Every year, the restaurant Le Pigeon steps away from it’s French technique meets Northwest free spirited attitude and foie gras fine dining for a special Halloween celebration where the restaurant and it’s chefs and menu dress up as a new character. This year for Halloween 2017, the theme was Food Network mainstream American a la Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and it’s blond fiery Guy Fieri host. Since most of you were not part of the two intimate dinner seatings for, here’s my Rucker’s Bitchin Kitchen Photo Recap so you can still feel like you were there, at least through my eyes.
All the reservations were taken via Eventbrite that already included the beverage pairings and gratuity, which I really enjoyed so that I could just check in and dine and leave without any math needed. This dinner was $175 all inclusive. I was also able to take my shiny laminated menu and that tasty Bitchin Jackass Juice with the fancy label.
Extra pennants and flames were in the air.
The menu was revealed once you got there – 5 courses plus an amuse bouche. Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker pre-warned us that since there was a lot of food, and since they showed no restraint it was up to us as guests to persevere and do what we needed to do to make it through. I still ate too many Juanaita’s Tortilla Chips, damn addictive chips…
To amuse your bouche, Rucker’s Bitchin Kitchen served up El Paraiso Azul and Taste Ticklin’ Brisket Chili. That chili was my favorite kind – beanless, and full of nice chunky meat.
First course was the Hawaiian Ahi Tartare “Margarita” with green apple granita, tortilla chips, bread and butter jalapeno, awesome avocado boat, two alarm chili mayo. Best way to eat this? Use a spoon in one hand and Juanita’s Tortilla Chip from the basket in the other to get your chunk of a little bit of everything onto your spoon. The Ahi Tartare was tasty, but my favorite part of the dish was the two alarm chili mayo. This was paired with a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc by Mayacamas from Mt. Veeder Napa which was a nice bright pairing.
Next up was the Southwest Tex Mex Foie Gras Eggrolls with smoky chipotle, Spanish rice, and shrooms, and additionally get another nice smoked seared slice of Foie Gras and a spritz. This was paired with a 2015 Cortese wine by Fox Hill, Idlewild from Medocino. I sat at the counter seats and kept marveling at how just when I thought a plate was done, there was yet another component being layered for additional texture and flavors, for a whimsical theme of All American each dish was so complex and carefully crafted by the Le Pigeon team.
Here’s videos of the plating – as always, apologies for the vertical orientation which I use for my Instastories under @pechluck.
That may have been the best Foie Gras ever, the smoked and seared piece on the plate, I endeavored to cut into the tiniest of slices to make each occasion of melting richness last as long as possible.
Course number three was the Rucker’s Radical Chicky Dippers crispy chicken de-skinned and de-boned and merely stuffed with some truffle mouse, fried, and served with creme fraiche ranch with a float of truffle oil and truckloads of black truffle from France shaved on top everywhere on everything.
This was paired with Brut Rose, Grand Cru Bouzy, No.3. by Andre Clouet from Champagne. That Chicky Dipper size was no small nugget – think almost 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inch long chicken tender piece.
Ok, main course time,and welcome to intense Flavor Town! This was the General Tsao – Kung Pao Short Rib with fifty cheese mac and bacon prawn relish and pickled jalapeños and lots of green onion. The fifty cheese fifty one cheese mac includes Cheese Whiz, Cream Cheese, Mascarpone Cheese, Velveeta Cheese, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Regular Fucking White Jack… American cheese, and Cheddar – your yellow cheddar cheese, your white cheddar, sharp cheddar, and more cheese please… And I got French Cheese- Brie Cheese, Camembert Cheese, Manchego, and a little Sriracha Cheese to tango! among others.
And more cheese!
The plating line
And here’s my plate. The course was paired with Timbervine Ranch, Porter Creek’s 2013 Syrah from Russian River. This was the only pairing that really didn’t work – this dish was so rich with so much heat and spiciness from the short rib and the bacon prawn relish (which was also studded with lots of red chiles) and the fifty cheese mac so creamy and rich that I needed something to cut all that, and the syrah was not doing the job. I felt so grateful that when I and Frances tried to order a beer that the gentleman guest next to us bought our Coors for us – thanks so much! Seriously the Coors was perfect for this.
Dessert time! The special today was a team effort, first from Pasty Chef Helen Jo, a slice of HJ’s Cowgirl Pie with layers of coffee blondie, peanut butter, whisky whipped cream, caramel and chocolate sauce, and chocolate dipped potato chip crunch top. And, sure why not, also add a serving of the famous Le Pigeon perfect Foie Gras Profiteroles. And shave more chocolate all over everything. This was paired with a sweet Bourbon Gone Bananas Shake.
Somehow although I had sorta hit a wall with the Short Rib dish, I found room for the whole complete Foie Gras Profiteroles and half of the Cowgirl Pie (and all the whisky whipped cream).
This entire meal was like nothing I’ve ever had – and since it was a one time creation by the kitchen, will probably never have again. It was a super whimsical experience with some of the other guests dressed in their own flame shirts and white blond spiky wigs, and many utterances of the adjective “Bitchin” throughout the night.
I can’t believe this was only my first Le Pigeon Halloween dinner, but I plan to go to all the other ones from now on. Follow them on social media, though I think it was covered pretty well by the food media as well, to know when next year’s dinner – rumored to be Medieval Times – will be.
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