AS CAFÉ CONTEMPORARY owner Avery Cannon talks about the influence of popular culture on the menu at his space inside Oklahoma Contemporary, he crosses his left leg over his right, revealing The Legend of Zelda socks. For an interview, it’s a near-perfect moment, when the subject accidentally engages in show-and-tell simultaneously. As chef and restaurateur, he combines his creative instincts with his business sense, a difficult enough task when creating a stand-alone restaurant, but much more complex when opening a restaurant inside an art space dedicated to contemporary art and community building.
Cannon is a restaurant veteran, having helped start Empire Slice House in 2013, a popular pizza-by-the-slice concept, before moving on to open his own juice and smoothie bar Wheeze the Juice in the Deep Deuce District. He brims with energy, generated by his brain processing multiple ideas at once, creating a kind of hum when you’re talking to him.
“The menu came from a ton of trial and error,” he says. “Neely Hopper is an outstanding chef, and we worked to create dishes that have familiar flavors that people love with different emphases.”
That was the challenge: to be creative without leaving diners lost in experimental food. The arts center demands a level of sophistication, play, complexity, and whimsy from the menu, but people still want to eat what they know and love.
“I don’t eat very much meat, but I love a good Reuben,” Cannon says. “I’ve had them everywhere. We wanted the café to be a place where we could convert foods to vegan or vegetarian with very little effort. The Reuben is baked mushrooms with a Reuben rub, and it relies on vegan mayo. There are lots of little things you can hide in dishes like that to help people expand their palates.”
The menu includes baked goods by Kristen Steimer, whose apricot-Earl Grey cookie is a perfect example of what Café Contemporary is trying to do: comfort you with the familiar and then surprise you with clever, delicious twists.
“We have spaces to bring food and conversation together, but Covid-19 has gotten in the way for now.” Those spaces include the learning library across the lobby from the café, a beautiful deck that overlooks the community lawn, and the lawn itself, where guests can take food for a picnic and conversation.
Cannon believes the mission is more than creative, innovative food, he says. “Long term, the goal here is to create a community of people who want to progress our city.”
Café Contemporary at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. oklahomacontemporary.org
