The 2026 Best of the 405 issue is HERE. 🏆
Hundreds of thousands of votes. Millions of pageviews. The entire city showed up and did not disappoint.
To every nominee: We. See. You. We see you dreaming up an idea, we see you putting your vision into action, we see you perfecting your craft, we see you working all hours of the night, we see you putting yourself out there, we see you pouring your heart and soul into your livelihood, we see you overcoming obstacles and getting back up again. And we hope, on some level, knowing that you have made a positive impact on someone’s life and our community makes it all worth it!
Find the full issue online and see who took home the win. 🎉 Grab your copy at newsstands now!
ON THE COVER: Rose Creek Country Club, winner of Best Golf Course. Models Elaine Smith and Josh Sallee. Attire from Swing Eazy Golf & Vintage.
Photo by Jared Kinley.
The Boardwalk is complete and your OKANA adventure awaits!
Whether you’re chasing thrills in the waterpark, sipping your way through every menu, or melting into a massage at the spa, OKANA serves indulgence on your terms.
There’s no better way to kick off summer 🏖️
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking.
But in all honesty, @mattkirouacyork ’s list of floral cocktails is worth a read, and the “Oklahoma Rose” spritz from @jimmybsculinarykrafted is worth a sip!
After all, it’s almost Friday.🍹
Check the link in bio for the full round-up!
Cover photo by @maucierivisualsco
A hidden mirrored door. A secret powder bath. Custom millwork with perfectly matched grain. Britta Thrift fully reimagined this 1952 midcentury home.
Thrift came in with a vision and a team to match: interior designer Heather Gardner and architect Jeremy Gardner helped bring every detail to life, down to the rift sawn white oak that echoes the home’s signature linear lines.
Tap the link in bio to see the full transformation.
✍️ @evieholzer
📸 @justinmiersphoto
2026 BEST OF THE 405 🏆
Just a few of your favorites in the Shopping & Services categories. Find the full list of the 2026 Best of the 405 winners at the link in bio!
Kelsey Humphreys had built a career in L.A.; talk show host, journalist, influencer and speaker. Then 2020 hit, a hacker wiped her entire online presence, and she found herself back in Oklahoma with nothing to show for it.
So she stopped putting things out. Started reading instead. And somewhere in the quiet, four sisters showed up in her head and became the inspiration for her bestselling Heartlanders series.
Now she’s writing novels under three pen names, doing stand-up comedy at her own book signings, and raising a family of six kids that went from zero to chaos in under a year. Read the full story at the link in bio.
✍️ @_kristen_grace
📸 @kelsilainephoto
2026 BEST OF THE 405 🏆
Your OKC breakfast and coffee order, as chosen by the people. ☕🥞 Find the full list of the 2026 Best of the 405 Food & Drink winners at the link in bio!
@millietucker carries the kind of finds that make gifting feel effortless, and on May 8th, they’re celebrating the launch of their exclusive @baobabcollection with a sip ‘n shop from 3–6 p.m.
Drinks from the @sipsyschooner , stunning gifts for mom, and a few things you’ll want to keep for yourself.
Link in bio for more details and gift ideas!
Saturday morning plans ✅
Every Saturday from 9am–2pm, the Historic OKC Farmers Public Market fills up with local vendors selling fresh produce, pasture-raised meats, homemade jams, baked goods, honey, herbs, handmade crafts and more. It’s year-round, it’s local and it’s one of the best ways to spend a morning in the city.
Find them at 311 S. Klein Ave, and don’t forget to bring a bag. 🛍️
#OKC #OklahomaCity #OKCFarmersMarket #ShopLocal #SaturdayMarket
Long live Ling Long!
Ornate, gate-like doors open into a dining room with koi swimming across the ceiling, murals of the Chinese countryside and a menu that moves effortlessly between Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and beyond.
A Hong Kong native, Chef Chi came to OKC from New York, opened @takaramono_okc in the Plaza District, and saw something the city was missing—a space where authentic, affordable Asian food met serious interior design. “It’s kind of like a palace in Asia,” he says. “Luxury, but we still offer affordable food for the city.”
Order the sweet-and-sour pork served inside a hollowed pineapple or the cumin lamb skewers with mint jelly. And whatever you do, don’t skip dessert—the jasmine and matcha pudding topped with a milk blossom is unlike anything else in town.
Read more from @mattkirouacyork in the April issue.
📸 @maucierivisualsco
Painter. Illustrator. Author. Actor. Musician. David Lee Anderson doesn’t believe in doing just one thing.
It started in fourth grade, when his art teacher entered his work in a contest without telling him. He won $60 for his school’s art supplies. “I thought, ‘Oh, people will give you money for this,’” he recalled.
Decades later, he built a career illustrating sci-fi paperback covers, collaborated with celebrated authors, and painted Oklahoma landmarks so precisely that people mistake them for photographs. When the publishing world shifted, he shifted with it — picking up new tools, new technology and new projects without missing a beat.
Today he makes music for his band Starcruisers, is finishing a book he started in the ‘70s, and shows up to the studio every single day.
Read the full artist profile at the link in bio.
✍️ @evieholzer
Photography by @charlie_neuenschwander
Ashley Forrest always knew she was an artist. It just took a few detours—sales jobs, a pandemic, a relationship ending, a gallery closing—before she finally picked up a paintbrush again and let everything out. The result was an 18-foot canvas she called Super Tiger, the first piece she ever sold, and the moment everything changed.
Now working full-time from her sunlit home studio in Quail Creek, Forrest has built exactly what she set out to: something no one can take away. Forty original works sold last year. Four solo shows. A style so distinctive it stops you in your tracks.
Read her full artist profile at the link in bio.
✍️ @lavidoo
Photography by @charlie_neuenschwander
