Classically exquisite

The Chalkboard marries old-school charm with modern cuisine

The Ambassador Hotel was built in 1929 as a luxury extended-stay hotel for the booming oil business. The Chalkboard restaurant joined the historic hotel in the 1970s, and since its renovation in 1999, the owners have done a remarkable job of integrating the building’s beautiful original charm into the dining experience. I had the pleasure of dining there for the first time recently with some of the TulsaFood.com team, and couldn’t help but wonder why I had waited so long. The ambiance is warm and inviting without being pretentious, our servers delivered truly impeccable hospitality and a table full of foodies left impressed and satisfied. 

We were guided past the bar and main dining room to a cozy dining space in the back of the restaurant where we ordered our wine and pored over the menu.

Following a delightful seafood amuse bouche, our salads came. Mine was an incredible red romaine wedge salad with Parmesan, fried anchovies, rosemary croutons, confit garlic, fried capers and house Caesar dressing. Believe me when I say—It. Was. Perfection. It’s a difficult task to make a Caesar salad original, but the crispy fried anchovies, fried capers, and flavorful garlic confit make this a truly unique and memorable version. Those delightful savory elements with the house-made rosemary croutons and light but rich Caesar dressing make this my favorite Caesar in town.

Next came a colorful artisan cheese plate. Diners have the option of three or five cheeses, served with an assortment of fresh fruit, olives and more of the heavenly garlic confit.

Everyone at the table moaned when I ordered the bone-in chicken breast—the chicken dish on any given menu can often be quite boring. But I salivated at the description on the menu and had to try it. As I suspected and hoped, the dish was wonderful. The chicken is pan roasted with herbed jus and was prepared perfectly with nice crispy skin and moist meat. And the presentation is gorgeous; the chicken is served with a delectable Cremini mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus.

One of the gentlemen at the table ordered the special, a ribeye topped with cajun shrimp and served with grilled asparagus. The char-grilled ribeye had a perfect char on the outside and a dark pink, juicy center. The cajun shrimp added nice color to the dish and the cajun sauce was creamy with the right amount of spice. Although this was a special, the char-grilled ribeye (sans shrimp) is on the regular dinner menu.

One of the ladies ordered the house-made artichoke and spinach lasagna with confit garlic, house marinara, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. As someone who doesn’t enjoy ground meat in my Italian dishes, I always appreciate vegetable lasagna, and this one was cheesy, flavorful and spectacular.

My date ordered the Beef Wellington, The Chalkboard’s signature dish. It’s made with a savory pâté, Dijon mustard and duxelles of mushroom, wrapped in puff pastry and oven roasted. It’s served with herb-roasted new potatoes and grilled asparagus and complemented with a veal demi-glaze. To my knowledge, The Chalkboard is the only restaurant in Tulsa with Beef Wellington as a regular menu item—and it is a must-try.

We ordered the pan seared diver scallops for the table to share. They are perfectly seared and tender and served over shrimp saffron truffle risotto and braised spinach, then finished with a roma tomato white wine sauce that added a comforting brightness to the dish.

For me, the highlight of every meal is the last, sweetest course, and the heavenly bread pudding was everything I had hoped it would be. It’s a simple bread pudding­—not over-complicated by nuts and fruit—topped with both a cream sauce and a chocolate sauce. With a cup of coffee, it’s the best end to a wonderful dinner. 

The Chalkboard // 1324 S. Main Street // 918.582.1964 // chalkboardtulsa.com

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