Broaching Brunch at OKC's Perle Mesta

Life doesn't slow down for chef Andrew Black. After bringing home Oklahoma's first James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2023, the prolific restauranteur wasted no time in announcing his next big step: Perle Mesta at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

It was a homecoming of sorts. Chef Black's first time leading a kitchen was at the historic Skirvin and it led him to a myriad of other concepts. While some, like Meatball House in Norman, didn't catch on, his other restaurants have been wildly successful. Black Walnut and it's neighbor Grey Sweater are a one-two punch with Black Walnut's more affordable gourmet fare and Grey Sweater's the-sky's-the-limit blend of experimental international cuisine.

The Gilded Acorn, another hotel-based restaurant, is filled with a casual extravagance that perfectly fits The National, but it's clear that in the last year, he's been driving Perle Mesta to be something even more special.

Lunches and dinners at the restaurant are wildly different, but each is popular in its own right. And now, with Sunday Best, Black has set out to conquer what many diners view as the pinnacle of communal meals: brunch.

With the winter morning sunlight glinting off the windows at BancFirst Tower, the pale cream colored confines of Perle Mesta have an ethereal quality that is well complimented by the arrival of a cup of fresh-brewed coffee and individual demitasse cups of cream. Waiting for the first meal of the day isn't easy, especially with a menu of culinary delights sitting in front of you, but the low-acid coffee and the peaceful atmosphere of the restaurant are perfect for taking a deep breath and letting go of the week behind you.

Or if you're in a sweeter mood, the freshly squeezed orange juice is, as Lizzo says, "worth the squeeze." The same goes for the grapefruit juice, especially if you need a burst of tartness to open those bleary Sunday morning eyes.

A word, to start, about the waitstaff, because this is something I've noticed at every one of Chef Black's concepts. He hires food lovers. If you want to talk over your order with someone who is as excited for you to try the food as you are, Black's restaurants are the place to be. And that fervor is infectious.
I know for a fact that food tastes better when it's made by someone who is passionate about cooking, but I also think having a waitstaff that takes joy in bringing out top-notch dishes adds a lot.

The first item we tried was the açaí bowl—with an almost sherbet-like smoothie topped with toasted coconut and flanked on all sides by fresh bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. What stood out about this dish was the restraint, because açaí can be so tart that many chefs add loads of honey or sugar to balance it out, while the version at Perle Mesta let the sweetness of the fruit and the roasty noted of the coconut provide a counterbalance.

Açaí bowl. Photo by Greg Elwell

Much sweeter, though still not a total sugar bomb, were the Nutella pancakes. One issue with a lot of dressed pancakes is that the kitchen pays attention only to the dressing and little thought to the pancakes. On both this and the fried chicken dish, the pancakes were the platonic ideal—tender without falling apart, and with a gentle sweetness from the flour. Even the Nutella wasn't drizzled everywhere, so each bite could have a bit without completely overpowering the fruit and fresh whipped cream surrounding it.

Nutella pancakes. Photo by Greg Elwell

No shade on the Nutella pancakes, but if you're going to get them at Perle Mesta, I implore you to get the buttermilk cornflake fried chicken and pancakes. When one is trying several dishes, it's best to take one or two bites and move on, lest you get too full to continue and give the rest of the dishes short shrift. This chicken? I could not stop. The crispy skin was soaked in a George peach hot syrup and the ricotta pancakes were dotted with tender peach slices and more syrup. Those chicken wings were glorious—cooked to a juicy perfection and the skin retained it's crunch and chew, even as the warmth of the peach melts on the palate. The fact that there are pictures at all is something of a miracle.

Buttermilk cornflake fried chicken and pancakes. Photo by Greg Elwell

The waffle Benedict is no slouch, as each quarter of the Belgian waffle was covered in either a poached egg with avocado hollandaise or a pile of smoked salmon, capers, and a lime-tinged avocado salad that's too chunky to call guacamole. My wife is an avowed salmon fiend, and while she enjoyed this Benedict greatly, she was still throwing eyes at the fried chicken, as if to say, "Don't worry. You're the one I really love."

No such eyes were thrown my way, sadly.

Waffle Benedict. Photo by Greg Elwell

Not that I was in any place to talk. I had showered that chicken in lusty gazes and continued my culinary infidelity with the arrival of the pastrami Benedict. The jalapeno-buttered English muffin was nigh imperceptible beneath a small hillock of tender, smoked pastrami, poached egg, and hollandaise. If you're after the smoky and the savory, this is hard to pass up.

Pastrami Benedict. Photo by Greg Elwell

And carnivores can delight as well in the heartiest of hearty dishes at Perle Mesta—the steak and egg bowl. Our server called it one of her favorites, so we were hard pressed not to give it a go and, as my tattoo says, "No Regerts."

The steak is marinated in a bright chimichurri sauce and cooked to a supple medium before being sliced and laid out over a bed of caramelized potatoes and topped with eggs. When the runny yolks gave way, they soaked into the potatoes and coated the steak for the kind of richness that makes you feel like royalty. With more of that avocado relish on the side, helping reset the palate after every bite, Perle Mesta's staff has created a culinary perpetual motion machine. Every forkful sings and, without thinking, you're reaching for another and another.

Steak and egg bowl. Photo by Greg Elwell

Brunch competition in Oklahoma City is surprisingly fierce and Perle Mesta has stepped into a crowded field. But with the prestige and savvy of chef Black on its side, the Skirvin Hilton's latest restaurant has what it takes to hold its own.

Written By

Greg Elwell

Greg Elwell served as research editor and web editor of Oklahoma Today from 2018-2023. He also has worked for newspapers, medical research organizations, and government institutions.