Magical Culinary Tour

Being the Food Dude has its perks, one of which is having to eat out for work.  I’m no M.F.K Fisher, but we have some things in the works to expand our information about dining out. And we don’t waste time up here in the big, black building.

So last week I ate at three prominent fine dining restaurants: The Coach House on Thursday, Nonna’s on Friday and Red Prime Steakhouse on Saturday.

At Coach House, under the direction of Chef Kurt Fleischfresser, we were treated to an elegant, refined and artful eating experience. Chef Kurt is the Big Kahuna in Oklahoma. There are many great young chefs, but Kurt is sensei to many if not all of them in some way. I won’t go through each course, ingredient-by-ingredient, because what I loved about the meal was its intimacy and personality: Bright, inspired, refined, mature and restrained. When people talk about artful food, the initial assumption is that you’re talking about the presentation. While the presentation is artful at Coach House, I’m talking about the flavor. From prawns over a cheddar-corncake to a fennel salad to scallops and crab to Duck breast and confit to the palate-teasing amuse bouche, each dish is prepared the way Pavarotti carried a note, F. Scott Fitzgerald crafted a sentence or Renoir mixed his paints. This is not food set on the table to be casually consumed in between an exchange about the plight of world economy. This is poetry on a plate, and you’ll commit it to memory.

At Nonna’s, I was lucky enough to lunch with owner Avis Scaramucci. She assured me the fried mozzarella was the best I’d ever eat unless I stole her batter recipe and flew to New Jersey to get the cheese from her supplier. She was right. Fuggitaboutit, Danny Falcone, these are the best. The highlight for any meal at Nonna’s is bound to be the vegetables. They grow the vast majority their produce at Cedar Springs Farms and so the menu is a reflection of the freshest ingredients. I had a lightly breaded and sauteed tilapia in meuniere sauce, but the vegetables that surrounded piqued my palate the most. And that’s no bad reflection on the fish as it was great, but in our day-to-day lives we just don’t get to eat enough truly fresh produce. When you do, it’s a real treat. Not to mention, Avis has led an inspiring life and hearing her tell the tale should be on the menu.