written by Jen Stevenson | photos by David L. Reamer
Belleville meets Burnside at two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker’s latest venture, a beautiful all-day bistro that shares a wall with his revered inner eastside firstborn, Le Pigeon. Café by day, spirited wine and cocktail bar by night, Canard’s menu is ambitious and playful—dunes of golden uni and avocado lay atop Texas toast fingers, oeufs en mayonnaise buried in trout roe and bacon sit in a swirl of smoky maple syrup, and there’s as much buzz about the classic American cheese and pickles-piled steamburgers as the Swordfish Oscar.
Naturally, foie gras makes its mark on Rucker’s menu, this time in the form of a trio of dumplings crowned with miso-roasted shallots. Co-owner and sommelier Andy Fortgang oversees the glass-pour-heavy wine list, while bar manager Aaron Zieske crafts uncommon cocktails like the Foie Turn, a decadent mix of foie gras fat-washed bourbon, Sauternes, apricot brandy and sherry, and Breakfast of Champions, made with gin, caper brine, dry vermouth and celery bitters (oyster side optional). Speaking of booze and bivalves, happy hour features half-o oysters and $5 aperitifs, a fitting preamble to your ducketta with pineapple chutney … or steamburger.
734 E BURNSIDE ST.
PORTLAND
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