#145 - Oak & Ore, Oklahoma City, OK

My flight from Maryland got back to OKC at about 7pm.  Since my only other meal had been lunch with my parents, by the time I got to the car I was pretty hungry.  I was tired and knew I wouldn't want to cook when I got to the house.  Nothing on restaurant.com jumped out at me, so I looked at keepitlocal.com and came across Oak & Ore.  I had seen that my friend Chase had eaten there, and he doesn't usually go wrong when it comes to food.  And besides, I was going to get a keep it local discount.  So double win.

The restaurant is in the Plaza District, and hasn't been open for too very long.  I'm so used to Stillwater that's basically dead on Sunday nights, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how crowded the area was.  Not packed, but all of the restaurants had some good activity.  And I even had to drive around a little bit to find parking.  Oak & Ore is on the corner, and they've got a few outside tables that were full of diners.  The inside isn't huge, but is a good size.  The whole right wall is the bar and in the center are 3 long tall tables with barstools around them.  It was open seating so I chose to sit along the left wall, which is a long bench the entire length, and then 2 metal chairs on the other side of each table.  I really like the look of the place, with the exposed ceiling beams and industrial look.  It's a very cool building.

They feature craft beers, and have 36 different types.  They're all listed on the wall behind the bar, on a huge chalkboard.  And the kegs are built into the wall.  My server said the beers change regularly. I'm not a big beer person, but wanted to try one.  I definitely don't like the heavy ales and stouts; I'm more of a lighter, fruity girl.   I really like that they do complimentary tastes, so you can figure out what you like before committing to something.  I saw a lot of people at the bar tasting all different types.  

With the help of my server, I tasted the Boulevard Springbelle and Unibroule La Fin Du Monde. 

Love the little tasting glasses!  They are so cute.  And they give you just a couple of sips in each, which is more than enough to decide if you like it.  They were both good, but the Boulevard tasted just like Boulevard.  So I went with the other one. It's a Canadian beer and is really good. Big fan.

I like this place because the menu isn't very big.  They've got appetizers, salads, and sandwiches.  And one dessert.  I like it.  Keep it simple, and do it well.  And I like that they offer quite a bit of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.  All of the sandwiches are "knife and fork", so served open faced.  I went with the chicken ciabatta.  The sandwiches come with a wedge salad and chips, or you can substitute them for one of their 3 other sides.  I decided to stick with how it comes.

CIABATTA, GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST, PESTO AIOLI, BACON JAM, CARAMELIZED SWEET PEPPERS, ONIONS, MUSHROOMS, SWISS CHEESE, ARUGULA

The sandwich was excellent.  It was served warm, the chicken was really tender, and all of the parts worked together really well.  I like that the sandwich is open faced, because it allows the inside to be the star.  I love that the wedge salad is included as a standard side.  I've never seen than before, but it's a great concept.  The chips were really good.  At first I was wondering why they just included boring regular potato chips with the plantain chips and taro chips, but then I took a bite and realized they're the kettle cooked.  And was very happy.  It's a really good mix of crunch and taste.

Will I go back?  No question.  The food was really good, and I'd love the chance to try some more of their beers.