Canard Inc

Gabriel Rucker’s Canard Will Serve Foie Gras Bourbon and Uni Texas Toast | Eater Portland

"Opening April 16, I watched Gabriel Rucker—with co-owner and wine director Andy Fortgang—turn a playful, light, and casual wine-bar concept into reality: the marble bar and high tables give it a Belle Époque café feel while staff stacked small plates and cardboard still lay on tables. The menu is small-plate focused (nothing over $20; the priciest item is a $20 dry-aged petite New York steak with French onion soup sauce and Swiss cheese toast, while steak tartare with lettuce cups is $6) and full of cheeky, provocative dishes—I spotted roasted banana toffee soft-serve, a chef’s steamed White Castle–style burger, Texas toast topped with sea urchin, foie gras dumplings with peanut sauce, fried chicken wings with truffle ranch, and a tartare served with Chinese sausage, beef, and broccoli—alongside simpler French essentials like oeufs en mayonnaise, pork rillettes, and steak frites with béarnaise. Fortgang’s “kitschy, cult-y” wine list is meant to stir conversation, offering about 20 glass pours and 250 bottles with glass prices roughly $8–$20 and even an entire page of California pinot noir; he favors interesting, aged bottles over big names. Behind the bar Aaron Zieske leaned into the cheeky tone as well, creating things like a bourbon cocktail with a foie gras fat wash, a fluffy salty dog made through an electric juicer (the “Great Pyrenees”), and plans for fortified wines, low-proof morning drinks, and boozy milkshakes made with the house soft serve (chartreuse & mint or calvados & apple brandy). Rucker says he’s staying true to his style—expect foie gras in unexpected forms—and while brunch will arrive later, the initial opening service will be dinner and late night (4 p.m.–midnight daily), expanding to earlier hours in May." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden