Food Dood freedom has its price
Time to the pay the fiddler! (Please and thank you)
How about we start the week with something free? Like another week of free access to The Food Dood Feed! Initially intended to begin paid subscription service Monday but needed to take a meeting with Substack today and learned a few T’s and I’s remain uncrossed and undotted.
So this feed remains full gratis for another six days. (Don’t say I never gave you anything.)
Since I started this newsletter in late February, I’ve been blown away at the response. Beyond encouraging to find so many people passionate about the food and drink scene in Oklahoma and its historic foodways.
I’ll have more about subscriptions further down, but first an update on my ongoing Ma Der issues.
Chef Jeff Chanchaleune uses Mondays for chef collaborations, private events and pop-ups. On Monday, he reached back to the Japanese cuisine that earned him his first James Beard Foundation nomination.
To end July, Ma Der Izakaya hearkened to Gun Izakaya, may it rest in peace, and even included a fresh iteration of the Catfish Karaage it served with a selection of yakitori, including pork heart and chicken thighs. He also made a sando out of breaded Lao sai oui sausage and served tater tots with green curry mayo.
New to Chanchaleune’s Izakaya game was the Hokkaido Scallop Crudo he’s been dialing in for several months. Delectable.
Joining me for dinner was Nic’s Grill and Nic’s Place legends Justin “Nic” Nicholas and Jovon Bunkley. The longtime business partners were taking a night off from a recent spate of long days behind the grill. The long-dormant Nic’s Grill Food Truck recently started setting up at Wright’s Corner. On Thursdays, you’ll find them pushing gourmet baby Nic’s burgers with red-skinned potatoes and cupcakes Nic’s mother makes. (Don’t miss the carrot cake!)
On Monday, Nic fell under the spell of the pork belly skewers chef Jeff said roast for five hours at 200 degrees before he finishes them on the Binchotan grill. Day-um. Two doses of the luscious pork had Nic casting an iron start on the remaining skewered bites. We did nothing to break Nic’s gaze for fear he would go full-Doberman. Before we left, he ordered three more skewers and took two of them home, swearing he was going to eat one of them with eggs and hash browns the next morning.
Chanchaleune’s menu was again augmented by his sister Jeslyn, who runs the bar program. Love the Lychee Chuhai. Did I mention the shrimp shumai with XO sauce? Scrumptious comes to mind.
My two veteran restaurateur guests were most inspired by Chanchaleuene’s use of the Ma Der space. The two-time Beard nominee is closed Sunday for family and Monday for staff, but as I’ve written before he also uses Mondays to get creative – a benefit to the 405 diningscape and Chanchaleune’s soul.
Don’t be surprised when Nic and Jovon begin popping up creative uses of their spaces in the future. In the meantime, check Nic and Jovon out at Wright’s Corner every Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. And as I wrote last week, get on Ma Der’s email list or follow them on social media.
One thing Chanchaleune, Nic and Jovon have in common is their participation in Chefs Fest 2023. If you follow me on social media, you might’ve seen the reel I shot with Nic last Thursday. He plans to bring those baby gourmets and cupcakes to Super Cao Nguyen on Aug. 19, and I can confirm you don’t want to miss that.
Hopefully you don’t want to miss any of the news, reviews and views I share about Oklahoma food and drink and sign up for a Founders-level subscription. The added revenue helps ensure I have the time and tools needed to continue bringing you this content. It also makes you eligible for an exclusive Founders Members event I’m working putting together.
Paying subscribers will get the tastiest news in the 405 diningscape delivered directly to their inbox three times a week plus full access to the Food Dood Feed archive. Coverage includes formal restaurant reviews, exclusive content, and behind the scenes looks into the top kitchens in Oklahoma. Paid subscribers will also get first dibs and some discounts on tickets to Foodiciary events.
If another paid subscription isn’t in your budget, don’t worry! I’ll still have free dispatches once a week, too. Gift subscriptions will be available to give. Those who want to donate subscriptions can contact me for details.
To those of you who’ve already pledged financial support, a massive thank you. To those who choose to support this work going forward, bless you.
I’ll have the July Dining Report tomorrow along with some news and notes from around the diningscape. This weekend, get a look at the kind of reviews paid subscribers will get, featuring Riserva.
Please pledge your support today, and stay hungry.