[Chef Fowke]

Rare Restaurant is online and taking reservations through Opentable.com...
The first reservation was made this morning by Kontemporary for two at 7:30 for the opening day!

Thanks, eGullet for your support!

We are launching the menu with three distinct sections; a signature section, a seasonal section and a daily section...each section having three catagories; small, medium and entree:

What items do Vancouver eGulleters expect to see on the daily menu over the next 45 - 60 days.

[Ling]

I just took a look at the Seasonal Menu for March and it looks great! Lots of interesting items.

I am unfamiliar with "Verhona" chocolate...do you mean "Valrhona"? If so, can't wait to try that dessert...mmm!

[Chef Fowke]

Ling, on Feb 8 2006, 03:05 PM, said:

I just took a look at the Seasonal Menu for March and it looks great! Lots of interesting items.

I am unfamiliar with "Verhona" chocolate...do you mean "Valrhona"? If so, can't wait to try that dessert...mmm! 

...and changed!
(note to self: have Ling test all food AND proof read the menu)

[Vancouver]

What's the URL for the menu? I can't seem to find it.

Cheers!

[*Deborah*]

Chef, last time I offered you my card (for menu and website proofreading of your old site) your house was evacuated for a mudslide, so I have been shy of doing it again...but you can click on the link in my sig if you like

[nwyles]

Quote

What items do Vancouver eGulleters expect to see on the daily menu over the next 45 - 60 days.

A bar stool in the kitchen, a big bunch of tasting spoons, and a free beer pairing menu to look over !

[shelora]

Sounds exciting but I can't find your address. Where are you located?

[canucklehead]

Shelora - old Bis Mereno location.

Dude - I've been driving by the joint and stalking it like John Hinckley and you open when I am out of town? Ugh - what have done to deserve this?

Anyways - I am very excited about this opening and cannot wait to check it out. The place looks good, the menu is very appealing, and beer is free.

[Chef Fowke]

Vancouver, on Feb 8 2006, 03:45 PM, said:

What's the URL for the menu?  I can't seem to find it.

Cheers!

Right now it is probably best to go though waiterblog to get that info...

[waylman]

Here's some links

http://www.opentable...&hpu=1267503956
http://www.rarevancouver.com/
http://www.rare.inknoise.com/rare

First Seasonal Menu

We have been selected to host the Antinori wines for the Vancouver Wine Festival.Here is a preview of the menu we will be running for the month of March as the seasonal menu (sorry…the graphics did not transfer well).

March
Wine Festival 2006

Pâté ○ rabbit liver, pheasant confit ○ $7
brioche baked ○ verjus ○ blood orange
Pomegranate Seltzer ○ $6

Frog Leg ○ buttermilk fricassee ○ $9
Sautéed ○ thyme beignet ○ sorrel puree
Campogrande Orvieto Classico ○ $7

Scallop ○ raw on the 1/2 shell ○ $12
crushed ice ○ smoked lemon oil ○ kelp salad
Castello della Sala Chardonnay ○ $12

Ravioli ○ hedgehog mushroom ○ $9
truffle & goat’s milk foam ○ Rosso jelly
Villa Antinori Toscana Rosso ○ $10

Beef Cheek ○ marrow studded ○ $21
flat-iron roasted ○ trotters ○ braised leek
Peppoli Chianti Classico ○ $ 13

Sabayon ○ Valrhona chocolate ○ $9
vanilla poached pear ○ caramelized hazelnuts
Hazelnut Frappe ○ $6

This menu is also being offered as a tasting menu

(wines subject to change)

This post has been edited by waylman: 08 February 2006 - 05:53 PM

[fud]

Hee hee. The doorbell song on the main page!!!

I simply must go to a place that:
1. Shows off their chef ware in a hardcore toolbox
2. Serves beef cheeks!

I don't mind the stool in kitchen thing. That's cool!

[Chef Fowke]

canucklehead, on Feb 8 2006, 04:31 PM, said:

Shelora - old Bis Mereno location.

Dude - I've been driving by the joint and stalking it like John Hinckley and you open when I am out of town?  Ugh - what have done to deserve this?

Anyways - I am very excited about this opening and cannot wait to check it out.  The place looks good, the menu is very appealing, and beer is free.

PM me...we have a few openings 'pre-opening' still available.

[TimK]

Do not fret....we open March 1.

This post has been edited by TimK: 09 February 2006 - 09:49 AM

[TimK]

To confirm the earlier comments...Neil is bringing free beer to Rare? Nice.

This post has been edited by TimK: 09 February 2006 - 01:59 AM

[Ling]

Is that pate made with rabbit liver and pheasant confit, or are those two separate items?

I love that you have marrow, trotters and beef cheeks on the menu!

To get back to your earlier question, I would love to see a lot of game dishes on the menu (or perhaps you have this already?) Venison, elk, caribou...mmm. I also love tendon and tripe dishes, but I wonder if that would be appealing to your niche.

[Chef Fowke]

Ling, on Feb 9 2006, 12:38 AM, said:

Is that pate made with rabbit liver and pheasant confit, or are those two separate items?

I love that you have marrow, trotters and beef cheeks on the menu!

To get back to your earlier question, I would love to see a lot of game dishes on the menu (or perhaps you have this already?) Venison, elk, caribou...mmm. I also love tendon and tripe dishes, but I wonder if that would be appealing to your niche.

It all fits, but I need to be able to find a local supplier ~ cooking globally using the product in my backyard ~ I am going to head up to the Okanagan to meet with a few new farmers/ranchers. Caribou will definately make an appearance on the menu as will Elk, as soon as I can find unmedicated herds, but that is a different thread.

My favourite beef is from Blue Goose, but I have had a lot of feedback that it is too gamey. I hear that the rancher has started to use organic barley to finish it...that will soften the flavour.

As for the tendon, you will have to show me.

[Chef Fowke]

For the pate...it will look like a torchon.

I will make a pate from the rabbit livers and wrap it around a rillete of pheasant confit. Around both I will bake brioche.

[Ling]

^GAAHHHHHHHH DROOOOOOOOOOOL!!

I've only had tendon at Chinese restaurants--tendon and noodle soup is one of my favourites. It's a bit firmer than marrow, but the taste is similar. So delicious.

[Vancouver]

Chef Fowke, on Feb 9 2006, 01:46 AM, said:

As for the tendon, you will have to show me.

As Ling noted, it is available at many Chinese restaurants. For a nice example of it, head over to Ho Yuen Kee on Fraser street and order their beef tendon on rice plate for lunch some day. That is the best version I have found in Vancouver.

You can also find it at almost every Vietnamese restaurant as one of the choices to be added to your Pho. It pairs quite well with the chili and lime from the pho.

Looks like a good menu! I'm looking forward to your opening!

Cheers!

[shelora]

canucklehead, on Feb 8 2006, 05:31 PM, said:

Shelora - old Bis Mereno location.

After scouring through the links, it was nowhere to be found. Thank you.

[Vancouver]

Bis Moreno. It was spelled wrong. The location is on the West side of Hornby Street north of Pacific. I believe it is 1355 Hornby.

Cheers!

This post has been edited by Vancouver: 09 February 2006 - 10:49 AM

[Vancitygirl]

Oysters would make me particularly happy - all BC please. I would love to see a steady supply of Brent Petkau's courtesans. As I am voicing elsewhere BC oysters will indeed be VERY RARE unless we start supporting our local farmers and get eating the little treasures.

[seanw]

Good luck,
Funny comment about Blue Goose Beef being too gamey tho' it would be a shame if they tempered the FLAVOUR to appease people who dont appreciate it. You can find great heritage breed pigs around the province & you can do what Oyama does & purchase local/organic hazelnuts & feed them to the piggies, however the flavour may need softening It seems that a number of restaurants are using cuts other than tenderloin which is great because like Beef it is the least flavouful cut.

[fud]

Exciting!

Rare One is now on my list (which is getting kinda long). I think I average adding 2 places every time I tick one off.

[Daddy-A]

fud, on Feb 9 2006, 02:37 PM, said:

Exciting!

Rare One is now on my list (which is getting kinda long).  I think I average adding 2 places every time I tick one off.

You tick off a lot of places do you fud?

I just hope Brian doesn't kill the banquette contractor before it gets finished. There was seious tension when I was there Tueday!

A.

[Varmint]

Damn, I must find a way to get to Vancouver, and soon! By the way, the use of the White Stripes on the Rare website is brilliant!

[Daddy-A]

Varmint, on Feb 9 2006, 02:58 PM, said:

Damn, I must find a way to get to Vancouver, and soon! 

If you can get here by the 25th, then HERE is your chance!

A.

[kontemporary]

Chef Fowke, on Feb 8 2006, 03:55 PM, said:

Rare Restaurant is online and taking reservations through Opentable.com...
The first reservation was made this morning by Kontemporary for two at 7:30 for the opening day!

Thanks, eGullet for your support!

We are launching the menu with three distinct sections; a signature section, a seasonal section and a daily section...each section having three catagories; small, medium and entree:

What items do Vancouver eGulleters expect to see on the daily menu over the next 45 - 60 days.

haha i was pretty sure there were other times taken off when making my reservation - so don't be so sure I was the only egulleter. it just happens to be that my opentable and egullet usernames are the same

EDIT: and the pre-opening dinner looks enticing as well. i'll see how things work out as things are a bit tentative for me

This post has been edited by kontemporary: 11 February 2006 - 06:42 PM

[Chef Fowke]

I posted some photos of the restaurant over at waiterblog...it really does not look like the room is going to be ready this week, but the contractors says everything will be finished on Tuesday!

With that said, anyone interested in a tour or seeing some of the food we are testing; feel free to drop by (or PM me and set up a time). Make sure to be wearing the eGullet decoder ring so I know who you are.

[Chef Fowke]

Vancitygirl, on Feb 9 2006, 10:30 AM, said:

Oysters would make me particularly happy - all BC please.  I would love to see a steady supply of Brent Petkau's courtesans.  As I am voicing elsewhere BC oysters will indeed be VERY RARE unless we start supporting our local farmers and get eating the little treasures.

yes!

We are sourcing ALL BC products to use, where we can...
With the exception of Malpeque all the oysters at Rare will be BC (and Olympia ~ seasonally; the only true indigenous oyster on the West coast).

As will the:
• Quail ~ Okanagan
• Suckling pig tenderloin ~ valley
• Beef ~ maybe Alberta…but I lived there for four years and have a taste for the barley finished 2100lbs prairie cattle!
• Rabbit ~ Okanagan
• Pheasant ~ lower mainlain
• Mushrooms from Van Is as well as the interior! Cannot wait for mushroom season!
• (frog legs have been a problem ~ I cannot find real French frog legs, only Asian…seems the French ate (???) all of there production of frog legs and they are extinct…I think this was a salesman line to make me buy Asian. Is there a frog leg industry in BC?
• Seafood will be all-local except for Baja scallops and Washington State farmed sturgeon.