Bye Bye Birdie's; hello Chef Kevin Heaven

Chef Kevin Lee previews his ambitions in the first of a series of special dinners

The farewell to Birdie’s (Fried) Fried Chicken is Saturday, but on Monday chef/owner Kevin Lee offered a glimpse at what to expect when he reopens the space as Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee next month.

Reaching with equal passion into his culture and cheffing roots, Lee looks to stir up a new view of Korean cuisine and chef-driven dining.

“This is more of who I am,” he told me last week at Edmond’s Bulgogi Korean Bistro over a succession of traditional dishes from his home country. “Korean food is really popular right now, but I’m gonna use my training and travels to put my own spin on it. There won’t be anything like it in Oklahoma.”

At Bulgogi, we had the eponymous beef-and-rice dish. I asked Kevin whether or not mirin was used to sweeten it.

“Nah, simpler than that,” he said. “Probably just brown sugar.”

Bulgogi, bibimbap and banchan from Bulgogi Korean Bistro in Edmond

Soft Tofu Stew from Bulgogi Korean Bistro in Edmond

We also shared traditional bibimbap, which Lee plans to feature on the menu, and silky tofu soup. Devoted as I am to both bulgogi and bibimbap, the soup with its tofu that vanishes the instant it hits the palate was the winner on that cold day.

For his first dinner preview on Tuesday, Lee served a five-course tasting menu revolving around the spirit of banchan – the collection of condiments and small bites part and parcel to Korean food. He and his staff served a sellout crowd of about 20 a succession of shareable dishes steeped in Korean cuisine but inspired by Kevin’s culinary journey.

He served a Hamachi crudo unlike any the 405 diningscape has tasted. Using gochugaru, the spicy chili blend used to make kimchi, Lee created a bowl with a myriad of flavors and textures like salted cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes to support hog-tied yellowtail. The underlying flame built with each buttery bite, and by the end the room was a collective sigh.

Traditional scallion pancakes arrived in a new suit. Using chickpea flour, Lee’s pancake was streaked with cheese and served with toasted chickpea ranch, chives and salmon roe. Chickpea flour proved to be a worthy stand-in, lassoing a hint of Oklahoma’s deep-rooted Lebanese culture and Lee’s embrace of quality Ranch dressing was refreshing. Honey Garlic Brussels sprouts were toothsome and sweet, balanced by a breathtaking chili-crisp yogurt.

Lee’s Shellfish Rose Tteoktokki is a masterpiece in the making. He’s been toying with this classic Korean dish that gathers thick, chewy rice cakes in a fiery bath of creamy, rich chili sauce. Lee created a version for Chefs Fest in August, then in November he added burnt ends from Butcher BBQ Stand for variation. On Monday, he added mussels, clams and shrimp, which might get it into a Cioppino wedding without raising questions. The spicy vaporous sauce whispered to my soul and beckoned me to drain the bowl – and drain it I did.

The entrée course was all about Wagyu beef. Lee served traditional bibimbap in a sizzling dolsot. The Wagyu shared space with fresh veggies over rice and hid under a fried egg with loose yolk. Gochuchang is last to mix in to create a rich-get-richer iteration of the classic.

Lee also served a Wagyu Strip sliced over a bed of sliced onions on a sizzling platter with a sidecar of leafy vegetables for scooping.  Pickled radish added texture to this showstopper. Choosing between perilla leaf chimichurri, peanut samjang, and garlic gochuchang mustard sauce for dipping was far more difficult than pressing a fork through the succulent steak. NomNomNomNom

The evening ended on a sweet note with Black Sesame Crème Brulee, but I really just wanted more Wagyu. We also sampled a couple of the new cocktails coming to Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee. Penicillin is a blend of Japanese whisky, lemon, rosemary and Asian pear. The Korean Gimlet invites gochujang in with the gin along with some citrus and raspberry. The spicy addition made it tingle like a fizzy lifting drink Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas might make for Happy Hour.

You’ve got a couple more days to get over to Birdie’s for double-fried chicken and a chance to get on the email list first for Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee.

Paying subscribers can keep reading for details about what’s coming next to the spot Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler called home in south Oklahoma City since 1983, a chef visiting from The Big Easy in January, and how innovation might steer restaurants into calmer waters.

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