If you are craving the catch of the day that’s not Long John Silvers, you have to try Sedalia’s Oyster + Seafood – the new award-winning seafood restaurant nestled among the classic taquerias, bargain groceries, and pot shops near the Oklahoma State Fair stomping grounds.
The restaurant opened earlier this year to much fanfare and nautical jubilation, and ahoy matey, it was worth more than its weight in chum.
With the doors opening at 5 o’clock, my girlfriend and I were prompt and punctual for our reservations and were easily seated.
The actual menu, which changes daily, was a hand-written copy-shop job, and as we looked over it, I ran into my former high school English teacher. With pleasantries out of the way, we resumed our one-hour tour and ordered our first batch of victuals which, it seems, are more tapas-related in both size and presentation, as well as price.
We also ordered some drinks—my girlfriend had the Old Fashioned ($15.00) and I had the Beet Soda ($5.00), which I know sounds terrible but is actually very good and very beety.
Almost immediately, our server began our culinary voyage to the bottom of the sea with the shelled star of the show, a half-dozen Raw Oysters ($23.00).
The last time I had oysters was in Baltimore around 2010 and here, I was reminded how much I loved them like the landlubber I am.
Served with house-made hot sauce, mignonette, and lemon, it was a deep dive into the Oklahoma creepy-crawlies that, more or less, was replaced with our next plate, the Focaccia ($15.00).
More than bread, it is smothered with Szechwan oil, and salt cod butter that, though a bit burnt on the edges, wasn’t too bad.
Racking up the small plate theories with more dishes, we tried the Oklahoma Paddlefish Caviar ($36.00) that included pommes dauphine and sour cream.
As the crispy potato cream balls are dipped in with the bulbous caviar and thick sour cream, it was a warm current of mythic proportions…until you realize you only have five of them, and are left feeling waterlogged.
Next up we had the Octopus Anticucho ($18.00) and its eight arms to hold you.
More “meaty” than I would have thought, with the aioli and the xo sauce, it was a very chewy but still pliable dish, with bite-sized forkfuls of the octopus’s body slinging down my gullet like a real-life Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Still wanting a little bit more, we decided on the lone dessert on the menu, the Sorghum Custard with Rye Biscuit ($10.00). Just like how it sounds, it’s a creamy, light dessert with a crunchy, bready crumble that is too good to pass up.
With no barnacles to shave off the hull, Sedalia’s is one of the premier restaurants in Oklahoma City – a true experience with stellar food and great service.
The only catch is that I will have to panhandle to afford the fishy action I have grown accustomed to. Arrrg!
Cómpralo ya!
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