August dining burned up the calendar
More flavors to celebrate in the 405 diningscape
September is here with its collaborations, amazing tailgating opportunities and the great State Fair of Oklahoma, but let’s not forget about August just yet.
Amazing collaborations and a chance return to Santa Fe, New Mexico, fought for the top spot in the monthly top 10. It was a tight one, but a former Top Chef competitor took home this quick-fire challenge.
On the top 10 you’ll find an onion-burger taming a celebrity chef’s palate, two desserts, and an homage to McDonald’s the world needs to know about. You won’t find the pizza Rob Crissinger called, at 5:02 p.m. on Aug. 29th, the best pizza in Oklahoma (you’ll have to wait for the next Pizzabout), but you will see the creme brulee that made him do this…
Let’s not waste any more time and get straight to the list.
1. Pancit Palabok, Birdie’s by chef Kevin Lee
Birdie’s played host to a two-night extravaganza last month. I was only able to make it to the second one, but I’m glad I did. On a night of amazing dishes, chef Dale Talde’s dressed up Pancit Palabok made with blue crab, chicharrones, and trout roe, is the one I still find myself thinking about.
2. Grilled Beef Pita, Ma Der Lao Kitchen
Good food spilled out of the kitchen all night at Ma Der Lao Kitchen during the Jun collaboration, but my favorite was the Snake River Farms beef skewers that came with a toasted rice pita for a Southeast Asian expression of shawarma.
3. Cochinita Pibil with Oaxacan Black Mole, Zacatlan (Santa Fe, NM)
My second trip to Zacatlan this year was even better than the first. Chef Eduardo Rodriguez’s shabby chic restaurant in downtown Santa Fe features interior Mexican cuisine in the heart of green chile country. My lunch there in the spring was delicious, but this recent dinner was transcendent thanks to the merger of two Mexican classics, cochinita pibil and Oaxacan black mole. It came with a potted tamale. The Bunuelos for dessert weren’t far behind.
4. Sheet Tray Nachos, Mexican Radio
Upon stepping into the brand-new Mexican Radio, I was reintroduced to the Sheeet Tray Nachos. This is the best iteration of nachos that don’t include tortilla chips I’ve ever had. Instead, Mexican Radio serves its queso, beef, and jalapenos beneath an enormous version of the singular hashbrown made famous at McDonald’s. Can’t wait until someone figures out this idea also works for brunch.
5. Tacos, El Chilango
El Chilango is one of a number of fantastic taquerias on the south side, but this one has mustered enough energy to grow a new location downtown. On a trip to the original location at SW 44th and May with Feeder Glen Cosper. We enjoyed a flautas, tostada chips and a board topped with pulled pork and tortillas for lunch. The service is fast, and the energy is high, but the food has elevated local taqueria standards.
6. Chicken sandwich, Alma
Chef Zach Hutton added lunch service about a month ago. Caught up Nathan Poppe of The Curbside Chronicle over lunch at Alma last week and fell into one of the finest fried-chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a while. Nothing fancy here other than incredible local ingredients and expertly executed sandwich topped with house pickles.
7. Bo Kho, Paris Banh Mi
Paris Banh Mi has two locations in the 405 diningscape, but the one in Norman has proven to be the better bet. This classic Vietnamese stew will be familiar to fans of Sunday pot roast. However, this bowl comes with a whole French baguette for sopping.
8. Crème Brulee, Flour & Fennel
A trip to Cashion with Rob Crissinger for pizza landed us in front of a bowl of crème brulee I’m not likely to soon forget. Not because it’s best one I ever had, but because it was apparently the first good one Rob had ever had. Chef/owner Carlos Martinez was teaching his staff how to make custard whilst Rob and I were cycling through his otherworldly sour dough-crusted pizzas.
9. Fried-onion burger, Tucker’s Onion Burgers
The burger I enjoyed last month wasn’t a burger I ate at all – but have many times. Chef Nini Nguyen was in town last week to launch her new book Dac Biet and collaborate with chef Jeff Chanchaleune at Birdie’s by chef Kevin Lee. With time running out on her trip Saturday, Nini knew she couldn’t leave town with trying a classic fried-onion burger. Birdie’s is conveniently located about two minutes from a Tucker’s Onion Burgers location, and the result was absolutely delicious to behold.
10. Black Walnut Cake, Black Walnut
The best was saved for last during a recent dinner at chef Andrew Black’s casual Deep Deuce eatery next to Grey Sweater. A bowl of the signature dessert topped with ice cream, fresh blueberries and strawberries, rum sauce, and oats was the winner.
Smoked Brown Sugar Old-Fashioned, Birdie’s by chef Kevin Lee
Birdie’s chief barkeep Emma Prilaman collaborated with Wanderfolk Spirits on a special bar menu. Her variation on the bourbon classic included Same Old Moses PX Sherry Bourbon, a house-made smoked brown sugar simple syrup, two kinds of bitters and a little smoked mesquite — no smoke sun required.