And he’s got more exciting projects in the works so keep an eye on this team.Ĭhanchaleune’s dishes are Japanese-inspired but pull from all over Asia, including killer nikuman (the Japanese version of bao/steamed buns - $7-8 for two), a fresh, nourishing wakame (seaweed) salad ($5), and juicy tebasaki ($8), fried chicken wings in gochujang fish caramel sauce and furikake. ![]() But not only does Gor? do more than ramen right (which up till now you couldn’t get in OK), but owners Jeff Chanchaleune and Rachel Cope (who started this as a pop-up, Project Slurp) love and care about Japan.Ĭhatting with Jeff, I met someone passionate about Japan as I am, spending time traveling there and pulling endless inspiration from the supreme perfection of one of the best food countries in the world. Sure, I was burnt out on the ramen craze many years ago. Goro Ramen is the kind of place I’ve been waiting for in Oklahoma (opened mid-2016). ![]() While there is still tons of room for growth in numerous categories, here are 8 places in OKC doing it right - or on their way (this in addition to my past recommends here and my current article on top OKC bars here). But that’s bad news for locals who have yet to figure out expertly prepared and ultra-fresh vegetables can be as crave-worthy as meat, making it even sadder that Loaded Bowl is serving flavorless, heavy veggie dishes. There are many misses: hip spots like the The Loaded Bowl would make me shrug off vegetarian food entirely if I hadn’t long had incredible, game-changing vegetarian cuisine in the ever pioneering Bay Area and around the globe for 20 years. The surest sign of a big leap forward the last year or two is that there are a couple spots, like Power House or WSKY Lounge (covered under my OKC bars feature), that are not just great for Oklahoma, but great in the country. My SF friend Marco Dionysus’ iconic Chartreuse Swizzle cocktail at The DrakeĪs knowledge grows, so does passion and it is starting to come through in some some restaurants and bars who have been pioneering a more creative, seasonal, crafted food and drink experience in an area often slow to catch up… I no longer have to say it’s only old school steakhouses and burgers that shine here. It is now possible to find more authentic Asian food beyond the Vietnamese community that has long been here and a solid cocktail at more than a few spots. While one could still not call it a “great” food city, given the over 600 restaurants and bars I visit every year around the US and world, it is clear by its own standards that OKC is progressing each year - and in the last couple years it has taken some real leaps forward. ![]() I’ve been writing about OKC’s small but growing food and drink revival, akin to what’s going on around the US, if behind much of it. ![]() We left there when I was one so I have no actual memories there other than occasional visits to my extended family and relatives (I have big Sicilian-English family on my mom’s side) and dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins all in the area. Since my parents moved from New Jersey back to the town my mom grew up in - Edmond, OK - a decade or so ago, I’ve had more opportunity to visit the land of my birth: Oklahoma City.
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