Erik Fabrizius, whose life was later to revolve around the swirling symphony of spice and flavor that is Thai cuisine, got his first introduction to the world of cooking from his grandmother on her Kansas farm. She’d make dinner for the entire extended family, cooking nonstop for hours, preparing Southern comfort dishes like fried chicken, the best Fabrizius has ever had. Finished, she’d sit down and light up a cigarette. Fabrizius still remembers the look of perfect joy on her face. 

But when Fabrizius was seven, his family moved to Portland. After high school, he worked in restaurants, but he’d never tried Thai food until he got a job at Pok Pok – a local restaurant nationally famous for bringing the bold flavors of northern Thai cuisine to America. Eating there was a life-changing experience. Visits to Thailand with owner Andy Ricker made him fall in love, not only with a cuisine, but a culture. 

For ten years he and his partner (“she was a much better cook,” he says) made Thai food at home. When their relationship ended, Fabrizius moved to Tulsa. He got a job at the James Beard nominated chef’s collective called Et Al. There he met Garett Lewis. Lewis had grown up in Texas (like Fabrizius, his first food memory features his grandma’s home cooking). He kicked around the state, but didn’t find his life’s vocation until he ended up in Tulsa and joined Et Al, too. He did a dinner series called Pickles at the Barbecue, featuring his sophisticated take on Texas cuisine. Then he joined up with Fabrizius, and together they gave a one-day pop-up serving Thai food. People, including some of Tulsa’s most lauded chefs, lined up for hours to taste it. After that, they left Et Al and formed a cooking team called Old Dog. 

Two or three times a week, Old Dog, its kitchen in a very vintage food truck and its dining room inside Heirloom Rustic Ales, offers one or two Thai dishes. Sounds like easy work, doesn’t it? Not quite.

“My model is street cooks in Thailand,” says Fabrizius, “who devote their whole lives to preparing one dish. They refine that dish into an art form. And we don’t take short cuts.” 

Let’s say they’re making a Thai gaeng (usually known as curry). A full 48 hours before service, they make the paste. Most Thai restaurants just buy the paste in cans, but the Old Dog chefs get fresh plants and rhizomes, including ginger and galangal, from a local farm. Then they grind it using a mortar and pestle. They let it sit for 24 hours, then make the curry, simmering it for four to eight hours in stock, adding extra flavors such as fresh tamarind juice. This sits another 24 hours, as the resting times amp up the flavor, and then it’s served to the crowd that has eagerly formed around their truck. 

Unlike the Thai street cooks, Old Dog varies the dishes served. 

“We have a natural curiosity and creativity,” Fabrizius says. 

One week it might be khao soi, a glorious noodle soup with Indian spicing brought to Thailand over 100 years ago by Muslim traders from Burma. Another week it’s fried chicken. That’s Lewis’ recipe, and it reminds Fabrizius of his grandma’s dinners. Actually, most of the recipes are Lewis’. 

“Garett is our lead chef,” says Fabrizius. “He’s such a talented chef.”

Lewis had never been outside the U.S. until a few weeks ago. Shortly after this interview, the pair left for Thailand. They traveled around the country, exploring each region’s cuisine, including the Northeast, Isaan, which is Fabrizius’s favorite cuisine. 

“Garett’s food is so good now,” Fabrizius said before they left. “Imagine how magnificent it will be after we get back from Thailand.”

Green Curry Braised Beef Buns 

2 lbs chuck roast 

2 tsp salt

2 cups full fat coconut milk; separated into 1/2 cup and 1 1/2 cup amounts

5oz green curry paste 

Fish sauce to taste 

Frozen steamed buns

Finely chopped makrut lime leaf and fried garlic for garnish 

• 1 hour up to 24 hours, slice beef and season evenly with salt, store covered in the fridge
• Preheat oven to 325°f
• In heavy bottom pan sear beef on 2 sides; set aside in braising pan with liquids 
• In separate a pot reduce 1/2 cup of coconut milk over medium high heat until bubbles become slightly thick; about 3 mins 
• Add curry paste to reduced coconut milk and stir continuously for 1-2 mins
• Add remaining 1 1/2 cups coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil
• Pour curry mixture over beef and cover
• Put braise in the oven and lower temperature to 300°f; cook for 1 hour
• Uncover braise, flip beef and stir, cook uncovered at 275°f for 30 mins to 1 hour or until tender; season with fish sauce to taste 
• Steam frozen buns per package instructions
• Fill buns with shredded braised beef and top with garnishes
• Enjoy!