A “WTF Happened to This Place” Roadtrip Part 3 – Review: Ludivine

1 October 2019

I woke up just before sunrise like every day of this roadtrip and was ready to go. Today’s the last of the driving as I head back to Oklahoma City. I headed north-east and made a few necessary stops before I got back to OKC and returned my car. Goodness, I somehow put on 3037 miles (4860km) in the last 9 days…

After all that, I luckily had a relaxing afternoon in OKC just lounging around my hotel room, relaxing with my guilty pleasure — an ultimate cheeseburger from Jack In The Box… Really, I’d rather have one of those than a Michelin-starred meal — the true definition of a guilty pleasure.

But I was also looking forward to dinner tonight at Ludivine. Last time I ate there I had a very nice dinner, albeit interrupted by a tornado warning and evacuation to the shelter (which was why I chose not to write a review at the time). I’m hoping for as good of a dinner tonight, but with less weather-related drama!

I took a Lyft to Ludivine and it was rather quiet this Tuesday evening. I relaxed at the counter and looked over the menu over a drink. I decided to go with the tasting menu as it was all off-menu stuff, and I like places that make an effort for their tasting menus. I had a good tasting menu last time, so I have some confidence it’ll be solid. However, I noticed that the number of courses had dropped (from 5 to 4) and the price has gone up (especially the wine). Well, it can’t be easy to run a fine-dining place in OKC I guess…

After a little bit, things started. I guess no amuse tonight, as the first dish arrived…

Salmon tartar, lightly cured, not bad. A solid start. I was a little surprised that my server, when pouring my wine (which was paired), did not know where my wine was from and had to go look. But overall it worked, a good start. Then the second dish appeared, and it all started to go downhill…

This rabbit dish was a mess, sadly. The mushroom risotto was a mush, cooked rather unevenly. Some of it was way overcooked, some of it was hard. And the rabbit loin? It was cold. I asked if it was supposed to be cold, and they admitted no. Oops. And that was paired with a very skimpy pour of garnacha…

I noticed that as they got busier, my server seems to be running back and forth from the other room for the wines. The host, who should have been doubling as a runner (since he’s doing nothing), seems to be purposely ignoring the customers. I tried to get his attention a few times but he just kept staring out the door. Even when the kitchen was asking for dishes to be served, he only moved when he was cajoled to do so. And you can tell he knows how to do it, as he managed to give the dish description — including my third dish, the venison.

I have to say the venison was decently good, I’m sure the kitchen took far more care on the temperature after my previous issue. But the problem was no wine, and that came later. Another very skimpy pour. If you are gonna charge as much as full-pours of wines-by-the-glass for 4 dishes, why then scam people with this pairing when the server don’t even know what wine it is? This is just piss-poor FoH stuff, borderline scammy. What’s with Oklahoma places and FoH scams? Is it the casino culture? Sigh…

By this point I didn’t even enjoy that venison as much as I should have. Oh well. And we’re done. This isn’t really even a tasting menu, more like a set menu with an inflated price. Should have done everything ala carte — especially the drinks. They were okay about substituting the pairing for a scotch for the dessert, so that’s good of them.

The chocolate torchon was pretty good, and I enjoyed this close. But as I was planning to get some coffee and another after-dinner drink (the scotch pour was, as expected, skimpy), my server was nowhere to be found and the host had reverted into his zombie mood and ignoring my calls and waves for his attention. He was 5 steps away, I was sitting at the edge of the counter closest to the host stand.

At this point I just gave up. No reason to waste any more money at a place that doesn’t appreciate the custom. The kitchen was already mediocre, but tonight’s fail was very much a FoH one that made it just unpleasant. One of those textbook nights where dinner could have been passably good, but pushed down into disappointing by a poor FoH.

It’s sad when the 2 best things I had in Oklahoma is BBQ in Durant and a Jack In the Box cheeseburger instead of these pricey upscale restaurants that don’t understand some FoH basics. I guess when there’s a dearth of choices it’s easier to not improve. But again, what’s happened to this place compared to a few years ago…sigh…

I head home tomorrow on a morning flight in total disappointment…

Ludivine
320 NW 10th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahooma

Things That Never Fail — Good Southern BBQ

24-30 September 2019

One of the biggest joys of travelling in the South is that you get fantastic BBQ. Not BS, flavour-of-the-month I-took-third-place-at-a-regional-event stuff, but properly done as it has for generations. And on this trip, I managed to sample 2 of my all-time favourites that I’ve been dying to enjoy again, and found a surprisingly good third in a rather unexpected location.

As mentioned in earlier reviews, I had the pleasure of stopping at Sims Bar-B-Que when I was in Little Rock. Since I first visited in 2015, I have been dreaming of the rib tips from this venerable business. When you’ve been making BBQ for as long as this place, you definitely know what to do. And even the sketchy location didn’t deter me, as this time I was ready for the somewhat off-putting security measures (understandable) here.

I arrived mid/late afternoon on a weekday, so obviously no crowd. I took my stuff to go, as I was done for the day and my hotel wasn’t far away. I thanked the friendly staff as I quickly went back to my rental car to get to my hotel. I’ve not had lunch so I was hungry. And I was soon rewarded with some beauties…

I had a set of rib tips and a set of ordinary pork ribs here. They both have their appeal. I’m usually not a sauce person, but Sims has one of the best BBQ sauce in the world, and I made a rare exception to have it drenched in sauce. Fabulous stuff. The ribs had a proper smoke to it, but the flesh was moist and tender, about as tender as it can be without falling off the bone (which isn’t good in a saucy BBQ). Perfect. The tips too, similar, but has its own appeal. I’ve waited over 4 years to enjoy these babies again, and it was worth the wait. Far better than the previous night’s rubbish at Juniper in Tulsa… So good…

A few days later, after my surprisingly good Japanese dinner at Sonobana in a suburban Nashville strip-mall, I headed back westward. A bit of a snake-y route but I had a busy early afternoon in Memphis, not helped by how crazy busy the city was with multiple events this Saturday; luckily I was somewhere completely deserted (I’m sure my readers can guess). But after 2 hours of hiking in the blazing sun and near-record heat (that’s saying a lot for Memphis), I was done, and I made a stop at another of my all-time favourite BBQ places — A&R Bar-B-Que.

Memphis is sketchy once you get south of Beale Street, and it’s so heartbreaking to see some of it en route to A&R. Parts of it look far worse than even the bad parts of Lima or Quito… But A&R is always an oasis for those who love BBQ, and I stopped off this mid-afternoon for my day’s food. Again I had skipped lunch, so I carried enough for a day’s feasting — plus perhaps breakfast tomorrow. I headed to my dodgy hotel near Memphis airport and opened up my bounty…

One of A&R’s specialties, something I’ve been dying to eat again since my last trip 4 years ago, is their smoked turkey leg, and this is fantastic. Tastes far, far better than it looks. The skin at this point is not to everyone’s liking, but the flavour of the meat inside is just amazing… No need for sauce, though the A&R spicy is another one of the sauces that I would make a rare exception and use…

And their ribs are fabulous also. Perfect, with just enough smoke for the juicy and tender meat. I almost wish I had more than half a rack, but with that turkey leg I was set. I saved the second turkey leg for breakfast/lunch the next morning before I headed out the door, but dessert…

Oh my this was crazy rich…what a great little treat! I was stuffed…until I got up at 5am, and that second turkey leg was waiting for me…

Yeah, right? Nice way to fuel oneself. Geez, these 2 BBQ places didn’t fail me like so many places with cooked foods. Even the service at these places were better. Efficent, no BS. Not quite like Parlor Market in Jackson, which still stung. I finished the last of the turkey leg just before sunrise and headed out west, glad to not have to deal with the rising sun during my morning drives.

A long day snaking south-west through Arkansas, I eventually ended the day in the Shreveport area. I didn’t intend on stopping in Louisiana on this trip, but it was here or Texarkana — and all of the places I wanted to eat at in Texarkana were closed on a Sunday. So I went with Louisiana. A surprisingly good take-away dinner from Lucky Palace, I didn’t expect this quality of authentic Chinese food here. This restaurant also boasts a top wine programme apparently and is a James Beard wine nominee. Sadly, the service was so chaotic this day I chose to not eat in, and just had some wine as I waited for the take-away.

The final full day of driving I headed out north-west, through north-east Texas, making several stops. Eventually I rolled into Durant, Oklahoma. Why, you ask. I’m not sure. I timed my drive and with some of the stops I needed to make in Oklahoma I couldn’t do it in time to push all the way back to OKC. And Durant looked passable compared to a few other towns nearby at the Oklahoma-Texas border area. I wasn’t too keen on all the casino activity, so hopefully my motel is quiet enough…

It was barely passable, not helped by the long-term stay people (mostly construction crew) who treated the property like their home, setting up lawn furniture on motel balconies blocking people from moving around, and smoking endless amount of pot that kept coming into my room…oh joy. But at least I had this to get me by…

I found Main Street Barbecue by accident, and didn’t think much of it. I was hungry as I had not eaten all day (again) so I had 2 mixed plates to go. And to my surprise every item was good! It looked dry, but the beef brisket was excellent, as was the ham and turkey. The ribs were also good, as were the sides. But the stars here were the assortment of smoked sausages. They were absolutely delicious. A heck of a surprise here, and it’s telling that every item was good.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter. The big restaurants constantly fail me, because the margin for error are far smaller there. But these reliable BBQ places? They hit the spot every time, because they are consistently good. All three are totally recommended if you are in the area — and some of them worth a major detour!

Sims Bar-B-Que
2415 Broadway
Little Rock, Arkansas

A&R Bar-B-Que
1802 Elvis Presley Boulevard
Memphis, Tennessee

Main Street Barbecue
42 West Main Street
Durant, Oklahoma

A Music City Surprise (Review: Sonobana)

27 September 2019

I headed out of Oxford a little sad, as I’ve finally had a nice meal; dinner at City Grocery last night was a pleasure. But now it’s time to head north-east, snaking through the last bits of Mississippi until I reached Corinth and eventually onto the Natchez Trace Parkway for a relaxing drive towards Nashville.

A quick stop at Meriweather Lewis’s grave en route, I rolled into Nashville mid-afternoon. The point of visiting a city I don’t quite enjoy was for one thing — to attend the King Crimson concert at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Seeing Bob Fripp play in the home of the Grand Ole Opry was something I couldn’t pass up.

But that all turned into a mess. Downtown Nashville is nutty enough on a given day, but a Friday evening with a Carrie Underwood concert at the arena next door? It’s just sheer chaos. And unfortunately I chose to leave the concert at the intermission, the primary reason being the extremely thick cloud of pot smoke in my section. With the Ryman’s balcony so low, the floor seating ceiling traps the fumes — which all came from DAMN VAPERS. They think it’s okay to do this indoors because it’s vaping and not lighting up a bud…but it’s far, far worse fume-wise. I nearly passed out at one point…

I’m too old for this shit (despite all the vaping tokers older than me)…

I headed out and grabbed a Lyft, thanking the fates that the Carrie Underwood show had not finished yet. I decided at that point to get some food instead of heading back to my hotel, and I had 3 possibilities on my list. I chose the one that took me furthest away from downtown, and generally in the direction of my hotel — Sonobana.

Now why would Mel eat Japanese food in suburban Nashville of all places? Why risk it? I can’t explain, but I had a good feeling about this place for some reason after reading about it. When I arrived at the non-descript strip-mall location I was led to the sushi counter. I relaxed over a sake, still nursing a headache from the damn pot fumes. I started to perk up when I saw the specials board listing one of my favourite snacks — shishamo. So I ordered an initial set of food and hoped for the best…

Well, I think this sushi selection soothed any questions I could have had of this place. They were fresh and delicious, especially the saba, hamachi and hokigai. As good as the far pricier 15 East in NYC. And my shishamo arrived!

Oh these are good, almost as good as ones I get in Japan — lovely, plump, full of roe. So I ordered another one!

So good…and in the meantime a few more items arrived. First off some ankimo…

I still can’t really believe I’m eating ankimo in suburban Nashville…then some lovely grilled gindara (sablefish)…

Oh this is so good…lovely and rich, the miso working perfectly. I’m really enjoying this dinner! And more food!

The grilled sanma (saury) is quite good, though makes me miss Japan so much…

I miss it less tho with a third order of shishamo! You see how much I love these things! I was getting pretty full, and they were about to close up, so I ordered my version of a dessert from my excellent sushi chef…

Lovely quality toro here, and some anago…

Fantastic end. I still can’t believe I’m eating this in suburban Nashville. I guess leaving the concert early turned out well after all. I finished my sake and thanked the staff for taking such good care of me.

This was a find that’s for sure. There’s a connected Japanese market too, so these folks are serious. I know if I ever end up in Nashville again I’ll make sure to stop at a certain suburban strip-mall for some excellent food!

Highly recommended!

Sonobana
40 White Bridge Road
Nashville, Tennessee

Finally, a Good Place Stayed Good! (Review #2: City Grocery)

26 September 2019

I headed out of Jackson still saddened by that disappointing night at Parlor Market, for a long time one of my destination restaurants that has not failed. I spent a long day snaking through the eastern part of the state, making several stops — including the Food Giant in Columbus, which is extremely famous for its fried chicken. Oh, the chicken are indeed good…

The day eventually ended in the university town of Oxford, where the excellent City Grocery is located. It’s another of the restaurants I’ve enjoyed over the years, and I’m just hoping not to have a similar experience to last night and to Juniper in Tulsa…

I was seated at a cosy table and I relaxed with a cocktail and ordered. Soon my snack arrived…

I love devilled eggs, and these were a tasty start. Then next up was the corn soup…

Oh my goodness this was fabulous. The smoke was deep and penetrating into the corn, which added a wonderful level of complexity into a tasty dish. So nice and thick, with a few fried oysters to help it along. Fabulous, one of the best soups of the year!

But at this point for some reason they dimmed the already low lights here and I literally could not even see my drink anymore…so I asked to move to the bar, which was bright. With another drink in hand, I awaited my main — which I did not choose. I gave my server a few options and left it up to him, but when he told the bartender which wine to pour, I suspect it was the beef cheeks…

And I was right. Oh my these are tender and excellent. Lovely flavours, working well with the grit “risotto” beneath. I’m not just enjoying these dishes, but also relieved that finally one of my standing favourite places to eat has not failed me — tho it’s sad that it’s come to this. Excellent night.

I enjoyed more drinks and chatting with the friendly staff, and decided on a dessert…

A nice apple tart, going well with the local tipple the bartender suggested. After one final drink, I thanked the staff and headed out to catch a Lyft back to my hotel. A much-needed and much-appreciated good evening out. City Grocery has done itself proud once again, excellent food and service.

I’ve always enjoyed Oxford, and I know I’ll definitely be back to enjoy this place again in the future. So relieved…

City Grocery
152 Courthouse Square
Oxford, Mississippi

A “WTF Happened to This Place” Roadtrip Part 2 – Review #4: Parlor Market

25 September 2019

That Tulsa stop and deflating dinner at Juniper did not help as I headed east the next day. A dreary and stormy day through Arkansas, I reached Little Rock. An excellent BBQ dinner (will chronicle this later), and the following day I continued my south-east trek into Mississippi. I eventually snaked along the Mississippi River on Route 1, eventually reaching my destination of the evening — Jackson.

I always have a very soft spot for Mississippi, probably my favourite place to visit in the South. Jackson I particularly enjoy, especially Parlor Market. I’ve had several excellent meals here over the years, and I was looking forward to another good night — so I can forget about that Tulsa mess.

I arrived on a quiet Wednesday evening and took my now-usual seat on the far edge of the bar. I relaxed, knowing the bar works at a relaxed pace here. Eventually I ordered a drink and an opener, and the former arrived. Nice and refreshing as usual. Then my starter arrived…

I’ve always enjoyed their roasted oysters and these were quite nice. Plump and flavourful, a wonderful start to the night. I had put an order in for a second and third dish, and I relaxed with another drink. And after awhile, they…yeah…THEY appeared…

Here’s the octopus puttanesca, which wasn’t supposed to show up at the same time as my second (which explains the bad focus, sorry)…

The soft-shelled crabs…which was supposed to be my second. To his credit the bartender apologised pretty quickly as he saw what happened and realised he messed up on the order. They offered to take one back but at this point it’s not worth it.

Unfortunately, neither dish was very good. The soft-shell crab was over-breaded and lacking in flavour; I felt I was eating very expensive batter…

The pasta was cooked very poorly in this mess of a dish, so I basically picked out the octopus from the dish, which was at least done well enough. The rest of it was a salty-yet-extremely-bland mess, with the pasta sticking together like sheets. Very disappointing in so many ways…

Frankly, even if I took up their offer to take back the crabs for later it wouldn’t have made a difference since the pasta was a mess, and the very overpriced crabs wouldn’t have improved. For the second sit-down dinner in a row, by skipping the previously-excellent duck to try something new, backfired terribly badly.

What compounded the problem at that point was the service from the bar, which is (and has always been) slow, has turned into a crawl and the bartender had disappeared for an extended amount of time. They had earlier offered to comp a dessert, which I turned down as I just wanted to get going. To their credit they did comp one of the glasses of wine I had — so at least they did something right compared to Juniper the other night. But with the bartender’s long absence I gave up on the after-dinner drink idea and just settled up.

But this was disappointing, especially when I made Parlor Market a destination restaurant so many times. It failed me tonight. It seems rather chaotic service-wise, even more than usual, and unfortunately it was the first time the cooking failed. I guess this kitchen staffing crisis is as bad down here as up north…

I walked out of Parlor Market so sad, knowing I will not return again…

Parlor Market
115 West Capitol Street
Jackson, Mississippi

A “WTF Happened to This Place” Roadtrip Part 1 – Review #2: Juniper

23 September 2019

I flew to Oklahoma City to begin what could be the last big roadtrip for a long time. First stop, Tulsa. I’ve not been back in Oklahoma’s second city since 2015, when I had a surprisingly good dinner at Juniper. As I had to pass through the area anyway, I decided to make Tulsa my first overnight stop.

I arrived at Juniper on a quiet Monday evening and was led to my table. A friendly server brought over my menus and soon my cocktail, a rather delicious and refreshing tipple with a touch of spice that made it even more enjoyable. Then a wee amuse…

A nice little nibble with goat cheese and poppy seeds. A good preview for what would be my opening course, the beet and goat cheese salad…

Huh? This is it? I had to ask where the goat cheese was, and was told by the same server that it was the “smear” below everything. Huh? This is absolutely mis-labelling and mis-selling. Frankly there was more goat cheese on the amuse than this dish! Ridiculous. And to make it even worse? The arugula quality was dreadful, worse than even supermarket stuff. Ugh… Abandoned…

I was now worried about my second as the pork loin special was very much upsold by my server, who said it was the best thing on the menu — and talked me out of the duck, which was so good last time I was here. I got more worried when an adjacent table asked her for recommendations and she listed 3 things and AVOIDED the thing she recommended me. WTF.

And now I understand. This was a brick. Overcooked, poor cut. Half of it was dried out, overcooked; the other parts that were cooked to a better temperature had no flavour. The rest of it was a mess. As a big fan of okra, these were extremely sad.

The FoH manager offered to take the salad off but I said no, as I had eaten it. And of course they had not taken the initiative to take a glass of wine off or something else, they just shrugged it off. I settled up and got the heck out of there.

Sadly, another of the “what the fuck has happened to this place” stories I’m having all over the country. Is it just staffing issues everywhere? The kitchen produced a stinker this evening, but the FoH was guilty of some pretty annoying practices that turns me off even more from eating out.

All my previous recommendations of this place is vehemently withdrawn at this point. Just avoid this mess.

Juniper
324 East 3rd Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma