Trenchers Delicatessen — Restaurant in Tulsa

This restaurant was not only featured on the Tulsa edition of "Guy's Big Bite," they won! The next day, they celebrated their win by jacking up the prices. By, like, A LOT. Their Cuban went from $11 to $15, and all their sides went up 50 cents. They didn't even have time to change the prices on their printed menu; customers only found out when they got the bill. (I’ve posted the old prices for posterity.) I understand that inflation is hitting local restaurants hard, but the timing and hastiness of their move seems veeeeeeerrrry suspicious.

About a month ago, I had a bad experience there. At the time I didn't want to post a review, because I didn't want to be overly negative. Maybe they were just having a bad day? But in light of the above, screw it. Here we go!

So, their roast beef sandwich has tomato chutney, caramelized onion, arugula, and basil on Italian bread. Sounds great, right? I have no idea what happened, but that thing was not only the most flavorless roast beef sandwich I've ever eaten, it's probably in the top 10 most flavorless things I've ever eaten, period. And I ate at public school cafeterias when I was a kid! Just zero taste bud activation at all. (No, I didn't have COVID - my next meal tasted like it should. But the sandwich made me wonder if I got sudden-onset COVID.) If this was an Inside Out situation, all the cartoon taste bud operators inside my tongue would be asleep and snoring. This is coming from a person that's trying to avoid salt! I added as much salt as I could justify, and it barely affected the lack of taste. This thing was a powerful black hole from which flavor had no hope of escape before being crushed into nothingness. Honestly, it probably was impressive culinary wizardry to take that intriguing combination of ingredients and transform it into the equivalent of unflavored Jell-O. In all seriousness, that sandwich was such a baffling, unique, nigh-transformative experience that it will probably pop up in my dreams until my dying breath.

The house-made...

This rating reflects old Trenchers vs new- really in 1 or 2 years. I've been going there since they opened about 12 or so years ago. This is on the 2 sandwiches I always ordered. The Chicken Swizzle and the Dutch Crunch. CHICKEN SWIZZLE: I ordered the Swizzle a LOT. Every person I introduced to it loved it, calling it the best sandwich in town. Large super crunchy thick piece of chicken that spilled out of the bun, great condiments - just amazing. We were happy to pay the price. It was worth it. Recently, I ordered 2 for myself & and another fan. Both were anemic pale, thin patties of chicken, barely larger than the bun- soggy, pale and frankly gross looking with zero crunch. The meat was drier than the fired coating, I mourn the loss of that golden coating and moist chicken. I asked about the change and was told, -" well some people don't like the crunchiness. Ask next time for crunchy fried chicken.' After 12 years and endless rave reviews, they are using that as an excuse for this change in the last year or so. Add "Barely" in front of "Fried" and at least we can be warned. Nothing has changed. DUTCH CRUNCH: used to have thick airy bread with a flaky crunch that happily send flakes everywhere. Beautiful. No more. The bread is half as think, compressed, no flakes or crunch and TOUGH. I am glad my teeth are strong or I couldn't even bite off the tough, seemingly days old bread. I have to make a concerted pull to get a bite. Call it 'Dutch Tough' or 'Dutch Flat." Lose the Crunch. It isn't there. New Manager? Maybe. This is a recent change. Doesn't matter - the once great owners have allowed their restaurant to raise prices and reduce quality - it's no longer a place I want to waste my money at or support. ...

From Sourdough to Sweet Potato: A Flavor-Packed Adventure I recently placed a delivery order through DoorDash and tried their build-your-own sandwich. I opted for turkey and provolone on toasted sourdough, with a side of chips and a white chocolate toffee cookie for dessert. I’m always on the lookout for great sourdough, and knowing they bake their own bread, I had to give it a shot.

The sandwich was incredible—massive in size and packed with flavor! The bread had that perfect sourdough crunch I crave, and the turkey and veggies were fresh and flavorful. I was starving but ended up eating only half and saved the rest for later—it was that filling.

Now, let’s talk about the chips. I was expecting your typical deli side—maybe a generic bag of chips—but instead, I was pleasantly surprised. These chips were homemade and a delightful mix of regular and sweet potatoes. My wife snagged most of the plain ones, so I mainly got the sweet potato chips, and wow—what a treat! The natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes paired with the coarse sea salt was the perfect combination. This was my first time having sweet potato chips, and it won’t be my last!

The cookie was the ultimate finisher. The balance between the white chocolate and toffee was spot on—neither flavor overwhelmed the other, which I appreciated. It had all the buttery goodness of a sugar cookie with just the right touch of sweetness. And the texture? Spot on. A chewy center with just the right amount of crunch around the edges.

If you’re looking for a deli that delivers both in taste and quality, Trenchers Delicatessen is the way to go. They exceeded my expectations and left me completely satisfied. 4 Stars! Highly...