Oak & Ore plucks success from fryer
Nearing its third anniversary, Oak & Ore has found its stride in the middle of the Plaza District, fueled by craft beer but bolstered by fried chicken.
Sounds like a simple combination, but the road to this recipe for success isn’t that simple. Owner Micah Andrews, 34, is equal parts artisan and entrepreneur whose weapon of choice is data.
Andrews paved the path to taking reservations on Tuesday nights with trial, error and data processing.
It might not be romantic, but it’s sound, and anyone in the business will tell you that’s what pays the bills.
Along the way, Andrews has positioned himself as one of the community’s leading voices in craft brewing. He runs a side business that services the industry, and he’s founder of the annual Oklahoma Craft Beer Summit.
But his home base is Oak & Ore, where beer isn’t served ice cold unless it’s supposed to be.
From creator to curator
Andrews has a tendency to get passionate about beverages. Coffee was first, leading to an 11-year stint with Starbucks.
“I managed the highest-volume Starbucks in the city for eight years,” he said. “I probably trained pretty much every Starbucks manager in Oklahoma City.”
He said working for the coffee giant not only taught him valuable lessons in business operation, but an affinity for “the developing your palate and understanding the taste of things.”
“That quickly moved into beer, gosh probably 10 years ago,” he said. “I was homebrewing and tasting with people like Chase (Healey, of American Solera), Pat (Lively, of Anthem Brewery) and Blake (Jarolim, from COOP Ale Works).”
After acquiring a taste for it, he decided to try his hand as a brewer.
“I was never a very good a home-brewer,” he admitted. “I was decent at it. But my friends got really good at it and started opening businesses.”
Andrews said he found inspiration for his role in the local beer community in the Windy City.
“My brother and I took a trip to Chicago in 2010, and we visited the different breweries and tap rooms there. We saw this craft beer community where people were gathering to talk about beer. The staff at every place we went to engaged us in conversation about the product. My brother (who is an electrical engineer) said, ‘Why don’t you open a beer bar?’
That set in motion a fiveyear process that came to fruition in the heart of the Plaza District.
Chicken to the rescue
Oak & Ore, 1732 NW 16, opened in December 2014. The industrial dining room carved out of the former Blair’s Upholstery is flanked by a 50-foot-long bar with beer taps smart enough to understand the tax code.
Beer lovers responded immediately, but a place that claims to be a restaurant can’t survive on beer alone. The good news was, all the pieces were in place to offer a dynamic menu out of a chef-driven kitchen. And the passion Andrews has for beer was born out of an affinity for gourmet foods.
“I was the kid who stayed in during the summer and watched Food Network,” he said.
So, turning to the data, Andrews plotted a course that ultimately resulted in moving one of its top tap-minders into the kitchen and developing a promotion that’s made Tuesday nights an occasion at Oak & Ore.
Despite its proximity to residences, Andrews said he knew he needed to spread the word that Oak & Ore also was family-friendly.
Enter Fried Chicken Tuesdays. Now, starting at 5 p.m. every week folks can come in and order by the plate or by the bucket with family-style sides on tables lined with butcher paper. Kids are welcome to make the paper table-covers a canvas for their crayons. Andrews said they also have family-oriented board games available.
But making fried chicken in a restaurant that doesn’t serve it everyday isn’t as simple as it may sound. Fried chicken for the masses requires a substantial amount of kitchen space and manpower.
“Frying a bone-in chicken breast is usually a 15-minute process,” Andrews said.
Andrews consulted with his chef, Alvie Claborn, and they begin testing recipes right away.
Since Oak & Ore started pumping out its variations on the American classic in August, Tuesdays have become a sensation.
“If you want to come in on Tuesday now, we’re encouraging people to make reservations,” Andrews said.
After sampling through Claborn’s fried chicken, it’s easy to see why.
The Tuesday menu includes four variations on the crown jewel of Southern cuisine. Southern buttermilk is the baseline, a delicious iteration that arrives as crunchy on the outside as it is juicy in the middle. Nashville Hot is all the rage across the country right now, and Claborn’s version is spot-on.
He includes just enough brown sugar to the breading to balance the heat but not so much that it burns.
If you’re not into bone-in chicken (shame on you!), lean into a honey butter chicken biscuit or go for the sprawling chicken-fried chicken served with Alvie’s mmmm-inducing bacon jam gravy.
The chicken is sold four-, 10- and 12-piece options with different varieties. Both the Southern buttermilk, Nashville Hot and biscuits are available by the bucket for those looking for a throwback to chicken dining in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Each month, Claborn adds a variation on the chicken, drawing inspiration from around the globe.
“There’s a lot of great fried chicken recipes from around the world,” he said. “We’ll be featuring something new every month to share those great flavors.”
This month’s feature is a variation on the Japanese classic Chicken Karage.
But Oak and Ore is much more than Fried Chicken Tuesdays, starting with beer.
Brew to perfection
From the day it opened, Oak & Ore has been one of the city’s hot spots for premium beer consumption.
“I believe that craft beer should be served with the same passion and care the brewers take in creating it,” Andrews said. “Many a craft beer is misrepresented by poor service, whether it is served at an improper temperature, improperly stored, too old, served in improper glassware ... just to mention a few.
To make sure they get things right, Oak & Ore uses 36 stainless steel taps to serve a rotating menu of craft beers.
The taps are capable of pouring at four different temperatures with adjustable carbonation levels when necessary.
Libations are served in glassware appropriate to their style.
Andrews trains servers on craft beer and proper service, using the Cicerone Certification Program.
On the food side, Alvie’s daily menu is a nice mix of flavors broad enough to pair with the many beers on tap. It doesn’t hurt that he started out behind the bar at Oak & Ore.
“I had a career in banking before the housing crunch then went into culinary while I lived in Colorado,” he said. “I worked in kitchens and food trucks there before I moved back.”
His job minding the tap gave him a insight into how to approach the menu when he took over earlier this year.
So, if you’re not in on a Tuesday or simply want something other than fried chicken, the Thai taco salad is a winner. A fried wonton bowl plays nest to stir-fried chicken in peanut sauce tossed in a spicy sambal dressing with Romaine, Asian slaw, cilantro, jalapenos and crumbled peanuts.
Sandwiches come in banh mi, Cubano and a French dip with brisket. Street tacos are available because, by now, it’s the law. Alvie’s brand are stuffed with beer-braised pulled pork in a guajillo chile sauce. They are topped with crema, salsa and cilantro.
The Korean BBQ is essentially Bulgogi, steak cooked in a sweet and spicy marinade, with rice, kimchi and do chua. It’s big and bold for hearty appetites. The Caribbean salmon is a great choice for those seeking lighter fare.
Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then regular service until 10 p.m. on Sundays. Regulars hours are 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, with hours extended to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Reservations are recommended for Fried Chicken Tuesdays, call 606-2030. For more information including the live tap list, go to oakand ore.com.