Taste Of Oklahoma: Solaire's Creative Dishes With South American Flair

A West Tulsa restaurant is allowing two up-and-coming talented chefs to showcase beautiful and creative dishes with a South American flair.

Solaire gives visitors a five-course meal that will change every few weeks and it’s already bringing in rave reviews.

Solaire is giving people fine dining without having to choose since the menu is fixed and will change with the freshest food of the season.

It is also allowing two rising chefs to showcase their labor of love.

From its lush green lawns to stunning event space, Tulsa's Silo Event Center is now home to an intimate and beautiful fine dining restaurant— Solaire.

“I was extremely excited," said Chef Gabe Lazarde. "It does mold into the concept I wanted to do always.”

Chefs Gabe Lazarde and Jeremiah Rankin are the owners and minds behind the innovative menu, and somewhat fell into this job.

The restaurant was previously run by legendary Tulsa chef Paul Wilson who died in a bike accident last year.

The chefs had a mutual friend with the event center owner who gave them a chance.

“We would be stupid not to dive in fully committed to this," Rankin said.

Solaire offers a five-course fixed menu that will change every several weeks.

The first menu rolled out on Valentine’s Day and was heavily inspired by Chef Gabe’s Venezuelan heritage.

“I moved here when I was 19 years old," Lazarde said. "I grew up with my grandma. She was a trained chef.”

Some of his recipes are straight from his grandma, like his sun-dried tomatoes that take two days and are a top-secret staple in the menu.

"When I do the spice blend, I'm in a corner by myself throwing things and making it happen," said Lazarde. 

Chef Jeremiah has also worked in restaurants his whole life. Now 26, he and Gabe are in a band together when they're not fine-dining chefs.

“It's insane," Rankin said. "I never thought I would be at this point in my life. I didn't grow up thinking I'm gonna be a chef.”

But they are already proving their talent, and the food speaks for itself.

“I like the idea of not being in a box, we’re using South American influence, but that doesn't mean everything will be strictly traditional."

The first course is a scallop crudo.

Chef Gabe adds a grapefruit reduction and tops the scallops with mango salsa and pickled fresno chilis.

“Finish up with a couple cassava chips," he said.

One bite brings a burst of texture and flavor, especially with the crispy chip to soak it all up.

Another course is the vibrant ube gnocchi, similar to a purple potato.

“This was the one recipe we had to do multiple times," Lazarde said.

It gets crispy on a pan and laid on top of parsley pesto.

He adds the scratch-made sun-dried tomatoes and parm.

The gnocci is pillowy and tangy and delicious.

“This is something you don't see much in general, certainly not in Tulsa,” Rankin said.

The main event is a braised short rib with saffron risotto and roasted bell pepper gastrique.

“Gastrique is a classic sweet and sour sauce.”

Chef Gabe heats the risotto in a saffron vegetable broth until it’s perfectly al dente; not an easy task.

"Not overcooked but not undercooked, you got to have a little bite to it," Lazarde said.

He adds seasoning and then cold butter goes in at the end.

Then comes that 8-hour braised short rib which gets the jammy gastrique on top.

Don’t worry, the menu wouldn’t be complete without a sweet.

Chef Jeremiah is making rum-salted caramel to complete a basque cheesecake.

He drizzles it on the burnt Spanish dessert and adds flaky salt.

Every dish brings something wildly unique, with hours of preparation that go into each bite.

“We’ve had a few repeat customers which is crazy because it's the same menu," Rankin said. 

The two chefs said they may still be making a name for themselves, but they hope by pushing the boundaries and bringing inventive dishes to Solaire, this restaurant will soon become a staple.

 “We’re happy with our product, I think it's almost shocking how well received it's been," said Lazarde.

"We just wanna keep getting better with it.”

Right now, Solaire is only open on Fridays and Saturdays by reservation only and the menu is set to change at the end of the month.