I decided some cheese from Oklahoma’s “Little Italy” might be a good excuse for a road trip to break the pandemic blues. Only 2 hours from either Tulsa or Oklahoma City, tiny Krebs, Oklahoma is a pleasant day trip – as long as you avoid the speed traps. For this trip we headed south from Tulsa on Highway 75.
Near Glenpool we passed the oil tank farms on the east side of the highway. On the opposite side of the highway was where J. Paul Getty got his start with the Glenn Pool Oil Field.
Continuing south, at Okmulgee, we stopped to see the Creek National Capitol. Located in downtown Okmulgee the two-story brick building was built in 1878.
African-Americans also played a major role in building the town of Okmulgee. About 1,000 African-American slaves were moved from Alabama and Georgia in the 1830s by their Muscogee Creek “owners” to the Okmulgee area. After Emancipation, many of the African-Americans were accepted into the Creek Nation and were known as the “Creek Freedmen”. Several blocks of downtown Okmulgee comprised the black commercial district and a few of the buildings remain.
Back on the road, headed south, we entered the Indian Nations Turnpike at Henrietta and made the transition from the sandstone hills of central and northern Oklahoma to the eastern mountains scrub oak forests. Near the city of McAlester, we exited the turnpike at Highway 270 and headed east 7 miles toward Krebs. Famous for its Italian restaurants and shops, Krebs may look sleepy in the daytime but at night it is packed with diners from the surrounding region.
People drive from Tulsa or Oklahoma City just to have a great Italian dinner at the Isle of Capri, Pete’s Place or Roseanna’s and pick up some delicious Caciocavello cheese from Lovera’s shop – my destination for the day. Why fine Italian food in a town of 2,000 people in rural Oklahoma?
It started with coal. Coal mines sprouted up in this area of the Choctaw Nation in the 1880s and attracted coal miners from Europe – many of them Italian.
Much of the land belonged to Native Americans and was exempt from U.S. Federal safety regulations. The immigrants worked in semi feudal conditions earning scrip issued by the coal companies. A Catholic Church and an opera house were the first two brick buildings in the town. We were on our way to see the old church when we stumbled across a monument to a disaster we’d never even heard of. A horrific mine disaster here in 1892 had killed 96 men and boys. The monument had been erected near the old mine entrance in Krebs. To my amazement I learned that the town of Krebs sits on top of the old mine and to this day has problems with soil subsidence.
This wasn’t the only mine disaster in this area. Lax safety standards led to another disaster in 1929 that killed 53, 25 of whom were Mexicans. The Calvary Cemetery near Krebs has a mass grave for these Mexican miners. Will Rogers, the famous Oklahoma comedian and movie star raised $70,000 from around the country for the families of the victims.
After the coal boom fizzled many of the Italians stayed on and started businesses. My destination today was Lovera’s, a traditional Italian food shop a block off of Washington Avenue, the main street through the town. The tiny stone market is in a building built in 1910 and named for Sam Lovera who grew up in an apartment on the top of the building and passed away in early 2020. His children run the shop now. Sam grew the business over the years on the popularity of his smoked Italian sausage and caciocavello cheese that are produced in a building across the street. The Italian name of this stretch-cured cheese is caciocavallo which literally means “horse cheese”, a name derived from how two cheeses are bound together by rope and left to mature by placing them in a “cavallo” or upon a horizontal stick.
We bought a tasty caprese sandwich made with the cheese and enjoyed it at a table outside the front door while we listened to summer locusts trill and watched customers come and go.
After loading up on caciocavella ($20 for two) we headed over to Pete’s Place for their famous Italian dishes and Choc Beer. “Choc” is short for Choctaw. Although I didn’t try it, lamb fries are also famous here. Although top quality, the food here is not cheap and plates average around $20-25. It’s also not vegetarian-friendly as nearly everything on the dinner menu has meat in it.
Down the street, Roseanna’s has a more extensive menu that is slightly less expensive and includes vegetarian options such as gnocchi and meat-free pastas. The Isle of Capri has a comparatively limited menu focused on steaks and seafood. The parking lots are always full in the evenings.
On the way back to Tulsa we stopped in next-door McAlester to visit the giant “lump-o-coal” in front of the huge Scottish Rite building and to pick up some Habanero Wine at Whispering Meadows Winery on Choctaw Avenue. The winery itself is 17 miles outside of town but visitors to this old 1901 jewelry store with curved glass windows can line up at the tasting bar to try out the Oklahoma wines. Since I was driving the 95 miles back to Tulsa I took it to go.
Getting to Krebs
The only way to get there is by car. From Tulsa, take US-75 south to the Indian Nations Turnpike entrance at Henrietta. Continue south on the turnpike and take exit 70 for US-270 toward McAlester/Calvin. After 6.5 miles take a slight right onto OK-31 East. In a little over a mile you have arrived in Krebs.
