Musical chairs opens a place in Plaza for Osteria
Plaza players find a property solution when a Stranger calls
Last winter chef Jonathon Stranger closed Osteria, one of two Italian restaurants he owns in the 405 diningscape, with plans to reopen it in the Britton district. Stranger had already succeeded in Britton with his homage to New Mexico, El Coyote. Osteria would’ve been more wind for the former suburb turned entertainment district.
After a couple of lease agreement fell through, Stranger noticed the summer road project running through Britton Road east of the railroad tracks and N Western Avenue was going to stretch deep into fall. From his perch at El Coyote, adding another business to the area looked remote.
Then a game of restaurant musical chairs broke out between the NW 16th Street Plaza District and Midtown. First, a Louie’s Bar & Grill closed in Midtown. Not sure anyone shed a tear for that exit, especially when it caught the eye of A Good Egg Dining group. President Keith Paul decided the spot would be a better match for his group’s Tex-Mex cantina, Mexican Radio.
Last month, Mexican Radio pulled up stakes from the center of The Plaza and moved its tacos, sheet tray nachos and Dole Whip Margaritas to Midtown. Mexican Radio, now sporting counter service and a spacious patio, opened two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Mexican Radio’s old home in The Plaza became the new home to Aurora. Originally opened in late 2017, owners Jamie and Jordan Winteroth bought the restaurant with partner Cody Barnett in 2019 from founders Aimee and Jeff Struble. The new Aurora is also now opened.
That left the dining room at the corner of NW 16th and Blackwelder dark and seeking the comfort of a stranger. A Jonathan Stranger.
Over coffee at Zero Tolerance Coffee and Chocolate, Stranger explained how Osteria future detoured from Britton to The Plaza.
“We’re using the time to reconceive Osteria,” Stranger said. “When it reopens, it’s going to have a different feel. Different menu.”
He was mum on details for the new offerings other than to say he and chef Ricky George are working on it together. George recently toured New York City for inspiration. Stranger did divulge one subtraction from the menu and why.
“We won’t be doing pizza anymore. The Plaza already has a great pizza place,” he said in reference to the original Empire Slice House. “But there is definitely a lane for something a little more grown up. A place where you can have a glass a wine with friends, you know. But this is a residential area, and we want to offer the neighborhood a place with simple, delicious food.”
Stranger’s One Table Hospitality also has Bar Cicchetti and El Coyote under the umbrella. He also does a fair amount of consulting. His Boom! Chicken takeout fried chicken carries franchising DNA that echoes Oklahoma City OG Beverly’s Chicken in the Rough. Stranger is aggressively exploring those possibilities but doesn’t foresee expansion beyond that right now.
He said what he wants to do more than anything is find ways to spend more time with his young family of four. He believes dialing in operations at his existing restaurants will pave the way for that. Once Osteria has re-established itself in The Plaza he can get on with that.
So when will Osteria rise in The Plaza?
“We’ll see,” Stranger laughed. “We could open in late October or early November, but if it starts to drift into the holidays, we might just push until early next year. Would hate to open in the middle of the holidays.”
He paused to let a sheepish grin pass.
“Like I said, we’ll see.”
No Waiting at Oshiki!
While we’re waiting for Osteria to arrive, there is new Japanese cuisine to try on The Plaza. Soft opening continues for the new Japanese steakhouse Oshiki, which has set up shop in the classic Photo Art building.
After years in which the only sushi on The Plaza came from periodic Ma Der Lao Kitchen events will soon have two places to find it. Work is under way on the former Oak & Ore space for Takaramono arrive from Quail Springs Mall.
Collab at Kindred Spirits & more
Chef Gabriel Lewis, the two-time "MasterChef" star, will collaborate with chef Quentin Hairston of The Chalkboard at Kindred Spirits, 1726 NE 23 St., on Monday. Festivities start at 6 p.m. and will feature a menu including patacón, dumplings, chicken, pizza and dessert. …
It appears The Big Apple has an onion burger problem. Thanks to George Motz, the whole world now knows about fried-onion burgers and can even have one in Gotham at his Hamburger America Restaurant. Now The New York Times is waxing poetic about Oklahoma’s chief burger resource. However, instead of a trip to El Reno, the folks from New York stopped off at Sun Cattle Company to get one.
Everyone knows I love me some Sun Cattle, and it’s garnered a lot of attention outside of Oklahoma. First, came the famously store-bought opinion of former Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, who gushed over Sun Cattle. Not sure how shoveling shite for the cameras made Mike Rowe an expert on anything other than shite-shoveling, but, hey, he’s famous. On the otherhand, a nod from The New York Times is real cause for celebration. Might have to run down for a fried PB&J for the occasion. …
Provisions Kitchens announced on Social Media that Chicken Foot was closing its Chisholm Creek. The fried chicken concept took over its space after Hopdoddy closed four years ago. In the same post, Provisions announced the staff was moving to Chicken Foot’s new home at Fox Lake in Edmond. …
A while back, Feeders learned first about the closing of The Drum Room. Can tell you now that the space is going to continue to serve fried chicken, but it will be straight out of Arcadia. After considering expansion into El Reno a couple of years ago, Chicken Shack owner Ed Gochenour is keeping it simple and making a takeout spot out of the turnkey space. Chicken Shack 2 Go opens early next month. Despite the take-out bones, Gochenour doesn’t do anything without a full bar and the promise of live music. …
Finally, an update from chef Bruce Rinehart’s ongoing battle with cancer. Bruce is feeling okay and treatments are ongoing, but he is awaiting pathology to learn next steps. To meet the challenges ahead, he’s seeking strength from the community not only for him but his family, which extends to Rococo. God bless, brother.