Flavor of Oklahoma: Mary Eddy's Italian addition to OKC's West Village

Located inside a former car factory, Mary Eddy's reopening in Oklahoma City brings Italian fine dining to the city's West Village District.

Mary Eddy's is now back open for business, with a new focus on Italian cuisine; Mary Eddy's Dining Room is now Mary Eddy's Italian Grill.

"We've seen a lot of feedback from people saying, 'Where's the good Italian?' And we want to bring that," chef Damien McCullough said. "It's been fantastic. The feel that we've had in the building has been very vibrant. Lots of excited people try the new concept, and it's been received very well so far."

McCullough said his restaurant's new concept expanded on ordinary Italian dishes and elevated them to new heights.

"We're going for upscale Italian dishes, about seven different pasta dishes that we have right now," McCullough said. "High-end steak, we do have our prime steaks and we do carry a Wagyu tomahawk as well, so can't go wrong with that."

As the signature dining space inside Oklahoma City's Fordson Hotel, guests entering will feel like they are walking into the golden age of dining parties, with a modern twist.

"Our biggest hit so far has been our crab Campanelli with vodka sauce; you can't go wrong with crab and pasta; it has a great spice level to it," McCullough said. "Lasagna, we do a combination of an Alfredo and marinara that we have in-house, along with our Bolognese, and some great cheese of course, comes out a nice, beautiful orange in our copper dishes. It's just a show-stopper."

However, one of the big draws to Mary Eddy's is the restaurant's meatballs.

"Nonna's meatballs, they're so fantastic," McCullough said. It is a fresh pan-fried dish, so when they come out, they're just perfectly nice. Crisp on the outside, but the inside is just like a pillow, just beautiful."

With all the pasta made from scratch and sauces and butchering done in-house, McCullough says this restaurant is a dream come true for him.

"I've been in the culinary field my whole life," McCullough said. "I knew I wanted to be a chef when I was 13."

After serving in the U.S. Navy as a cook, McCullough started building his resume once he got out of the service and, at one point, opened a food truck focused on pasta.

"That [food truck] went really well here in Oklahoma City," McCullough said. "It was Mission Impastable during the time, so that was great."

Wanting to go even bigger though, McCullough said he still wanted to continue his passion of cooking premier pasta.

"Everybody I know loves pasta," McCullough said. "But for me and my growth, I always wanted to see how it would translate over into a fine dining environment."

Not content with just pasta, Mary Eddy's is also big on cocktails and mixology and even offers classes to the public.

"Anytime we're pushing boundaries, it makes the city a place that people want to come to for the food scene," McCullough said.

Mary Eddy's is on West Main Street just east of North Classen Boulevard and is open every day except Sunday, beginning at 5 p.m.