For those interested in Lucier, set to open May 26th, you might enjoy this article in the Oregonian. It certainly gives one something to ponder.
Walking through $4 million Lucier restaurant, on the South Waterfront, it’s clear that owner Chris Dussin means to deliver a dining experience heretofore unseen in Portland.
With custom leather furniture from Italy and high-polish marble on bar tables; with true Kobe beef and a cart full of caviar on offer from the kitchen; with a wine list that spans $25 to $10,000 for a single bottle, Lucier aspires to be swankier than Bluehour, more contemporary than El Gaucho and as food-obsessed as Genoa during its heyday.
and…
Preview menus were not available, but Chureau describes Lucier’s food as modern European cuisine, pulling flavors from Morocco, Italy and Portugal as well as from France, and borrowing techniques from Japan. Menus comprise a la carte, bar and a seven-course chef’s tasting menu that emphasizes a few ingredients — tomatoes and the red mullet fish rouget, for example — throughout the entire meal. To encourage diners to try luxury items like Kobe beef and live scallops in the shell, the kitchen will prepare them in tiny portions, coupling, say, an ounce of Wagyu beef with a New York steak to demonstrate the difference. Similarly, wine director Scott Calvert will pour several of his 200 Champagnes by the glass.
I hope they make it… I really do, but I’ve been worried ever since they announced the project. Check out the article in the O.
I just ate at Lucier on saturday night and had a WONDERFUL meal. All i had really heard about it was how pricey it was and I have to say it was no more spendy than any other upscale place in Portland (though we did not have the kobe beef or caviar…). It was truly a dining experience. All the wait staff was very knowledgable and seemed passionate about the restaurant and their jobs. The space is beautiful and cohesive: from the etching on the walls to the menus, everything had the same design. The menu is very interesting and features some items bordering on molecular gastronomy. Som very nice flavor combinations. And they also were very happy to work with any dietary issues. I had a lovely pea and parmasean risotto that normally came with giancianale, which they were nice enough to leave out. I hope they make it too, it was truly a special dining experience!
Great flavors. Less food per dollar than any that I visited…really..two seared scallops as an entree’?…I mean thats all!!….Four tiny osters that would in total fill a tablespoon….for an appetizer???
What an ambiance…great service.. but I was robbed…