The cheese board at Hodges Bend offers a wide selection. Photo by Casey Hanson.

Who doesn’t love cheese? Whether you’re a fan of muenster, gouda, Greek feta or good ol’ American cheddar, there is cheese to suit every taste. Put several together on a large plate or board, throw in meat and maybe some fruit or a drizzle of honey and you’ve got a fantastic snack or light meal. Three Tulsa hotspots offer unique cheese and meat boards that are worth immediate consumption.

Hodges Bend (823 E. Third St.) serves a cheese and charcuterie board that is seasonal and can change based on what is available at any given time. While Hodge’s Bend offers the meat and cheese boards separately, Chef Ian van Anglen says that the combo – comprised of four to five cheeses and meats – is the most popular. On the cheese side, selections often include Manchego, Danish Bleu, St. Andre (French Brie) and an aged goat cheese from Spain called Fortaleza del Sol. Meats including smoked trout rillette, fresh pork pate, mortadella, smoked pickled kielbasa and Jamon Serrano and might include a fruity garnish like quince jam, pumpkin pie jam or smoked, candied figs.

The Alley (3324 E. 31st St.) serves a cheese board that includes a wide selection of cheeses – including a few that are smoked in-house, such as cheddar, bleu cheese and gouda. Havarti and muenster are included as well. House-cured salmon, a couple of house-made jams, peanuts, walnuts and honey are included as well.  House-made crostini and focaccia round out this very thoughtful cheese plate. Owner Brian Biehl says the cheese board may vary seasonally, but for the most part, it stays the same.

Laffa Medi-Eastern Restaurant and Bar (111 N. Main St.) offers a cheese board with exotic flavors and varying textures. The Peasant’s Plate, as it is called, has feta that is marinated in lemon, sumac and za’atar – a spice mixture of thyme, savory and sesame seeds. Creamy thyme and garlic goat cheese spread is thick and rich, while Syrian farmers’ cheese is topped with olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade. Grapes and apples accompany the cheese and add a touch of sweetness. Thick date-honey comes on the plate as well and can be drizzled over all. The Peasant’s Plate is served with toasted pieces of freshly made laffa bread.

In our health-conscious world today, seems like we try to reduce our salt intake as much as possible. But did you know that salt helps bring out other flavors in food? Used in moderation, it’s an essential part of any kitchen.

Spiceology in Tulsa has a large selection of salts, from sea salt to more exotic varieties. Marcy Gettys and her family have owned the shop, located in The Farm Shopping Center, for about three-and-a-half years. Of the many varieties of salt they carry, Gettys feels a few are vital for any home kitchen. Sea salt, iodized salt and a finishing salt or two are good choices.

“All salt comes from the sea, but are processed differently,” she says.

Sea salt (and kosher, too) are coarser grinds and are more mellow than the concentrated iodized. Because of the larger grind, it’s harder to use too much.

However, iodized has its place, too. Gettys suggests using it for baking because it is finer and dissolves better.

If you want to add extra flavor, texture and color, garnish your dish with a finishing salt. Pink Himalayan and black or white pyramid salts add interesting color and texture. If you’re after a final punch of flavor, smoked, balsamic, ghost pepper or Thai ginger salts are interesting options.

The Paseo neighborhood’s annual Fairy Ball or the monthly block party at Hudson and Eighth Street; the Downtown Medical Complex or the bustling corners of Uptown – no matter where they look, Oklahoma City’s vegans have an exciting new culinary option on the table. The Loaded Bowl has rolled into town, serving up “conscious comfort food” made from non-GMO, plant-based, local ingredients that are both conscientious and delicious. Choices change with the occasion and season, but the Loaded Bowl is known for such creations as the Garfield (lasagna loaded with organic tofu ricotta and local veggies) and the Barbecue Rice Bowl with brown rice and fresh peach and ginger barbecue sauce. Give the Lentil Loaf meatloaf alternative a chance, or try a fresh fruit salad made from local apples and watermelon. Vegan desserts also are on the menu, including cinnamon maple, chocolate chip, and cookies and cream cupcakes. Cards are accepted, and you can find out where this vegan palate pleaser is serving on its Facebook page.

The Berkshire pork chop with apple brandy cream and sweet potato au gratin at The Hen Bistro & Wine. Photo by Brandon Scott.

When they say it’s in your blood, literally it is.”

Kathy Bondy should know. She was born into the restaurant business, and despite the best efforts of her restaurateur father, who tried to steer her toward a “safe” profession like accounting, she’s stayed in the business all her life. Starting as a waitress at the age of 14, with time off for college and nothing else, she worked her way up, partnering with Culinary Institute of America grad and master chef Richard Clark, to open Table 10. A few years later, she became owner of the French Hen where, for the past 35 years, some of the finest haute cuisine in Tulsa has been served amidst hushed, wood-paneled elegance. A few months ago, she achieved the restaurant world’s highest statewide honor; she was chosen to be Chairman of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association. Now, waifish yet intent – a lot like Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway come to life – she surveys her latest venture, the Hen Bistro & Wine.

“I wanted to open a new French Hen on Brookside,” she says, “but this place” – she gestures toward the sleek, spare lines, glowing copper surfaces and soaring plate-glass windows – “isn’t a French Hen at all.

“And then I realized,” says Bondy, who often thinks of her restaurants in terms of blood, love and family, “it’s the French Hen’s naughty little sister. She’s hip, she’s cool, but she has the same high standards.” 

Those standards mean gracious, elegant service. They mean cuisine “made from scratch. Nothing is in that kitchen that’s not made by us.” As for the menu, it’s a “blend of my two loves,” French Hen and Table 10. Table 10 featured a gourmet take on American comfort food, and The Hen has a whole menu section for the table, devoted to the sort of rich, gooey treats that bring words like “decadent” and “sinful” to mind. The instantly addictive Veal Meatloaf Sliders capture the shameless crave of a White Castle burger, but they are made respectable with jalapeno jus and delicately fried onions. There’s Seafood Cheesecake, Crawfish Cakes and Sweetbread and Waffles with mushroom brandy cream. There’s also fried chicken, dressed up with gravy that’s really a French cream sauce with hints of mango and vanilla bean.

The entrees pay homage to French Hen. It’s French haute cuisine, but not quite. Bondy never lets herself get hemmed in by tradition.

“I’m a trial-and-error chef,” she says, and she devises her recipes and menu in collaboration with her four chefs, all trained by Clark and veterans of French Hen. They talk, they experiment, they swap ideas back and forth.

Out of this collaboration emerges stellar dishes like the Berkshire Pork Chop with apple brandy cream and perfectly grilled duck breast with a sumptuous, creamy sauce of brandy peppercorn.

The menu is ever-changing, and every day there are one or perhaps two new specials. Once a month, both here and at the French Hen, there’s a special dinner designed with over-the-top creativity. Why put in so much effort?

“I’m always learning,” says Bondy, “always trying to make things better. ‘Don’t worry,’ my friends tell me. ‘Just serve good food, and they’ll be happy.’ But they just don’t understand. I could never be satisfied with that. I may fall short, but I aim for perfection.”

Grandad’s Platter is a hearty favorite at Back Door Barbecue. Photo by J. Christopher Little.

Visitors to uptown Oklahoma City have no shortage of dining choices available. The area around OKC’s historic Tower Theater has seen a flood of new eateries, mostly local endeavors, over the past several years. Now visitors have something else to smack their lips over: barbecue the likes of which OKC has never tasted.

Back Door Barbecue, the latest endeavor from the proprietors of popular uptown establishments Big Truck Tacos and Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs, is giving OKC classic barbecue joints a run for residents’ taste buds. Back Door puts its own spin on barbecue classics, offering such unique selections as smoked pork belly, deviled eggs and the Q-Ban sandwich with house-made pickles. Ever-changing is the Daily Beast, which gives mystery meat a whole new image. Need proof? The recent DB special was smoked quail stuffed with cornbread and sausage. Vegetarians need not feel left out, though; Back Door also smokes a mean portabello mushroom.

As a bonus, the eponymous back door opens to a lot that shares another favorite local back door — the one to Grandad’s Bar. As a nod to its neighbor, Back Door offers the Grandad’s Platter: brisket, pulled pork, sausage, ribs, and bologna with three sides for $25. Wash down dinner with a drink next door and a stroll Uptown, where delicious things are happening.