El Coyote suspends lunch and brunch due to overwhelming response; dinner continues
After a massive response to its opening weekend, El Coyote Bar & Cantina announced it was suspending lunch and brunch but continuing with dinner service until further notice.
The newest addition to chef Jonathon Stranger's One Table Hospitality, El Coyote opened Friday today on the northwest corner of the Britton District. A partner in Wanderfolk Spirits and Mack and Ike's Good Times Saloon, Stranger now has three concepts under the One Table Hospitality umbrella, including Bar Cicchetti, and Osteria in addition to El Coyote.
The New Mexican menu gets its inspiration from Stranger's family (his father is Santa Fe born and raised).
“I’ve been traveling to Santa Fe all my life and it’s been a longtime dream to open a restaurant that honors authentic New Mexican cuisine,” Stranger said. “Oklahomans have an appetite for something other than Tex-Mex, and I hope folks will find that here.”
Leaning on a cache of culinary talent that includes Carlos Martinez, Mitchell Dunzy, and recent Oklahoma Restaurant Association Culinary Cook-Off champion Ricky George.
The shotgun space at 925 W Britton Rd. boasts a spacious parking lot and a gorgeous adobe-style patio in the back.
Inside, seating is divided between front and back, mostly on the east side of the building, with the kitchen in between. The back dining room faces the brick-backed, wood-and-tile bar, which is adorned with chile ristras. The space evokes desert-range oasis.
Chiles constitute the heart of New Mexican cuisine, roasted green and dried red, and the menu reflects it along with organic house-made blue corn tortillas, queso, carne adovada, and chile rellenos.
Red chile is found in the pork adovada, rib tips and quesadilla. I tried a pork adovada taco, which did a great job of expressing the red chile's spicy, complex promise. Looking forward to trying the adovada ribeye.
Green chile is the more popular of the two and can be found on the chicken nachos, chicken verde and the green chile double cheeseburger.
Either red chile, green chile or a combination (called "Christmas") smothers the stacked enchiladas, the entree burrito, chile relleno and vegetarian stuffed sopapillas. Sampled the stacked enchiladas (topped with fried egg!), and chile relleno, and look forward to more.
Also tried a trio of guacamole, queso and spicy salsa and a basket of savory sopapillas.
That's right, savory sopapillas. Just like La Tertulia in Tulsa, El Coyote shelves the flour tortillas and turns to sopapillas that are like miniature Indian Taco pastries you can use to sop and scoop. My buddy Michael Kimball, an Albuquerque-native, believed the savory sopapillas could be sold in his hometown today.
The chef's choice taco was duck confit. If that returns at any time, order it immediately.
We finished with a sopapilla sundae, which was exactly what it sounds like. If you wept for the loss of El Toro Chino's departure specifically for the loss of the churro bowl with salted caramel ice cream, the sopapilla sundae will take the sting out thanks to a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled in caramel and chocolate with a sprinkle of pistachio.
My party of four met recently for lunch, so we'll have to go back to sample the margaritas and specialty cocktails on the patio.
When we do, first on the list will be El Coyote Cerveza, a collaboration with downtown Edmond’s Frenzy Brewing and Martinez.
“The duality of New Mexican cuisine — the boldness of red chiles with the freshness of green chiles — really makes it unique. El Coyote Cerveza is the perfect way to wash it all down,” Stranger said.
Other high balls include a red chile honey mezcal old fashioned and prickly pear margarita. The patio will also be home to live music featuring local artists.
In a social media post Sunday, El Coyote announced it was "postponing lunch/brunch for the foreseeable future." However, El Coyote is open for dinner, starting at 4 p.m. and the bar remains open until 2 a.m.
When brunch returns, look for chorizo breakfast tacos, steak chilaquiles, and buñuelos.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: El Coyote suspends lunch and brunch due to overwhelming response
