May I interest you in deliciousness?

The top 10 dining hits from the 405 diningscape last month

Between, burgers, barbecue and Beard Awards, I haven’t had a chance to share my full May dining report.

Turns out there were 10 incredible dishes to choose from not including barbecue and burgers.  Coulda been a top 20! This list includes nary slider or rib tip. Not because Tabb Singleton’s Shoyu Pork Belly and house-made bologna wouldn’t have made the list but because my Top 5 barbecue  and Top 10 burger lists should suffice.

Singleton’s fare might’ve topped this list, but competition was fierce thanks to special dinners with chefs Jeff Chanchaleune and Kurt Fleischfresser and a shoot at chef Andrew Black’s Black Walnut and Grey Sweater. Between those three, I could’ve filled out this entire list so I chose a favorite from each. My trip to see Singleton did produce two entries from southeast Oklahoma. Enough already …

1.     Sashimi at Ma Der Lao Kitchen

Chef Jeff Chanchaleune entertained a private party hosted by Ba Luong and Bob Slater that included mayor David Holt. Jeff spared no effort to create a spectacular, unforgettable evening highlighted by a sashimi course derived directly from the renowned Tokyo Fish Market. It included Hokkaido scallop, Isaki, Aka Isaki, Red Cornet, Striped beakfish and Scorpion fish were on the menu. The red cornet and Scorpion fish tasted like two kinds of butter plucked from the sea.

2.     Beet Tart Tatin with Blue Cheese, The Hutch on Avondale

For a recent Dancing Crow Vineyards event at The Hutch, chef Kurt Fleischfresser single-handedly served a four-course dinner that included smoked salmon rillettes on house-made pumpernickel, and seared duck breast, but the mind-assault came from a dessert constructed on savory ingredients. Kurt’s Beet Tart Tatin looked like a sphere of sticky sweetness on arrival but the slowly cooked golden beet was brought to tenderness in a bath of butter and brown sugar then balanced by blue cheese crumbles. Barely sweet, it made the Zinfandel it was served with sing.

3.     Hamachi Crudo: Sedalia’s Oysters and Seafood

Served with a fennel puree, this was absolute heaven on a plate. Most months, it would’ve topped the list. It was the start to a truly memorable dinner.

4.     Grilled Watermelon Salad, Riserva

When I first started this newsletter, I promised formal restaurant reviews, requiring a minimum of three visits. Happy to report I am one visit away from a review of Riserva Tapas . Riserva is the latest addition to the 405 diningscape from Provisions Concepts (Culprits, Hatch Early Mood Food, Chickenfoot, Bandee’s Barbecue). Will plenty of more details about Riserva and where it ranks versus other Provisions properties, but I can tell you this salad with poblano whipped Feta is absolutely spectacular.

5.    Shrimp and Grits, Abendigo’s

Visiting chef Tabb Singleton last month at Phat Tabb’s BBQ, he told me about his time as executive chef at Abendigo’s in Hochatown. He explained what made it was the Creole Tomato Glaze that was neither Creole nor made of tomato. In fact, he told me it was Crystal’s Hot Sauce reduced with “a whole lotta sugar.” As luck would have it, I stayed at the State Lodge just minutes from Abendigo’s. I stopped in to find Tabb’s Shrimp and Grits with “Creole Tomato” glaze still topping it. It took one bite to understand why Tabb’s barbecue has a tendency to be transcendent.

6.     Cured Catfish, Nonesuch

Less than a week before he was crowned Best Chef Southwest by the James Beard Foundation, Andrew Black met me for dinner at Nonesuch. Chef Garrett Hare and crew treated us to an amazing 10-course culinary adventure. The standout was cured catfish bound and compressed in transglutaminase for more than half a day before it’s wrapped in collard greens and poached in pork fat. Before it arrives, it’s topped in a puree kohlrabi, turnip, vermouth, green peppercorns and allium and parsley sauce. Wow.

7. High Tea, The Gilded Acorn

Shooting a pair of episodes of “Eat, Drink & be Local” meant dining at Black Walnut, Grey Sweater and The Gilded Acorn in one day. Chef Black and chef Wyatt Rogers from Black Walnut treated us to an amazing array of flavors, but my favorite experience was High Tea at The Gilded Acorn. Tons of treats served on a beautiful display for a one-of-a-kind dining experience.

8.     Yellow Tail Special, Sushi Neko

Meetings at The Tasting Room with chefs often run long, but once they reach a certain point proximity to Sushi Neko occurs to someone and Yellow Tail Special will flow.

9.     Prime New York Strip, Pete’s Place

Krebs is known as Oklahoma’s Little Italy and Pete’s Place was where its tradition of pasta, Choc beer and lamb fries has long reigned. But owner Joe Prichard keeps a secret menu that includes prime New York Strips. This one was cooked to perfection.

10.  Birria Ramen, Remix Ramen

84 Hospitality’s newest concept, Remix Ramen, recently opened in Edmond Railyard. Ran into chef Brianna Shear, who helped developed the menu, that night. Great seeing her, and the Birria Ramen did not disappoint.

Tune In!

“Eat, Drink & be Local” airs on KSBI Channel 52 this Saturday at 4:30 with a repeat of our episode from Edge Craft Barbecue. Initially, we had an episode from Grey Sweater planned, but with chef Black’s win at the James Beard Awards we shot a fresh interview on Friday and will air it next week.

I’ll have some more news this weekend, regarding the state of the 405 diningscape’s breakfast game. I’ve got some favorites, and I’m sure you do, too. But I also have news about diners from breakfasts past and breakfasts yet to come.

Stay hungry.