Is there any chance that he still has enough connection to his hometown to ever consider opening a restaurant here? He is a rock star in the food business. His newest place is here:

http://www.redorestaurant.com/

I happened to walk by it by accident the last time I was in LA and thought
"why couldn't that be in OKC?"

He goes by Rick, doubt it but would love to see him open something up here. Myriad Gardens Restaurant was our best shot IMO.

Oh? Never knew he was from Oklahoma City! Would definitely LOVE to have him open a restaurant here.

Rick Bayless provided the recipes for the mexican restaurant Barry Switzer owned at Lake Hefner (I think it was called Cabo San Lucas) that failed like all of Barry Switzer's other restaurant ventures. The menu was not Tex-Mex enough for Oklahoma City which is full of people that grew up eating Tex-Mex. They even tried to offer more Tex-Mex dishes after the restaurant was open for a while. I think Rick Bayless could be successful in Oklahoma City now because he is more well known then he was then and people in Oklahoma City are used to other types of mexican food now.

Bigray in OK

Rick went to high school with me at Northwest Classen High School. His brother Skip works for ESPN.

He goes by Rick, doubt it but would love to see him open something up here. Myriad Gardens Restaurant was our best shot IMO.

I knew it was Rick but didn't catch the typo until after I started the thread. Wish there was some mechanism for corrections there.

The original restaurant where the fish restaurant now stands was called Cabo Del Sol, and as Big Ray mentioned, it did not last long. They used many traditional moles and regional variants of true Mexican cooking that were too sophisticated for the Okie-bred Tex-Mex palate (in other words, no queso and chips, no burrito con carne). It was a restaurant before its time.

I don't recall who the chef was (it was a female), but she had trained and worked under Rick Bayless for many years, and was an enthusiast of his real Mexican cooking. Most of the recipes were his. I don't recall that Switzer came into the picture until the restaurant AFTER this Cabo del Sol - BEFORE Pearl's took over (the current restaurant has since broken off from the Pearl's group). I could be wrong, though.

I went to Cabo del Sol a few times with my parents, and it was quite good. But again, it was a restaurant before its time. Now I think a venture like that would fit better into the general mix of OKC restaurant offerings, although I'm not sure one could top Adobe Grill for better "real" Mexican.

Truth be told, until this city gets out of its "Ted's is the Best" mentality, we'll never have a good shot at another Bayless-inspired restaurant.

As for the Gardens? Stranger things have happened. They are still in the midst of the RFP process, so it's possible someone of his caliber may apply. I am not confirming anything other than they are still in the RFP process, so please don't read anything into this.

I don't recall who the chef was (it was a female), but she had trained and worked under Rick Bayless for many years, and was an enthusiast of his real Mexican cooking.
Kamala Gamble (http://www.kamskookery.com/), perhaps?

I thought Kamala, but when I did a search on her, I didn't see anything that indicated she had been involved. I know a lot of her current endeavors with Kamela's Cookery and her organic gardening.

I thought Kamala, but when I did a search on her, I didn't see anything that indicated she had been involved. I know a lot of her current endeavors with Kamela's Cookery and her organic gardening.
I don't know for certain whether she was at Cabo del Sol or not (somehow I entirely missed this restaurant, maybe it was open when I lived out of state?). She exactly fits the rest of your description though: local, worked for him at Frontera Grill for years, and the Mexican dishes she teaches at her cooking classes sound very similar to what you guys are describing.

I thought Kamala, but when I did a search on her, I didn't see anything that indicated she had been involved. I know a lot of her current endeavors with Kamela's Cookery and her organic gardening.

It was Kam. . .when she first came back to the City, I believe.