Those worried about Vast without Fleischfresser, avast there!

And a vast thanks

Welcome to The Food Dood Feed on a post-tornadic Monday. Hope everyone came through unscathed. This is the first of what I hope will be many manic Monday communiques. Going forward, Mondays will set the tone for the week ahead and review and update stories from the recent past.

Last week, for instance, the news of chef Kurt Fleischfresser’s imminent departure from Vast was broken right here. As mentioned, he will be posting up mostly from The Tasting Room, but he will also help out at The Hutch on Avondale where chef John Conway minds the stove. Conway did remarkable things at The Jones Assembly as pastry chef. Here’s hoping his baking skills are highlighted going forward. I’ve also dropped by Vast for lunch, and that’s where the first Week to Weak Lunch Report begins.

The Week to Weak Lunch Report

Chef Danh Do, a Coach House Apprenticeship Program grad, now runs lunch service at Vast. Danh was most recently the executive chef for Gogi Go!, overseeing two locations. Now he’s got Daily Table duties at Vast, and he and his crew feature a carving station plus a variety of salads, soups, sides, and desserts. Monday’s garlic sausage should be served somewhere every day, and it was a hoot seeing The Coach House Salad return to the market. Bibb lettuce, slivered almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette are the key ingredients. The lunch before featured an eggplant hash I still can’t get out of my mind.

The only weakness in my recent lunch game came from much-loved Café Antigua. This place has been in my top 3 breakfast haunts for close to 20 years, and the Huevos Motulenos is my favorite breakfast in the city. On Saturday, I had that dish and it delivered but Antigua was suffering from the post-pandemic labor-shortage blues ailing most businesses these days. From coffee that got lost to chorizo appearing only on half of the dish, this was not its best day.

Will I go back? Of course. I wasn’t even mad, but I did promise to report on the weak points as well as the high.

Finally, I am open to your lunch recommendations. I want to get all over the city to eat and try any and all kinds of cuisine. Just shoot me an email or leave a suggestion in the comments.

Burger beefing

Mentioned in my first post that I would soon post a new list of my favorite burgers in the 405 diningscape, which includes anywhere in the 405 area code.

I am starting with the list of local burger joints currently in my current top 5

1.       Nic’s Grill

2.       Sid’s Diner

3.       Bar Arbolada/The Flycatcher Club

4.       Tucker’s Onion Burgers

5.       Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler

Now, I’m sure that little list got a lot of people’s blood boiling, but that’s okay. Provocation is next to Godliness when it comes to gaining attention in the digital world. Don’t bother @ing me with your fierce takes on Ron’s or Robert’s or Dan’s Old Time Diner or even a Big Bevburger from Beverly’s. I am re-racking the list and plan to make it at least a top 10, if not more. The work is under way.

One place bound for the list just opened, and that is Sun Cattle Co. Look for first impressions here on Friday. Without giving too much away, I will tell you that Sun Cattle Co. has crossed the streams of Oklahoma City burger history and I loved it.

Plan on taking my second visit Friday, and after that me and my secret burger sensei will revisit the aforementioned Top 5 (6 if you count Flycatcher and Arbolada as two places) plus many others. I will be looking for recommendations. Whether you have a favorite or make one you think will be my favorite, let me know and we will get it added to the list.

We will not be considering anything other than burgers for the list. I love fries and onion rings so much, they get lists of their own.

Finally, did I mention Oklahoma burger history will soon be the subject of national coverage? No? Then I must not have mentioned the folks behind that coverage will be in town shooting in April. More details soon.

Thanks, y’all

So, response to the new newsletter smashed all original goals. Thanks to everyone who jumped in quickly with a subscription. Massive thanks to those of you who pledged financial support going forward. Honestly overwhelmed by the early response. Overwhelmed and heartened.

The end of February has become a challenging time of year for me and my family since 2017. Many of you will remember we lost our precious Luke Cathey to an accidental drug overdose on Feb. 27 of that year.

Ironically, I grew up loving this time of year because Feb. 28 was my “second birthday,” which was something none of the other kids had. Not referencing being “born again” in the vernacular of the Church of Christ congregation my family belonged to. Nope, Feb. 28 commemorated the day I was adopted by George and Lila Cathey, then of Chula Vista, Calif.

Not every kid who is adopted celebrates a second birthday, but my actual birthday (Dec. 26) is in uncomfortable proximity to the birthday of the aforementioned gent our church was named after. Nobody was coming to a balloon-popping fest with bad sheet cake the day after Christmas.

After Luke passed away, this time of year has had me keeping a low profile. But last year I made it out to Black Walnut for a dinner that I haven’t yet forgotten, which cleared the way to plan a weekend getaway to Tulsa this year followed by another amazing lunch at Vast.

Each year, it seems, since Luke’s passing, fate sends a message-bearing dove in a new form – this year via this Instagram message I received yesterday:

Hello! My name is Payton Jons, I was pretty good friends with your son Luke. We had worked at City bites together and then he had gotten me the job at Nhinja sushi, this must be so odd to receive this message and I am so sorry. I know tomorrow is the date he passed away and I am thinking about him immensely, it is also my birthday tomorrow. I was wondering if you would possibly let me know if there is a burial where I could pay my respects?

I told Payton we had Luke cremated, and his remains are not far from me right now. I also told her the best way to celebrate Luke was to visit a great local restaurant. The last time he and I dined at Goro Ramen it was to celebrate his 19^th birthday. Knowing he spent his last birthday celebrating great food made by a chef he greatly admired in Jeff Chanchaleune gives me peace to this day.

If you’re like Payton and have fond memories of my boy, celebrate his memory this week supporting local chefs.

Thanks again, and be sure to wish Payton a happy birthday if you know her.

Speaking of Instagram, tune in Wednesday for new content, and I will post a Best of the Month dining report for February that day here.