Madison Valley’s oldest restaurant stays fresh with refreshing innovations.

The Scoop: There is only one Chef in the Hat and he is James Beard Award-winning chef Thierry Rautureau. Hailing originally from the Muscadet region of France, Rautureau was raised on a farm and in the kitchen, courtesy of his mother’s itch for seasonal, homegrown cooking. In 1987, Rautureau came to Seattle to open Rover’s that August and hasn’t been seen without his ubiquitous fedora ever since.

23 years after Rover’s door swung wide, Rautureau launched Luc, a French-American cafe named after his father and targeted for lunches and the leaner pocket. Rover’s identifies itself as “cuisine of the Pacific Northwest refined by a French accent,” Rautureau’s strong Muscadet enunciation in fact.

Crave Factor: Traditional French technique greets the roving seasonal products of the Northwest at Rover’s with their pork rib with wild mushroom, harissa jam and foie gras nage ($18). Rautureau has been serving foie gras with nage – a liver and butter based stock for the luscious organ – for years so his team has the method down pat, plating it up with harissa jam and local mushroom only makes sense while the rib takes main stage.

The dish enamors its eaters with its multiple dimensions including the intensity of the jam from  harissa, a Tunisian hot chili sauce, the savory creaminess of foie gras, the earth of the mushroom and the robust pork rib.

Fun Facts: Rover’s is named after a Northern Irish fable about a dinner party for animals thrown by Rover the dog and is detailed on the frequently asked questions portion of their Web site.

Rover’s | 2808 E. Madison, Seattle | (206) 325-7442