Oui3: Four-star fare served up at new Brookside eatery
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Restaurant Critic
Thursday, August 30, 2012
3/28/13 at 8:17 AM
Oh, oui, oui. Oui3 is as delicately nuanced as a Norah Jones performance, which we expected from the new Brookside eatery founded by three generations of artistic women.
What we also found was that oui3 also has some backbone to go with the frills - a rib-sticking tenderloin opposite the agave-glazed pan-seared salmon, chocolate shortcake opposite grilled Porter peaches and sorbet, to name a couple.
Ouida Merrifield, whose previous restaurants have included Polo Grill, Ciao! and La Cuisine, is proprietor-chef. Her daughter, Karen Eddy, is contributing partner, and a granddaughter, Allison Goss, is managing partner.
"Our first endeavor as oui3 was in the arts," Merrifield said. "We had a showing in the PAC gallery in February. Then we thought about the concept of art, taste, life and began talking about a restaurant."
They acquired the former Garlic Rose space in the Consortium, took it back to the studs and crafted a modern, smart-looking restaurant that already is carving a niche in the city's elite dining scene.
On a recent weeknight visit we had the four items listed above, as well as egg noodles with jumbo grilled shrimp ($24), grilled Colorado lamb chops with blue cheese minted butter ($31), a watermelon salad ($9), and a salad of green leaves and blue cheese ($9).
The 6-ounce tenderloin ($29) was tall and thin. It was ordered rare, a perfect choice for this exceptionally tender and flavorful piece of beef. When it arrived, it stood watch over a mound of house-made potato crisps (like potato chips) drizzled in a cream sauce with white truffle oil.
The salmon was charred around the edges and black toward the center, but when cut it revealed a perfectly textured fillet. It was served with coconut oil citrus salad with greens and caperberries.
Caperberries show up in several oui3 dishes. They come from the same plant as the caper buds, which we normally just call capers. The caperberries are about a big around as table grapes but are oblong and have a lemony flavor.
The two smallish lamb chops were cooked medium and served with fried jumbo crimini mushrooms and warm spinach leaves. The crimini were jumbo, all right, and covered in a thick breading that was lighter than it looked.
I figured the noodles and shrimp would be mixed together like a standard pasta dish, but they weren't. The plate started with a small mound of the wide noodles covered in an orange-tarragon cream sauce. Then three large, tail-on grilled shrimp rose out of the top of the noodles. It came with a side of organic string beans.
We also shared a salad of watermelon, fennel, orange, red onion, baby greens and agave-chia seed dressing ($9); a salad of greens and blue cheese with frizzled onions, garlic-scented olive oil and lemon ($9); chocolate shortcake with strawberries, agave cream and blueberry drizzle; and grilled Porter peaches with yogurt chia sorbet ($9) - and each was memorable. Chia is from the mint family.
Our server, Corey, was informative and efficient, one of the best we've had this year.
The cozy dining room has a wall banquette that will hold 10 to 12 diners, two- and four-top tables, seven seats at the LED underlit acrylic bar, and a private room that will hold up to 24. A glass-fronted wall of wine bottles anchors the dining room.
Merrifield's brother, Scott Garrett, a wine rep and sommelier, developed the interesting, 100-plus bottle wine list, including 25 by the glass.
Two more grandchildren, Ben Woolslayer and Kristen Privett, also lend a hand.
Pamela Gil is chef de cuisine.
OUI3
3509 S. Peoria Ave.
918-576-6888
Food: 
Atmosphere: 
Service:
(on a scale of 0 to 4
stars)
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 11
a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-
Saturday; dinner
reservations recommended;
accepts all
major credit cards.
Original Print Headline: Four-star fare
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
A jicama salad at oui3 includes shredded jicama with carrots, cucumber, zucchini and mint with a lime cilantro dressing. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
Karen Eddy (left), Allison Goss, Ouida Merrifield and Ben Woolslayer represent three generations involved in oui3. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
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