Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/457084
{ SOMMjournal.com } 81 VAST Another step up the Oklahoma City culinary ladder takes us to the top of the city's tallest building. A 50-story sky- scraper might not make much of an impact in a bigger metropolis, but when the Devon Energy Center tower opened in 2012, it immediately dominated the Oklahoma City skyline. Diners in its 49th-floor Vast restaurant found a view that seems to stretch all the way to Texas. Kurt Fleischfresser, already well known to local patrons as chef-owner of the venerable Coach House and a consul- tant to other Oklahoma restaurants, was hired as Director of Operations last summer to give Vast a more regional flair. He recruited Kansas City veteran Patrick Williams as Executive Chef and brought in his former Sommelier, Enis Mullaliu—who had worked for nine years at the Coach House before departing for a brief stint at The George Prime Steakhouse—to serve as Manager. Mullaliu comes with his own colorful back story, as a refugee from Kosovo. "My dad gave me 10,000 Deutsche Marks in 1998 to flee the country," he recounts. Staying about a week in each place, he ended up in London, where he got a job as a waiter. Then his parents emigrated to Oklahoma City and asked him to join them. "I moved here at 18," he says, "and it was culture shock." But Mullaliu stayed in the restaurant industry and learned about wine along the way. When I visited Vast, he had been there all of three weeks and didn't even have a business card. "The wine list is not mine," he admitted at the time, but he's gradually making changes, "featuring different high-end wines. I introduce a wine for one week and then add it to the list." The by-the-glass list is already extensive, ranging from a Selbach Riesling to a Château Greysac Médoc Cru Bourgeois. Mullaliu is planning to install a Coravin system so he can add even more options; the bar, with its panoramic vistas, is already a popular destination for the downtown business crowd. Perhaps Oklahoma City itself will soon become a destination for the food-and-wine crowd. LUDIVINE The local wine scene took another big step forward with the establishment of Ludivine, just a few blocks from the National Memorial, in 2010. Russ Johnson, who trained as a chef in Denver and Aspen, and Jonathon Stranger, who started his culinary career in New York City, decided their native Oklahoma was ready for the farm- to-table concept. They brought in Eric Corff, a Certified Sommelier who had worked in San Diego and Telluride, as their General Manager/Sommelier. (As you can see, full-time wine professionals are rare in Oklahoma.) As an homage to French culture, they named their restaurant after actress Ludivine Sagnier. The one-page menu is printed daily, depending on the availability of such local products as foie gras, Wagyu beef and Berkshire pork. "I change the wine list about once a week," says Corff, who looks for organic and biodynamic bottlings to reflect the chefs' philosophy. "You will rarely see things you recognize; you come to try new things." Indeed, the fall wine list featured such entries as Hogwash Grenache Rosé from St. Helena and Château de Valmer Vouvray, along with a few more-familiar names, each accompanied by a one-word descriptor such as "briny" or "fragrant." How does Corff manage these finds in Oklahoma? "If the distributor says, 'We can't bring that in just for you,' we can work with other restaurants" to assemble a large enough order. "If the distributors have just a little left," he adds, "I'll buy it." Corff meets regularly with a small group of local wine pros and attends three to five tastings a week "so I can keep my palate trained." Ludivine is a Napa-style restaurant in the heartland. As Corff puts it, "Oklahoma is just getting this wine culture." Owner/Chefs Jonathon Stranger (left) and Russ Johnson (right) with GM/Sommelier Eric Corff at Ludivine. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF LUDIVINE Director of Operations Kurt Fleischfresser (left) and Manager Enis Mullaliu at Vast.