January starts 2024 off with style and flavor
Check out the best bites from the 405 diningscape last month
And just like that, 2024 is one-month old. With February harboring a collision course between Mardi Gras and the Lunar New Year, the hour is nigh to share my dining report for January 2024.
As proud as January might be of starting each year, once the Super Bowl moved to February the year’s inaugural stanza lost its one excuse for bacchanalia amid 31 days of attempted diet recovery. Never fear, Feeders, the path to a Top 10 was crowded as ever.
This month’s list includes cuisine from France, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, China, Belgium, and Greece. Not bad, coming from the paunchy overhang of America’s Heartland. Before we get into the list, be warned. Next month is going to be competitive. As mentioned, Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year cross swords beginning next week, which naturally raises the collective deliciosity levels on their own. Then chef Jeff Chanchaleune collaborated with chef Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen and the forthcoming Vinai on Monday and Kevin Lee is bound to introduce the catfish bites he tested last month for a Made in Oklahoma event on Wednesday for his Food Network watch party.
But enough about February. It’s short enough that by the time its list posts, it’ll feel like only yesterday we were talking about how January started with a trip to Fait Maison, the 405 diningscape’s most resolutely French restaurant.
1. Ratatouille, Fait Maison
Last fall, I asked chef Alain Buthion of La Baguette Bistro who he thought was the best chef working in Oklahoma, and his answer was immediate: Olivier Bouzerand. “The things this guy is doing? Incredible. No one is close to him,” Alain said. On the night before Bouzerand updated the tasting menu, I stopped in for dinner. With the menu changing, we opted to order from the menu. Dover sole, roasted duck, escargot, fresh-baked breads and an avant garde Caesar salad Bouzerand said he “hates” were all equal parts beautiful and delicious. Among a dazzling array of amuse bouches through the evening, I can’t imagine what will trigger happier memories than the blue cheese macaron. Oh, wait. Yeah, I do. The ratatouille. Amid this expression of culinary craft that arrived in waves, a simple ratatouille transcended to art. Simple, elegant and precisely constructed, squash, eqqplant and tomatoes are sliced wafer-thin and arranged in a tidy bouquet of color. Each bite was a gift to be slowly savored. A reminder of how God’s best produce crafted with high-quality butter paves a simple, delicious path toward culinary art. NomNomNomNom
2. Kimchi Pancake, Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee
Between Fait Maison on Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee, this Top 10 could’ve been obnoxiously exclusive. I made myself pick one item from Lee’s inaugural menu, and it is the Kimchi Pancake. I’ve eaten that dish four different times, and each time it has gotten better. The last time I had it was just before month’s end, and the crust was markedly crispier and the consistency uniform. The joy of tasting a dish that hits its intended bull’s-eye after a couple narrow misses is hard to describe. Yes, you’ll want to get into some Wagyu strip, bibimbap and hamachi crudo, but don’t miss this pancake. Crunch is life.
3. Head Cheese burger, Tiger Style
In November, chef Caleb Stangroom welcomed chef Zach Hutton into his kitchen at Bradford House for a collaboration. Hutton reciprocated the last day of January, hosting Stangroom’s inaugural Tiger Style pop-up. Tiger Style is the banner under which Stangroom is staking his off-book culinary aspirations. He remains executive chef at Bradford House and house no plans to move, but throughout 2024 he will host Tiger Style pop-ups. That includes one at Bradford House and another with chef Eric Smith at Pachinko. For the first one at GHST, he again presented Fried Head Cheese, but this time on a burger and I believe we have found it’s final resting place. NomNomNomNom
4. Seafood Party, El Sabor de la Baja
Working on a story for Edible OKC that will be out next month got me in front of a Seafood Party with a group of enthusiastic first-timers. Five of us feasted on two kinds of ceviche, fried fish, shrimp, octopus, escabeche and two tacos for under $90. Everyone took home leftovers. That’s delicious all by itself. Once you start eating in earnest, the party doesn’t feel like it’s ever gonna stop. NomNomNom
5. Crispy Hotate, Ocean 81 Sushi Bar
Japanese for scallop, the pronunciation of hotate is closer to potatey than potentate. But these here hotates aren’t crispy, it’s the rice cakes they come riding on that bring the crunch. These here hotates are seared, loaded on the cakes then garnished with lemon aioli. Did I mention crunch is life?
6. Taro Balls, Grand House China Bistro
You just know 2024 is going to work out since I started it with dim sum at Grand House. The highlight that New Year’s Day was crispy Taro Balls filled with pork sausage, but at last learning to love, not just tolerate, chicken feet was a close second. Nomnomnom
7. Chicken Biryani, Kebabish Bites
Chef Kurt Fleischfresser guided a lunch train down to Norman to dine with chef Waseem Ahmed at Kebabish Bites. This time it was the Chicken Biryani that had me coming back for more. Nomnomnom
8. Coneys, Coney Island No. 2
Sometimes, when the weather and the mood are just right, you can’t fend off the hankering for a Coney. That happened last month when I happened to be very near Capitol Hill. You know how this played out. Take me out to the ballgame
9. Liege Waffles, Fox & Rye
Chef Ryan Richardson recently added breakfast to the menu at Fox & Rye in Edmond. If you make it up, you’ll want to get into the Liege Waffles – but maybe for dessert. Breakfast for dessert is a thing
10. Fried chicken, Boom! Chicken
Chef Jonathon Stranger’s newest venture is pretty simple: fried chicken, fries and cinnamon toast. The genius is in keeping it simple, but the green goddess Zap sauce and gochujang-based Boom sauce are its secret weapons. NomNom
And one cocktail, from Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee barkeep Emma Prilaman. Kevin snared Emma as his bar manager just in time to get his new concept up and running. Last month, I tried her Seoul Elixer – bearing spiced gin, pear liqueur, turmeric, ginger tea, and blue cornflowers — and liked it so much I had another. While I was enjoying the ‘nother, I wondered how many it would’ve taken for 25-year-old me to cry uncle. Cheers!
More news due tomorrow including an update from the Britton District, intel on Mexican restaurants new and old making moves and more.