DINING
Why The Quail Knot with pickled okra
Success in a Supperette The unexpected triumph of The Hamilton’s upscale Okiecentric cuisine BY GREG HORTON PHOTOS BY LE XI HOEBING
he Hamilton Supperette and Lounge should not have succeeded. That’s not a criticism, more an observation and summary of all the aggregated “conventional wisdom” lobbed in the direction of owners J. Mays and Chris Kana when they were first planning the northside, Okie-centric, booze-forward dinner joint. “More than a few people said we’d never survive on the back end of a mall,” Mays said, “but the first time I stepped foot in the old S.J. Haggard space, I got goosebumps. It was that moment I knew we had found a special place.” Yes, the space that is now The Hamilton used to be a men’s clothing store on the east side of Northpark Mall. Mays still has the picture of the first time he drove by and saw the iron gate and awning. He and Kana had been looking for a new space with what they called “character and charm.” Somehow, they looked at an old clothing store and visualized a warm, inviting, comfortable lounge in a space occupied by dressing rooms, old carpet, a wooden pergola and empty shelves. “To be honest, I’m pretty sure Kana thought I was crazy – back of a mall and all that – but I kept emphasizing lots of parking, affordable rent, a great side of town and a ton of traffic,” Mays said. For his part, Kana remembers the moment with much more colorful language. “I asked if he was ****ing insane. ‘Do you not want to have customers?’ Ultimately, though, I realized we had a good following at Cafe 7 who would trust us, we were going to turn it into a cool space, and we’d serve great food and cocktails.” Stephanie Morrical Miller was an original partner, too, but she was busy with the downtown Cafe 7 when The Hamilton debuted in August
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2019. After the tragic death of Chef Michael Paske, she assumed the role of executive chef in April 2020, as the effects of COVID were just rolling over the state. Miller brings the perfect resume to the kitchen at The Hamilton. She’s a master of comfort food who is also very capable with more refined dishes, and she’s a stellar baker. For a small kitchen with a small staff, the versatility is incredibly important. The Hamilton’s food is Okie-centric; there is really no other way to talk about it. Mays and Paske mapped
out the early versions of the menu, and the direction was toward Oklahoma-inspired dishes right away. “When we started planning the menu for The Hamilton, we wanted a few unique items paired with Oklahoma staples,” Mays said. “We knew we were going to have a more focused menu, so our decisions had to be specific. We started weighing our options and were choosing things like catfish, pork chops and steak. The progression just trended toward an Okie-centric menu, so that’s the direction we headed.”
The Hamilton 12232 N May Ave Oklahoma City, OK thehamiltonokc.com
