Thanksgiving Is A Time For Reflection And Celebration, for remembering our lives’ myriad joys of health, happiness, friends and family … and then paying tribute to them with big, bountiful meals. Neither roasted turkey nor a can-shaped mass of cranberry sauce are to be found on the board of fare at Edmond’s Café Icon, but the immense menu and the chefs’ marvelous skill at combining visuals with flavor give diners plenty and more to be thankful for.
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The Rock…
If the menu has a hot item, this is it: The lava stone lineup consists of a protein of choice and the means to cook it via a volcanic stone slab heated to over 800 degrees. Searing slices of beef, duck, lamb or salmon at the table gives diners the freshest possible dining experience and control over how thoroughly their meal is cooked, not to mention the undeniable “wow” factor. It comes with an array of sauces, but the meat is of such high quality you might not even use them. Throw in a baked potato or side of fried rice, and enjoy.
One thing to bear in mind, especially if you’re patronizing the wine list as well: Watch your hands and sleeves. Seared steak is exquisite; seared knuckles, not so much.
…And the Rolls
Sushi is the other big draw, with a huge selection that will take a bit of time to browse, much less choose from. (This is where appetizers come in handy; the crispy Crab Cigars come recommended by the restaurant, and they’re excellent.) Even the simplest creations featuring single ingredients like avocado or yellowtail are executed with care and craftsmanship, and the more complex specialty rolls are visual as well as gustatory marvels. Past a certain point, the bound menu doesn’t even list ingredients (they’re found on a separate insert), just names and pictures and prices, as if to say “Look at that! Isn’t that beautiful? Don’t you want to eat that, whatever’s in it?” It’s hard to go wrong, but here are a couple of recommendations:
The “Big One” contains crab mixed with avocado and cream cheese, all fried for a resounding crunch and then drizzled with a zingy wallop of Icon sauce.
Rice, avocado, crab and tuna stacked vertically and rising out of clumps of colored roe form the Icon Tower, and the opportunity to undertake a delicious act of destruction.
The Train Wreck’s rolls are filled with coconut shrimp, cream cheese and avocado, with a profusion of proteins – tuna, crab, salmon and spicy tuna – spread across the top along with a dose of icon sauce and tempura flakes. You shouldn’t need your little mound of wasabi; this one’s got a nice lasting heat.
Icon’s sleek, luxurious décor makes lingering a pleasure, although the dessert tray could be a factor as well … a strawberry-banana crepe with two cups of coffee serves as an ideal ending to a picture-perfect evening out, at a superb locally owned gem.
Quick Tips
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The restaurant is just a trifle off the main drag: Head east on 2nd past UCO and hang a right on Blackwelder. The road heads slightly downhill, you’ll see a Target on the left and Café Icon is in the center on the right.
Oenophiles might know this already, but the steak pairs better with a Cabernet than a Malbec. And sake goes with basically everything.
Stay alert on the way to and from the restroom (hang a left at the left end of the bar) – its hallway passes the exit from the kitchen, and as the old proverb says, it’s better to be full of sushi than covered with sushi. (Come on, that should totally be a proverb.)
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Café Icon
311 S. Blackwelder Ave., Edmond
405.340.8596
Monday-Saturday
11 a.m.-10 p.m.
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