Lucky's Restaurant

Lucky's in the News

At Lucky's, an emphasis on the local — like Monastery Lamb

Matt Kelley had his first experiences preparing Clear Creek Monastery lamb when he cooked for fundraisers at which the Benedictine monks had donated the lamb.

"I tried different things with it and really enjoyed it. That was before I had the restaurant," said Kelley, chef-proprietor of the year-old Lucky's. "About six months ago I was able to make an arrangement with the monks to provide lamb for the restaurant."

It is offered as a dinner entree as a trio of lamb with some combination of sausage, shaved leg meat, shanks, sirloin, strip and tenderloin.

"It doesn't come in a box; we receive the whole carcass," Kelley said. "We braise the shanks, grill the strips, tenderloin and sirloin over pecan wood, and braise the shoulder and make sausage out of it. We cure and smoke the legs and shave off thin slices. It tastes a little like pastrami."

This was something we had to experience, so we ordered the lamb entree ($32), along with fried quail ($26) and a house salad ($8) on a recent visit to Lucky's.

Our lamb offerings that night were leg slices, sausage and sirloin, and I would rate them in that order. The thin leg slices were a little chewy, they did have something of a pastrami flavor and were really good. The sausage was spicy, habit-forming and terrific. The pieces of sirloin were flawless, extraordinarily tender with a mild lamb flavor.

The three quail also were exceptional. They had been fried in a light batter and had a sweet, delicate flavor.

The lamb was served with crunchy, al dente green beans and Yukon gold mashed potatoes, while the quail came with a slightly spicy chipotle gravy, a sweet potato tamal and jicama slaw. The tamal (that's the singular for tamales) was cooked and served in a corn husk.

We shared the house salad of hearts of romaine topped with Maytag blue cheese and house-cured bacon. It was served with green apple slices and was a tasty way to get things started.

One of the best things about dinner at Lucky's is the complimentary bread and dip, which includes nicely textured pita triangles and an amazing white-bean dip flavored with roasted garlic, rosemary and lemon.

The wine list includes a budget-conscious section of 20 bottles for $20 each, well below standard restaurant markups for some of these labels.

Our server, Eileen, has been with Lucky's since the beginning, and the experience shows. She was informative, efficient and courteous.

My wife also pointed out that the eucalyptus-peppermint hand soap from Bath and Body Works was a nice touch in the women's bathroom.

Chef Matt Kelley said that in addition to acquiring the Clear Creek Monastery lamb, he also has been developing more local sources for his food products.

“I found a Mayes County farming couple this past summer who provided me with things like corn, okra, tomatoes, melons, green beans and squash,” Kelley said. “You have to try their okra when it is in season. It’s incredible. The growers are private people, and I’m the only restaurant they are working with.”

Kelley said he buys bacon and ham from Four State Meat Processing in Big Cabin, the firm that also processes the lambs.

“We have access to some really good stuff, which is an exciting thing for the kitchen staff,” Kelley said. “You know, I also would love to be able to get the cheese the monks make at the monastery. It’s great, but they aren’t allowed to sell it.”