahlequah.

The Boom-A-Rang is a smallish cafe located directly across from the Cherokee Nation Courthouse, one of the oldest buildings in Oklahoma. The food is good, the coffee fairly strong and ... they have gravy. More on that later.

For around $5 you can have a good down-home breakfast of eggs, meat of your choice, hash browns and bread. Nothing fancy but a really good basic breakfast.

What I love the most about the place is the fact it is there.

To explain, for many years on our trips to Tahlequah we would have breakfast at the Shack, a couple of blocks north of the Boom-A-Rang. And, it was great for all the same reasons listed above. But, then The Shack became a full time bakery (and they bake great stuff ... but that’s another posting) and there was, at least as far as we once-a-year tourists could tell, no other downtown cafe. The Shack closing of its breakfast diner left a huge hole in our annual trips, one we missed with savory memories of breakfasts past.

The Boom-A-Rang Cafe provides downtown Tahlequah with a good, basic diner. A great place to hang out, have a cup, maybe a little down home breakfast and watch folks go about their business. On the latter, one of my favorite vacation past times is to hang out in local establishments, such as the Boom-A-Rang, and listen to people talk about the goings on in their town.

Now, here is the gravy connection. Or should I say, gravy challenge. I have been going to Eastern Oklahoma and the Tahlequah / Illinois River area for the better part of 25 years. As a little boy in Tulsa my family took trips to the Illinois River and in later years, I rediscovered it on one of my “blue highway” sojourns through rural Oklahoma. I’ve been coming back every year since, sometimes several times a year.

As you have gathered from previous postings, I like Biscuits and Gravy. I even entitled one of my vacations, years ago, the “Biscuits and Gravy Tour”.

Yet, it seems, and I’m the first to admit this could be entirely me, that every time I was anywhere near Tahlequah or the Illinois River, the cafes did not serve biscuits and gravy or, worse, they charged extra for it ... like it was some rarified dish or something. One time, at a place to remain nameless but up along the river, I ordered biscuits and gravy with my breakfast. The B&G cost almost as much as the meal!

So, you can imagine how happy I was when I saw biscuit (singular) and gravy as an option in the breakfast menu at Boom-A-Rang. On top of that, it was good gravy!

So, Boom-A-Rang Cafe, my hat is off to you for providing an essential public service ... biscuit and gravy with your breakfast... no extra charge. For this, if for nothing else, I salute you!

The fact you dish up a great and affordable breakfast along with the B & G just makes it all the better.

After breakfast, Tahlequah has no shortage of things to do. There is the Illinois River or Lake Tenkiller, of course. But, I would suggest a walk around downtown and /or the NSU campus. Take in the Christmas Store, the small arts galleries and other shops. If you want something sweet, nothing could be better than a short walk to the aforementioned Shack Bakery. Freshly baked donuts, cinnamon rolls, and danish, as well as breads and cookies of all descriptions beckon you. When you have walked off breakfast consider The Shack, Kelley’s, the Iguana Cafe or Sam & Ella’s (of a previous post) for lunch. Or, you can just go back to the Boom-A-Rang, which also serves lunch.

Tahlequah is one of the most interesting, and often overlooked, communities in our state. Take a morning or a day and get to know this community. Its a great pl-ace with great people.

Labels: biscuits and gravy, Boom-A-Rang, Iquana Cafe, Kelly's, Tahlequah