#132 - Kevin Durant's Southern Cuisine, Oklahoma City, OK

I went to OKC to donate platelets and meet with a donor on Monday, and was leaving for Kansas City for the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday. So my only plan for Tuesday night was to pack and get to sleep early. That plan got completely thrown away when my friend Paul texted me to say he was in town for the evening. I hadn't seen Paul since December, so of course I wanted to hang out. We met at the Red Piano Bar at the Skirvin hotel for a drink first, and to pick a place to eat. Supposedly the hotel is haunted. I've never stayed there, so I have no clue if it really is. And I'm not sure that I want to stay there to see if it is. But the bar is a very cool place with great atmosphere. The Clippers were staying there (as do most NBA teams), since they played the Thunder on Wednesday. My plan was to subtly trip Blake Griffin if I saw him, but he was hiding well and I never saw him at all. We did see Sam Cassel (Clippers assistant coach), and I remember him playing at Florida State. Once again, showing my age.

We discussed a few dining options, and eventually decided on Kevin Durant's Southern Cuisine.  I ate there once before back in December, but I couldn't even begin to tell you what I had, so that's why this is a new post instead of a repeat. Its located in Bricktown, behind the movie theater and Sonic headquarters. I made about 3 wrong turns trying to find the restaurant parking lot, because I swear its hidden. But we finally got there.

One thing I really like about KD's is that it's not a gaudy museum. Of course there's memorabilia on the walls, but its tasteful and just the right amount. It focuses on being a restaurant.  The colors are very much Thunder. The bar area is sort of like a sports bar with lots of TVs and a large bar, but in the end its still a restaurant. I really think they did a great job with the concept. There was about a 30 minute wait for the main dining room, but open seating at the bar and high top tables around it. The bar was almost full, and there was one high top table so we sat there. Sam Cassell and 2 other assistant coaches were at the booth next to us. But since I refuse to be that stalker--unless its Michael Jordan or Troy Aikman--we left them alone.

The menu is cool because it looks like a normal menu from the outside, but when you open it there's a blue backlight that illuminates the pages. Very unique, and I like it.  There's a regular menu and the Baller menu. The Baller menu is way out of my price range, including a $1,700 bottle of wine.  Most of it isn't nearly that outrageous, but that menu is more for when you're trying to impress a business client and have a huge expense account, or show off to a date.

We decided to start with the crispy brussel sprouts. I've talked on this blog about my severe hesitation about eating brussel sprouts. But they were crispy and had bacon, so I had to give them a try.

Smoked bacon, honey, cilantro, pepper vinegar

Wow. These were excellent. Perfectly seared on the outside and cooked through. The bacon was thick cut, smoky and delicious. At first we thought it had a lot of oil, but now I really think it was the honey and vinegar. The flavors all worked together so well. Seriously, I need to see if I can get the recipe, because I would eat brussel sprouts a lot more if they always tasted like this.

I couldn't really decide what to get, and eventually went with honey chicken. It comes with grits and green beans, but you can pick any 2 sides. I switched out the beans with mac & cheese.

The chicken was outstanding. Screaming hot, great crispy crust that isn't greasy, and drizzled with honey. 

Organically milled, creme fraiche, garlic

The grits were so creamy and delicious. I've never used crème fraiche before and not even sure you can get it at a regular grocery store. But I may need to try and find some to use at home.  

Five cheese mac, oriechette pasta, olive oil crumb topping

The mac & cheese was just okay. It's supposed to have an olive oil crumb topping, but mine didn't. It was very cheesy, and honestly there's really no such thing as too much cheese. But quite honestly I like my baked mac & cheese so much better. That being said, I think people who are used to plain mac & cheese would think this was awesome. In hindsight I probably should have stuck with the green beans. Or, try one of the other options. Because I'm always going to compare to mine, and chances are high I'm going to be disappointed. Lesson learned.

Paul had the catfish. I tried a bite and it was really good. Thought I had a picture, but couldn't find it.

Will I go back? No question. Its a very cool atmosphere, the food was really good, and there's quite a few other items that I want to try.