Local Flavor

Tennessee lady named June on an excursion to Albuquerque. She agreed, provided he nd someone to accompany them. e chaperone he found was a handsome veteran from Santa Fe named Willie Ortiz.

But perhaps the best place to begin is in December 1972, when Willie and June Ortiz, now long married with grandchildren, opened a restaurant in Santa Fe named La Tertulia – a name Nashan now uses for his own slice of Santa Fe.

“My dream for my Tertulia is to pay homage to my grandparents and their restaurant,” says Nashan. “I started my culinary journey with them and I want to end it with them. at doesn’t mean that my recipes are simply copies of theirs. I take their techniques as foundation, and then make it my own.”

Sometimes he simply changes the technique to enhance the avor. Take the salsa; it used to be just the heart of the chile mixed with water and garlic. But now they make it con pellejo, with some of the peel added, to bring out the avor of those Chimayo peppers. Equally often, Nashan creates entirely new entrees which spring from his love and knowledge of his grandparents’ food.

And then there’s the molino. Yes, it’s a newfangled electric machine, but it uses a pile of smooth basalt volcanic rock (the kind of stone traditionally used in Old Mexico) to grind the masa. e basalt kneads and mashes the corn instead of simply chopping it, making the avor more powerful.

Back in the dining room, tables are lling up. ere’s an exuberant young couple nearby.

“ e green chile is spot on!” she says. ose chiles come fresh from Hatch, New Mexico, and nearby Velarde, a tiny village whose mile-high altitude makes the chiles even sweeter. She used to live in Farmington, New Mexico, and she can taste the di erence. (“It’s that rich and sandy soil,” supplies Nashan.)

“And the red’s amazing!” the diner says. “ is is what we eat in New Mexico every day, and I’ve never found anything like it in Oklahoma.”

Near that lively woman is the host stand – a time-worn wood chest, its bright, painted owers glistening. It was bought in Santa Fe. Nashan took Sasha Malinich of Casco – a huge, multinational design rm – to tour the Santa Fe region. Malinich, who is accustomed to working with celebrity chefs to design their restaurants, bought furnishings that, though not necessarily from Santa Fe, convey the warmth, passion, simplicity and hard work that de ne the city’s ethos. And not far from that, you can see Brian Green working away with a smile on his face.

“He’s my right hand,” says Nashan of his chef de cuisine. “He runs this place when I’m not around.”

“I saw that chicken you ordered, and I’m getting it too!” says a guy at a nearby table.

He made the right choice about the chicken. It comes tender, juicy, bursting with avor, gloriously robed in a red between crimson and russet. at sauce’s rich complex avor is a little taste of heaven. BRIAN SCHWARTZ

Top to bottom: The deluxe combination plate includes carne adovada, plus an enchilada, tamale and taco with posole, rice and pinto beans. Wash it down with some house sangria. The tostada is created with blue corn tortillas and includes white bean escabeche, braised beef and pickled jalapeno. Photos by Stephanie Phillips

KITCHEN 324

One of the most welcome shifts toward normalcy since COVID-19 vaccines rolled out has been the return of dining out. One of the things I missed most was brunch. Sure, I can make it at home, but there’s something so enjoyable about a lazy Sunday morning letting someone else do the cooking and clean-up.

Kitchen No. 324, from A Good Egg Dining Group, is a longtime downtown favorite, and chef de cuisine Jason Chandler’s current menu does not disappoint. Seasonal ingredients regularly make their way onto the rotating menu.

For me, brunch always begins with a Prairie Mary, 324’s house-made yellow tomato Mary mix and Oklahoma-made Prairie Wolf vodka.

My favorites on the current menu include the poached pear salad with dried gs, cranberries, blue cheese, pecans, prosciutto and a white balsamic vinaigrette, as well as the joint’s takes on classics like a Monte Cristo and their “really fancy” grilled cheese sandwich. Roasted sweet potatoes with bacon, goat cheese and burnt honey are a perfect sharable side. As always, a beautiful selection of house-made pastries and co ees are available to enjoy while you dine in or take to-go.

At the time of my most recent visit, plexiglass dividers still separate each booth space, and patio dining is available. Reservations are not required but recommended, particularly on weekends. For those not yet ready to dine in, pickup and curbside options are available.

Kitchen No. 324 is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with breakfast served all day. 324 N. Robinson Ave., OKC; kitchen324.com. AMANDA JANE SIMCOE