Rare

[Mooshmouse]

Please, guys, promise that next time we're in town we can go to Rare!

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You know the drill, Abra: ask and ye shall receive!

[paul mitchell]

Many thanks to Brian, Tim and Quang for spoiling us on friday night - dinner was ridiculously good.

To anyone whose thought of trying Rare you'd better go today - because once the word gets out.....unless your the OpenTable webmaster, your going to have a tough time getting a reservation!

[chef jeff]

My parents were in from Ontario, so we went to check out Rare last night.

We had: fried oysters with chorizo vinaigrette and cocoa beans

cauliflower soup with lobster salad and smoked stealhead caviar

carrot and blood orange seltzers

snapper with, I think, an arugula sauce

hedgehog mushroom ravioli

striploin steak

beef cheeks

a round of grapefruit and honey sorbets

spanish cheese platter

(I can't remember all the details, I had a couple of beers before we arrived and was a wee bit tipsy by the time we left)

Our food was very well prepared, the service was attentive and knowledgable, the room is beautiful, and the passion of Tim and Brian is very obvious.

Thanks guys and continued success.

Jeff.

[the g-man]

Last Saturday night was spent at Rare with a 6 course tasting menu.

Everything was good, but the beef tenderloin was amazing. I will be back for some more of that action.

[paul mitchell]

G-man I didn't want to be an over-zealous freak listing all the great food we tried to Friday so thanks for giving the "shout out" to the Tenderloin.

Chef delivered ours, on the bone - it dissapeared fast.

[chef jeff]

G-man I didn't want to be an over-zealous freak listing all the great food we tried to Friday so thanks for giving the "shout out" to the Tenderloin.

Chef delivered ours, on the bone - it dissapeared fast.

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does that make me an overzealous freak?! I've been called a freak before, but never overzealous.

[Ling]

^In defense of my "overzealous freak-ism" , there wouldn't be a point to this forum if people just posted stuff like: "I ate at ___________. Food was great."

Edited March 23, 2006 by Ling (log)

[the g-man]

Edited to stay on topic...

Edited March 24, 2006 by the g-man (log)

[paul mitchell]

.....yeah....ok......I get it.

Dinner at Rare on friday for me was perfect - I would eat anything that Brian and Quang threw at me - of course that's what we did - left it up to the lads - courses of squab, foie gras, rabbit, beef, sweetbread sausage (we still can't figure this one out Quang (Tim got as sauced!), cheeses and dessert - and an amuse of something rillete.....maybe rabbit, who cares though as it just got eaten - sometimes I feel like it's ok to just say dinner was awesome - to not list everything in some overzealous deconstruction - I just want to give thanks to a fantastic experience and hopefully more zealous ones to come.

Edited March 24, 2006 by paul mitchell (log)

[barrett]

I had my birthday dinner at Rare. Arrived on the dot of 8:30. Pondering over the menu, and musing at the customization of it: "Rare welcomes the Jones party" when I was spotted by Chef Fowke. He suggested a seafood tasting menu - an option on the menu, which I was already contemplating. We agreed that he'd worry about the choices - I'd worry about eating them - with the wine pairing selections which Tim provided for us. Being as my guest doesn't enjoy wine with near the same vigor which I do, I took one for the team, assuring that there would be no wine wasted - I squeezed the last drops from each glass before it was cleared - with exception, the Chateau St. Jean chardonnay - by this time, the wine, was catching up with my day of fasting - only a spinach salad and a couple cups of coffee off the Clover machine all day.

Saving the intimate details of dinner for myself, it was the first time I'd had frog legs. They were fantastic. I will certainly return.

Barrett

[Chef Fowke]

Thank you everyone for the kind words. We have limited the reservations in March and concentrated on each and every customer. April 1st we will allow a few more reservations each night and continue to build...

This week Tim and I have concentrated on the development of 'The Servery', the upper lounge area that looks into the kitchen. We have secured Jesse, one of the top muddling bartenders in the city. He is the Quang Dang of the bar, creative, young, and passionate.

The drinks are 10/10 ~ my job now, is to support Jesse's beverage program. After weeks of work and test kitchen, I launched two new items to support 'The Servery'.

The first is simple, KICK ASS GREAT marinated olives. I am starting by using European greats; but I am sourcing local and Californian olives for the summer.

Second is fun; I did an English style pickled egg ~ but used quail eggs. The flavour worked well.

This was a fun project and I am working on a few more additions. Next time any eGullet are in, visit me in the kitchen and I will tour you through 'The Servery' and introduce you to Jesse and the lounge food program.

[Edible Vancouver]

Congratulations to Brian and Tim and the rest of the crew for their great review in the Vancouver Sun today...

Primping and Preparing Makes Rare Dishes

No same-old, same-olds from owners Brian Fowke, Tim Keller, with mix of flavours in dishes presented with impeccable taste.

The halibut was so fresh I expected it to quiver when I bit into it. The fillet and cheeks (citrus-poached) were cooked just beyond sashimi-hood and I could pluck the fillet apart like rose petals. It was a revelation as halibut is usually cooked to blinding-white opacity.

Sorry but the online version is not available unless you are a subscriber.

Great job guys!

Cheers,

Eric

[Chef Fowke]

Thanks...

The review was more then I could have asked for. I am very pleased.

Saturday is the offical grand opening and I look forward to some serious cooking this year!

Brian

[Chef Fowke]

Live by the sword, die by the sword!

I just read the review by Alexandra Gill in the Globe and Mail (western edition). 100% polar to Mia Stainsby.

I like quail, sweetbreads and honey and am going to stick with it...

...if I had to make a choice, I am going to side with Mia ~ lol, because it is the better review ~ because of the style of research, integrity and writing.

Now it is really time to see this thread ~ READ. CHEW. DISCUSS.

Edited March 31, 2006 by Chef Fowke (log)

[wildebeest]

Ouch....I just read it....she has big claws doesnt she.

[Edible Vancouver]

Web Darling More Weird Than Wow

This should make for lots of interesting discussion today....

[Daddy-A]

Live by the sword, die by the sword!

I've been wondering when all this exposure was going to come and bite someone in the ass. I'm just sorry it had to be Brian ... but then again, if anyone can suffer the slings and arrows of Ms. Gill, it will be the Pastrami King!

Now it is really time to see this thread ~ READ. CHEW. DISCUSS.

[host]

Yes ... READ CHEW DISCUSS. Let's remember to keep this discussion on the food, and in this case, the recent reviews of the food. Whether or not Ms. Gill is correct when she said "Ahem! Would anyone on this site dare say anything critical? " is off topic (and incorrect if she had only scrolled upscrean to read Lord Balthazar's comments on the beef cheeks).

Keep it civil folks!

A.

[/host]

[annanstee]

The sad fact is that this is more an attack on eGullet than it is on Brian's work, which is unfair to Rare and what they are trying to do. This is not what I would consider serious food writing. Sorry if it is off topic Arne.

[Zucchini Mama]

I just received this e-mail from a friend

I had a cat. It was named Simon. Simon was a real trollop. He went from restaurant to restaurant begging for table scraps. When he came home, he'd tell me all about them-which ones were his favorite, which ones had his favorite fish, which staff treated him nicely, and others who were rude and disrespectful. I'd go and check out these places for myself, and form my own opinions. A national newspaper asked me to review restaurants. It was a blast, because I got paid to eat. I could be as rude and silly as I liked. In other words, I could just be myself. However, some days, I just wanted to write about Simon. Simon's always there when I need him. When I need a quick list of Mexican restaurants--he comes through. When I'm craving casual Italian, Simon gives me a few tips. Lately though, Simon's been bothering me. I don't think he's being completely honest with me. I don't know what to do. Perhaps my therapist will help me out with that-but wait, I don't need a therapist, I'll just write about it in my column. Thousands of Canadian citizens will help me figure this out. Phew! Maybe I should start an advice column where people can pay me to solicit advice for my own shortcomings. What a scam! I wonder what Simon will say.

Life is what happens when you go off topic.

[shelora]

I just received this e-mail from a friend

I had a cat. It was named Simon. Simon was a real trollop. He went from restaurant to restaurant begging for table scraps. When he came home, he'd tell me all about them-which ones were his favorite, which ones had his favorite fish, which staff treated him nicely, and others who were rude and disrespectful. I'd go and check out these places for myself, and form my own opinions. A national newspaper asked me to review restaurants. It was a blast, because I got paid to eat. I could be as rude and silly as I liked. In other words, I could just be myself. However, some days, I just wanted to write about Simon. Simon's always there when I need him. When I need a quick list of Mexican restaurants--he comes through. When I'm craving casual Italian, Simon gives me a few tips. Lately though, Simon's been bothering me. I don't think he's being completely honest with me. I don't know what to do. Perhaps my therapist will help me out with that-but wait, I don't need a therapist, I'll just write about it in my column. Thousands of Canadian citizens will help me figure this out. Phew! Maybe I should start an advice column where people can pay me to solicit advice for my own shortcomings. What a scam! I wonder what Simon will say.

Life is what happens when you go off topic.

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Yeah. What she said.

[canucklehead]

I am still looking forward to visiting Rare and trying things out on my own. I've got a ton of respect for Brian's cooking and I am excited by what he is trying to achieve. I think that I will asurvive if there happens to be a lack of chocolate desserts on the night that I am there.

A.Gill's job to spark a little controversy and so be it. Odd that she goes after eG and Blogging so hard - at times going for the personal jugular in such a public manner. But I'd wish she'd stop lurking and just get out here and post. She'd be funny and certainly no push-over. I guess it is easier to hide behind a newspaper column.

Is this what is meant by eating your cake and having it too?

[BCinBC]

Zuke,

That is a sad story about Simon. I have a theory though: Sometimes people carry too heavy a hand with pets, in order to get them to be obedient. You know, walk-the-party-line-or-else kind of thing. All stick, no carrot. Maybe that's what happened with Simon - too much discipline, Simon became an automaton.

The funny thing is, you friend is still waiting to hear what Simon will have to say, even after all that slapping around. Clearly your friend has issues. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

The good news is, Chef Fowke's only had two reported slip ups with the beef cheeks (in both cases "lean and stringy"). Everyone else has had positive reports. Not reviews, just reports. And Rare survives to fight another day.

ETA: Congrats Chef Fowke and crew on the Stainsby review.

Edited March 31, 2006 by BCinBC (log)

[peppyre]

Well, she has certainly piqued the interest of this group.

I will say this about my dinner at Rare, it was wonderful. There were a few issues with timing, but that is what I expect if I am going to a restaurant on their first night open. Or even if I'm going on the 2nd night. I don't think that it's fair for her to give a review of any kind when she admits that it's their 2nd day open to the public. She spent more time lambasting this place than she did on the food. That's just bad journalism.

I did not have the beef cheeks, as much I wanted them, they were not a part of the tasting menu that evening. What I did have I found to be on par, well actually better, than the meal I had at Lumiere and pretty darn close the last meal that I had at West. This is still a very new restaurant and I think that in the months to come, it will get even better.

I hope Brian, that you don't take any of these reviews too seriously, good and bad, and just continue to do what you do.

As for the Mia Stainsby review, my mom was even talking about it this morning and is looking forward to eating at Rare.

[peppyre]

I have to agree that's it nice to have a dissenting voice in the city, but if you are going to give a restaurant a bad review, give the restaurant a bad review. Don't focus on words that have been posted on a website. That's really my only beef.

Edited March 31, 2006 by peppyre (log)

[Chef Fowke]

Just for fun I googled: Tuna & Parmesan

lol, I am cooking in the same ultra avante garde league as Betty Crocker!

Long live the tuna melt.