Museum of Art welcomes Centre Bistro into its dining space
Chef Michael Haddad launched a new chapter for the dining space on the north side of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on Saturday when Centre Bistro held a grand opening.
Haddad, who owns Richey’s Grill in the Oklahoma Tower, was adopted by a Lebanese family, making Lebanese cuisine his base of operations. That and his passion for cooking got him kitchen jobs as a teen working for Nikz at the Top and Junior’s. Haddad broadened his horizons with culinary school in Scottsdale, Arizona, about 20 years ago.
You might’ve seen him working behind the counter and in the kitchen with the late, great Atif Asal at Mediterranean Imports and Deli or Michael’s Grill about a decade ago, but then he hit the road. Gathering culinary inspiration and an education in practicality from the school of hard knocks, Haddad eventually purchased Richey’s Grill from family friend Richard Moorad in 2019.
Centre Bistro, 415 Couch Dr., was an opportunity that arose out of his time spent downtown. Named after the old Centre Theater that once occupied the Museum of Art’s dining space. Before the pandemic, A Good Egg Dining operated the cafe, which originally opened in 2002. Haddad will be the fifth operator to take over the space.
The new concept follows Cafe Pompeii. That summertime-specific lunch concept came from Haddad’s neighbors at Patrono Italian Restaurant.
“(Patrono general manager) Robert Painter called me up and asked me if I wanted to take it over when they were done,” Haddad said. “They wanted an immediate turnaround, which made it a little more difficult, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
I dropped in last week during soft opening during lunch. If you haven’t been to the museum cafe space since before the pandemic, you’ll find it’s now a counter-service operation. Guests order at a counter where the bar once stood and take a number to their table.
Haddad said he plans to keep counter-service, but he does plan to move the register and bring back the bar. The menu is a reflection of his career travels.
“I wanted to offer a menu for my guests that represents what I’ve learned from Dubai to downtown Oklahoma City,” Haddad said. “I’ve blended flavors and techniques from my experience in many places, taking the best of all those cultures to create a simple starting menu.”
As for lunch, I found a burger on the menu named Romeo,
a brawny 8-ounce patty topped with a thick smear of gorgonzola, pancetta, and house-made onion marmalade that arrives with a plume of rosemary as its banner.
Thanks to Alton Brown, there’s been a lot of attention on Oklahoma City’s burger game. I’m not saying Centre Bistro’s new burger is vying for a place next to Nic’s Grill or Sid’s Diner in El Reno, but I will tell you as I lifted the last bite toward its portal to oblivion in the mid
dle of my face, I lived the line: “Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
The burger came with fries (homemade chips are also available) and house-made rosemary ketchup.
I look forward to other options like the Pava Romesco (roasted turkey and cheeses), avocado BLT or caprese panini.
Salads are prepared large enough for an entree or as a starter for two. Those coming for dinner can start with mezzes (starters) like hummus, caramelized onion dip, or The Cypriot (a play on fried haloumi). Entrees include a carbonara, hardy mac & cheese, and a veggie kebab.
For dessert, Haddad offers creme brulee, a baklava sundae, a fleur de sel caramel-chocolate tart and an assortment of macarons and confections.
Haddad will do private dinners in the museum, and the restaurant has wine, beer and craft cocktails. Haddad said wine enthusiasts looking for gifts should drop by during the holidays as he plans to sell off current wine inventory.
The restaurant is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. It will close at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays when downtown events merit it. Sunday will be for brunch, noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 235-6262.
Tis the season for giving
As I wrote last week, the 405 diningscape was busy while I was taking some time off the week of Thanksgiving.
Spent a couple of days volunteering to serve turkey, which was a chance to hang out with Delbert Briggs and his crew at The Homeless Alliance.
Briggs has done a remarkable job adapting service for the local homeless community to almost exclusively takeout this year. For Thanksgiving, Delbert served turkey, dressing, potatoes and hot rolls with the help of chef Brad Johnson of Hal Smith Restaurant Group and students and volunteers at Francis Tuttle’s School of Culinary Art.
Delbert told me it’s been a challenge this year with little-to-no indoor dining space to offer due to the pandemic.
“I had a morning where only 40 people showed up for breakfast,” he told me.
The Homeless Alliance is always in need of goods, and this time of year coats, socks and blankets get special priority, but sleeping bags, winter hats and gloves, rainwear and adult-sized jeans and sweatpants, belts, shoes, and work boots are needed. If you get a chance to donate, they accept them from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 415-8410.
On Thanksgiving Day, I helped Peter Schaeffer and his crew from Kaiser’s Grateful Bean and a troupe of volunteers to offer the the Third Annual Luke Cathey Memorial Thanksgiving Dinner.
Pete’s been serving those in need a free Thanksgiving meal for more than 20 years, but four years ago he dedicated the event to the memory of my son. Last year, the pandemic wouldn’t allow for service but this year we returned and served a dining room full of folks looking for sustenance.
Like the Homeless Alliance, the group who showed up at Kaiser’s was smaller, but that’s not a sign of a shrinking homeless population. Far from it. It’s simply a sign the homeless community, like the rest of humanity, has adapted.
That was a reminder that while giving is more prevalent during the holidays, charity never leaves the holy trinity it shares with hope and faith. This holiday season would be a great time to expand or start a lifetime of giving that operates year-round.
Winner, winner Turkey Dinner?
Another thing that happened while I was on vacation was chef Jonathon Stranger (Osteria, Bar Cicchetti) made an appearance on “Guy’s Grocery Games” and took home a boatload of money. Stranger, who won $16,000 on an episode that aired as part of “ABC XTreme Games” last year, was invited back to Food Network’s show to compete against other past champions.
Chefs were asked to make Thanksgiving-centric dishes, and Stranger emerged the winner, taking home another $19,750 which he said would fund a day at the waterpark for staff.
Congrats to Jonathon, who is busy at work adding to his portfolio. Next up for him is a cantina concept in the Britton District called El Coyote, featuring a dramatic patio and fireside bar with accents in turquoise and adobe.