Two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker stands outside his third restaurant, Canard. (Photo by Mark Graves | The Oregonian)
On a warm evening earlier this summer, while entertaining a visiting restaurant critic, I stepped into Canard to find Beyoncé booming from the speakers and Division Wines co-owner Thomas Monroe sitting at the bar. The speakers were doing their best to match the electronica bleeding from the Bossanova Ballroom upstairs. I'd never properly met Monroe, but on our way to the restaurant, I had mentioned how much I liked the pitch-perfect Old World wine styles he and co-owner Kate Norris have been producing lately from their urban winery just off Southeast Division Street.
We squeezed in between Monroe and a young couple wearing an almost absurd amount of neon accessories -- perhaps revving up (or coming down) from the dance party upstairs. I coyly ordered a bottle of Division Pinot Noir to go with the restaurant's signature "duck stack," golden pancakes smothered in duck gravy, a duck egg and seared foie gras, a trés Portland answer to fried chicken and waffles that's served here all day. When it arrived, we struck up a conversation, my companion quizzing Monroe on how Oregon's summer heat and smoke have affected recent harvests as we tried and mostly failed not to finish the pancakes.
It was the kind of interaction between an earnest food fan and a craft food maker we like to think can happen at any farmers market, street corner or dive bar in Portland. Mostly, that's a romantic notion. But visit the East Burnside Street restaurant on a random Monday and you might find artists, critics, off-duty chefs and random food lovers geeking out over summer-ripe corn and peach salads, gorgeous seared scallops adorned with basil and super-tender molasses-braised short ribs that casually mirror the famous beef cheek bourguignon at Le Pigeon, the sister restaurant next door.
Seared scallops with pickled shrimp and basil at Canard. (Photo by Mark Graves | The Oregonian)
Reasonable people can have reasonable arguments about the new generation of French restaurants spilling out of Paris, about where they overlap with the natural wine bar phenomenon, about whether they cloak cultural appropriation in another name and about whether a movement devoted to rebelling against stale dining traditions makes sense in a town that tried to "kill the restaurant" more than a decade ago. But here we should agree: Among the dozens of new restaurants to adopt and distort the trend across the United States over the past year, few have better captured what makes them exciting, vital or fun than Canard.
That starts with co-owner Gabriel Rucker, Portland's most talented and decorated chef, already known for his rule-breaking approach to French food at the 12-year-old Le Pigeon. As many top restaurants retreat behind ticketing systems and other impositions, Rucker's team at Canard has embraced a free-wheeling business model, with all-day service, no reservations and kids welcome until late. (Taylor Daugherty, who runs Canard's kitchen night-to-night, was hired in part because he brought his young son to the interview; Rucker, 37 and sober for nearly five years, has three children of his own.) During the afternoon and late-night happy hours, the restaurant's White Castle-inspired steam burgers are just $3. You can dirty up your martini yourself with briny juice from a fresh-shucked oyster served on the side. It's less controlled chaos, more assured anarchy.
Arrive early enough and you might have the place to yourself, the room slowly filling with the smell of deep-fried French toast that Daugherty soaks overnight in soft-serve ice cream. At night, diners toting cones of that same soft-serve spill onto East Burnside, mingling with the bikini-clad crowds waiting to get into the ballroom upstairs. In between, the menu balances over-the-top dishes like that all-day duck stack or a perfectly plump, pastrami-wrapped veal terrine with green salads, quinoa bowls, juices and other signs of a town battling a serious health-food obsession. The restaurant tries to be something for everyone and, against all odds, succeeds beautifully.
Canard stays open from morning to midnight, seven days a week. (Photo by Mark Graves | The Oregonian)
No inspiration is too high or (especially) too low for Rucker and Daugherty. Those White Castle-style sliders are mixed with French Onion soup mix and blanketed in American cheese. Fantastic dry-fried chicken wings -- a rival to the Korean fried wings at Han Oak -- are drizzled in truffled honey and come with truffled ranch on the side. Oeufs en mayonnaise, a bistro standard considered stodgy even back in France, are given a modern update courtesy of a spoonful of trout roe and a drizzle of smoky maple syrup, the mayo tucked demurely away beneath the medium eggs. Combinations you couldn't dream of -- clam ceviche nachos! -- work better than you could imagine.
Those half-deranged diner dishes and turbo-charged bar snacks are paired with a killer beverage program, with cocktails from Little Bird's Aaron Zieske and a wine lover's wine list curated by co-owner and sommelier's sommelier Andy Fortgang. General manager Hannah Conwell and her team are light on their feet, able to handle even the oddest of requests, like the time we ordered a White Castle-style "Crave Case" of 30 happy hour burgers and French fries with Green Goddess dip.
Rucker, winner of two James Beard Foundation medals, is no stranger to awards. His previous restaurants, Le Pigeon and Little Bird Bistro, took home The Oregonian's annual Restaurant of the Year honors in 2008 and 2012, respectively. With Canard, he completes the treble: Canard is our 2018 Restaurant of the Year.
-- Michael Russell
THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO CANARD
Canard, the third restaurant from chef Gabriel Rucker, opened in April in a former steampunk boutique next door to Le Pigeon, the duo's intimate East Burnside Street bistro. From this scruffy former waxing salon and steampunk boutique, Rucker and sommelier Andy Fortgang built an all-day wine bar and restaurant with the look of a smart Parisian cave à manger and the kind of creative cooking found at the new generation of French restaurants currently spreading from the City of Lights to cities across America. Portland alone has seen at least 10 new wine bars and wine-focused restaurants open in the past year. (Read more about the story behind the city's growing wine-bar scene: How Portland became the most exciting place in America to drink wine.)
But none of them top Canard. Here are three things every insider should know about our Restaurant of the Year:
Praise the bar
At Le Pigeon, the chef's counter is the center of the action. Next door, it's the curving marble bar, where you sit at high stools under a phalanx of wine glasses and bottles. Step up, order an aperitif (just $5 at happy hour) and strike up a conversation with your neighbor.
Animal-style
Yes, Canard has a secret menu. You can get that duck stack with the duck gravy and foie gras swapped for whipped cream and Funfetti, and we've heard rumors of an off-menu soft-serve sundae.
BYO...W?
Got an old wine in the cabinet? Canard might be the place to pop that bottle. Besides putting together one of Portland's more impressive wine lists, sommelier Fortgang waives the $30 corkage fee for any bottle over 15 years old.
Details: 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to midnight, Saturday-Sunday; 734 E. Burnside St.; 971-279-2356; canardpdx.com
Canard Chef de Cuisine Taylor Daugherty (Photo by Mark Graves | The Oregonian)
RESTAURANTS OF THE YEAR PAST
2008: Beast and Le Pigeon | 2009: Navarre | 2010: Castagna | 2011: Thistle | 2012: Little Bird | 2013: Ox | 2014: Langbaan, Holdfast and the year of the pop-up | 2015: Renata | 2016: Coquine | 2017: Han Oak
Scroll down for more photos from Canard.
White Castle-inspired steam burgers and old wine at Canard. (Photo by Jamie Hale | The Oregonian)
The duck stack at Canard. (Photo by Mark Graves | The Oregonian)
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
LC- Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Steam burgers at Canard are served during happy hour, resembling the famed White Castle sliders. The southeast Portland wine bar is the latest establishment by Le Pigeon chef and co-owner Gabriel Rucker. LC- Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Pastrami wrapped veal terrine at Canard. (Photo by Michael Russell | The Oregonian)
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
LC- Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Some two dozen steam burgers cook on the grill at Canard. The southeast Portland wine bar is the latest establishment by Le Pigeon chef and co-owner Gabriel Rucker. LC- Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
Mark Graves | The Oregonian
A Paris Brest dessert with peaches and hazelnut praline at Canard. (Photo by Michael Russell | The Oregonian)
Gabriel Rucker and Andy Fortgang this winter, before opening Canard. (Photo by Michael Russell | The Oregonian)
Read more:
Don't miss our 2018 guide to Portland's 40 best restaurants.
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