Duckfat
COST: $
There’s comfort food, and then there’s Duckfat. When owner-chef Rob Evans opened this friendly all-day café just down the street from his more sophisticated restaurant, Hugo’s, in 2006, locals could not believe their taste buds—nor Evans’s near-obscene use of its namesake ingredient. He twice-cooks his star menu item—Belgian fries—in duck fat and serves them up, in paper cones, with dipping sauces like truffled ketchup or Thai chile mayo. One of its signature dishes, poutine, is a sinful soupy take on the traditional Quebecois dish, layering fries, duck fat gravy, and Maine cheese curds. There’s a good selection of from-scratch soups, salads, and hot pressed panini too. But not all the treats are savory; chocolate-dipped beignets, orange-scented churros, and real malted milkshakes made with local Smiling Hills Farm ice cream are all sugary, swoon-worthy punctuations to a rich and memorable meal.
Insider Tip: Don’t miss the fizzy house-made sodas, like strawberry-hyssop, lemon verbena, and old-fashioned root beer.
As Featured In...
From Travel + Leisure, Aug 2006
“The kitchen is staffed by friendly dudes in cargo shorts who crank My Morning Jacket while assembling the city's best sandwiches, including a fall-apart duck-confit panino with black-currant chutney. There are also fries, twice cooked in duck fat and seasoned with a powder of dried capers, onions, parsley, and garlic—umami heaven in a paper cone....” MORE>>
From Food & Wine, Jun 2005
“Rob Evans, named an F&W Best New Chef 2004 for his innovative Maine-centric cuisine at Hugo's, cuts loose at this fun soup-and-sandwich bar. The menu is based on—what else?—duck fat....” MORE>>
Last updated August 2006 lastArticle = 8/2006 and lastAward =
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