Very interesting and welcome concept to the metro. Parrot is an excellent chef. I wish them luck and can't wait to see this come to downtown, AA in particular!

Table One: culinary immersion | Oklahoma City Restaurants (http://www.eataroundokc.com/2009/table-one-culinary-immersion/)

Is this being done by the owner of another OKC restaurant?

Ryan Parrot has Season Catering and Iquana.. There are several of them that do Table One

You mean Iguana Lounge

Interesting....sounds like being at a Top Chef competition haha.

Men’s culinary paths led to Table One partnership
Comments 0
Buzz up!BY DAVE CATHEY
Published: May 20, 2009

Inspiration for chefs Ryan Parrott, 34, and Jonathon Stranger, 28, came from different places.

http://photos.newsok.com/2/showimage/570231/w280/

Curiosity drew one to the kitchen. For the other, it was an escape.

To avoid another summer working for his father as a plumber’s apprentice, Parrott pedaled over to Crockett’s Smokehouse at NW 122nd and May and got a job at age 15.

Stranger’s upbringing was privileged but progressive.

"My parents were hippies,” he said. "My parents encouraged me to read, question and come to my own conclusions.”

Having the means to travel and family in New York, Stranger took advantage of his opportunities.

He ate at some of New York’s finest restaurants, which he found mesmerizing.

"It was so much more than just a meal,” he said. "I was fascinated by the look and feel and how everything was done perfectly.”

One place interested him so much that he began hanging out at the back door to catch a moment with the chef. He continued to show up until that chef gave him a job.

The restaurant was Jean-Georges, which is one of five in this country to achieve a three-star rating from the Michelin guide.

From there, he went to culinary school in New York, traveled to Berlin, worked on a yacht, then lived in Houston and Portland, Ore.

While his future culinary partner was globe-trotting, Parrott worked for Interurban and eventually Tommy’s Italian Grill in Northpark Mall.

When he moved to The Mantel, Parrott started catching people’s attention, winning the People’s Choice Award for his pork dish at the Taste of Elegance in 2001.

He eventually became a partner in the Deep Fork Group, where he cooked to acclaim and helped create successful restaurant concepts around the city such as Cafe Nova, The Wedge, Chica’s, Charlie Newton’s, Deep Fork Grill, The North Fork and Red Moon Cafe.

At home, he and his wife, Nicole, built a family of five children (two adopted from Guatemala).

With his family and responsibilities growing, Parrott stopped to take a look within, tear down everything and start anew.

So, he divested from The Deep Fork group and helped reinvent the long defunct Iguana Lounge on Western as Iguana Mexican Grill, 9 NW 9, last summer.

And he called Stranger, who had returned to Oklahoma and done his own inner pilgrimage working as a farmer and exploring the foundation of his calling.

Despite where their paths have led them in the past, they’re currently crossed in one kitchen, where they create an unusual dining milieu in Table One.

While neither were kitchen savants, each has vivid childhood memories of food.

Parrott remembers his mother and grandmother using their hands to craft food. Sometimes they asked him to help.

"They weren’t pouring things from cans or boxes,” he said. "It was all fresh ingredients.”

Stranger remembers his Italian grandmother who created rustic, classic dishes. He didn’t cook with her, but he watched and wondered. Food’s power to connect people intrigued him.

Together, they’re reinventing that connection and offering it to anyone willing to join them at their table.


VIDEO:

http://www.newsok.com/multimedia/video/23782821001

Well I finally got to eat at Table One last night. It is temporarily located in the Cafe Evoke space in the plaza district until they move into the 611 Creative space on Broadway (611 Broadway) soon. BoulderSooner was there as a bunch of others.

1st course - we had Parsnip-Honey Soup w/ deft blue cheese, served with a seared scallop and Sweet Potato strings. The soup was divine, super creamy and rich. The scallop had good flavor, but I couldn't eat all of it due to I don't like the texture of scallops.

2nd course - was lamb carpaccio with a jasmine-chipotle crust, balsamic mint carmel, pea shoots, and lemon gremolata. - was great.

3rd course - chilled corn pudding, lime foam, and white chocolate shavings. This dish was a palatte cleanser, but was also amazing. I could eat a big bowl of it (and I don't like corn pudding or creamed corn, I like my corn buttery and salt/pepper).

4th course - main course - duo of ribs/ kind of an east meets west BBQ he described it. Snake River Farms short ribs marinated in a tamarind-coffee-dr. pepper (and several other things) BBQ sauce served on a bed of butter melted leeks, it was outstanding!! fork-tender and probably tied for my favorite dish along with dessert. Wish I could order this on a menu regularly somewhere! The other half of this dish was Pacu Rib (the sister fish to a barracuda, was told it is the vegetarian version of the barracuda) served with an Asian BBQ (sesame and some other complex flavors) and was served on a bed of pineapple cucumber slaw. It too was amazing. great contrast of flavors between the two styles. I'm not a big fish or seafood eater if you haven't figured out by now, but this fish was amazing. Only downfall is I wish I had more!

5th course - dessert - "Elvis" - banana gelato, chocolate cake, salty peanut butter mouse, and bacon brittle. This dessert was AMAZING!! Definitely my new favorite dessert, wish I had a bowl of this right now. This dish was truly genius! The salty peanut mouse and bacon brittle were outstanding and everything mixed together perfectly. I wish I could order this on a menu somewhere as well!! Plllllllleeeeeeaseeeeeeee Ryan Parrot? Please add to Iguana menu!!!!

Anyhow all I can say is that it was an excellent experience, thats what it is more than anything, the food was top notch, just like being in the show top chef, and I can't wait to go back again! Highly recommend.

Table One is by the far the best dining experience I have ever had. I understand Jonathan is opening up a similar, less pricy concept.

Good to know Table One is still in business. I called four times and left four messages to try to set up a birthday dinner in April. Didn't hear a word back. I guess the move contributed to that.