St. Mark’s hits the ground sprinting
St. Mark’s Chop Room opened last week, and the outlook is promising.
The cozy, upscale restaurant in Nichols Hills Plaza showcases locally raised wagyu beef with a carefully curated wine list. Unsurprising is the elegant atmosphere set by low-lighting and white linen tablecloths. Surprising is the restraint shown by chef Jonathon Stranger in writing a menu steeped in the classics.
During his time cooking for Table One and Ludivine, Stranger often pushed culinary boundaries with abandon. While the foodforward approach draws applause from gourmet society, it can leave behind thediner looking for a good steak paired with a quality wine.
St. Mark’s has only been open a week and a half, so it’s far too early to make any grand proclamations. But I can say with confidence the meal I had there Thursday was among the best I’ve had this year.
Dining with chef John Bennett, we shared a Butter-Roasted Maine Lobster for starters. Served over a corn puree with pistachios and red pepper beurre fondue, it would work as a light entree. Instead of rolls or bread before dinner, we received delightful popovers with butter and jam.
For the main course, we (405) 478-7171, oklahoman.com/subscribe.
had the 14-ounce rib-eye and a feature of sockeye salmon topped with fried onions and served over Hatch green chiles, diced potatoes and Spanish chorizo. The steak was cooked to a perfect mid-rare and proved tender and succulent. Stranger offers four sauces for steaks: Perigueux, Au Poivre, Bearnaise and Chimichurri. We chose the Perigueux, which was deliciously piquant and also worked on the outstanding Parmesan pomme frites we chose for a side.
For dessert, we had the Banana’s Foster Split, which was simple and delicious.
St. Mark’s is named after the father of operating partner Drew Tekell, who, along with Stranger, is part-owner of En Croute next door. I’ll have more about this propitious spot in a few months.
Seating is limited, including about 20 seats on the floor and 10at the bar. That stands to make St. Mark’s an exclusive seat moving forward.
The restaurant opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and will close late. To make reservations, you can go to the website (stmarkschoproom.com) or call 848-6200.
Cheese Wizardry
Lovera’s Cheese Co. in Krebs recently participated in the American Cheese Society Conference and brought back some hardware for itstime.
This year’s competition boasted 2,024 entries from cheese companies across North America. Lovera’s Shawn Duffy and Matteo Lovera attended the four-day event and brought back first- and second-place honors in the Smoked Cheese category.
Specifically, Lovera’s Hickory Smoked Braided Caciocavera took home the gold. This variation on the traditional Caciocavallo-style cheese is hand-braided, salt brined and slow smoked with hickory.The standard Smoked Caciocavera took silver.
The Traditional Caciocavera was awarded third place in the Pasta Filata category.
Since 2012, Lovera’s has won 14 national and international awards.
For more information, go online to loverasmaket. com. Or plan a weekend trip to Krebs to visit Lovera’s Market and enjoy the many dining opportunities Oklahoma’s Little Italy has to offer.
Born and Brewed returns
The third annual Oklahoma Born & Brewed is from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum in Midtown.
Established craft brewers and breweries will offer old favorites and new small batch brewswith small plates paired by Ned’s Catering.
Participating breweries include (405) Brewing Co., Anthem Brewing Co., Bricktown Brewery, COOP Ale Works, Iron Monk Brewing Co., Marshall Brewing Co., Prairie Artisan Ales, Renaissance Brewing Co., Roughtail Brewing Co., Twisted Spike Brewing Co., Stonecloud Brewing and Vanessa House Brewing Co.
Prairie Wolf Vodka will offer a signature cocktail while Elemental Coffee will pour coffee. All proceeds benefit the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma.
The event will take place in the BennettMcClendon Great Hall of the Gaylord-Pickens Museum, 1400 Classen Drive.
Tickets are $65 each. For tickets and information, go online to OklahomaHOF.com/oklahomaborn-brewed.
Dining afield
CLINTON — The Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program will host the field-to-fork “Blessings from the Field” dinneron Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m.at White Dog Hill,22901 Old 66 Frontage Road.
The ambitious menu includes inspiration from around the globe. Money raised willsupport the future Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership classes.
Cost is $125. To see the full spectacular menu and buy tickets, go online agleadershipok.org/ events-opportunities. The deadline to buy tickets is Monday. More than half the tickets already have been sold, so if you’re interested make haste.
Sweet 16 for Gourmet Gallery
The Gourmet Gallery, with locations at 1532 S Boulevard in Edmond and in The Shoppes at Northpark in Oklahoma City, will celebrate turning 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 26.
Oklahoma specialty food vendors will be on hand at the Northpark locationto offer samples complete with recipes. Exhibitors include: Rick’s Fine Chocolates, Devils Claw, JR’s Okie Smokie, Oats KC Granola, Triple AAA Soda, Ace In the Bowl Salsa, Bedre Chocolate, Della Terra Pasta, E III Cutting Boards, Honey Hill Honey, Lovera’s, Maria Rae’s, Premier Popcorn, Pepper Creek Farms, Prairie Gypsies, Smoklahoma, Rhino Pretzels, Snider Farm Peanuts, Southern Okie, Trader Dave’s, Scott Farms, Cheese Factory, Rita Rims and Over The Fence Farms.
Heard on the Line
Joe Jungman, of Paseo Grill, has been hard at work on a new concept to be called Hopscotch for close to a year. Joe told me the former Dugout and Garfield’s location at 10909 N May Ave. recently passed its fire inspection and is awaiting an occupancy permit. Once the permit is issued, Joe expects to open with five to seven weeks . ...
Fat Dog Kitchen and Bar, 1234 N Western Ave., has closed for restructuring. The restaurant opened last year . ...
Rococo Fine Wine and Spirits, 2824 N Pennsylvania Ave., will host at Big Thank You Party tonight to celebrate 13 years in business. Chef/owner Bruce Rinehart will host the event from 6 to 9 p.m. with live musicand plenty of special. Call 528-2824 to RSVP . ...
On the blog
Nashbird, 1 NE 9, opened to the public on Saturday. Read my impressions of the new concept from chef Marc Dunham and any other local breaking food news on the Food Dude blog, newsok.com/davecathey.