OAK’D KICKS OFF WINE DINNER SEASON WITH ITALIAN - TEXAS BBQ MASHUP

Smoked rosewood wagyu meatball with house marinara topped with red pepper flakes and shaved parmesan

by Andrew Chalk

It was packed last night at Oak’d BBQ in Dallas at the first wine dinner of the season, at which I was an invited media guest. The theme was Italian wine, with wines supplied by a prominent importer of Italian wines, Trinchero Family Estates.

The 70-plus guests got an interesting take on Italian food as owner and pitmaster-in-chief Michael Lane concocted his own fusion of traditional Italian classics and Texas BBQ. The most apposite example was Smoked Brisket Ravioli with a Garlic Parmesan Créme Sauce Topped with Spicy Basil Leaves. I get that the genius of ravioli pasta is, like the tortilla, pancake, or pastry shell, as a container but I have never had one where the filling was full blown barbecued brisket, particularly the prime and Rosewood Wagyu that Oak’d uses. The earthy meat flavors, cut with the soft notes of the pasta and were emulsified in turn by the garlic parmesan créme sauce. Crispy basil leaves adorned the dish, mainly providing a visual component.

Smoked brisket ravioli with a garlic parmesan crème sauce topped with crispy basil leaves

It would be remiss not to mention the glorious 5-star quality dessert of Vanilla Cake. Desserts are one of the things Oak'd is known for. They outpunch most dedicated dessert places around town.

Vanilla cake with espresso cream cheese frosting and raspberry glaze

Trinchero wines made a good pairing with Ceretto Barolo 2017 the star of the show.

Oak’d has their next meal on Tuesday, September 27th. It is recommended to book early due to the high possibility of a sellout.