Oklahoma-based trailblazer Stephanie Miller is changing the face of comfort food. As executive chef at the Hamilton Supperette and Lounge in OKC, she proudly serves up “Okie-focused” menu items rooted in her home state. Together with her partners at Killer Squid Hospitality, Miller has become one of the hottest names in town.
Having grown up in Norman, Miller attended the University of Oklahoma before deciding to pursue her passion for cooking. In 2008, she graduated from Platt College and wasted no time diving into the culinary world, working mornings at Cafe 7 and nights at Bravo Italian Kitchen. When a leadership member at Cafe 7 left thirteen years ago, Miller seized the opportunity to become an integral part of Killer Squid Hospitality, joining as a partner. The decade-plus relationship has been met with great success – including The Hamilton Supperette and Lounge, where Miller has helmed the kitchen since April 2020.
“We know what Oklahomans like to eat and what we like to eat ourselves,” says Miller when asked what made her and her partners open a supper club. They realized that there was a need in the Village neighborhood for a “nicer, higher-end place where you could dress up or be casual and go have a martini.”
Yet, she admits, “the spot should never have worked,” as the Hamilton is located on the east side of Northpark Mall in a former men’s clothing store.
The restaurant offers a truly unique dining experience, with its mid-century supper club atmosphere, stellar cocktails and elegant comfort food. Miller believes that part of its charm lies in being able to forget you’re in a mall as soon as you step foot through the door.
The Hamilton quickly filled a particular dining void in OKC. The menu’s focus is on Okie-centric dishes, “like big steak, fried quail and ingredients that mean something to the people of Oklahoma,” says Miller.
The quail entrée, according to Miller, “will probably be the best you’ve ever had,” and is a homage to the North Park Mall’s owner; the land the mall now sits on is where he used to go quail hunting many years ago.
Hamilton guests are also in for a luxurious cocktail experience. Emily and Jimmy Mays, the bar manager and co-owner respectively, have been hard at work crafting custom creations to tantalize taste buds. Their signature Flower Power is a combo of Zephyr gin, lemon juice and lavender syrup, topped with an edible orchid; plus there’s a carefully curated beer and wine list.
Killer Squid Hospitality’s latest concept, Dado’s Pizza, opened in November 2022. The New York City-style pizzeria features grab-and-go slices for a few dollars, alongside whole pies so large they “barely fit in the trunk of your car,” says Miller.
Looking to the future, the goal is to “keep opening different concepts and serving the city as best we can,” she says. She’s excited to give back to the community with a new vision: an upscale sports bar focused on golf, giving local fans unrivaled access to quality food and entertainment experiences centered around the sport they love.
Over the past decade, Miller says she has seen a tremendous amount of growth across Oklahoma’s cuisine landscape, which gives her excitement for the future. As part of a New Year’s resolution, she’s “committed to only eating locally and to help out everybody that needs it.”
Her passion for committed service sets an example worth following.
Main photo courtesy Stephanie Miller, pudding photo by Maryanne Hacking
Sticky Toffee Pudding
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened.
24 dates pitted and chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Toffee sauce
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sweet cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place dates and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. Cool for 15 minutes.
Pour mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and salt and whisk together. Set aside.
In bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar.
Scrape down sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time. Continue to beat together.
Add date puree and vanilla into butter mixture and beat together until just incorporated.
Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
Pour half the toffee sauce evenly over the top of pudding and allow sauce to slightly soak in.
Place the sticky toffee pudding back into the oven for 5 minutes, until the toffee sauce begins to bubble. Remove from oven and slightly cool.
Make sweet cream set aside.
Top with extra toffee sauce.
