issue no. 11
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SUMMER 2017
issue no.
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DOWNTOWN 24. This Once and Future Thing The Jones’s transformation from Camelot corner in Film Row to a destination to be reckoned with.
26. Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve 27. Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic 28. Insider 32. Patron Saint of Italian Cuisine
PLAZA 36. Aurora Brightens the Breakfast Scene Aurora Chef Boudreaux creates the perfect, creative addition to the OKC breakfast scene, 7 days a week.
37. Saints Jazz Series
MIDTOWN 40. Barbecue, Between the Notes
Maples brings a trailer full of flavor with brisket that raises the bar without erecting a building.
42. Sugar Man 45. Insider
UPTOWN/PASEO 48. From Adrift to at Home
51. Insider 53. Kilgen Me Softly
50. Cocktails for Comrades
Top: Octopus photo by Madi Rae Jones Middle: Drummer photo by Trace Thomas Bottom: TV photo by Trace Thomas
You know him from Lee's Sandwiches, he now shares his harrowing tale of escape from Vietnam.
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58. Turning Point
The Oklahoma City Ballet acquires an iconic building that opens amazing opportunities for the company's future.
61. Summer Wines 63. Insider
Left: Ballet photo by Shevaun Williams Right: Cope sisters photo by Chris Nguyen Bottom: Stars photo and Cover by Forrest Mankins
WESTERN AVE.
OUTER BANKS 68. Sister, Sister
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Rachel and Chelsey Cope direct their remarkable drive and talent into Oklahoma City and beyond.
70. Excerpt of Killers of the Flower Moon
FEATURE
LUST FOR LIFE
Oklahoma photographer and Instagram phenom, Forrest Mankins, on that gypsy life.
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Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977). Shantavia Beale II (detail), 2012. Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in. (152.4 x 121.9 cm). Collection of Ana and Lenny Gravier. Š Kehinde Wiley. (Photo: Jason Wyche)
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Contributors JEZY GRAY
is a writer, editor and critic from southern Oklahoma. He holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of North Texas, where he studied African American literature and culture. His essay, “In My Tribe,” was recently collected in the 2017 Race Reader anthology from This Land Press. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and two cats.
MADI JONES
is a photographer and a lover of music and iced coffee. She thrives from “telling stories and capturing pure moments for others, no matter the occasion.” Creating is Madi’s passion. @madi.rae.rae.jones
PUBLISHED BY TERRITORY MEDIA, LLC 3017 N. Lee Ave., Ste. A, Oklahoma City, OK 73103 www.territoryokc.com
Funnel Design Group, Graphic Design
laura@territoryokc.com
funneldesigngroup.com
Garrett Davis, Publishing Associate
Trey McNeill, Publisher
Greg Horton, Vicar of Editorial &
garrett@territoryokc.com
trey@territoryokc.com
Wine Columnist
Beagle Design, Website Design
Veronica Pasfield, Editor
vicar@territoryokc.com
Trace Thomas, Contributing Photographer
editorial@territoryokc.com
Deepika Ganta, Publishing Associate
Courtney Waugh, Contributing Photographer
Emily Hopkins, Arts & Entertainment Editor
deepika@territoryokc.com
Leigh Naifeh, Publishing Associate
emily@territoryokc.com
Laura Rossi, Publishing Associate
leigh@territoryokc.com 7
C a sady Square · Nor th Penn & Br it ton · Ok lahoma Cit y 405.607.4323 · w w w.nai fehf i nejewel r y.com
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR There was something about seeing Issue no. 10 on our spring cover that struck me in a funny way. Print has a way of doing that; of making something more visible. Being on the other side of 10 is a good time to evolve the brand. We’ve been trying some things over the last couple of issues—perhaps you’ve noticed. We removed the phrase Makers, Merchants, etc., from the cover last year. Issue 10 excised “The Quintessential City Guide” from the masthead. I’m still not sure about that one. It summarizes well what we try to create. And yet, and yet I’m forever haunted by the quote, “Simplicity is complexity resolved.” Titanic modernist sculptor Constantin Brancusi lived by his aphorism. This aesthetic drove art and design for much of the twentieth century. In 2016, we saw the return to the most spare— even Brutalist—moment of design in a generation. Subtraction feels fresh and modern. For us, it also represents confidence in our conversation with you these past 10 seasons. We are exceedingly grateful for that. You’ll see design evolution throughout the book. Such stripping away is a whole lot easier when you have a cover story about photographer Forrest Mankins. This Oklahoman embodies so much of what we love about the spirit of this place. Summer is the season for
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adventure, a time when Oklahomans take to the road and travel for a dozen hours just to catch a swim in a favorite lake before the bugs get too bad. Forrest inspires us to drink deeply of life. Readers often quiz Territory contributors about how to do just that in Oklahoma City. They want to know what to order at a new restaurant (mushroom toast at En Croute) or if the new beer garden in Auto Alley is a yes. (Yes.) So we created a new feature called “Insider.” Like the main district stories (lots of new hotness happening, y’all), “Insider” aggregates our recommended summer shops, dishes, drinks, and hangouts. We hope it inspires you towards exploration. Finally, we’re extra proud to excerpt the bestselling Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Author David Grann shines a light on this important Oklahoma story. May it all accompany you well on your summer journeys.
Veronica Pasfield Editor & Co-founder
Jones Assembly photo by Madi Rae Jones @madi.rae.jones
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LUST FOR LIFE AN OKLAHOMA PHOTOGRAPHER, AND INSTAGRAM PHENOM, ON THAT GYPSY LIFE
Interview by Veronica Pasfield Photos by Forrest Mankins
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Forrest Mankins has 382,000 Instagram followers. There will be more by the time you hold this in your hands, a few weeks from this writing. He has just taken the most heartbreakingly lovely photograph of a deer, her form as elegant as any sculpture, standing in a patch of wildflowers. 20,410 people so far have liked it. There will be much more of this sort of thing by the time you learn of him here. Or perhaps you’re already among his fans; the Oklahoma City following for this Oklahoma artist is deep and it is devoted. Forrest may prefer a different intro, but Instagram fame matters in this case. It is also the fastest way I know to impress upon you the reach of this photographer. (Fewer words mean more pictures.) Like so many Oklahomans, this one has a gypsy soul. Pins on the map: Montana, Alaska, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, other places. Mankins is currently working on A Life Alive, a documentary about his trip from Oklahoma to the Arctic Circle and back. He makes a living shooting for the likes of Danner outfitter, Maine and Canadian tourism bureaus, and Budweiser. (See forrestmankins.com) Raised in a small town near Tulsa, Mankins’ mom shared her love of film photography, supplying young Forrest with 35mm rolls and a camera. He learned technical stuff online, and would notate camera settings for each shot until he figured it out. By the time he got a DSLR camera, it felt “pretty easy.” “Seeing photos and light is the hard part,” said Mankins, “and I think that just takes time. For me, it’s never ending.” Childhood treks to the Rockies set his course as much as the camera. Mankins’ adventuresome parents supplied him with encouragement and “tactical advice” as he prepared to take to the road by himself. Forrest loves home, too. “I learned to love Oklahoma for its subdued beauty; I’ve thought it always as worthy as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.” Let’s see what else he’s learned from the road.
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Q: WHY SO FAR AND WIDE? A: I spent most of my youth hiking, canoeing, camping; trying to be outside as much as possible. Almost every summer we spent time on a few family-owned acres in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. I lived the rest of the year for those days.
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Q: HEMINGWAY CONSIDERED ADVENTURE A PRIVILEGE AND A FEAR YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR. WHAT DO TRAVELERS KNOW THAT T H E R E S T O F U S D O N O T ?
A: I see travel as a privilege to learn about as many different “normals” as one might. I’ve been away from home more often than not for the last decade. If anything, it makes me feel smaller, more humble; it takes away the “me mentality” and shifts attention more on humanity as a whole. I take photos of places and people, but I try to spend time to understand what I’m surrounded by vs. making things into commodities.
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Q: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HUMAN NATURE FROM BEING OUT ON THE ROAD?
A: I’ve learned that a person on the side of the road needing a ride is just as likely to be as kind, amiable, generous, and good-hearted as your next-door neighbor. Humanity is humanity. Most of us have the same dreams, wants, needs, and fears.
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Q: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP WITH PLACE?
A: Wherever you go, there are people that love the land—some too much. For (me), it’s about preservation, appreciation, education. For many others, although hard to fathom, the land is a commodity to be leveraged until every last dollar has been squeezed from it. I feel it is my duty to expose stewardship while maintaining the values that people of the land hold in common.
Continues on pg. 65
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Frances Goodman (South African), The Dream, 2010-2016. Silk, lace, organza, satin, beads, embroidery thread, wedding dresses, sound installation.
MUSEUM. HOTEL. RESTAURANT. New exhibition opening June 1.
900 West Main Street Oklahoma City, OK 73106 21cMuseumHotels.com
WHAT'S HAPPENING
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The Jones Assembly Contemporary Couture / Kehnide Wiley Patrono Insider
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THE ONCE AND FUTURE THING The Jones Assembly transforms an aging family Camelot into a destination. story by Veronica Pasfield photos by Madi Rae Jones & Trace Thomas
Lemon trees grow beautifully in the Sonoran Desert. Behind Fred Hall’s Palm Springs home, several excellent specimens grew heavy with fruit. In the shade of those trees, Hall and Brian Bogert stood twisting the fat yellow orbs from their branches, talking. Bogert was in Palm Springs for a golf tournament. The Bogert and Hall families had known each other for years. Despite a significant age difference, Fred and Brian had the easy camaraderie of men who share similar backgrounds and passions. The Hall Capital investment firm is Fred’s day job, but he deeply loves music. He helped get ACM@UCO underway, and is an active player in the Nashville music scene. Since Bogert’s college days at Southern Methodist University, he and close friend, musician Graham Colton, spent almost as many nights as not catching gigs in Dallas. That night under the lemon trees, Bogert was supposed to be on a plane back to Dallas. But he’d gotten a call from Hall: “Cancel your flight home,” Fred said. “I’ll give you a ride back on my plane. I want to talk to you about something.” Over fresh lemon sodas in the California desert nearly a decade ago, the pair began dreaming about creating a national-quality concert venue in Oklahoma City. When the meeting was over, Bogert immediately called Colton. His friend’s musical career was rising after years of recording and touring with the likes of Counting Crows and Better Than Ezra. Bogert was building a career, too, consulting in Dallas. But by the time the call was over, Bogert declared, “We’re doing this.” Colton’s response was immediate: “Okay!” Many life changes ensued. Colton dialed back touring and began living in OKC full time. Bogert moved home, and started a restaurant group that includes Fuzzy’s Tacos and Texadelphia. Hall and family partnered with 21c Museum Hotel to bring that brand to their grandfather’s industrial space on Film Row. Still, the trio kept their venue hopes alive, and even added to the concept. The Jones Assembly, a gorgeous restaurant, bar, and performance space, is the latest development to turn Film Row’s forlorn western edge into the most interesting corner of Oklahoma City. The Jones expects to open in late June with a full menu, and a concert line-up that includes The Wallflowers and Better Than Ezra (7/29), BRONCHO (8/10), and Lake Street Dive (8/18). 24
In the end, The Jones landed right where Fred Hall’s story began—on the street named for his grandfather. The working-class corner of Fred Jones Ave. and W. Sheridan is special to the Hall family. As Fred has said in interviews, his grandfather asked his descendants to think of the industrial campus as “our Camelot”—a revered place to be preserved. When papa Jones arrived from Tennessee in 1916, he landed a job in the new Ford Model-T assembly plant. Fred Hall’s grandfather eventually became a Ford dealer, and bought the factory from his pal, Henry Ford. A humble brick structure out back now houses The Jones. The Jones project was fraught with delays over the last year, from old-building woes to city infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the broader development, which includes condos and a parking garage. The day we visited, we stepped through a city road crew and into the stylish 20,000-square-foot space. First, the bar, a marble-topped island hung with lights and featuring 36 beer taps and craft cocktails by Beverage Director Charles Friedrichs. We tried several, which were expertly composed and cleverly conceived. (See our spirits column in the Midtown section.) Friedrichs polished his skills at Dallas’s chic HG Sply Co. before returning to run the Jones program. The Dagwell Dixie, named for a neighboring fabrication shop, especially impressed with pecan-infused George Dickel rye, Apple Jack, and two kinds of bitters—an appropriately Oklahoma, and quietly elegant, drink. The dining room décor achieves a swanky Southwestern vibe. In the seating area between the bar and tables, Garza Marfa leather chairs play nicely against rustic rugs and Continues on pg. 35
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example, created Light Up Twitter Dress. Made of French silk chiffon, the dress is embroidered with over 500 Swarovski crystals, and more than 2,000 LED lights. “It made me consider the connections between fashion and social media,” said Contemporary’s Curatorial and Exhibitions Director Jennifer Scanlan. “People wear clothes, hairstyles, shoes and jewelry to express their identity to the world. These days, social media has taken on that role for the world of the internet.” Another inclusion, MyDesigner, uses a custom-made desktop app and personality inventory to make a shoe that reflects personality traits in its design elements. In Paris-based designer Cedric Flazinki’s creation, users place themselves on spectrums for such traits as “introverted” and “extroverted.” The variables are then interpreted by a 3-D program that progressively generates a shoe around a foot scan. Extroverts end up with footwear featuring outward-pointing toe caps; introverts, inward-pointing. In the same way, people who identify themselves as more feminine will see a heel start to grow. “The different personal traits deal with our social psychology and come from Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes,” Flazinski said. “The different traits relate to how you see yourself and have a lot in common with what you’d find on dating sites—whether
WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE Tech + fashion create self at OK Contemporary show. by Emily Hopkins
There’s a reason why one of the first things snuffed out under fascist regimes is individualism, especially regarding personal style. The handmaids of Gilead wore red robes and white bonnets, the Outer Party of Oceania had blue overalls—or in the real world, think prison jumpsuits, yellow stars, even suits and ties. These uniforms enforce conformity and social order upon their wearers. To on-lookers, they immediately evoke a certain reaction. As Coco Chanel once said, “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” Fashion does that, and deeply so. A new exhibit at Oklahoma Contemporary explores this motif in the realm of new technology. Coded_Couture, which debuted at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery last year, aims to bridge the gap between textile and tech. If couture clothes are manufactured to exact specifications, then wouldn’t computer codes be the ultimate customization tool for couture? In this exhibition, 10 international artist-designers took that idea and ran with it. London-based CuteCircuit, for 26
you believe yourself to be a wealthy person, environmentally concerned or a healthy individual, for example.” Flazinski refers to fashion as “our own tip of the iceberg,” the part of our personality that’s on the surface and visible to the rest of the world. Just as Ancient Egypt’s pharaohs showed their status with totems, and 18th century Scotsmen wore kilts to honor clan, we select clothes that reflect our true selves. But today, with the trend toward de-localization and cheap mass production, our outward identities are less intricate than they once were. “We’re mostly offered pre-fabricated identities, the kind we see on display mannequins, and we subscribe to them,” Flazinski said. “This is what motivated my shoe project— reversing this process, and showing that modern, digital, techniques can help subvert the industry standard by producing items that are literally designed by our traits.” Coded_Couture runs June 29-August 10. 3000 General Pershing Blvd. (405) 951-0000. oklahomacontemporary.org / @okcontemporary. Artwork YingGao (left) and NORMALS (right)
KEHINDE WILEY: A NEW REPUBLIC Classic forms differently illuminate Blackness, valor and power. by Emily Hopkins
Close your eyes and conjure an image of a famous portrait. Now, think of another one. And another. What do all three portraits have in common? I’ll bet it’s the creamy shade of the subjects’ skin. Kehinde Wiley is an artist who paints faces traditionally unseen in fine art—faces that are black and brown. His mid-career retrospective, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, opens at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and displays a master in full force. This show marks a coup and a brave step forward for our museum, in a city where discussions of race and power are rarely publicly engaged, and often clumsily so. The 40-year-old artist’s command of technique and tone provides us with a rich opportunity to do better. Wiley’s juxtaposition of images of traditional whiteness with modern visions of blackness gives his work true power. As a resident at Harlem’s Studio Museum in 2001, the Los Angeles native immortalized his observations of the African-American male figure and New York street life on canvas. Next, he delved into traditional European portraiture, supplanting the subjects of works by Titian and Manet with young, modern black men sporting sneakers, hoodies and baseball caps. This quickly became his signature style. Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic also includes portrait busts, stained glass and female portraiture from his recent series, An Economy of Grace. Wiley is known for painting everyday people, strangers, he meets on the street. But like lords of yore, in painting them, he immortalizes them forever. Mugshot Study (2006), for example, was inspired by a police mugshot he found crumpled on the ground. “Conventionally, this is somebody who has no power,” said OKCMOA’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Michael J. Anderson, Ph.D. “This is somebody who, if we see an image of him, it’s in this extremely negative context. What Wiley is doing is empowering this individual.” Wiley is a queer artist who is extremely upfront about that fact; there are subtle elements of eroticism and voyeurism in many of his pieces (see Morpheus). His stained-glass work, a form of fine art that’s typically relegated to Renaissance churches, ennobles the marginalized to a near deistical level. Territory made several requests to interview Wiley, but to no avail. We can only refer to previous coverage to illuminate his intent in his own words. A 2015 interview with Vice is sadly prescient, not only in the aftermath of the Tulsa police killing of Terence Crutcher, but nationwide. Vice writer Antwaun Sargent asked Wiley if recent shootings of unarmed black men would inspire his work. The artist’s response has become only more relevant in the two years since: “For years, I’ve been painting black men as a way to respond to the reality of the streets. I’ve asked black men to show up in my studio in the clothes that they want to be wearing. Continues on pg. 65 27
INSIDER
AUTO ALLEY CHEFS STEP UP The rebooted Iguana Mexican Grill is putting out remarkably good food now thanks in large part to Chef Marc Dunham, who oversaw the renewal. Dunham recognized that Chef Juan Quixtan’s talents had been regularly overlooked, and turned the young chef loose in the kitchen. The results have been delicious food with an authentic flair made by a chef who has been at Iguana since it opened. 9 NW 9th, Auto Alley. @iguanaokc
THREE THINGS YOU MUST TRY: »» »» »»
BEEF BARBACOA TACOS COCHINITA PIBIL (PORK FROM HEAVEN—NOT A LITERAL TRANSLATION, BUT THE SPIRIT IS ACCURATE) CHIMICHURRI CHICKEN (CHIMICHURRI IS THE META-CONDIMENT).
Dunham is now repurposing the old Hillbilly’s space on NW 9th St. as Nashbird, a “Nashville chicken” restaurant and bar. The style is well known in TN and TX, but the spicy fried chicken has yet to make an appearance in OK. The juke joint-style bar will focus on beer and whiskey cocktails. Dunham expects a late-summer open date. 1 NW 9th, Auto Alley.
URBAN HIKING Every city has a pulse, defined by past events and influenced by people who crave change for the future. Finding the heartbeat of a city proves difficult unless people truly know its ins and outs. Trailhead: OKC, an urban hiking group, proposes a simple answer: take a hike. Founder Addison Ball believes that an individual can only know so much when sealed up in a car all day long. Addison announced over a few beers one night, “I think people need to get more acquainted with downtown and other walkable areas, because if those areas are successful that means the rest of the city can be successful.” Trailhead’s May trek saw their most expansive group gather yet. Addison estimates around 200 hikers seeking urban adventure undertook the six-mile march past downtown canals, through neon-lit tunnels, and beside beautifully graffitied alleyways. More than once, native-born hikers declared: “I have no idea where we are.” Hikers saw a city of old and new, such as the Calvary Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr. was almost an executive director, and a new octopus mural by Jack Fowler in Bricktown. More than anything, the journey stoked a yearning for more exploration. See Facebook page for more info.
Insider recs by Veronica Pasfield, Greg Horton, Emily Hopkins, Garrett Davis & Deepika Gauta. 28
AND BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O Yes, Anchor Down claims the niche “gourmet corn dogs.” But for us, the soul of this place is spelled B-I-N-G-O. Yes, the grandma game. Every Tue. at 8 pm, Anchor Down hosts Bingo Night. Kitschy prizes and a $50 cash kitty keep us motivated. So does a favorite drink: the Liquid Marijuana, a neon-colored, fruity alternative to a LIT. Middle-aged couples and millennial med students alike scream “Roll the Hopper!” at head bingo dude and artist, Roz (Insta @friendswithacop). 803 N. Hudson. See Facebook page for info.
FRESH IDEA
TO DOS
The proprietors of Fit Pig clean-eats café created the latest downtown beer garden and corn hole coliseum, The Yard. This sounds a lot less adorable than this brand spankin’ new space actually is. It’s literally carved into a non-descript hill, and we are smitten. 21 NW 7th, Auto Alley. @theyardokc
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Delmar Gardens Food Truck Park in the Farmer’s Mkt District has never quite managed to be a food truck park. Rather than let the fantastic site languish, the district brought in the impeccable Andrea Koester (owner of Holey Rollers donuts and an event planner extraordinaire) to create a Sunday market. Koester hopes to help intensify interest in the area by offering fresh produce and goods from local providers weekly. 1225 SW 2nd, Farmer’s Mkt Dist.@DelmarGardensOKC
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Jones Assembly What promises to be the most significant new venue in OKC in quite some time, Jones has begun to fill in a promising live-music sched. At press time, Jakob Dylan, Better Than Ezra, and The Wallflowers 7/9 + Lake Street Dive 8/18. 901 W. Sheridan, Film Row. thejonesassembly.com Eats on 8th A food truck festival and day market bringing live music, performing arts, and undoubtedly hot streets, literally and figuratively. Held 7/15 + 8/19. 8th at Harvey, Auto Alley. facebook.comEatsonEighth/ Art After 5 @ OKC Museum of Art Every Thur. night, the galleries stay open late, and the rooftop hosts live music, cocktails, an excellent sunset, and truly cool peeps. The Moderns, the museum’s young patron social group, know how to throw a party. okcmoa.com Stars & Stripes River Festival If you’re in the city for the holiday, Riversport Adventures makes it pretty fun on 6/24. All the usual frolicking—kayaks, water park, trans-river ziplines, etc.—plus fireworks, food trucks and dragon boat races. riversportokc.org Great Lawn @ Myriad Botanical Gardens We’re suckers for the Great Lawn; everything just feels fun and summery out there. Free Sun. eve concerts + Wed. open-air movie nights put big summer smiles on our faces weekly. Barre3 offers donation-only classes there 7/3 + 8/7. downtownokc.com Full Moon OKC Bike Ride & Run The fit and fun-loving meet at Myriad Botanical Gardens for a 5k moonlit run/ride through town 7/8 + 8/7. See Facebook page for info.
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WWW.DOWNTOWNOKC.COM 30
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INDEPENDENT SOUND OF OKLAHOMA Listen commercial-free 24/7 on iTunes Radio, Roku, TuneIn, or TheSpyFM.com
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PATRON SAINT OF ITALIAN CUISINE Esteemed team invigorates Patrono's kitchen, and our appetite for it. story by Greg Horton photos by Trace Thomas
“Jonathan is joyful; it comes across in his food,” Robert Painter said. “He loves to cook, and he loves to feed people.” We are sitting in Patrono, the cozy Italian restaurant just north of the Civic Center on Walker, where Jonathan Krell has recently become executive chef, and Painter is general manager. Actually, Painter hates titles. “What shall I call you then?” I ask. “I don’t care. Robert. I hate titles. We’re a team. We all work.” Evening service—the only one the restaurant has for now—is only an hour away, and Krell has just finished putting together “family meal” for the staff. Many restaurant veterans comprise the group, including staff familiar to both men prior to the recent sale of Patrono. They all share an afternoon meal every work day. Over the past 12 years, the pair have worked together off and on, and the comfort and familiarity between them are palpable. Both Krell and Painter worked for Deep Fork Group, but diners perhaps know Painter best for his work with Iguana Mexican Grill. Krell also has worked at Nonna’s, Stella, and Boulevard Steakhouse. Krell and Painter share an affable and gregarious nature. “I love being in a restaurant again where I can talk to people, get feedback, get to know the guests,” Krell said about his return to downtown. “I keep coming back down here, but this is the first time I’ve had this level of control of a menu. I talk to Robert about it, but if I don’t want to run something, I can say ‘no.’” Krell then rattles off a sentence that would make many general managers and owners nervous: “I have control over the menu here.” Painter doesn’t even flinch. Why would he, though? He has one of the state’s best chefs working culinary awesomeness—and not only a great chef, but a people-loving, hugging bear of a chef, and no, not the church youth group side hug thing. The experience of Chef Krell is one of dining with someone who is happy that you—specifically you!—are there to eat his food, and so he wants you to love his food. At Patrono, Krell is free to be himself again. He said the consulting work, which he has done since leaving Park House, was fine, and he still wants to open a “Jewish deli,” but it’s not the right time yet. For now, he’s going to make Italian food again, and if you don’t know how good that news is, it’s because you didn’t have his food at Stella and you haven’t been to Patrono yet. “I cook what I like,” he said. (Always a solid recipe for making good food.) “We’re not focused on a region here. When it first opened, the chef was going for southern, rustic Italian, but we are going to be all over the map, including the coasts.” Two things that need to be said before going any further: Italian people eat seafood—most of them live on a peninsula, after all—and Italian food is not pasta submerged in red sauce. That last thing is an abomination created in a corporate kitchen somewhere by people who hate Italy and you. “Sauce should coat, paint or stain pasta,” Painter said. “You’re supposed to be able to taste the pasta, to enjoy it. 32
It’s not supposed to be floating in a big bowl of sauce. We have no cream sauces here, either.” The sauces are lighter at Patrono. In fact, most of the food is lighter than you’d expect at an Italian restaurant. That defying of expectations can be tricky. When Bolero—a Spanish tapas restaurant—first opened in Bricktown, people would walk out after learning chips and salsa were not on the menu. This would be a good place to insert a reference to how poorly U.S. citizens score on geography exams, but no. So many Oklahoma City folks think that Italian is something like they get at Olive Garden. “We want people to stop and think about what they’re eating,” Painter said. “Our menu introduces them to new things, including the wine list. It’s a different experience for most people, an all-Italian wine list, and you probably won’t find what you’re comfortable with. You won’t open the list and find Kim Crawford, but you’ll find something new you like.” As for the seafood, Krell loves to cook it, and he’s extraordinarily good doing it. He has a voracious curiosity
"We want people to stop and think about what they're eating."
about food. He took a job in his native Philadelphia with a Chinese restaurant because he loved their dumplings. “I did deliveries for them until I learned how to make their dumplings,” he said. “I loved them and I wanted to know how to make them.” I’m not sure a chef could say anything more significant of their abilities, qualifications
or temperament for “cheffing” than that. Krell approached Italian seafood the same way. “They like to say if it grows together, it goes together,” Krell said of Italian cooks. “We did swordfish with oranges and olives, because oranges and olives go together, and the arugula worked, too. The fried calamari with squid ink pasta is one of our most popular dishes. People aren’t afraid of the squid ink.” The menu is small, because as good restaurateurs and chefs know, it’s best to do a few things well, so Krell’s daily features supplement the carefully selected menu of salads, soups, pastas and entrees. Another popular seasonal dish is the prosciutto and peach salad with arugula and white balsamic vanilla vinaigrette. No, he’s not afraid of bold flavors, but he knows how to combine them in a way where they complement each other. Patrono does a few features each week, and it’s based on what is seasonal and available; it may be chops or fish or shellfish, depending. “We don’t have an attitude of ‘we have to cook this,’” Krell said. “I just look at available ingredients and make what’s good.” “We both appreciate things that taste good,” Painter said. “Period.”
305 N. Walker. (405) 702-7660. patronookc.com. 33
DINE DOWNTOWN AT RED RED PRIMESTEAK | 405.232.2626 | REDPRIMESTEAK.COM
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The Once and Future Thing from page 24
blue-velvet couches. Booths are made from wood salvaged from the second floor, which was removed to make way for a cavernous dining and concert space. Upstairs, a sexy mezzanine includes an expansive vinyl collection and a public turntable, which begs guest participation. The enormous ground-floor patio is paved with salvaged bricks. Danish-style metal fireplaces punctuate the seating area, as does a smaller stage. Jones promises that state-of-the-art misters and a forthcoming cover will allow summer lounging. “We all came back (to OKC) for different reasons,” said Colton. “But the common thread is that we love this city and we want to see it grow, and to do great things here.
“We want to bet on the city. We think it can support something this ambitious.” The Jones concept didn’t fully gel until Executive Chef Brittany Sanger showed up on the scene. Oklahoma City runs on relationships, not resumes. Sanger’s mother and Colton’s mom have been Tuesday tennis buddies for the last 30 years. Hall’s family had traveled with the Sangers; on one Santa Monica vacation, young Brittany expressed an interest in training at Paris’s Le Cordon Bleu. Fred enthusiastically encouraged the idea. Since food was originally conceived as an amenity to the live music, the partners kicked around the idea of serving up bar snacks from an Airstream. The concept wasn’t gelling. “I’m a numbers guy,” said Bogert. “I did not see a viable business model being just a music venue. It had to be a 365-day-a-year business for our finances, but (also) for the entire west side of downtown. A light bulb clicked when we (talked to) Brittany.” If you’re very lucky, resume and relationship align in promising ways. Sanger rose to the rigor of her Paris training, where a few wrinkles on your uniform get you benched for the day. After completing training, Brittany landed a job at Paris’s legendary Le Meurice Hotel. Her boss left for a fine-dining gig in Boston, and asked Brittany to follow. When she was home a couple of years ago, Brittany and Brian met and talked about food. That conversation made all the pieces fall together in Brian’s mind. “Ultimately, (my company’s) core competency is restaurants,” Bogert said. “The live music became the amenity rather than the food.” Although Brittany has never led a kitchen, the Jones partners were ready to add a fourth. But she needed time to think it over. In Boston, Brittany’s work schedule left no time for a life, nor did she have ownership in the business. But would she have to sacrifice impeccable French training in an Oklahoma town crazy about chicken fried steak? It’s a fair question. After three months, Sanger committed. Her Jones menu smartly finds common ground between folksy Oklahoma and France. So many French—especially bistro—dishes are actually food for the people. Steak frites avec l’entrecote sounds fancy, until you realize it’s steak with fries and tarragon sauce. Technique is everything in French cooking, and Sanger shows how fried chicken is elevated immeasurably via the complex confit process. The result? The lightest, most succulent fried chicken we’ve ever eaten. “The technique side is just part of the routine now,” Sanger said. “There’s also a reason for it, in texture, in flavor. You work so many hours, if you’re not making food
Jones Assembly partners (from left) Brittany Sanger, Graham Colton and Brian Bogert during the renovation last year.
you love, then you’re not going to be motivated to come in the next day and make it all over again.” Of course, doing a media tasting doesn’t compare to putting out quality meals nightly. But this cannot be disputed: The Jones pushes Oklahoma nightlife forward by a lot. If promise in concept is any indicator—and we believe this experienced team will deliver—then there is ample reason to raise a lemon soda to this uniquely Oklahoma place. Surely, the Hall family’s King Arthur would be pleased. 901 W. Sheridan. thejonesassembly.com @thejonesokc 35
LAZA
AURORA BRIGHTENS THE BREAKFAST SCENE A chef with real chops offers a daily option we can get behind. story by Greg Horton photos by Aaron Slagell
Henry Boudreaux started working in professional kitchens at 19. Food— in the sense of growing and cooking—has always been part of his life. His grandparents were avid gardeners, so he learned about seasonality young, and it’s a philosophy he’s bringing to Aurora Breakfast Bar & Backyard, the breakfast and brunch concept in the Plaza District. Jeff and Aimee Struble, the owners, have long wanted their own restaurant. As principal actors in the district’s renewal, they waited for an opportunity to turn one of the buildings in the Plaza District into their own place. The beautiful storefront on NW 16th, with space out back large enough for a patio and kids’ play area, proved to be the perfect lure. The Strubels approached family friend Henry Boudreaux about consulting. Except for a short story in Piedmont, Italy, working on a winery for six months, the chef spent most of the years up until now at the Museum Café. He worked his way up from salad cook to executive chef, and also did a short stint at Ludivine. Aurora has turned into a full-time executive chef gig. “I was supposed to answer a really important question,” Boudreaux remembered, of early conversations with Jeff and Aimee. “What works in the Plaza District?” If that question doesn’t make you a smile a little bit, then you probably aren’t terribly familiar with the Plaza District. Some of the stereotypes applied to the district are well deserved, including a sheaf of hipster jokes and the assumption that most of the bars will have a PBR-and-a-shot special at least one night a week. However, the district is thriving, and it’s doing so largely because, with one exception (The Pritchard), the businesses there focus on affordability. Rachel Cope started her stellar brand-building at Empire Slice House with the absolute best—maybe only—beer-and-a-slice concept in the metro. The slices are only $3.50. Boudreaux, who lives only three miles from the district, knows it well. 36
Boudreaux also was aware that too many brunch places charge dinner prices for what is essentially fancy breakfast food. They wanted to do differently at Aurora Breakfast Bar & Backyard—while still making good use of their veteran chef. “We have a breakfast scene that is not focused on seasonality and keeping the price point down,” Boudreaux said. “I’ve done fine dining and late nights for most of my career. This would give me the option to be home evenings, and I’d be working in the same neighborhood as my wife.” Chef’s wife, Liz, sells her ceramics at DNA Galleries across the street, and the couple has an infant son. The prospect of being close to his family was enough to tip the scales. Also important from a chef’s perspective: the Strubles trust him, so he has full control of the menu. It includes some of the best biscuits and gravy in Oklahoma City. The dish features Boudreaux’s vegetarian gravy and Carisa Bitting’s thyme biscuits. Boudreaux raves about the former Prairie Thunder baker every chance he gets.
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JAZZ IS Saints Session draws big, and plays proud. story by Veronica Pasfield photo by Trace Thomas
Let’s just cut right to the chase. In short, Saints Session is legit jazz, y’all. For jazz nerds, that’s all we need to know. Better said: there is nothing to know if that is not in place. A really beautiful thing blossomed in the Plaza District last winter, and continued to grow through spring—the monthly Saints Session jazz concerts at Saints Pub. There can be a real prejudice against academy musicians (guilty as charged). The supposition is that real life makes for better art. It can also be a race thing; jazz is definitely, but not exclusively, a Black art form. Oklahoma is teaching otherwise. Many of the mainstay artists who gig with Saints Session also play together at church events, traveling across racial, geographic, religious, and cultural borders to play good music. Is there any reason to cast a stink eye on that? Smalls Jazz Club, a tiny but mighty performance space in Greenwich Village, serves as primary inspiration for Saints Session. The Village was primary in the growth of jazz in NYC. By the time Smalls opened in 1994, clubs such as the Blue Note or even the Wynton Marsalis-driven Lincoln Center jazz series, had a much more main-stage feel. Smalls is musician-directed, pulling serious talent into its itty-bitty basement space. Evoking Smalls emphasizes some nice parallels for the Plaza District project. Saints Session seems purely focused on getting the very best players on stage. Also, series
principals enthusiastically acknowledge they’re standing on the shoulders of Deep Deuce clubs and players such as Charlie Christian. (Check out saintssession.com to hear drummer Jemar Poteat’s hip take on giving props.) “When people say that what we’re doing is so cool, I appreciate it,” said series co-founder and promoter Christian Pearson. “But people don’t always know I’m not doing anything new. It’s all been here before in Oklahoma City.” Pearson further reminds that collaborators such as Adam and Kizzie Ledbetter have been building their skills and careers for a decade or better. The project also benefits from the next-level talent of Oklahomans such as guitarist Grant Goldstein, who studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and local jazz stalwarts such as OU instructor and musician Jay Wilkinson. Josh Jefferson oversees programming at Saints Pub. He reports most concerts draw a standing-room-only crowd, and bring folks not regularly seen in the Plaza. Chef Jon Turney puts out special menu items, giving Session a chic dinner-club vibe. “I love everything about it,” Jefferson said. “We get the best players in the state. It’s a great feeling, as a lifelong jazz fan, to see a roomful of people geek out on my favorite music.
Saints Session runs the first Thursday of the month: July 6, August 3, September 7. Saints Pub, 1715 NW 16th St. @saints.session 37
LUNCH • DINNER • BRUNCH • 405.235.2200 MIDTOWN • 1201 N. WALKER AVE. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73103
WHAT'S HAPPENING
I D T OW N Maples BBQ Sugar Man Insider
BARBECUE, BETWEEN THE NOTES The supreme simplicity of Maples delivers big. story by Jezy J. Gray photos by Trace Thomas
For a big-plate cow town sandwiched between Kansas City and Austin, pit smoke isn’t really in the city’s bloodstream. Todd Woodruff is changing that. Maples Barbecue, the latest concept by this accidental restaurateur from western Oklahoma, is bringing Texas Hill Country-style barbecue to Midtown. It’s the first of its kind in central OKC, and Woodruff saw the potential right away. “I don’t know why no one else has really tried it,” he said. “But I stood out there on that lot a year ago, and I thought, ‘This needs to be a barbecue stand.’” Woodruff started smoking meats in his spare time, as his flagship Waffle Champion restaurant became more self-reliant at the hands of a staff that had found its rhythm. Like so many budding barbecuers, in his early days Woodruff looked for guidance in pit master Aaron Franklin, of Austin’s legendary Franklin Barbecue. “I was inspired by his book, so I just started trying to recreate what he does,” Woodruff confessed. “I followed it to the letter.” 40
Does that mean Woodruff isn’t concerned about finding his own voice? “Creativity is wonderful,” he says. “And you always want to put your fingerprints on something. But it’s kind of like music: restraint is important, and so is simplicity. When it’s as simple as salt and pepper and long hours of cooking, you don’t want to play around with that too much.” Simplicity goes beyond the plate at Maples. The dining site is a grassy lot with a few rows of wooden benches beneath a simple white canopy. In classic Texas Hill Country style, it leans hard toward the Spartan. “I didn’t even want to do the tent,” Woodruff says. “I thought it looked too finished. A want-not aesthetic is fine and good, but it doesn’t amount to much if the flavors aren’t there. Maples, thankfully, does more than gesture towards the look and atmosphere of a classic Texas Hill Country barbecue stand. The brisket alone—cut lean or fatty, but the latter is the more correct choice—has enough smoke, flavor and tenderness to convert the most skeptical Longhorn. Tuck it in with a side of burnt-end beans,
When it’s as simple as salt and pepper and long hours of cooking, you don’t want to play around with that too much.”
some of the best beef ribs you’ll ever eat (if you’re lucky and they’re on that day’s menu), and absolutely do not abstain from a little tub of luscious banana pudding. Woodruff is serious about sourcing. He uses the exceptional andouille from Native Meat Co., a chef-owned local purveyor. Do not skip this sausage, either. Maples smokes meat sourced from Creek Stone Farms in southern Kansas. Why does Maples style of barbecue feel like such a revelation? One theory: OKC has always been a steak town, and Woodruff started thinking about meat that way. “My family was always tight with money growing up,” he said. “But my parents would go all-out whenever we were on vacation, and going to a steakhouse in that context was really my first introduction to ‘fine dining.’ It kind of lit the spark.” Woodruff developed a love for butchering and trimming at Boulevard Steakhouse in Edmond, where the young, aspiring accountant held his first kitchen job. However, after working as a sous chef for Packard’s New American Kitchen, then launching Waffle Champion and Buttermilk Southern Sliders food truck, Woodruff finally answered that cattle call from his youth. That’s good news for us. “One thing I really enjoy about barbecue is the isolation of it,” Woodruff says. “I love being able to say, ‘Sorry. I’m not available for the next 15 hours.’” Maples is the public expression of those patient hours. There is an internal motivator, too. For Woodruff, so much depends on barbecue’s most elemental component, which he sees as method and a metaphor. “It’s a cool thing to build a fire and just let it find its rhythm. It’s like, I can push and pull this fire, or I can just let it do its thing. There’s a life lesson there, I think.”
"When it's as simple as salt and pepper and long hours of cooking, you don't want to play around with that too much."
320 NW 11th maplesbarbecue.com @maplesbarbecue. 41
SUGAR MAN Best-selling spirits writer on a drinking life and the turn towards rum story by Kris Kettner photo by Trace Thomas
“When you start out as a freelance writer, you either want to write about what’s in your own backyard or things you love,” said Fred Minnick as we spent part of an afternoon talking about writing, booze, and the intersection of the two. Conveniently for Minnick, a Jones, Oklahoma native, his backyard is now Kentucky and one of his loves is bourbon. I was lucky to catch the Wall Street Journal bestselling author during a rare moment at home. He was soon heading to Las Vegas, for one of his frequent speaking engagements. Minnick holds the title of “Bourbon Authority” for the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, and he travels the country appearing on national media (NPR, CBS), hosting tastings, judging spirit and cocktail competitions, and giving readings. Minnick has authored six successful books, including Bourbon: The Rise, Fall & Rebirth of An American Whiskey. Lately, an unlikely trend has been creeping into the spotlight of the spirits scene. No, it’s not vodka—gross—it’s Rum. Minnick’s new book Rum Curious: The Indispensable Tasting Guide to the World’s Spirit (Voyageur Press) contributes to rum’s rapid rise. “The flavors are complementary to bourbon,” he said, “and there is a lot of drama behind it.” Spirits united Minnick’s dual passions: spirits and writing. Oklahoma County News published Fred’s first story when the lad was 15 years old. (That piece was not about bourbon.) Minnick said he had his “fair share of lovely adult beverages at Oklahoma State,” reminiscing about drinking Jim Beam White label on the balcony of his fraternity house. Like many, Minnick’s focus has turned to rum. For the whiskey-obsessed, one of the big appeals is the massive amount of history, business, and legal battles that help form what is today’s bourbon industry. Says Minnick, the rabbit holes of rum go even deeper. A trade ship festoons the cover of Rum Curious, an appropriate nod to the drink’s colonial-era development. Rum emerged from the colonization of the islands in the West Indies shortly after Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Colonialism, the development of commercial sugar, and the evils of slavery infuse every drop of Rum’s heritage. Minnick pointed out that Rum is “an incredibly diverse spirit”— even more so than Bourbon. Aging and origin also matter intenselyr Two ways to get started: buy Minnick’s latest, and then pull up a seat at a bar known for craft cocktails and ask the bartender to enlighten you. It’s amazing how radically different are the flavors—and even the regulatory heritage 42
The Bridgetown
at the Jones Assembly
After sipping at a private preview tasting at The Jones Assembly, there’s no other way to say it: me and Mr. Jones? We’ve got a thing goin’ on. Beverage Director Charles Friedrichs kindly agreed to share a rum recipe with Territory readers. The secret to its charm? Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum from Barbados, which brings luscious notes of banana on the nose, and subtle banana and chocolate to the palate. —VP Follow @thejonesokc
»» »» »» »» »» »» »»
2 OZ MOUNT GAY BLACK BARREL RUM ¾ OZ SWEET VERMOUTH ½ OZ GIFFARD BANANE DU BRESIL ¼ OZ TEMPUS FUGIT CRÈME DE CACOA 2 DASHES ANGOSTURA BITTERS BANANA CHIP AMARENA CHERRY
In a mixing glass, mix in the order given. Add ice and stir. Strain into a martini or coupe glass. Garnish with dried banana chip + an Amarena (or Luxardo) cherry on a pick.
of rums from Barbados (formerly British) and the Frenchcontrolled Martinique, etc. The journey awaits, all you need to do is hop aboard. Read more from Kettner et al. at barrelsandmash.com.
No matter the age, the size, the kind, we have a Wellness Plan with your pet in mind!
231 NW 1Oth Oklahoma City
4O5.6O6.4477
MON-FRI 8A-6P | SAT 8A-NOON
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LUNCH | DINNER | BRUNCH | COCKTAILS | ROOFTOP PATIO
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INSIDER All day, errday. It can be done well in Midtown. Here are some of Territory’s favorites.
MONDAY Ludivine’s Blue Plate is a staple of downtown on Mondays, that awful day when so many local businesses are closed. You can grab an amazing wagyu burger and a beer for under $20, though we recommend the skillfully executed Craftwell cocktail menu for $6 each. Bartenders Colby and Chris are among the very best. @ludivineokc
TUESDAY The Spy FM holds its City Sessions concert after parties at Packard’s the last Tuesday of the month. But we often end up there anyway for Neighborhood Night. A Keep It Local Card gets us Chef Chris McKenna’s weekly $10 special. McKenna’s a comfort food magician, and sometimes tries out new menu ideas on Tuesdays. @packardsokc
THURSDAY The end of the work day finds us on the stylish patio at Barrios for one of the best margaritas in OKC. It’s simple, fresh and inexpensive ($6)— or explore Beverage Director Jason Ewald’s impeccable tequila and mezcal collection. Pair it with the super fresh guacamole (the one with mango is surprisingly good). @barriosmexican
FRIDAY Get up early and get to Esca Vitae. The “morning buns” taste like croissants laced with caramelized brown sugar, and the sprinkle of orange zesty deliciousness puts them over the top. We pair it with an Americano for a light breakfast (and have fun trying European-style cakes, too). @escavitae
SATURDAY WEDNESDAY Wine Down Wednesday at O Bar atop the Ambassador Hotel features excellent wines for only $5/glass. Chef Leo also serves quality oysters for $2 each. Enjoy both with a stunning view of the downtown skyline at sunset. @obarokc
Insider recs by Greg Horton. Barrios photo by Choate House.
An ideal Saturday would look something like an estate sale in Heritage Hills or Mesta Park, followed by Maples BBQ. James Bean, Elliott’s and McNeil Liquidations are favorite estate sale dealers; it’s fun to peek and pick at these historic homes. Maples has the best brisket we’ve had inside the metro. It’s made from prime beef, and it’s amazing. Depending on the day, you can get a beef rib, too. Get there early if you want either. (The killer Pitmaster Sandwich is our go-to back-up.) @maplesbarbecue estatesales.net 45
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
PTOWN/PASEO
U
Minh Nguyeu /Bunker Bar / Old Organ Sings / Insider
FROM ADRIFT TO AT HOME Lee’s Sandwiches owner recounts his harrowing voyage from post-war Vietnam. story by Garrett Davis photo by David Jennings
On any given day, Minh Nguyen can be found behind a cash register in the neon-lit, cafeteria-style eatery of Lee’s Sandwiches, a quick-serve Vietnamese sandwich place in the bustling Asian District. Nguyen calmly awaits his patrons’ requests as meal order numbers prattle on the loudspeaker overhead like bingo calls, each said in both English and Vietnamese. The nation is debating intensely the role and place of immigrants right now. Xenophobia runs rampant and hot. In a country that defines itself as a “melting pot,” public opinion for refugees has been historically been mixed or resistant, then as now. In 1979, shortly after President Jimmy Carter announced he would double the acceptance rate of Vietnamese refugees into the United States, a CBS 48
News/The New York Times poll showed public opinion against refugees stood at a staggering 62 percent. A year later, 71 percent were against Cuban refugees emigrating. During the last century and a half, each immigrant-descendant generation expressed similar resistance to more. Nguyen spent his adolescence in wartime South Vietnam, near the important military base at Cam Ranh Bay. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the South occupied the port and committed anyone who had ties to the South’s government to “re-education camps.” In 1980, Nguyen became a part of the refugee boat crisis that saw 590,000 refugees risk their lives to escape Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, according to the Pew Research Center. Minh’s group spent harrowing weeks adrift at sea
"We ran out of supplies, and we ran out of diesel. And then we have no choice but took the engine, got the engine ripped out and dumped it in the ocean." before landing in China and being relocated by Catholic Charities to San Diego. He and his wife, an Oklahoman, eventually moved to Oklahoma City with their two children. Family and an assembly job at Tinker Air Force base provided a new start for the family. Even though Nguyen has experienced extreme hardship, this has not hampered his compassion. “Minh is great,” said Cathy Truong, a longtime employee at Lee’s. “My mom is really sick, so I need flexible hours to leave whenever I want to. He’s allowed me to do that a lot throughout the years I’ve worked here.” Lee’s Sandwiches has earned a devoted following in OKC. Over the past year, the Nguyens have transferred the managerial reigns to their daughter, Jenny. She left her life in Dallas to help at Lee’s. “My parents needed someone to fill the spot, and I’m at that age where it’s kind of my turn,” Jenny said. “But I’ll give up 70 hours a week—(they) gave up their whole life.” We asked Minh to share the long and winding road he’s traveled.
cut the boat and make sure it would sink and everybody die. No more suffering. But we were able to stop him. It took us about three weeks just circling around on the ocean and one day there was a typhoon coming and it came in and pushed us into one of the island belonging to China. So we crashed our boats on it. After three weeks on the ocean, we were barely walking because we got the uh…what do you call it, the sickness? You mean sea legs? Yes. Everybody crawled to the shore after the boat crashed on the shore. And that island is a military island, so after we crash into it, there were a lot of island and military personnel that came out and took us and put us in the bunker. Inside the bunker, they us but there’s no facility for us to take a shower so we took a shower in salt water. We have to stay there for a week before they can get an interpreter from China, who came to see if we are really refugees or if we are spies or whatever. So after a few days of interviews and all of that, they let us go.
You left South Vietnam when you were 18, in 1980. Why? There are several reason why I left. One of the main reason is that my dad was in the...what they call “re-educational camps,” because he was working for the South Vietnamese government. After 1975, the fall of Saigon, they gather all military people, especially the high-ranking people, and they put them in what they call “camps,” but it’s like a prison. What you do in there is just labors, produce foods and crops and all of that kind of stuff. Very little to eat. One reason I escaped is because my mom was able to bribe the prison guards so they can let my dad come home for one night. And that's the night that my mom already set up with all the people with the boats and everything ready to escape that night. When we took off in the middle of the night, we're barely able to pick up all of the supplies because the middle of the night, the dogs are all barking...the police come out. We left without supplies to travel from there to the Philippines, which is our destination. So, after maybe five days, we ran out of supplies, and we ran out of diesel. And then we have no choice but took the engine, got the engine ripped out and dumped it in the ocean. Lighter, the boat, so we can go sailing.
So you obtained refugee status and were sponsored by Catholic Charities to travel to San Diego. Help us understand what the early years can be like as an émigré. My first job was folding newspapers. There’s a lot of competition in that job and there’s only $3.35 an hour. If you’re too slow, you get out. At night time, I go to an English class. First thing after I receive welfare checks is buy the bus ticket so I can get around. In the morning, I go to one school, in the afternoon I go to one school, in the evening one school because they only allow you to enroll for certain hours and don’t let you stay there all day…I’m very embarrassed that we had to get welfare for six months.
You mentioned you were aboard a 39-foot boat with 43 other people, trying beyond all hope to make it to the Philippines. Help us understand what such a desperate journey is like—we’ve seen similar attempts recently by Syrian families fleeing war. We didn’t get to the Philippines. We were sailing around the ocean, whatever the current and the wind brought us, we just followed that for directions. We don’t have enough food, so we barely have any water to drink, so we have to wait for rain. Lot of children on board. They see salt water and start drinking. Lucky nobody got killed. One time, when the boat owner, he was so terrified and so frustrated, he got out of control and he wanted to chop off the sailing poles and
A year ago you brought on your daughter, Jenny. What do you hope a new generation brings to Lee’s? I would say better communication between the restaurant and the customer. She understands the culture, but not me. I’m not good in that culture. She does, she grew up here. I hope that it will give the customer more bonding relationships and they will know us better. 49
COCKTAILS FOR COMRADES Bunker Club fuses the Cold War with a dive bar. story by Emily Hopkins photos by Trace Thomas
The sweeping suspicion of Russian intrigue animating the current political climate pairs nicely with Hailey and Ian McDermid’s latest Uptown project, Bunker Club. Art usually reflects life, and Bunker’s campy take on fascism, totalitarianism, and Marxism seem spookily prescient of late. But they’re going more for the chuckle of Mel Brooks’ ’famous spoof of Hitler than the nervous laugh informed by today’s rise of rabid nationalism, globally. Still, you can’t commission a likeness of a Shih Tzu à la Che Guevara without having a sense of humor. Unlike sister bar, The Pump, Hailey said that Bunker will have tavern-style service from the bar and a scaled-back menu. Upon first visit, though, the Bunker screams anything but simple. If there was a spacean empty spot available in this joint, you can guarantee it’s been filled with a naked Barbie, a silver rocket ship, a transistor radio or a vintage tin of Carnation Malted Milk. It’s like boozing up in an extremely organized vintage shop. “We sourced components locally through collectors, swap meets, Craigslist, antique malls and estate sales,” Hailey said. “We shipped a lot of items back from a huge mall in Denver. Almost all the televisions came from eBay. A lot of people even donated items for display when they heard what we were going to be doing.” Inspired by the space’s original coved plaster ceiling and mechanical chases, the McDermids quickly opted for what they describe as a “Cold War era, backyard fallout bunker/dive bar.” They capture the spirit of the atomic age, a period from the dropping of the bombs during WWII to the social unrest of the late ’60s, in which society was hyper aware of the potential good and lurking menace of technology. (Some things never change.) It was a time marked by anxiety and optimism, by a surge of scientific influence in the arts and politics—and a real fear of what might come next. Creatives like Ishirō Honda channeled that angst into projects like Godzilla (1954), a 96-minute metaphor for atomic warfare. The monster’s skin texture is even modeled after the keloid scars of Hiroshima survivors. Beneath the ethos and aesthetic of the atomic age lurked the very real threat of nuclear holocaust, a fear that found its way into art and architecture, especially fallout shelters. 50
Bunker Club plays more into the preparedness angle, stripping away the terror and supplanting it with images of colorful meteors, cheeky aliens and cheekier murals. Tanner Frady of Frady Cat Signs and Ashley Smith of No Regrets Tattoo created the astronaut mural and virtually all the hand-painted signage, and Jay Roberts and Rawb Carter of Mind Bender Tattoo did the Communist party, several mounted pieces and the huge ray gun. “Hailey told me their vision for the bar and we collaborated on the design,” Carter said. “I love the propaganda-style art from the Cold War, so I used that aesthetic—bold, stylized, limited color palette—as the foundation.” That stylized approach carries over into the cocktail list, with a daiquiri named for JFK and a white whiskey drink named for The Manhattan Project. My pick? Make like Alice and go straight to the moon with the Rocket Sauce shot. It’s orangey and creamy and will leave you feeling like a chimp in a Tang commercial. 433 NW 23rd St. bunkerclubokc / @bunkerclubokc
INSIDER So much diversity in dining in Uptown—but even more importantly, excellence in eating. (And there is more on the way.)
THE DRAKE AFTER WORK “FLING” Fried oyster bruschetta and shrimp corn dogs sound like maybe Willy Wonka and Emeril planned the menu but, lordy, so good. The oysters are super fresh and creamy inside, perfectly crispy outside. They join schmeared jalapeno fondue and heirloom tomato relish on toast. The jumbo shrimp corn dogs are embarrassingly good; we so wanted to hate them. We paired it with The Drake’s Hurricane with passion fruit puree for $4. 4:30-7 pm daily. Corner of NW 23rd & N. Walker. @thedrakeokc
HUGO’S TAQUIZAS We have one request of the many half-assed Mexican restaurants in OKC: go to Hugo’s and see what your food should taste like. Foodies we trust kept telling us to go. Salsas made without shortcuts. The breakfast “caserola” packed with perfectly seasoned meats and delicate eggs. The best El Pastor taco we’ve had. Tried to snag a bowl of menudo on the weekend, but it’s always sold out. 3409 NW 23rd. 601-1244.
STONE SISTERS PIZZA BAR Chef Cally Johnson heads the kitchen at Stone Sisters, a humble eatery and menu elevated immeasurably by Johnson’s exacting sourcing. Owner sisters Traci, Tami, and Sheli must also be credited with the concept, and commitment to organic and local. Menu does it all—inventive pies, simple classics and
Insider recs by Veronica Pasfield
restricted diets done right. The editor’s favorite: A1C Pebble Pizza, grass-fed meats piled with unique veggies like shaved cauliflower and artichoke hearts. 2124 N. Broadway. @stonesisterspizzabar
SYRUP 2.0 Norman’s favorite morning spot is coming to Uptown this summer (sound of loud cheering). The new locale is in the old La Catrina restaurant, and we will be there. Early. 1501 NW 23rd. @syrupbreakfast
SIXTWELVE By now, those numbers should automatically translate in everyone’s brains to creativity and community. A packed summer schedule includes adult photo classes in June, Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in July, and more. 612 NW 29th. @612okc
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KILGEN ME SOFTLY History sings again. story by J. Cruise Berry photos courtesy of the Oklahoma History Center
Before we explore the wonder of the Skirvin Hotel’s recently refurbished Kilgen organ, let us first pause for a broader appreciation of the musical tradition that revives this summer. Nero did not swish as some devil possessed, a Mephistopheles upon a fallen rooftop, bowing and plucking his fiddle as he watched Rome burn to the ground. The fiddle did not exist. The organ did. It was a common performing instrument in Ancient Rome, and was called the hydraulis, as it was powered by water pressure and not air. Centuries later, Charlemagne loved the instrument enough that he wanted one built for his chapel in Aachen, the birthplace of the Holy Roman Empire. As the instrument made its move across the continent, it formed the musical backbone of the Western liturgical tradition, and with it, Western music. While the organ is tied to and responsible for much of our sacred music, we also recognize its beginnings as an instrument of theater. Before the “talkie” arrived in 1927, films were without sound and needed musical cues to paint a dramatic landscape that could carry the viewer out of the dim theater and into the fantastic world of celluloid. Hiring a full orchestra was expensive; piano and guitar couldn’t conjure up the wide-ranging timbres of the orchestra. So the grand movie palaces found their
soundtrack in theater organs in the pioneering instruments of Robert Hope-Jones. With the theater organ, one man became the entire orchestra. This was financially lucrative to theaters, and later, radio and television. Hope-Jones’s instruments touted the “Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra” and in it, a world of sonorous possibilities. Theater organs have all the pipes and horns of your everyday church organ, but what makes them an honest competitor to a live orchestra are all their bells and whistles—literally. In 1936, courtesy of E. K. Gaylord, Oklahoma City’s WKY radio landed its own theater organ, a Kilgen & Sons theater organ with four keyboards flanking a jet-black, horseshoe console, 14 ranks of pipes, and scores of curious percussion, brass, and special sound effects. Barbara Pirrong, a member of the oldest music organization in Oklahoma, Ladies Music Club, shared a childhood memory as we sat down to hear the newly restored WKY Kilgen at a spring concert. “In the late 1940’s, when I was about 10 years old, my parents and some of their friends from our church would go to the Skirvin Tower each Sunday evening,” said Pirrong. “I remember my initial reaction to the news of the trip being, ‘Do I have to go?’ Continues on pg. 65
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OKC Ballet Summer Wines Insider
Building photo courtesy of Allford, Hall, Monaghan, Morris Dancer photo by Shevaun Williams
TURNING POINT OKC Ballet's elegant new locale marks promising change for the company. story by Greg Horton
The days when Aubrey McClendon could almost single-handedly—it seemed—keep an arts organization afloat are sadly past. But the legacy of that storied patron of the arts will live on in a multitude of ways as we move forward. One of the first beneficiaries of this new legacy is the Oklahoma City Ballet. In December of 2016, the company learned they could purchase McClendon’s former American Energy Partners Fitness Center for the staggeringly low price of $4.1 million. It’s a gorgeous space for dance, designed by esteemed expatriate Oklahoma architect Wade Scaramucci, who recently won Britain’s top prize for his firm’s work in London. In a move that showed the overall commitment of the company, board and community, the funds were raised in approximately six weeks, and the sale was completed in February. Acquisition of the facility—now the Susan E. Brackett Dance Center—is the first phase of a three-phase project to consolidate physical locations and expand the ballet’s offerings, as well 58
as position itself worldwide as a desirable location for dancers. Robert Mills, the company’s artistic director, compared professional dancers to professional athletes in terms of how facilities and opportunities attract them. “The recruiting process is very similar,” Mills said. “They look at the company, facilities, choreographer, performance space, and the quality of offerings. Also, just like professional athletes, they have a short window of time in which to perform, so they want as many performances as possible in that time.” The 28,000-square-foot facility contains a shortened basketball court, and under the oversight of board member Jeff Blake—who is also the president of Gumerson Blake Design Build—the court is being converted into a practice floor that is 2.5 times the size of the Civic Center stage. As part of phase three, though, that practice floor will also become a theater for small productions, including modern dance and ballet. “The theater will allow us to stage small performances—experimental, avant-garde, modern—without the worry of filling a 2,400-seat theater like the Civic Center,” Mills said. “The theater will make it possible to offer more opportunities to our dancers, and we can use it to stage the end-of-year performances for our school.” Three different entities comprise Oklahoma City Ballet—Mills uses the three-legged stool analogy— all with a different focus. The performance company serves as one leg. The others are its American Ballet Theatre-certified school of dance, and an outreach
department that includes Ballet Reach—a program for Title I schools. The new facility will benefit all three parts of the organization. “We will increase our total number of studios to seven,” outgoing president Scott Davis said. “We have increased enrollment in our school, including more than 200 scholarships, and we are simply out of space.” Blake said the building has three turnkey studios that will be available for the upcoming summer school intensive. Much of the work involves repurposing of the building’s ample space. Administration will be upstairs, and the facility already has an ADA medical-grade elevator—the old space was non-compliant and grandfathered in. The downstairs contains locker rooms with private showers and private water closets, as well as thousands of square feet of storage and future studio space. “We will also have a dedicated physical therapy room for the first time,” said Sally Starling, the incoming president. “We’ve never had that capacity before, so now we’ll be able to take better care of our dancers and students.” Phase two will begin June 5, according to Mills, and it is during that phase that almost all the renovations are to be done, which includes converting racquetball courts into studios and figuring out how to eliminate two load-bearing pillars on the bottom floor— an engineering problem that as of our walkthrough still had everyone scratching their heads. As for outreach, the new facility allows the company to bring students in to watch practice or watch a performance. “We are able to take dance into many Title I schools, and to expose young people, many of whom are underprivileged, to the arts in the form of dance and music,” Mills said. “With the new theater, we will be able to bring them here to see where the classes we teach in their schools can possibly lead them.
“The theater will allow us to stage small performances— experimental, avant-garde, modern—without the worry of filling a 2,400-seat theater"
They will be mere feet from the dancers. It’s a much more intimate experience than we can pull off in the Civic Center.” As for phase three, Davis said much of that depends on funding. “We have been able to acquire the building and start renovations without accruing debt thus far,” he said. “We will complete the additional phases as funds are available.” That means that there is no firm date for completion, but the transformation of one of our state’s most accomplished arts organizations will mean additional benefits to our “real city.”
For more on architect Wade Scaramucci, see the Summer 2016 issue of Territory. 59
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WINE Lesser-known whites for easy summer sipping by Greg Horton
Every once in a while, a wine column includes a geography lesson. As often as not, it’s because someone wants to parse the differences between soil on opposite banks of a river. While that may be fascinating to people whose lives are based upon wine production, it does little for most casual (or heavy) wine drinkers. However, occasionally geography is included to answer a couple of obvious questions. Since this column is concerned with two wine styles that are relatively new to Oklahoma, it’s worth getting the geography out of the way. Dry Furmints come from Hungary, and the Furmint grape is the same used to make some of the world’s great dessert wines, called Tokaj (Toe-Kai). Txakoli or Txakolina (CHA ka lee) comes from the Basque Country of northern Spain, a region made famous by cheese, ham, war and perhaps Picasso’s greatest work: Guernica. These wines styles, which are perfect for our hot summers, share only a couple of characteristics: they are white, acidic, and come from regions we typically don’t give a second’s thought to in the course of a year. For whatever reason—and trends usually have no good reason for being—Furmint and Txakoli are trending right now. Unlike seasonal, iced coffee drinks or iced coffee drinks named for mythical creatures, these two deserve to be trending. Dry Furmints tend to be light, crisp and incredibly easy to like. While I have tasted one that was barrel aged, I think the better versions are allowed to be their light, acidic selves. That they are light and affordable should not lead you to believe that they are simple. The wines can run the spectrum from minerally to herbal, all mixed with solid citrus and stonefruit flavors. They are both easy to drink and complex on the palate. Enjoy them as an easy drinking varietal, or go nerdy and try to suss out the various components. They pair well with light fare, including fish, poultry and salad. We recommend Beres Tokaj Furmint, Grof Degenfeld Tokaj Furmint, and Kiralyudvar Tokaji Furmint. Spirit Shop in Norman has one of the best selections of wine in the state, and you’ll find Furmint there. Whereas the French have their sabering tradition with Champagne, the Basque people have the escanciador spout for their Txakoli wines. The spout allows the wine to be poured from a height of about one to two feet above the glass, which, in addition to being weirdly festive, also reduces carbon dioxide and increases bubbles in the glass. Txakoli or Txakolina is also dry, but unlike dry Furmint, it’s slightly effervescent. The flavor profile includes minerality, salinity, citrus and
floral components. They can be very complex wines, and we have both white and rosé available in the state. The history of winemaking in Basque Country dates to the Middle Ages, and while it does involve some Tempranillo and other Spanish varietals, the Hondurrabi Beltza and Hondurrabi Zuri grapes are native to the region and rare outside of it. Though light, the wines stand up well to food, especially seafood, mild cheeses and white meats. There are only four of these wines in the state as of now—two white and two rosé—and they are all very affordable. Look for Camino Roca Altxerri and Ameztoi or just ask your favorite wine shop to order them. As with all things summer, don’t overthink it and be willing to explore. Trust us, these lesser-known wines and excellent price points suit Oklahoma summer living quite well. Greg Horton is Territory’s wine columnist. 61
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DIRTY GOODNESS To imagine the Truffle Mushroom on Toast at En Croute, conjure flavors like cream, shallot, truffle, mushroom and herb popping off one by one, incessantly, like an aggressive fireworks show. Spawning from the mind of chef-partner Jonathan Stranger, this savory menu standard uses truffle-infused bechamel shot through with portobello and garlic chunks to give eaters a luscious tang that Stranger can only describe as “dirty good.” Exactly. $14. Nichols Hills Plaza, 6460 Avondale Dr. @encrouteokc
ELEVATING THE UNLETTERED Emily Reynolds has the enviable mission of resurrection. With an impeccable eye, she rescues unidentified art from obscurity and ushers worthy works into the hands of collectors via her new Anonyma Fine Art. A Boston native, Emily married OKC’s Chad Reynolds. (Many know Chad from his work with Short Order Poems and Penny Candy Books publishing.)
Insider recs by Veronica Pasfield & Garrett Davis
Emily conceived of Anonyma three summers ago, while visiting family and adventuring in Massachusetts. At the famous Brimfield antique market, a striking mid-century portrait of a woman in blue became the couple’s first “real” piece of art. “I lamented that there was nowhere to buy unusual art at accessible prices in OKC. The art world appears to be dominated by people investing in “important” pieces… (or) mass-produced prints on canvas that complement people’s sofas. If a buyer doesn’t want either, they can now come to me.” Fellow art enthusiasts can peruse the Anonyma website for available pieces, or make an in-person appointment. anonymafineart.co @ anonymafineart
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Lust for Life from page 21 Q: What’s most compelling about photography for you? A: What’s translated from those early days is that ineffable feeling a good photograph can supply. Whether time, place, culture, emotion, a good photograph takes you right there into the thick of it and stays with you. That’s what I’m after. There is beauty, sadness, pull, or a joyous feeling that can come from a photograph. Q: Do you have a different relationship to land vs. water, sky vs. land? A: I feel most comfortable in the forest of the north country and the big views of the west, but the ocean and desert both hold their own places in my heart. While I love nature as nature, my photography comes as a relationship with the waning and ephemeral light at the end and beginning of days.
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic from page 27
Kilgen Me Softly from page 53
And often times (sic) those clothes would be the same trappings people would see on television and find menacing. And as a thinking, working artist you can’t help but have your trajectory altered by the reality of the streets… all of that stuff is a very tried and true way black bodies are policed, controlled, and consumed.” Wiley earned an MFA from Yale, and his fellow alumnus, curator Michael Anderson, also studied such things there. Said Anderson, “African-American men have never had a position of prominence or power in the world of fine art. By putting his black subjects within the context of a church, he’s secularizing and humanizing one of the most powerful institutions throughout the history of Europe.” Exhibition runs June 17 through September 10. OKCMOA.com.
The WKY Studios sat atop one of the Skirvin’s tall towers. After the long elevator ride, the doors opened. “And there sat Ken Wright at that beautiful organ, playing his Sunday night program,” Pirrong continued. “It was magical for me! I was so excited to watch him play and hear that beautiful sound. I knew right then that I had to learn to play the organ.” Pirrong fulfilled that calling, and went on to become a performing pianist and organist. With the decline of radio, in 1951 the Skirvin’s organ was relocated to Civic Center Music Hall until 1998. The Oklahoma History Center saved the organ, but had to store it for a while. Instruments don’t fare well when not in use, and the American Organ Institute at the University of Oklahoma recently completed a total restoration. There is a humanity to the great WKY Kilgen organ’s story, and in its sound as well. It heaves and fills great bellowed lungs with air and passes it across tinned lips to form the most fundamental component of music: pitch. Organists refer to the sounding parts of an organ pipe not unlike the vocalizing parts of humans: an upper and lower lip, mouth, reeded tongue—the pipes even “speak.” Built more than 80 years ago, this organ still speaks to us with tidal booms of thunder and the glissando of a penny whistle coming from its pipe chamber. Drama. Humor. The ebb and flow of a life lived.
Aurora Brightens the Breakfast Scene from page 36
Her cinnamon streusel coffee cake is spectacular. Boudreaux sums up our feelings about the thyme biscuits, too: “Those biscuits!” They are flaky, savory marvels. The gravy that accompanies them starts with a butter/flour roux, to which chef adds half ‘n’ half, heavy cream (sorry, fitness freaks), salt and pepper, and a “Japanese mushroom seasoning” that replaces MSG and adds savory notes. A little touch of hot sauce cuts through the richness. The result is gravy so good you won’t care that it’s vegetarian. The Tiramisu pancakes were the result of Boudreaux reminiscing about his stint at the Italian winery. We feared they would be too sweet, but they are perfectly balanced. He even micro-planes bittersweet chocolate on top and adds lemon zest to reduce the sweetness further. The crème anglaise has no powdered sugar. It’s everything we love about Tiramisu without going overboard. The Strubles commit to local with Hoboken Coffee out of Guthrie, Destiny Ranch burgers (also damn good), Lovera cheese, and beers from Vanessa House and Anthem. This is what happens when restaurateurs put together a team they trust, especially when the chef is functioning at the top of his form. 1704 NW 16th St. (405) 609-8854. www.facebook.com/ shinewithaurora @auroraokc
UPCOMING KILGEN CONCERTS AT THE OKLAHOMA HISTORY CENTER (OKHISTORY.ORG)
July 31—Ice-Cream Social feat. Mark Herman / October 23—Halloween at the Movies feat. Clark Wilson.
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Sister, Sister Killers of The Flower Moon Insider
SISTER, SISTER Rachel and Chelsey Cope on stealing guitars and fighting for each other. story by Tegan Burkhard photos by Chris Nguyen
One day, a girl named Rachel got her hands on a guitar. Soon, the guitar began disappearing for hours at a time, thanks to little sister, Chelsey. At first no one seemed terribly focused on Chelsey’s musical fascination. Then one day the family came across a voicemail she recorded for herself on the family answering machine. Chelsey meant to delete it after giving her recording a listen. They were so glad she didn’t. “When Chelsey first started playing guitar and singing songs, she did all of this behind closed doors in her bedroom,” said their mom, Shonda Fisher. “If I wanted to hear any of it, I had to sneak over and stand outside her door.” The family gently coaxed Chelsey into performing for them. She agreed on one condition: she must be allowed to stand with her backs to them. As she got more confident, Chelsey moved up to coffee shop performances before hitting the live music scene in Stillwater. Now the Cope sisters are all grown up, and still very different. Chelsey lives in Guthrie and has a desire to live out of an Airstream trailer. Rachel is one of the most dynamic business owners in the city core, juggling successful city-core eateries. Still, the sisters are aligned in many ways. Rachel and Chelsey have worked under the same roof for years at local restaurants, but the dynamic shifted once 68
Rachel opened her own businesses. Chelsey landed at Rachel’s first shop, Empire Slice House, a natural hub for local musicians in need of a side gig. There they conquered the inherent awkwardness that comes from working with family—eventually. In very short order (pun intended), Rachel and partners have built 84 Hospitality Group, thriving restaurants known for high quality and creativity— Empire Slice House, Goro Ramen, and Revolución Taqueria & Cantina. Restaurateur sister made a point of not showing favoritism to one employee in particular— Chelsey. In much the same way, Chelsey aimed to work hard to make her sister and her restaurants look good. “I am not going to sugarcoat it,” said their mom. “It wasn’t always pretty.” Fisher added her two girls would always have conflicts resolved by the time she checked in with them the day after a fight. “The nice thing about a sister is you might get into a fight, but you’ll get over it because you have to,”Rachel admitted. Although the two grew up in Ada and Tulsa, they have each impacted the Oklahoma City community. Both point out the clear passion in the other, and credit strong female role models like their mom, who
went back to school while raising three kids. “They’re both extremely stubborn and extremely strong-willed,” Fisher says. “And I see that sometimes in them, and it irritates the hell out of me.” In case anyone wonders where notoriously straight-shooting Rachel gets her moxie (and her down-toearth sense of humor), there you have it. Chelsey explained it a different way, remembering a time when the sisters traveled to Portland. On the plane, Chelsey tuned in to her Beats headphones while flipping through a music business book. Rachel buried her nose in Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business. “When I look at her, I see myself in that way,” Chelsey said. “We’re both really passionate about what we want to do. And they’re completely different, and sometimes we butt heads.” Chelsey, who still works the bar at Empire, shares with Rachel a commitment to community. 84 Hospitality is a solid community and district partner at events and charity functions. Chelsey supports programs such as Rock and Roll Camp for Girls at SixTwelve community center. “I’m not doing anything other than just trying to be a good human,” Rachel said. “I’m a firm believer that if you give back to your community, it’ll come back around to you.” Like her sister’s restaurants, Chelsey’s career continues to evolve. ELMS, one of her bands, headlined Norman Music Fest. A solo album is in the works, as is a new project, Vonna Pearl. Yet, for Chelsey, her inner shy singer never quite fled the scene. “Even to this day, it’s still terrifying to me,” Chelsey says. “I mean, people are like, ‘You’re really confident.’ And I am to an extent, but I still get really nervous (about) that whole idea of just being that vulnerable and putting yourself out there.” “Her fearlessness is something that I know is tough to have,” Rachel adds. “Even though she is nervous sometimes, she doesn’t show it, and I think that’s a tribute to her believing in the product.”
"When I look at her, I see myself …. We’re both really passionate about what we want to do. And they’re completely different, and sometimes we butt heads."
“Oh, that’s thanks to whiskey, by the way!” Chelsey joked…maybe. “I wasn’t going to say it!” Rachel replied. Rachel helps ease her sister’s nerves by packing extra picks and capos, just in case Chelsey leaves hers at home, and stands up for her when negative feedback comes. “It’s never going to be 100% positive reviews from people, but I think that she does a good job of staying true to herself and doing what she believes in,” Rachel said. “And if anybody says otherwise, I punch them in the face!” 69
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: THE OSAGE MURDERS AND THE BIRTH OF THE F.B.I. by David Grann
The publishing world has taken a hard look at Oklahoma before, but rarely this compellingly—and certainly more infrequently in the 20th century than the one prior. In April, Doubleday released Killers of the Flower Moon by one of the finest American non-fiction authors writing today—The New Yorker’s David Grann. With permission from Doubleday, publisher of Killers, we are pleased to offer our readers an excerpt from a quintessentially Oklahoma story.
In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage territory of Oklahoma. There are Johnny-jump-ups and spring beauties and little bluets. The Osage writer John Joseph Mathews observed that the galaxy of petals makes it look as if the “gods had left confetti.” In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants, such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms, stealing their light and water. The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon. On May 24, 1921, Mollie Burkhart, a resident of the Osage settlement town of Gray Horse, Oklahoma, began to fear that something had happened to one of her three sisters, Anna Brown. Thirty-four, and less than a year older than Mollie, Anna had disappeared three days earlier. She had often gone on “sprees,” as her family disparagingly called them: dancing and drinking with friends until dawn. But this time one night had passed, and then another, and Anna had not shown up on Mollie’s front stoop as she usually did, with her long black hair slightly frayed and her dark eyes shining like glass. When Anna came inside, she liked to slip off her shoes, and Mollie missed the comforting sound of her moving, unhurried, through the house. Instead, there was a silence as still as the plains. Mollie had already lost her sister Minnie nearly three years earlier. Her death had come with shocking speed, and though doctors had attributed it to a “peculiar wasting illness,” Mollie harbored doubts: Minnie had been only twentyseven and had always been in perfect health. Like their parents, Mollie and her sisters had their names inscribed 70
on the Osage Roll, which meant that they were among the registered members of the tribe. It also meant that they possessed a fortune. In the early eighteenseventies, the Osage had been driven from their lands in Kansas onto a rocky, presumably worthless reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, only to discover, decades later, that this land was sitting above some of the largest oil deposits in the United States. To obtain that oil, prospectors had to pay the Osage in the form of leases and royalties. In the early twentieth century, each person on the tribal roll began receiving a quarterly check. The amount was initially for only a few dollars, but over time, as more oil was tapped, the dividends grew into the hundreds, then the thousands of dollars. And virtually every year the payments increased, like the prairie creeks that joined to form the wide, muddy Cimarron, until the tribe members had collectively accumulated millions and millions of dollars. (In 1923 alone, the tribe took in more than thirty million dollars, the equivalent today of more than four hundred million dollars.) The Osage were considered the wealthiest people per capita in the world. “Lo and behold!” the New York Weekly Outlook exclaimed.
“Her death had come with shocking speed, and though doctors had attributed it to a 'peculiar wasting illness,' Mollie harbored doubts” The public had become transfixed by the tribe’s prosperity, which belied the images of American Indians that could be traced back to the brutal first contact with whites—the original sin from which the country was born. Reporters tantalized their readers with stories about the “plutocratic Osage” and the “red 71
millionaires,” with their brick-and-terra-cotta mansions and chandeliers, and with their diamond rings, fur coats, and chauffeured cars. One writer marvelled at Osage girls who attended the best boarding schools and wore sumptuous French clothing, as if “une très jolie demoiselle of the Paris boulevards had inadvertently strayed into this little reservation town.” At the same time, reporters seized upon any signs of the traditional Osage way of life, which seemed to stir in the public’s mind visions of “wild” Indians. One article noted a “circle of expensive automobiles surrounding an open campfire, where the bronzed and brightly blanketed owners are cooking meat in the primitive style.” Another documented a party of Osage arriving at a ceremony for their dances in a private airplane—a scene that “outrivals the ability of the fictionist to portray.” Summing up the public’s attitude toward the Osage, the Washington Star said, “That lament, ‘Lo the poor Indian,’ might appropriately be revised to, ‘Ho, the rich red-skin.’ ” Gray Horse was one of the reservation’s older settlements. These outposts— including Fairfax, a larger, neighboring town of nearly fifteen hundred people, and Pawhuska, the Osage capital, with a population of more than six thousand—seemed like fevered visions. The streets clamored with cowboys, fortune seekers, bootleggers, soothsayers, medicine men, outlaws, U.S. marshals, New York financiers, and oil magnates. Automobiles sped along paved horse trails, the smell of fuel overwhelming the scent of the prairies. Juries of crows peered down from telephone wires. There were restaurants, advertised as cafés, as well as opera houses and polo grounds. Although Mollie didn’t spend as lavishly as some of her neighbors did, she had built a beautiful, rambling wooden house in Gray Horse near her family’s old lodge of lashed poles, woven mats, and bark. She owned several cars and had a staff of servants—the Indians’ pot-lickers, as many settlers derided these migrant workers. The servants were often black or Mexican, and in the early nineteen-twenties a visitor to the reservation expressed contempt at the sight of “even whites” performing “all the menial tasks about the house to which no Osage will stoop.” Mollie was one of the last people to see Anna before she vanished. That day, May 21st, Mollie had risen close to dawn, a habit ingrained from when her father used to pray every morning to the sun. She was accustomed to the chorus of meadowlarks and sandpipers and prairie chickens, now overlaid with the pock-pocking of drills pounding the earth. Unlike many of her friends, who shunned Osage clothing, Mollie wrapped an Indian blanket around her shoulders. She also didn’t style her hair in a flapper bob but, instead, let her long, black hair flow over her back, revealing her striking face, with its high cheekbones and big brown eyes. …News of {Anna’s} absence coursed through the boomtowns, travelling from porch to porch, from store to store. Fuelling the unease were reports that another Osage, Charles Whitehorn, had vanished a week before Anna had. Genial and witty, the thirty-year-old Whitehorn was married to a woman who was part white, part Cheyenne. A local newspaper noted that he was “popular among both the whites and the members of his own tribe.” On May 14th, he’d left his home, in the southwestern part of the reservation, for Pawhuska. He never returned. Still, there was reason for Mollie not to panic. It was conceivable that Anna had slipped out after Bryan had dropped her off and headed to Oklahoma City or across the border to incandescent Kansas City. Perhaps she was dancing in one of those jazz clubs she liked to visit, oblivious of the chaos she’d left trailing in her wake. And even if Anna had run into trouble, she knew how to protect herself: she often carried a small pistol in her alligator purse. She’ll be back home soon, Ernest reassured Mollie. A week after Anna disappeared, an oil worker was on a hill a mile north of downtown Pawhuska when he noticed something poking out of the brush near the base of a derrick. The worker came closer. It was a rotting corpse; between 72
the eyes were two bullet holes. The victim had been shot, execution-style. It was hot and wet and loud on the hillside. Drills shook the earth as they bore through the limestone sediment; derricks swung their large clawing arms back and forth. Other people gathered around the body, which was so badly decomposed that it was impossible to identify. One of the pockets held a letter. Someone pulled it out, straightening the paper, and read it. The letter was addressed to Whitehorn, and that’s how they first knew it was him. Around the same time, a man was squirrel hunting by Three Mile Creek, near Fairfax, with his teen-age son and a friend. While the two men were getting a drink of water from a creek, the boy spotted a squirrel and pulled the trigger. There was a burst of heat and light, and the boy watched as the squirrel was hit and began to tumble lifelessly over the edge of a ravine. He chased after it, making his way down a steep wooded slope and into a gulch where the air was thicker and where he could hear the murmuring of the creek. He found the squirrel and picked it up. Then he screamed, “Oh, Papa!” By the time his father reached him, the boy had crawled onto a rock. He gestured toward the mossy edge of the creek and said, “A dead person.”
Excerpt and photos published with permission from Doubleday.
David Grann has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2003. He also authored The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.
Mollie (right) with her sisters Anna (center) and Minnie
issue no. 11
SUMMER 2017