OFF AND RUNNING
The Track Kitchen welcomes Foody Friday with new menu
The Oaklawn Track Kitchen may be a little out of the way — separated from the casino and track at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort by a large parking lot — but it punches above its weight when it comes to the food it serves.
Historically, the Track Kitchen served jockeys and trainers, and today still does. Three years ago, however, it was rebuilt and now serves any and all local customers delicious and high-quality comfort food from breakfast to lunch.
“It really was designed initially because it was closer to where the horse trainers and everything were at over here. Originally it was a very small operation here, just to be able to feed the jockeys,” Ken Bredeson, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort executive chef, said.
“And then both Louis and Rochelle
Cella decided, ‘You know what? We think there’s an opportunity for us to be able to capture some business and also it’s an amenity for the community.’ There’s a few breakfast places around town here … breakfast places are always cranking … busy all the time. So, we wanted to capture that,” Bredeson said.
“You’re going to get steak and eggs, waffles … Reuben sandwiches, turkey clubs, hamburgers. On a regular basis we do cakes by the slice — we have a company that makes homemade cakes for us. Every day they come in, we have them on the turn tables out here. Guests can come through and see what slices of cake we have fresh. Very much like a homestyle diner kind of feel to it,” he said.
Since Bredeson took over operations as Oaklawn’s executive chef, he has taken an active role in determining what is offered at the Track Kitchen. The restaurant’s menu used to cover a broad spectrum, he said, with a lot of different items on the menu — not all being successful sellers.
“I really tried to pull it toward what I considered the core group of what a diner would have … blue plate specials … just focusing on not so many items, but doing the items really, really well. So when you get a pancake — a four stack — it’s a good four stack and you can get it dressed multiple ways. You can get it dressed with pancake syrup and butter, or you can get it with bananas, strawberries, blueberries,” he said.
“We have a new menu that we started not even a month ago. Before we did get a lot of people asking for salad, so we added that. Basically took some of the things the guests
were asking for and put it into a new menu,” Annette Taylor, the Oaklawn Track Kitchen’s new manager, said.
One of the most popular items on the new menu is the chicken and waffle sliders made with Liege waffles, which have sugar crystals baked inside and are topped with fresh-sliced oranges, mint, and drizzled with syrup.
Another local favorite is steak and eggs — a bourbon-marinated, cooked-to-order flat-iron steak with eggs, hash browns and a side of toast.
“We do a great burger … people come in here because they love our burgers. They’re big, large patties. We’re currently working on a program to try to get locally-sourced beef, so we can get something from inside the Arkansas borders — just to be able to reach out to the community and try to support the local business as well. They do some really good beef around here,” Bredeson said.
“During track season, it’s extremely hard to get in here, so we have to section off tables so (jockeys) can come in here and eat, because it’ll be really, really busy in here,” he said.
“People just love the Track Kitchen, not just the people on the back end that we see a lot of whenever race season’s here, but just in general. People love the idea of coming to the ‘Track Kitchen’ and they like the idea that they don’t have to go into the actual building with the casino and all that,” Taylor said. Q&A with Annette Taylor
The following are excerpts from the interview with Annette Taylor, presented in question-and-answer format:
Q: Favorite meal of all time?
A: I like a rib-eye, if my husband’s not cooking it, then Texas Roadhouse here in Hot Springs. I find that Hot Springs’ is better than other Texas Roadhouses. Q: Go-to comfort food? A: I’m a sweet-eater, so anything sweet, that’s my comfort food. It doesn’t have to be any certain thing.
Q: Favorite restaurant? A: Texas Roadhouse.
Q: Favorite part of working in the Hot Springs area?
A: I honestly love working at Oaklawn. I started as a group sales assistant, and then moved to game room supervisor, food and beverage supervisor, and then I moved to the resort side as a resort food and beverage supervisor and then now I’m over here.
Q: Advice for someone getting started in the restaurant business?
A: Probably just lots of training and be open to new ideas, because as the industry grows you got to be open to changes.