Hodges Bend: New downtown coffeeshop-wine bar just getting warmed up
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Restaurant Critic
Thursday, March 14, 2013
3/14/13 at 4:42 AM
We knew with barista Mason Remel at the helm and co-owner John Gaberino supplying the coffee products that the espresso and all things coffee would be terrific. We knew co-owner Noah Bush would offer first-rate cocktails and an interesting wine list.
What we didn't know was what to expect from the food at Hodges Bend.
"Just some pastries and a little charcuterie and cheese is all we're going to have," Bush had said while the space on Third Street on the east edge of downtown was under construction in January.
On a more recent look-see, Hodges Bend had a few pastries and a cheese board but no charcuterie (cured meats).
So we still weren't sure what we would find on a recent evening visit.
We were told a charcuterie and cheese board ($17) had one meat, a variety of cheeses and a few other items, so we sprang for that along with what we hoped would be appropriate wines.
When it arrived, a server, Lesley, explained the items on the board. We embellished them with additional information later. Here's what we had:
Saint André - From the northern coast of France, it's known as the "heavenly cheese." It has a classic Brie flavor, and the rich center contains about 70 percent butterfat.
Manchego - A Spanish hard cheese made of sheep's milk.
Cambozola - A cow's milk cheese that is a combination of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola. A light, soft blue cheese variety. It's sometimes called blue Brie.
Danish Blue - A blue-veined cheese made from cow's milk; it had the strongest flavor on the board.
Trout rillette - Smoked trout blended with onion, tarragon and lots of butter. Delicious. We ate it straight off the plate, bypassing the crostini.
Cherry chutney - Another item we didn't bother to put on the toast. It had a sweet, strong cherry flavor with a hint of citrus.
Saucisson sec - The only charcuterie, it was made from a pork tenderloin air-dried for five weeks and sliced into thin rounds.
During the process of working our way through the cheese board, we had glasses of an Italian MÃ1/4ller-Thurgau, a Spanish albarino, a German riesling and a Californian gewurztraminer, all dry to off-dry white wines that were beautiful complements to the cheeses and the trout.
We later learned Trevor Tack, executive chef at R Bar & Grill, has been making items for the charcuterie and cheese board to help Hodges Bend get things going.
That task soon will go to Ian Van Anglen, a veteran of Doc's Wine & Food, The Kitchen, Gemma's Woodfire Kitchen and Michael Fusco's Riverside Grill. Van Anglen will cook out of the kitchen of Margarita Gaberino's new business, Topeca Bakery, which is just getting off the ground. Gaberino also will provide more bakery items to Hodges Bend.
Hodges Bend operates in a very cool setting with a long white Carrera marble bar, chandeliers made with clear soda bottles, a decorative tile floor, pressed tin ceiling, a series of wall banquettes with custom-made tables of wood and burlap coffee sacks, and an entry area with five small tables, a sofa and easy chair.
Vinyl jazz albums are played on a standard record player throughout the day.
"When Mason and I met and talked about doing this, it was amazing how many of the same things we liked - coffee, wine, jazz - and it all works together in this room," Bush said.
Children are allowed in the front of the room until 5 p.m.; after that it is adults only.
HODGES BEND
823 E. Third St.
Food: charcuterie
and cheese board
only — 
Atmosphere:
Service:
(on a scale of 0
to 4 stars)
7 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Monday-Friday,
8 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Saturday-Sunday
(alcohol service
begins at 11 a.m.
daily); accepts
Original Print Headline: Just warming up
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
The cheese board is served with a small latte and a Cuatro M cocktail (Lillet Rouge, Nonino grappa and coffee toddy) at Hodges Bend. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
The cozy entry area at Hodges Bend includes a few tables, a sofa and comfy chairs. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Noah Bush, a sommelier and mixologist, opened Hodges Bend with partner John Gaberino. Mason Remel runs the coffee side of the business. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Hodges Bend is located on a corner spot on Third Street on the east end of downtown. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
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