Turkey-free dining wins this November

If you dined at The Bradford House, the time has come to change that

And just like that’s 2023 is down to a few measly weeks.

We are hurtling down the holiday stretch, so I need to get the November dining report shared before we’re popping champagne! Side note! New Year’s Eve falls on Sunday this month, meaning you’ve got a whole weekend to scratch that itch for special dining plans for New Year’s Eve. Pro tip: Make your reservations now!

Before I get too deep into November’s deliciosity, another massive thank you to Peter Schaffer and Alberto Fonseca at Kaiser’s Grateful Bean for hosting the Luke Cathey Memorial Thanksgiving meal. We served free Thanksgiving feasts to a wide range of folks on a sunny Thanksgiving this year. Without a doubt the smiles and appreciation shared that day were the No. 1 most satisfying thing I experienced in November.

December has already proven to be a challenging month with restaurants like Birdie’s Fried Chicken and Osteria rebranding while others like Ludivine and Ned’s Starlite Lounge went dark in perpetuity. It’s a stark reminder that inflation is real, and the long-tail of the pandemic is just beginning to strike.

Now to November’s top eats, which will feature neither turkey nor dressing, pecan pie nor pumpkin. It was tough this month. Not on the list but certainly memorable was a wine dinner at The Tasting Room from chef Kurt Fleischfresser and Jason Jones, especially the empanadas. The new Burger Punk in Britton proved up to standards, the Khao Soi at Ma Der Lao Kitchen continues to be the best Thursday-only item in Oklahoma, Steve Gill remains a fantastic lunchmate, and a rare warm, sunny fall morning at Evoke for coffee and Twisted Tree Baking Co. pastries was everything.

As for the Top 10, The Bradford House makes a couple of appearances on the list for a couple different reasons, but let me preface it by saying chef Caleb Stangroom is steering one of the hottest kitchens in the city. I promised a better look at the leeks he landed on last month’s list, it is below.

Now let’s take the list from the top…

1.       The Bradford House/Mushroom Pie

In four trips to The Bradford House over the last six weeks, the simple mushroom pie is the dish that never lingers far from my imagination. It’s a simple pastry created from scratch stuffed with a sigh-insistent mushroom medley conceived by prep cook Andrew Landrith served with classic bechamel for sopping. ‘Shrooms, dude!

2. The Crown Room (fea. The Big Kahuna)/Salmon Custard

Spent a couple of evenings eating chef Kurt Fleischfresser’s food in November, including a quick visit before he fed a roomful at The Crown Room with chef Eric Smith at Pachinko. Before he served diners, Kurt slipped salmon custard with chefs Gabriel Lewis, Kevin Lee and me for quality control. As Eric said, “The old dude’s still got it.” NomNomNomNomNom

3.       The Bradford House/Guest Chef Dinner

One of the four recent trips I’ve made to Bradford House was for a special Guest Chef dinner with Zach Hutton. The dinner came less than a week after Zach, a 2021 James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist, announced he and his wife Kayla Shenold were closing Scratch Paseo. Zach and Kayla worked with chef Caleb Stangroom to create a spectacular seven-course meal plus snacks cocktail pairings. The menu was brilliant, and my favorite dish out of a litany of them was the Scallops with Carrot Caramel and smoke Sunchoke emulsion, er, I mean the Head Cheese with Quail Egg and Damned Good Gravy. I can’t make up my mind. I do remember the rough draft version Stangroom made for Chefs Fest back in August being spectacular, but on this night it was center of the plate and topped with a sunyside quail egg. Day-um,

4.       Symmetry/Chicken Breast

Sat down with Symmetry owners Jason Pool and Dave Osborn a few days before their grand opening for a tasting from chef Glenn Scott. Had a ton of great items that day, but the Chicken Breast, yest Chicken Breast, stood out. The menu description belies a bone-in breast with the wing and crispy skin served with Saffron Cream and Calabrian Romesco. Blistered padron peppers give the dish a nice little zing. More please!

5. The Butcher BBQ Stand/Burnt Ends

One sunny Friday November afternoon, Butcher BBQ Stand owner Levi Bouska hosted a gaggle of Oklahoma chefs, including Jeff Chanchaleune, Kevin Lee, and Ben Alexander, to host chefs Danny Bowien and Patty Lee plus a New York videographer named Diego, who were in town to shoot a Bedlam tailgate video for Gozney outdoor pizza ovens. Kevin needed some burnt ends for the modified Tteokbokki he had in mind, but Levi set us up with a feast for the ages. Burnt ends are always my favorite, followed closely by the pork ribs, but everything was immaculate. Levi and crew have pushed The Stand among Oklahoma Barbecue’s elite class. Bravo!

6. Bedlam Tailgate/Chicken Noodle Soup

Did I mention a tailgate? Kevin Lee made Tteokbokki with Burnt Ends, Danny and Patty made a vegan version of an In & Out Burger, and Chanchaleune made ridiculous Sai Oua Sausage Dogs, but the chicken noodle soup he made ahead of the tailgate took the crown. Jeff not only makes the dish Saturday’s at Ma Der Lao Kitchen, but says he never lets a Saturday go by without a bowl for himself. Spiritual.

7. The Lobby Bar/PBLT

In November, I had my first Pork Belly Lettuce and Tomato sandwich at The Lobby Bar as part of chef Jason Jones’s new menu roll-out for the bar adjacent to Will Rogers Theatre. Ventured back for lunch to make sure the PBLT was as good as I remembered. It was, and then some. Also got a MUCH better picture of it. NomNomNomNom

8. Social Deck & Dining/Steak Frites

Chef Jerrod Driskill has a new menu for Jamie and Jordan Winteroth at Social Deck & Dining. I dropped in for dinner to try some of the new items, and his play on Steak Frites was my favorite. The steak perfect and the au poivre sauce was exemplary, but it was last to arrive and I could only enjoy a slice of steak and a few fries. However, two days later my air fryer completely revived the fries. Before that I put the steak on the top rack of a 200-degree oven. About 20 minutes later, Driskill’s steak frites was singing the hits just as it had 48 hours earlier. Divine.

9. Couscous Café/Lamb Tagine

I hadn’t been to venerable Couscous Café since before the pandemic until I met a couple of friends there in mid-November. The Moroccan-leaning restaurant is peerless among Mediterranean restaurants when it comes to baked goods and desserts, but on this visit it was the lamb tagine that stuck in my memory. Served over couscous, the lamb shank was smothered in caramelized onions and tasted like the Sunday supper I always wanted. NomNomNom

10. GHST Kitchen & Bar/The Ghost of Tsushima

Chef Zach Hutton and his wife and business partner Kayla Shenold were among the many who have shuttered a dining room lately. Their Scratch Paseo closed last month, but they’ve quickly re-emerged at GHST in Midtown. The dynamic duo are operating the former Ludivine space three-days a week. You can expect stupid delicious street food with Hutton’s James Beard Award nominated cuisine bound to materialize in time. For the opening party, the item that stuck with me was a cocktail. The Ghost of Tsushima is founded on gin and curacao flavored with yuzu plus Bauchant, plum bitters and tart cherry tea syrup. Congrats to Garrett Ennis for finding the right balance for this original cocktail. Sigh.