#192 - Zoe's Kitchen, Oklahoma City OK

The week before the first home game I very rarely go anywhere other than my house and the office. There’s just so much going on and so many last-minute things to finish that escaping town is almost impossible. But this year I had to go to OKC to meet with a couple of donors. Thankfully they were all pretty close to each other, and the appointments were one after another, so I could get there, do what I needed to do, and get out. My last stop was dropping off tickets to Tina. I have a few favorite suiteholders, and she is pretty high up there on the list. I definitely consider her a friend.

We met at her office, and then discussed lunch options. She recommended Zoe's Kitchen. I had never been there before, but had seen it numerous times. She said it was fresh, really good, and they serve wine. Sold.

The restaurant location we went to is on N. Memorial in OKC, in the same area where I often go shopping. It's a chain, with locations in 17 states. It’s a fast-casual concept, and a Mediterranean inspired menu, where you order at the counter and they bring the food to you. The building itself is nice as well, with bright, bold colors and tall windows letting in lots of natural light. There’s an open kitchen behind the counter, and the manager was back in the kitchen as well. I always like to see management working right along with the staff. The best managers are those who will jump in and help, regardless of how menial the task, to get things done. Staff who see their managers do that will usually be more loyal, more hard working, and more respectful.

The one down side of the fast-casual concept is that if you don’t know what you want, you feel like you’re holding up other people while you look and decide. I admit, I do get annoyed at Chipotle when people stand there forever, deciding what they want on their burrito. I mean seriously, there’s like 5 options. Pick something. Zoe's Kitchen is much different, because there are a wide variety of appetizers, salads, entrees, and sandwiches. So having to take a little time to make a decision isn't so bad.

Even though this was a stewardship lunch, we did have a glass of wine.

I can’t remember the brand, but it was delicious. Very smooth.

Tina then recommended that we start with the hummus trio. I’m always up for recommendations, so we did just that 

Basil pesto, red pepper, and classic hummus

Tina’s favorite is the red pepper. It was good, but my clear favorite was the basil pesto. It wasn't even close for me. I couldn't stop eating it, especially since it had a big dollop of pesto in the middle. The classic was okay, but way too much olive flavor. Probably from the 2 olives plopped in the middle. I did like that they included several things to dip with, including flatbread, pita bread, cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper.

Tina got the Greek chicken pita sandwich with a side Greek salad. I didn't try any, but she said it was one of her favorite things on the menu. It looked really delicious, and I have to admit I was tempted to ask for a bite. I often do that, but held back this time.

Sandwich: lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, feta
Salad: tomato, cucumber, peppers, olives, onion, feta, pita bread, greens

I was scheduled to donate platelets that afternoon, so I needed one last punch of iron. Tina said the steak kabobs were delicious, so I went with those

Two kabobs, red bell pepper, onions, grilled potatoes, roasted vegetables

Wow, the kabobs were amazing. Such a great depth of flavor. I’m not sure what they marinate them in, but I need that recipe. The only thing I’d say is the pieces are so big you need a knife to cut them up. The roasted veggies were really good, and had a lot of flavor as well. The grilled potatoes were okay, but nothing made them stand out to me. Just your basic grilled potatoes. This was a substantial plate of food, so not eating much of the potatoes wasn't necessarily a bad thing either. They also have chicken, shrimp, veggie, or salmon kabobs. Tina said the salmon ones are awesome.

This is a restaurant that would really do well in Stillwater. There's already one in Norman, so that should be an easy decision.

Will I go back? No question. The food was really good, and I really like that it's freshly made to order. Besides, there's a lot of other dishes I would like to try.

My Chef's Hat - Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash

I've posted on here about the fact that I have the sickle cell trait. I'll never get the disease or suffer any symptoms, and luckily don't have to alter my lifestyle.  But my iron is very low, and I struggle to keep it up. About 18 months ago I started giving blood, but I can only do platelets. And it takes me a couple weeks of serious iron bulking to even get the level high enough to donate. It's a vicious cycle. I really need to go to the doctor to see if there's anything I can do to help regulate my levels so I don't have to go crazy with it every couple months.

A while ago I had found a reciepe for sausage & sweet potato hash. I made it a couple months ago, and since it was the night before I was donating, I added kale and spinach for some extra bulk.

I try to always keep Italian sausage in the freezer. I don't use it that often, but I do have a few go-to recipes. My favorite brand is Johnsonville, and they've got sweet, mild, and spicy. I used to buy the mild, but once I tasted the spicy I haven't gone back. It's not crazy hot, but it definitely adds a good kick to the dish.

My original plan for lunch was a completely different dish with the sausage, and then I remembered I had a sweet potato that I needed to use. And I also remembered that it's the first day of Fall, and this is the perfect recipe to kick off the season.

Here is the recipe version

And here is my version:

I really like this dish.  It's healthy, hearty but not heavy, and filling.  The recipe calls for both white and orange sweet potatoes.  I had no idea white sweet potatoes even existed.  I used sausage in the casing and cut it into small chunks. I could probably cut it smaller, but it's a pain to cut up much smaller than this when it's raw.  The recipe calls for the potatoes to be boiled for a few minutes and then just added in at the end.  I cooked mine all the way through in the same pan I cooked the sausage in, which adds tons more flavor.  The first time I made this I went way overboard with the parsley, and also didn't cut it up nearly small enough. You could barely see the food through it.  This time I held back, partially because a caterpillar ravaged my parsley plant a couple weeks ago and it's just starting to grow back. 

I would say the only negative to eating such a savory dish is my sweet tooth is in overdrive. So I'll eat just a little something sweet to take care of that craving. 

And I'll definitely make this regularly, especially before giving platelets. 

Recipe found on Noble Pig Vineyard & Winery

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My Chef's Hat - Buttermilk Baked Chicken

I did a post a few months ago for buttermilk baked chicken. I actually did a double-post, because I made roasted mushrooms with garlic & thyme with it.  I very rarely do 2 new recipes in the same meal, because you never know how either one will really turn out. What if you don't like one or both? What if they don't look good? What if they don't work well together? Lot's of "ifs". But I went ahead and did it that night anyway. 

Buttermilk is not something that I cook with regularly, and for a long time I never cooked with it at all. I always thought it was really heavy, hence the name "butter"milk. But then I learned that it's not at all...it's just milk with vinegar added. The catch is at the store the smallest container I can find at the store is a quart, and I normally don't use it often enough to justify the purchase. And I use almond milk in my breakfast smoothie, and I'm really not sure how that would translate into buttermilk. So when I buy the quart, I plan ahead for 3-4 recipes over a couple of weeks before the milk goes bad. But then again, how do you know when it's bad when it's sour milk to begin with??

Of course, the recipe came from Pinterest. More specifically, from Pat & Gina Neely of The Food Network. I have to admit, their show wasn't one of my favorites. I liked a lot of their dishes, but they were so sugary sweet and lovey-dovey towards each other. I felt like I was stuck in a Harlequin romance novel, and it was way over the top. Come to find out that was all fake, and they got divorced about a year ago.

Here is the original recipe photo

Here is my first attempt. 

As you can see, it looks nothing like the picture. But that's happened before. My thing is, as long as it tastes good, I'm okay with it. And this chicken was very good. I didn't have corn flakes as the recipe called for, so I used corn flake crumbs. But the crumbs are so fine that it doesn't really work well in this dish. I also followed the recommendation of a reviewer, cut the onion into big chunks, coated them in flakes and baked them along with the chicken. I did really like that flavor combination.

Last night I decided to make this chicken again because I had some buttermilk to use up. I also went to the store and bought actual Corn Flakes instead of just the packaged crumbs, and crushed them up in the food processor. I also left them in pretty good-sized pieces. The recipe calls for cooking the chicken on a wire rack so it won't get soggy underneath, and I did that as well

Here is my picture from last night

Looks so much better! Bigger chunks of corn flakes makes a huge difference, and you almost feel like you're eating fried chicken. I agree with a reviewer who said she was eating pieces of the cornflakes off the chicken first. This time the flakes were too big, but that's an easy fix, with just a few more pulses in the food processor.

The chicken was super tender and juicy. And the wire rack definitely prevented any sogginess. I need to remember that when I make Shake & Bake too. As I was eating I thought to myself, this is really good, but it was kind of bland and missing some "oomph"...and that wasn't the case the first time.  That's when I realized I was so excited about the corn flakes that I completely forgot to add freshly grated parmesan and more fresh thyme into the corn flakes. I think it could use some garlic powder and onion powder as well. 

Next time I make this I'll get the whole dish right. And I'll definitely be making this again soon. 

Recipe courtesy of The Food Network

My Chef's Hat - Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese

Before Pinterest, I got most of my recipes from cooking.com and foodnetwork.com. I printed them out because I didn't really have anywhere else to store them. A couple months ago I was cleaning out my little office space and came across a huge stack of those recipes. I went online, found most of them, and pinned them. I also realized I hadn't done posts about any of them. 

The problem with Pinterest is that it's almost impossible to go immediately to what you're looking for. Every time I log on I find fun new things to pin, get sidetracked, and sometimes totally forgot what I was even originally looking for.

Since the end of July my life has been absolutely insane getting ready for football season. And this has probably been the craziest year since I've been here. Unfortunately my blog suffered, because obviously my focus was almost solely on work. I was only posting about once a week, which was a big drop from before. Last week, after the first home game, I figured I would pick back up steam with the blog. But then I forgot how busy it is when there's back to back home games...especially at the start of the season. Now that game 2 is over, it's truly time to shift some of my focus back to the blog. I've worked really hard this year to grow my blog, so the last thing I want is to let it slide and have people stop following.

I absolutely love corn. In the summer I could eat it all the time, when it's so sweet. It's hard to find in the winter, so occasionally I'll buy canned or frozen corn. They say frozen vegetables are practically an equal substitute, because they pick and freeze them at the height of their freshness. When it's part of a casserole or dish, then yeah I agree. Growing up, my mom normally just boiled corn on the cob, and we'd eat it with butter. Simple, easy, and delicious. I would say until about 10 years ago that's almost the only way I ate it. But there are so many other ways to use it. One of my favorites, and one of those pre-Pinterest recipes, is Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese. 

Here is the official recipe photo

And here is my version

I have to admit I forget about this recipe periodically, and then I make it again and remember why I like it so much. It's a great way to get double vegetables, and the mild zucchini doesn't compete with the corn. The goat cheese adds a very mild flavor and creamy texture. Wonderful contrast to the cakes. The recipe only calls for spring onions, but I always add regular onions as well. Usually yellow onions, but sometimes red onions for a little more sweetness. I also add minced fresh garlic, which adds a nice flavor.

I really need to get this recipe back on the rotation. It's easy to make, substantial, and a great side dish. 


Recipe courtesy of Cook Like a Champion

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Repeats With a Twist - Cherokee Strip BBQ, Stillwater OK

You don't have to live in Oklahoma very long to know their BBQ is legit. In Stillwater alone there are several really good BBQ restaurants. When I first moved here I ate lunch at home every day. Then after a couple months I started eating out a couple times a week with co-workers. One place that often came up as a lunch option was Cherokee Strip BBQ. 

The restaurant is just minutes from campus, in a strip mall that also has one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in town. The only down side to eating at a BBQ place is that you smell like it the entire day. But let's be honest. There are worse things to smell like. Brett, the owner said they do tons of catering on gameday during football season, and that's no surprise. When we used to do Recruit Roundup, we used them for cole slaw and baked beans, and were never disappointed.

I still can't believe I haven't done a review on this place. Brett, the owner, gave me grief when I began the blog about not doing a review. But at the time, I was only doing brand new restaurants. And for whatever reason, even after I added repeat restaurants a few months later, I didn't go back. One of the rules of my repeats was that I had to try something different on the menu. But there are a few exceptions, and this is one of them. 

I honestly can't even tell you the last time I ate here. National Burger Day was last month, and I really wanted something other than fast food. That's when Cherokee Strip sprang to mind, and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to go back and do a review.

Cherokee Strip is a local place, really kind of a hole in the wall, with no frills. But that's a big part of the charm. You order and pay at the counter. If you're getting brisket, ribs, sides, etc, you pick it up as you walk through the line. And then they have all the condiments on another table

Whenever we would come to lunch here, I would be the rebel of the group and get a burger. I know that sounds weird to be eating a burger at a BBQ place, but I loved it so I didn't care. The thing is, they cook the burgers to order so my food would always be the last to come out. My friend Chase worked there though, so as soon as he saw me come in the door, he would put on a burger for me, so that cut down significantly on the wait time.

I was by myself this time, and Chase hasn't worked there in a couple of years. But I arrived before the lunch rush, so it was okay. Brett gave me a sample of their burnt ends, their Thursday special

O...M...G. Phenomenal, melt in your mouth.  Such a deep flavor. I know many people don't like the ends because they're burnt. But that's the best part! I devoured them as I waited for my burger.

As I mentioned earlier, they cook burgers to order. I really don't mind the wait, because you know it's going to be screaming hot and fresh, and cooked just the way I want it.

I always get fries with a burger. I mean, that's really the only way to go. And here, they cook them to order as well. Brett didn't hear me say fries, but he threw some in the fryer as soon as he delivered the burger to me.  That's another thing I love about this place. When they cook stuff to order, they bring it out to you. A few minutes later my fries arrived

I almost never get 1/2lb burgers because it's too much food. But I make 2 exceptions: Cherokee Strip, and a place right off campus at U of Maryland that we used to go to occasionally.

This burger is so juicy and flavorful. I don't know this for a fact, but I'm quite sure they use locally raised beef. There's just an instant difference between burgers that come from who knows where and locally raised fare. This one was slightly saltier than I remember, and I'm thinking maybe a little too much seasoning. But I didn't let that stop me. The fries were fantastic as well. Scorching hot, crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside.  

I need to remember to eat here more often. And now that I've experienced the burnt ends, that will definitely be my twist. 

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My Chef's Hat - Chinese Style Shrimp Fried Rice

Wow, the last month has been absolutely insane. It's always tough getting ready for the first home football game, and this year there were added challenges with large-scale renovations on both the club and suite levels, and an "upgrade" by Suddenlink that required us to add cable boxes and new remotes to every single TV in the building. I tried hard to keep up with the blog, but of course OSU is what pays the bills, so that's where my focus had to be.  Now that I've survived the first home game, I can shift some of that focus back to the blog. 

About 6 weeks ago I made fried rice for the first time. I don't know why I had never made it before, but it's really easy and very delicious. A couple weeks later I came across a recipe for Chinese Style Shrimp Fried Rice. I love shrimp, and at the time I was getting ready to donate platelets so I was on a binge to up my iron, and shrimp has a lot of it. 

Many of the fried recipes out there say you can use regular cooked rice. But to me, it's not truly fried rice if you use Uncle Ben's. You need to use the steamed rice from Asian restaurants. Or cook sticky rice. I haven't taken on the challenge of cooking my own sticky rice, so for the foreseeable future I'll just order extra rice when I go out for Chinese food and use that to make it. 

Here is the recipe photo

And here is my version

This dish is awesome, and has tons of flavor. I'm guessing I didn't get enough coating on the shrimp because mine doesn't really look like the recipe. And I cooked them in the pan along with the fried rice rather than separately, so that might have contributed as well. But the flavor is all there, and that's what matters. I followed the rule of the fried rice recipe I originally found and cooked it with butter (well, Smart Balance spread in my case). Let's be honest...butter adds flavor. And as long as you use it in moderation, and especially if you use butter substitutes, the calories won't go crazy.

I made this again about a week ago, and went overboard on the cornmeal/flour mixture, and you could taste the flour. Fail. I shouldn't have made it that night because I was in a rush and I was super tired, so I didn't take as much care as I normally would. Next time I'll fix that.

Recipe courtesy of Creole Contessa

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#191 - Main St Bakery, Grapevine TX

When I was in Dallas a couple weeks ago for Joni's daughter's wedding, I stayed at the Springhill Suites in Grapevine. I normally pick the select-service hotels over full service, because they offer complimentary breakfast, wi-fi, and parking. On Saturday morning I went down for breakfast. The eggs were horrible...tasted like powder. I know places do use powdered eggs, but when they're prepared properly you can't tell. The sausage was super salty, and I heard a young woman telling her mom that the oatmeal wasn't good at all. Clearly, a huge disappointment. 

My original plan was to sleep in Sunday morning, have a leisurely brunch, and then head back to Stillwater. But then I changed my mind and got up early, so I could knock out a few hours of work. No chance I was tempting that hotel breakfast again though. I momentarily thought about just hitting the road and stopping for fast food, but that goes totally against the food blog. So I went online in search of breakfast. I didn't want to go too far out of my way, and wanted to eat before I reached the highway, so that somewhat limited my options. I came across Main Street Bakery; only about 10 minutes from my hotel, and it had gotten really good reviews. 

Main Street Bakery is, no surprise, on Main St in downtown Grapevine. But they do also have locations in Plano and Richardson, which are Dallas suburbs. There's so many cute little shops and restaurants on Main Street, and Joni and I often go there. I had never heard of or even seen the bakery before, so it was a nice surprise. And the restaurant is absolutely adorable. A few tables out front on the sidewalk. You walk in the front door and there's a couple of tables, plus a little counter with a few stools looking out to the street. To the left are 2 displays full of fresh pastries and baked goods, and an open kitchen at the back.

All of their pastries and breads are baked fresh daily, which was one of the selling points for me. You can imagine the gorgeous smells wafting throughout. 

You order at the counter and they bring the food to you. Joni doesn't do restaurants like that, so I'm guessing that's why we've never been here before. But then I saw that they serve wine at lunch and dinner...I think I might have found a way to get her here! They have the entire menu on a large board above the order counter, but I always feel rushed trying to decide what to get that way. I looked around, and found handheld menus on a display rack

They also have a bloody Mary bar in the main dining room.

I don't do tomato juice, and I had a 4-hour drive ahead of me, so I passed. They also have a wide variety of coffees and teas. I had already had coffee so I passed on that as well. But I like that they serve the coffee in large mugs, and you can get free refills. Perfect for a leisurely morning.

Although the pastries and baked goods looked amazing, that wasn't going to be filling at all. So instead I went with the Le Parisien

Scrambled eggs, applewood bacon, with our award winning croissant, jam, butter, breakfast potatoes

This is a basic breakfast, kicked up a bunch of notches. The eggs were delicious and very clearly freshly cracked, completely the opposite of my hotel debacle the previous morning. The bacon is thick cut and cooked just the way I like it. When I first saw the potatoes I was a little disappointed by the lack of color. But what they lack in color, they make up for in great flavor. However, I only ate a few bites so I could save my carbs for the croissant. And I'm glad that I did. The croissant was excellent, very light and flaky. I wish they gave you more butter rather than jam. Yes, I realize I could have gotten up and gotten more, but I was just too lazy.

Will I go back? If I lived there I would be there every Sunday. 

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#190 - Green Door Public House, Dallas TX

In June I spent a weekend in Dallas with Joni & Tony. That Saturday morning I got up early, drove down to the Dallas Farmer's Market, and of course wrote a review. I tweeted about it while I was there, and got a retweet from Green Door Public House that they were located right nearby. I already had plans to meet Joni for lunch back in Flower Mound, but I immediately put it on the schedule for my next trip. That trip happened a few weeks ago when I was back in Dallas for Joni's daughter's wedding. 

I got to the market about 9:30, because you just never know how long it will take to walk around and check out all the vendors. They didn't have as many as were there in June, but I still bought some goodies, including baby portobella mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and okra. The guy selling fresh meat always tries to suck me in, but I stave him off when I tell him I live in Stillwater.

I finished at the market at 10:30, so I had 30 minutes to kill before the restaurant opened. I started to walk since it's so close, got the to the nursery about a block from my car, and realized how hot it already was. And how I definitely wasn't going to want to walk back after eating. So I drove over, which ended up being a very smart decision.

I was the first patron in the door. I thought about sitting at the bar, but then decided to get the full service experience at a table. The restaurant is in a very cool, old building

Photo courtesy of Green Door Public House

I love when new businesses take over old/historic buildings and preserve the look and feel of the original space. They may not have a choice because of revitalization code, but still. History is cool. They kept the brick walls and tall, exposed ceilings. The seating is a combination of a large bar, high-top tables, and regular tables. They've got lots of pictures of old Dallas on the walls, and a very cool outdoor patio

They have weekend brunch, and so of course also brunch cocktails. I went light with a mimosa, as well as a big glass of water to cool down.  The menus are short and sweet. Perfect for me, because I don't do well with huge menus. 

I had looked at some of their menu items on their Instagram page, and one of the first things that jumped out at me was the chicken tortilla soup, so I went with it to start. I know, I know, it was a million degrees outside. But I only got a cup.

Wow. This was well worth it. It was rich and super flavorful. It was so dark that I almost thought they brought me chili instead of soup. And yes, I even double checked the menu. But nope, it's the wonderful soup. The spice doesn't hit you at first, but it definitely sneaks up a couple bites in. I like that they include big chunks of avocado to help cool down the heat. I could have easily eaten at least a bowl of this.

For my entree I went back and forth on a couple of items, all of which looked so good on Instagram. I finally decided on the blackened fish tacos, with corn tortillas

Blackened tilapia, lettuce, pico de gallo, and taco sauce

The first thing I tried was the roasted tomato salsa. Outstanding. Such a great depth of flavor. I asked the server if it was made in house, and she told me that 95% of their menu is. Love it. The guacamole was freshly made as well, with fresh lime juice, and really good. The chips were light, super crispy, and lightly seasoned. The tacos were excellent. The menu states 2 tacos, and you might think it won't be enough food. But then you would be wrong. There's a whole filet in each taco, and they pile the toppings on there. The blackening provides a subtle, delicious kick, and I'm quite sure it's a homemade mix, not the stuff you would buy at the store.

Will I go back? No question. The food was excellent, and I really liked the atmosphere. And I need another bowl of the chicken tortilla soup. I can see afternoon funtivities here with Joni on my next Dallas excursion. 

#189 - Piranha Killer Sushi, Flower Mound, TX

Two weeks ago, Joni's daughter got married. So of course I'm not going to miss out on that, even if it means a weekend away from Stillwater so close to the first home game. I very rarely do that. I'm a well-known procrastinator, but I made sure I was in pretty good shape work-wise before I left.  I drove down Friday afternoon, and was staying at a hotel in Grapevine. My original plan had been to take a nap when I got to the hotel, but then I saw I was literally right next door to Grapevine Mills Mall. So I bucked up and hit the mall. After about 5 stores I started getting tired.  I pushed through and walked the rest of the mall, but then headed back to the room. By this time it was too late for a nap, so next on the list was dinner. 

I self-created LOTS of drama in picking a dinner spot. I went back and forth between 5 different restaurants, driving much more than necessary, and getting thoroughly annoyed in the process. Finally I decided on Piranha Killer Sushi. They're part of the restaurant.com program, and I had thought about trying it numerous times. So that's where I went. 

The restaurant is in Highland Village, about a 10-minute drive from Joni's house. This is one of 6 locations, all in Texas. It's not a huge place, but it's got a great corner location in a shopping center. There's a great outdoor patio that takes up one whole side of the restaurant, with about 20 tables that are a combination of high top tables, short tables, and bar seating. This is the second restaurant I've seen where half of the bar is outside on the patio, and the other half is inside the restaurant. Great use of space, and more places should do that. As you enter the main doors of the restaurant there's a small seating area behind the host stand, a sushi bar, inside bar seating, and then the patio. It was such a gorgeous night that I sat on the patio. They have little Christmas lights hanging from the trees, and that's the only real exterior lighting. So once it gets dark, you can barely see. I think they should add little tealights or something on the tables so you can see both your food and who you're talking to. I had my Nook with me, as I always do when I dine solo, and I had to stop reading by the time I got my appetizer because I couldn't see a thing. But that was the only negative about the atmosphere.

For the restaurant.com coupon I had to spend $20. So my plan was to start with edamame, which is one of my favorite things to get at Asian restaurants. But then I saw la la's jalapeno poppers; and in the spirit of food blog research I knew I had to get them. My server warned me that the jalapenos they had that week were spicy, and that it was a large serving, but I decided to brave it.

She wasn't kidding. About the spice or the size. One bite, and my mouth was on fire. But the cream cheese and sauce on top cooled it down. The poppers were really good, and I absolutely loved the sauce. I've never seen them tempura fried before, but I like the change-up, and the tempura is lighter than normal breading coating. Lightly fried, stuffed, and delicious. It was a lot more than I could eat, especially since I was ordering sushi, so I stopped about halfway through.

I had originally considered getting 2 rolls, but since I had the poppers I only needed one. I still needed to make sure I got up to $20 so I could use the coupon. After a lot of back and forth, I went with the lobster roll

Masago, scallions, shrimp tempura & ginger cream topped with avocado & lobster

The rest of the roll was very good, and the flavors worked really well together. The lobster added great flavor to the roll, but when I tasted a piece by itself that had fallen off, it was just okay. I knew I was taking a gamble with the lobster. Being from the East coast, I am very picky about seafood.

Will I go back? Yes. Joni would really enjoy it because of the awesome patio and good selection of wines. I want to try some of the other rolls, and Joni (who doesn't do sushi) can get something else. Or we can split some appetizers.  Or, just play it by ear.

#188 - Guernsey Park Restaurant, Oklahoma City OK

Once August gets here, I rarely leave Stillwater, and it's even more rare for me to leave Oklahoma. There's just too much to do to get ready for the first game. The last 2 years we've played our first game in Houston and then Dallas, so of course I went to those. But other than that, only 2 exceptions. The first was a couple years ago for a reunion with my Purdue friends, many of whom I hadn't seen in 20 years. The second exception was 2 weeks ago, for Joni's daughter's wedding. 

The wedding was Saturday evening, but I decided to drive down Friday afternoon. You can't check into the hotel until 3pm so I didn't want to be rushed. And besides, I was in pretty good shape work-wise at that point. I had to deliver a couple of suite ticket packages in OKC, and then figured I should stop for lunch before hitting the road. I've stopped for lunch in Norman numerous times on my way to Dallas, always wearing my blazing OSU orange. For those of you who don't know, OU (located in Norman) and OSU are bitter rivals. I don't have the same level of hate because I didn't go to OSU, but I get it. I'm always afraid they're going to spit in my food if I wear orange. 

As usual, I didn't really know what I wanted to eat. I checked restaurant.com first, but nothing jumped out at me. Then I checked Keep it Local. This is an Oklahoma-based program that gives discounts at Oklahoma-owned businesses. Most of the discounts are about 10% off the bill, but the more important thing is supporting local businesses. My friend Dianne had raved bout Guernsey Park Restaurant in the past, saying it was definitely food blog worthy. She doesn't play around when it comes to food, and it's part of the Keep it Local program, so I was sold. It's located in the Paseo District in uptown OKC. Until this year I had never been to this part of OKC, but now I've been here several times and eaten at a few places. 

To be honest, as I walked up to the building I really didn't know what to expect, because it's down a little narrow road, behind the row of shops on 23rd. If you don't know where you're going, you will totally miss it. It's a 2 1/2-story building, with a sizable patio on the right. As you enter the front door, the waiting area and bar is all white furniture. Kind of like what you would see in a NYC nightclub. They've got a sushi bar and some dining tables that are down a couple of steps, and then upstairs is a much larger dining area. I chose to sit upstairs because that's where I could hear the most people. The upstairs has tall ceilings, light maple wood floors, dark cherry wood tables and chairs. There's whitewashed wood paneling on the walls, and one black feature wall. There is also a ton of natural light flowing in from the large windows.

The menu is Asian inspired. At first I thought about getting sushi, but then as I read the other side of the menu there were several items that jumped out at me.  I rarely do appetizers, especially by myself, but I was starving so I started with the oxtail ravioli

Fried oxtail ravioli served with a "Pho" salad and sriracha powder

Wow. This could very possibly be the best appetizer I've ever had. I know some people don't like meat on the bone. You have no idea what you're missing. That bone keeps the meat so tender, and adds just a great depth of flavor that you won't get otherwise. I could have eaten a whole tray of these and I would have been happy.

I've never been a fan of tofu. To me it's just super bland, and I have a hard time getting past the texture. But I knew I wouldn't really be eating well on this trip, so I planned to go healthy. At first I 100% decided to do the tofu wrap, which was shocking in and of itself, but then I started to waiver. Yes, it has lots of iron and is super healthy, but it was almost too healthy. My server immediately said tofu. I didn't really believe him, and questioned why. He said it had a really good mix of flavors. I was almost convinced, and then made a comment about not really being a big fan of tofu, but wanting to be a little adventurous. And then he said the tofu wasn't fried or even sauteed. At that point we agreed it wouldn't be a good choice, so I went with my other option, grilled nem nuong

Grilled sweet pork sausage medallions over vermicelli in nuoc mam with chiffonade romaine in a
peanut vinaigrette, cilantro, lemongrass, oil, mint, and fried wonton wrappers

Again, wow. I can't describe the flavor of the sausage other than outstanding. Like the oxtail, it was so tender and juicy.  I almost always buy spicy sausage at the store, but I really enjoy the sweet as well. I was caught off-guard by the vermicelli being cold, but I guess that makes sense since this is technically a salad. The hot sausage provided a great contrast to the cold noodles and lettuce. I'll say it, I love everything fried. So I was extremely happy with the wonton strips. I've never had peanut vinaigrette, but it was delicious and quite a bit lighter than peanut sauce. This was a pretty substantial lunch dish, but at the same time quite light. And it was so good that there was no way I could leave any. I honestly can't imagine how the tofu wrap has even a remote chance of being more flavorful than this dish.

When I texted Dianne to ask what to get for lunch, her response was I couldn't leave without getting carrot cake. Clearly that's not lunch, but since both she and Betty raved about it, I had to try it out.  I also asked the server to immediately bring me a to-go container, because I knew no way I could eat all of it.

Carrot cake with cream cheese ice cream, ginger tuille, candied orange,
candied pecans, and rum caramel

I have to be honest. Carrot cake is low on my list of favorite desserts. But, this one was really good. The cake was more dense than I'm used to, but it had a lot of flavor. The cream cheese ice cream was so good.  I ate about 1/3 there, and had the rest as a treat after the wedding.

Will I go back? Absolutely. I have to go to OKC this Friday. Maybe I'll head back to Guernsey Park for another round.