 Newspaper View
 Print
 Email
 Comment
 RSS
 Bookmark
If you would like to bookmark this article you will need to Login to your tulsaworld.com account
close
Yokozuna a heavyweight of Pacific Rim food
An 8-ounce filet mignon sits atop a mound of Peruvian purple mashed
potatoes garnished with charred leeks. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
By SCOTT CHERRY
Published: 11/5/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 11/5/2009 5:28 AM
Elliott Nelson's first three downtown restaurants are lightweights compared to his newest creation, Yokozuna.
Yokozuna, you see, is the highest ranking a sumo wrestler may obtain, which explains why this eatery can throw its weight around with sister restaurants McNellie's Public House, El Guapo Mexican Cantina and Dilly Deli.
Also the fanciest and priciest of Nelson's restaurants, Yokozuna recently settled into an extensively remodeled space that formerly held Tsunami Sushi at Second Street and Detroit Avenue.
The menu features a section of traditional noodle house fare, as well as a limited assortment of Pacific Rim-style dishes taken from various Asian cuisines.
It was the latter group that drew our attention when we dropped by on a recent rainy (is there any other kind?) weeknight evening. The dining room was not packed, but it was a surprisingly nice crowd for a Wednesday night, and more diners drifted in toward 8 and 9 o'clock.
We selected the Peking duck breast ($20) and hajikami ginger pork chop ($18), although they were pretty much a coin flip with the filet mignon with sriracha trifle butter ($28), the hakuho salmon ($20) and bo ssam pork stacker ($18).
The half-dozen or so slices of tender, flavorful duck breast were served with Mandarin pancakes (like thin, small tortillas), chopped scallions, steamed rice and hoisin sauce. When put all together like little tortillas the result was delicious.
Hajikami ginger is a pickled ginger, and the thick pork
chop, topped with the intense ginger-mango glaze, was impressive. It came with a side of Peruvian purple mashed potatoes (pretty much standard mashed potatoes) and was garnished with charred leeks that were as tasty as they were decorative.
An appetizer of gyoza dumplings ($6) stuffed with pork and charred scallions was offered fried or steamed. Our server, Meghan, suggested steamed to enhance each flavor, and it was a good choice. A zingy chili dipping sauce helped, too.
Another highlight was the mango salad ($8), which featured mixed greens, toasted coconut, roasted cashews, caramelized mango slices and green onions in a creamy Thai cashew dressing that had a nutty-coconut milk flavor. My wife said this salad with the optional chicken and a glass of riesling would make a complete and enjoyable dinner for her.
Our desserts were a small chai panna cotta ($7) and palappam Napoleon ($7).
Panna cotta is a smooth, eggless custard, while chai commonly is a mixture of tea, milk and spices. This one had a minty flavor and was garnished with a crisp cashew tuille.
The Napoleon was more decadent with thin palappam pancakes (made with rice flour and coconut milk) layered with caramelized bananas, macadamia nuts and brown butter coconut ice cream sauce. It was gooey and good.
The beverage menu offers a wide range of choices, included hot teas, a wine list appropriate to the cuisine, a line of sake drinks, imported beers and specialty cocktails.
Amenities include large, white cloth napkins, black wooden chopsticks and heavy, thick-handled steak knives, all presented or replaced when needed. Ice water with lemon was automatic.
It is painful to bring this up because Meghan's service was about as good as it gets until the final moments. I put down cash on the ticket, and she returned with a receipt with no mention of the change, assuming, I guess, it was all tip. Actually, it was, but that shouldn't be assumed.
I also don't like servers to ask if I want change. I prefer they silently bring the change unless instructed otherwise. Overall, though, Meghan was in the top tier of servers we've had this year.
On a separate visit, director of operations Jim O'Connor and manager Matt Leland gave me a rundown on the remodel, and, as the old saying goes, I love what they did with the place.
"Elliott wanted a place more upscale than his other restaurants, a place where people can dress up and not feel out of place," O'Connor said.
A large window was added to the front to provide a wider view of the Tulsa skyline, foyer space was expanded, a 60-seat private room was added at the back, black-and-white photos of sumo wrestlers were placed in the main dining room, and a colorful sumo scene painted by Nelson's wife, Meg, was stationed in the private room.
Lighting — two large drum lights, pendant lights and lights directed to the ceiling — was designed to enhance and complement the mostly wood construction and furniture, including wood rafters, bar stools, tables, chairs and a new bar made of Brazilian wood.
"A local designer, Sherri Duvall, came up with the idea for the bar," O'Connor said. "It was sent to China to dry in a kiln, and it still weighs 2,000 pounds."
Executive chef Tony Fialho is a native Tulsan and had been working in Dallas and San Antonio before returning home.
Yokozuna
Yokozuna is the highest rank
in sumo wrestling, and the
name, according to japan-101.
com, comes from the symbol of
their rank, the wide (yoko) rope
(tsuna) worn around the waist.
The rope, which may weigh
up to 20 kilograms, is not used
during the matches but is worn
during the yokozuna’s stirring
entrance ceremony to the ring.
Elevation to yokozuna rank is
decided by the Japan Sumo Association,
which decides that an
ozeki-rank wrestler has enough
power, skill, dignity and grace to
qualify. There have been periods
with no wrestlers at yokozuna
rank, and there have been periods
with up to three simultaneously.
The rank, once awarded, is
permanent.
Since 1789, approximately 70
sumo wrestlers have attained
yokozuna status.
YOKOZUNA
309 E. Second St.
508-7676
Food: Pacific Rim
Price: noodles, $9 (dan mian noodles)
to $12 (cobra kai); entrees, $12
(makuuchi sesame chicken) to $28
(meiji mignon)
Credit cards: All major
Hours: lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-
Friday; dinner, 5-10 p.m. Monday-
Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight,
Friday-Saturday; bar opens at 4 p.m.
Monday-Friday
Food: 
Atmosphere: 
Service:
(One is fair, two good, three very
good and four excellent.)
By SCOTT CHERRY
Newspaper View
Print
Email
Comment
RSS
Bookmark
If you would like to bookmark this article you will need to Login to your tulsaworld.com account
close
 |
|
