Seafood in deadCenter country alive and well
VZD's announces departure from Western, future unclear
Oklahoma City’s deeply land-locked geographical location belies the amount of terrific seafood there is to be had in the 405 diningscape.
While it would be easy to thrust the credit for that on what’s happening at Sedalia’s Oysters and Seafood alone, a trip to Ma Der Lao Kitchen last week reminded me the state of our local seafood is outstanding.
But it was a trip to Sedalia’s that started me pondering how lucky it is to have a purveyor of seafood as talented as chef Zack Walters. But Zack’s wife and business partner Silvana brings plenty to the table. She runs front of the house, and her patio dining area was recently enclosed to stave off the fast-approaching summer heat and the service she and her staff provide is second to none.
A dinner visit before I headed to McCurtain County for a week included the finest Hamachi crudo I’ve come across, a stellar red crab salad, grilled octopus skewers over house-made aioli and topped with XO sauce, savory clams in a glorious miso broth with fennel shavings (sigh), and a lovely fried hake entrée. What Zack and Silvana have already accomplished while sharing space with a playground equipment business is the stuff of legend. Can’t wait to spend many summer evenings ahead to see what they have in store.
In pondering our Middle American seafood fortunes, I was reminded how oysters were among the restaurant offerings in nascent Oklahoma City. In the 1920s, Herman Bodgett moved to town and after working at several restaurants downtown, including Bishop’s, opened Herman’s Seafood. Herman’s served shrimp, oysters, pompano, swordfish, soft-shell crab and lobster under the amazing Herman’s sign until the 1980s. It moved around several times and was sold more than once, but Herman’s is no less legendary and helped pave the way for popular seafood spots from Der Dutchman to The Drake with Pearl’s Oyster Bar and Tokyo Restaurant in between.
Then on Monday, chef Jeff Chanchaleune took diners to the boundaries of the seafood envelope during a special dinner at Ma De Lao Kitchen I was fortune enough to attend.
With help from Nonesuch vets Colin Stringer, Randi Hirschman and Corey Orsburn, Chanchaleune dazzled a small dinner party hosted by Ba Luong of Super Cao Nguyen and attended by Oklahoma City’s first couple, David and Rachel Holt.
The mayor and his wife were among 20 lucky diners, also including chef Corey “Slawta” Harris of Off the Hook – which is another reason the 405 diningscape is seafood-rich. With help from Luong, Chanchaleune and crew dazzled the crowd with an eight-course dinner steeped in seafood from the Tokyo Fish Market.
After a lovely Kuromutsu Crudo in a delicate coconut zu, Chanchaleune unveiled a sashimi plate for the ages: 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.
The Hira Suzuki handroll that followed showed a new level of sophistication, bringing the dinner up a notch with a laab tartare of Blackfin sea bass, ohba and osetra caviar on a seaweed wrap. Delightful.
The Hokkaido scallop came back on an artful plate with apple, kohlrabi, yuzu, a kosho and pepper beurre blanc, herb oil, caviar and a milk bread fritter topped with crawfish and XO jam, Wow.
After a lovely course of local asparagus, we were off the surf and into turf. Stringer put together a tight dish of duck breast with duck-blood mole followed by a hearty beef tomahawk topped with caviar and sliced to share for each table.
Hirschman created a durian ice cream with toasted rice pudding cake for dessert that I won’t soon forget. Love watching talented culinary creatives like Randi wrestle a challenging ingredient like durian and come out on top. Bravo to all involved on Monday, including Luong and his co-host Bob Slater.
Those seafood experiences were manna from heaven between all the barbecue and burgers I’ve consumed the last couple of months, and a reminder of just how much the 405 diningscape has evolved. Quality seafood has always worked in this market, but choices have never been this remarkable.
VZD’s leaving its home on Western
On Friday, VZD’s Restaurant and Bar posted news about its future. The news was vague on most points, but clear was one thing: The historic bar and restaurant is leaving Western Avenue at summer’s end.
Ownership posted, in part: “It looks like our chapter at 4200 N. Western is unfortunately coming to a close. Ownership of the building we call home has changed as of the beginning of 2023, and while we’ve explored every option to try to remain tenants, our new landlords will be exploring other options for our current space.”
Sources close to the matter on several fronts indicate the landlord change resulted in a 50-percent rate hike. That section of Western Avenue is clearly prime real estate, but it will be interesting to see what kind of interest the market bears interest for space in a 100-year-old building with a leaky roof once its narrative is gone.
In recent years, co-owners Adam and Alex Aguilar bolstered the menu and music lineup at VZD’s. The glory days of the young Flaming Lips playing in the old Veazey’s Drug Store building hadn’t returned, but considering the pandemic it just survived things were working. Now, they’re planning a finale.
“We have come to terms with the current landlords to allow us to extend our lease through the end of the summer, so that you can have some time to come by, eat, drink, listen to our wonderful local musicians, and enjoy what remains of the last iteration of VZD’s as we know it.”
VZD’s last weekend on Western Avenue is Sept. 1 and 2. Wakeland will play shows each night. As for the future of VZD’s and the space, it’s completely up in the air.
“Everything that has a beginning also has an end. Having said that, we are also working on potential next steps, and if there are any further developments, you’ll all be the first to know.”
Sources tell me a version of VZD’s could emerge in Northpark Mall, but nothing is set. Chef Eric Smith said he will move The Crown Room north on Western where it will claim space in his sushi restaurant Pachinko. As for the old space, I also have knowledge of at least one local restaurateur who was offered terms but passed.
There is an unpleasant aroma surrounding the departure that leads me to believe this could be an arduous autumn for the venerable old Veazey’s Drug Store building. When VZD’s passed from previous owner Chad Bleakley to the current, there, too, was some bitterness. Wrestling for legacy brands can do that as historic narratives are hard to buy.
However, if there is any acrimony going forward, current VZD’s owners promise it won’t be them, writing, “We wish the new building owners and future tenants nothing but the best. This community is stronger together. Remember that.”
More to feed on this week
Thanks again to all of you currently subscribing to the Food Dood Feed. Things are evolving in positive directions, but the tax on my time recently has been more than budgeted. This post will be the first of at least three posts this week.
Look for a summer primer based on my recent trip to the southeast part of the state, and then there is the matter of hamburgers. I’ll be wrapping up National Hamburger Month with a new list, same with barbecue. And then there is the matter of May dining report. Competition for the No. 1 bite of the month is going to be fierce.
Stay hungry, my friends.