DINING NOTES Innovation fuels Sonic boom
A day spent inside the Culinary Innovation Center at Sonic headquarters last week offered definitive evidence of how chef Scott Uehlein and his crew keep Sonic on the cutting edge of the quick-service restaurant world.
That’s a much longer story than we have space for today, so I will have to settle for letting you know the new Slinger is worth checking out, and the forthcoming pickle-juice slushie is as delicious as it is horrifying.
My face did the same thing most of yours did when the pickle slushie arrived, but then I tasted it.
Some will love the shock-value, and a slightly larger crowd carry palates cosmically linked to cucumber brine. But the average palate doesn’t typically associate pickle juice with a sweet, icy treat.
Honesty compels me to report chef Uehlein and friends have found a way to extract the delicious soul of the dill pickle and transfer it into a refreshing flavor that in no way brings to mind sipping from a jar of gherkins.
In the same way the Kool-Aid pickle throws the palate for a loop, so, too, does the pickle slushie.
Out of a group of about half a dozen beverages in front of me, the pickle slushie was the one I consistently returned to through the afternoon.
As surprising as the pickle slushie was, the item I sampled and was genuinely wowed by was the new Slinger. What makes the Slinger work is its patty, which is a blend of ground beef and mushrooms.
“Wait, what?” you ask. Hit the breaks. Take a deep breath, and take a second to remind yourself how much sauteed mushrooms enhance a great steak.
Then consider the prime difference between the thin patties places like Sonic serve versus gourmet emporiums like
Nic’s Grill is juiciness. Raw mushrooms produce moisture as they cook. So, as the beef burns off its natural juices, the mushroom reconstitutes while adding umami other burgers lack.
The fact that it offers fewer calories will draw a lot of folks, but I predict the flavor will keep them coming back.
We learned a lot more about what’s coming soon and how far ahead chef Uehlein and his crew look for flavors. We even had an interesting chat with CEO Cliff Hudson, who made a strong case for using the Sonic app, which is uniquely positioned to show the way for pickup service in the fast-evolving quick-service category.
We’ll save those tidbits for another day. In the meantime, the Slinger is currently available, but you’ll have to wait until June to give the pickle juice slushie a chance.
OSU plans Inaugural Craft Beer Forum
The Oklahoma State University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the College of Human Sciences has scheduled the inaugural Craft Beer Forum of Oklahoma on April 7 at the new Wayne Hirst Center for Education.
Like its sister event, the Wine Forum of Oklahoma, the Craft Beer Forum is a student-led and student-managed event.
“The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is proud to host this inaugural event as part of our continuous effort to be a leader in hospitality education,” said Ben Goh, assistant dean and school director, in a release. “The 2017 Wine Forum of Oklahoma was truly a groundbreaking event. With the addition of The Craft Beer Forum, we will continue this legacy by educating students and the public on craft beers and brewers, a natural fit for Oklahoma.”The Craft Beer Forum program includes keynote speakers, seminars, lunch and a PintN-Bite Tasting to end the day. The range of seminars includes beginner, intermediate and advanced sessions with a variety of educational options for attendees.
The Pint-N-Bite will include tastings from 25 breweries and 20 chefs from across the country.
The honorary chair for the Craft Beer Forum is Eric Marshall, founder of Marshall Brewing Co. located in Tulsa. Marshall studied brewing in Munich and apprenticed in many breweries during his time in Germany. In 2007, he began Marshall Brewing, Tulsa’s first production craft microbrewery.
The ticket price for the Stein-NSnack and all day sessions is $75, and the evening Pint-N-Bite Tasting is $50.
Registration begins at 10 a.m. with a full day of events and seminars planned. For more information and tickets, go online to craftbeerforumofoklahoma.com.
Something brewing at the Ambassador
Changes are happening in the kitchen at the Ambassador Hotel. Chef Taylor Desjarlais recently took the stove at the Viceroy Grille, succeeding Leo Novak.
By the end of the year, Desjarlais will not be chef of the Viceroy. That’s not to scare his wife, Hunter, into taking triple shifts, it’s to let you know the Viceroy will be replaced by a new concept at which Taylor will remain chef.
The new place will be called Cafe Cuvee.
The massive upgrade chef Kurt Fleischfresser enacted at Vast obviously has caught the attention of the industry. Last year, Ambassador hired Fleischfresser as a consultant to oversee not just the local rebrand but as the company plots an aggressive nationwide expansion plan.
“It’s going to be a classic French brasserie,” Fleischfresser said of the new restaurant inside the Ambassador. “Picture a place where John Bennett would want to plant his butt.”
Look for many more details on this venture, including how the chef emeritus’s derriere finds the environs, down the calendar.
Pop the cork
Vast’s next Wine for the People event casts France versus California on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Chef Kevin Lee’s team will offer appetizers with wines from France and California presented by Thirst Wine Merchants. Cost is $35.
Then on Tuesday Vast rekinkles its Chef Wine Dinner Series with Eric Smith, of VZD’s and The Crown Room, and Josephy Royer, of Saturn Grill and The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro. The Coach House Apprenticeship Program grads will present a fivecourse meal with wine pairings from Anne Amie’s pinot collection, grown and produced along the hillsides of the Chehalem Mountains. Cost is $125 and dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.
For tickets to either event, go online to eventbrite.com and keyword: Vast.