New steakhouse brings a taste of Las Vegas to Oklahoma City
On New Year’s Eve, chef Jonas Favela quietly opened Steak the Experience not far from where he made his biggest impression on the 405 diningscape. The idea was to bring together the two places he calls home, having split his upbringing between here and Las Vegas.
“I grew up mostly around here, but Vegas is home to me, too,” he said. “I grew up part-time with my dad living in Vegas, and I have memories of going out to eat at places on the strip with him. I just really wanted to share some of that vibe, I know you can’t really recreate Vegas, but just some of that Vegas vibe here in Oklahoma City. And to me, that starts with music.”
Between Sin City and Moore, Oklahoma, is the chef ’s story. Thanks to Jeff Rogers Concepts and a passionate, committed crew, he’s spinning that yarn over fire and sending out by the plate with a live music soundtrack.
Favela’s career has taken him through some of the city’s most notable kitchens. Aside from nine years at The Ranch Steak House a stone’s throw away, Favela helmed Flint, The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro, Boulevard Steakhouse and The Meat Market Refectory.
He started at the original Deep Fork Wood Grill and made stops at chef Chip Sears’s Chefs Kitchen, Cheever’s Cafe, and the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club since.
Before the pandemic arrived in March 2020, Favela was embarked on his first solo project, Grafitti’s in Parlor OKC. Brilliant, cohesively comingled Asian and Latin flavors weren’t enough to carry the fledgling concept through those dark times, but that’s when Favela hooked up with Rogers.
“I learned so much doing Graffiti’s. I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish with the small crew that we had, and some of those flavors are here,” Favela said. “But I hooked up with Jeff Rogers during the pandemic, and we’ve stayed busy.”
During the pandemic, Rogers Concepts and Consulting opened Chico Blanco in Bricktown and Yo! Pablo cantinas in five locations around town. Favela helped with those projects and Red Dragon Chinese on May Avenue.
“The dining room is coming along over there,” he said of the Chinese restaurant.
All of that effort, was a means to getting to the former Luby’s Cafeteria at 9410 N May Ave. and converting it into a space worthy of the Las Vegas strip.
Favela didn’t have a bottomless pit of revenue to draw from for the remodel, but he and his crew have brought energy and spirit into a space that embodied the opposite for years.
Blue are the walls and so are the notes of jazz bouncing off them Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Shaun Suttle has the stage on Wednesdays, SidePiece Duo plays Thursdays. Jazz comes Friday via the 5th Edition, the Wade Tower Quartet on Saturdays.
Jonas invited a party of journalists in to take in Steak the Experience, including a menu founded on quality beef capped with Wagyu.
While steak and music conjure the experience, the menu has other options available. Smoked meatloaf for those seeking comfort food, braised short ribs for those who would order their steak well-done, salmon and seabass for pescatarians, and roasted tomato rigatoni and carbonara for pasta-tarians.
We started by sampling items from the dedicated bar menu. The Bang Bang Shrimp was a highlight, but the chicken wings and lettuce
wraps inspired by Graffiti’s are a must. Those who drop into the bar for a cocktail looking for an unfussy dinner will swoon for the wagyu burger with pimiento cheese.
Soon after came the Seafood Tower, which is stacked with lobster, crab, shrimp, and oysters on the half shell and the sauces and the expected condiments.
Roasted shishito peppers, fried calamari, a cheese and charcuterie board, artichoke dip, crab cakes and scallops are also on the appetizer menu.
Then a procession of steaks and sides arrived, as lovely to the eye as the palate. We shared a filet and strip, which were perfectly prepared.
The filet comes in three sizes, rib eyes come in 14-ounce and a 32-ounce bonein tomahawk.
Among sides, cream corn stood out, broccolini offered color to the table and Brussels sprouts did not disappoint.
The menu centers around prime cuts, which can be pricey, but chef ’s choice entrees range from $19 to $39.
So what really stood out? Baked Alaska.
Baked Alaska?
Yes, Baked Alaska made in house by Favela’s pastry chef Kelly Lisenbee. She makes all the desserts and breads. But in nearly 14 years of dining out for a living, I don’t recall a true Baked Alaska as good as this one.
Brought to mind Oklahoma’s dearly departed chef emeritus, John Bennett. He would’ve loved this chocolate ice cream wrapped in rich meringue torched to perfection over raspberry sauce.
The dessert is also representative of how Favela’s menu blends original menu gangsters with flavors borne of more recent cultural comingling.
That menu is carried out by Favela and his sous chefs. Dylan Lynch has a partnership dating back to Meat Market Refectory with Favela while Nik Flores comes to the kitchen from El Paso.
Favela said the restaurant was fortunate Garrett Sullivan was available when they were looking for a general manager. Sullivan came to Rogers Concepts from Tapwerks.
The restaurant is open at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. It closes at 10 p.m. weeknights, and midnight Friday and Saturday. Reservations can be made online or by calling 286-2225.