Nonesuch
“Could Nonesuch be the restaurant to put OKC on the national dining map?” asked Andrew Knowlton in Bon Appétit. I’m betting that it won’t, even though to me this 22-seat tasting-menu outpost is the best new restaurant in America. The three chefs, Colin Stringer, Paul Wang, and Jeremy Wolfe, are unknowns—young local guys who decided to cook in a style inspired by modern Nordic cuisine and do it without any PR push. But they can really cook. Their take on dan-dan noodles is “the kind of dish that follows you around for years,” the mushroom crepe filled with mint, lovage, sorrel, and nasturtium is “like eating your way through an ethereal herb garden,” and everything they serve “looks incredible on the plate.” I found the place thanks to the Instagram photos the chefs post, but even OKC diners haven’t yet discovered what they have in Nonesuch. Stringer “has a way with aging and cooking meats,” Wang “can pickle and ferment anything,” and “Wolfe is a dessert Jedi.” Together, they’re “three guys in a band, heads down, making beautiful music together.” Whether the world discovers them is beside the point. 803 N. Hudson Ave., (405) 601-9131 a town of 342 that acts as a gateway to Shenandoah National Park, John and Diane MacPherson have created a “dreamy environment” for a destination dinner. In a room with only 16 seats and just a single seating per night, every table feels like a chef’s table, and “little touches make big impressions.” The house-baked rye bread, veined with pecans, is presented atop local river stones, and the butter alone is superb. The MacPhersons and their two sous chefs take turns delivering the five courses from the open kitchen. A recent meal began with a scallop in saffron-colored coconut milk, followed by a ricotta-topped gazpacho, a mushroom pasta perfectly matched with