Laidback Manor - New Progressive American

Does such food as purple mustard, lemon dust, chocolate and foie gras milkshakes, or caramel powder strike your curiosity? These items are all finding their way out of the mind of Chef Randy Rucker and into the kitchen of the laidback manor. The laidback manor is a restaurant concept that Rucker conceived while attending culinary school at the highly respected Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Rucker has been in the business of pleasuring all of the human senses for just under a decade. Rucker is 25 years old and has had the gratification of working with exceptional chefs such as Houston's own Mark Cox of Mark's New American Cuisine, John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro, and most recently, James Beard Award nominee, Tim Keating of Quattro Restaurant at the Four Seasons. Additionally, Rucker has had the unique opportunity to "stage" at one of America's top restaurants, Tru Restaurant in Chicago, IL under James Beard Award winner, Executive Chef and owner Rick Tramanto. Rucker has also accepted an invitation to "stage" at the recently named #1 restaurant in the world, The Fat Duck in the United Kingdom, under world-renowned chef Heston Blumenthal.

Rucker is now ready to show the Bayou City what he has gained through his exceptional education and global experiences. He and his mother / partner Mrs. Belinda Nicol will open laidback manor December 2005 in the "New Downtown" at 706 Main Street near Capitol Street. Rucker's concept is "Progressive American Cuisine" using global ingredients and innovative techniques. He wants to provide Houston with a restaurant where exceptional cuisine and service can be enjoyed in a comfortable environment. Rucker is incredibly passionate when he states, "Food has come a long way in this country, but we can never stop learning new techniques or become satisfied with the ones we use today. Our society has made wonderful advances in medicine and technology, but little has changed with the way we eat. I would like people to feed their curiosity and learn to use all the human senses to truly enjoy their dining experience." The laidback manor will be open for lunch and dinner and offer numerous dining options including a la carte menus, prix fixed menus, chef tasting menus, and a kitchen table menu. The kitchen table will allow guests to dine in the kitchen behind a glass wall that separates the kitchen and private dining area, and the menu for this experience is named "the treatment". "The treatment" acts as a personal tour guide through the creative imagination of Chef Randy Rucker. Rucker offers hand-harvested sea scallops with a puree of white beans and hibiscus vapor as an example of using all the senses to experience something new at the kitchen table.

The a la carte menu will change with the seasons, but the chef's tasting menu and kitchen table menu will constantly evolve with new and exciting things. The a la carte menu will include a range of options to satisfy all palates for lunch and dinner. For lunch enjoy the salad of "ham and cheese" or a fricassee of organic chicken, mushrooms, leeks, smoked bacon jus. For those dining at night will enjoy a bowl of contemporary corn chowder with pop corn and chive foam or squares of le belle foie gras rolled in amoretti cookie crumbs and a puree of braised lemon. For those who put themselves at the mercy of the kitchen with the tasting menus, they will be rejoicing with items such asveal sweetbread with"sweet n sour" beer soup, or hand harvested sea scallop with a puree of white beans and a"vapor" of hibiscus and juniper. Continue to look for frequent updates from the test kitchen.

Houston awaits the creative cuisine and warm restaurant that is the laidback manor.