Fraiche and Rex’s Burgers and Brews

I confess I shared the almost universal skepticism of industry insiders at the announcement from Jason Rex and Connie Naccarato that they were turning the former Niko’s space in downtown Spokane into two restaurants with only one kitchen. “How is that going to work?” was the inevitable question, and even Rex agrees the idea was outside the box: “I’d never heard of it actually being done before,” he says.

I was even more astonished once I heard what types of restaurants Rex and Naccarato planned for the space: a burger and beer pub, and a fine French restaurant. “You have to be kidding. Won’t that be a culinary train wreck?”

Actually it isn’t. While my meals on the pub side of this experiment have been inconsistent to date, the food featured in the French half of the operation turned out to be a wonderful surprise.

Fraiche: Contemporary French

Steve Kessler, the manager at one of Rex and Naccarato’s other restaurants originally suggested they create a French restaurant in the space that housed the wine bar during Niko’s reign. ,The result is an intimate and romantic room that retains many of the best elements from its last incarnation, adds several new features like the custom sealed concrete bar, and seats a manageable 36 for a menu that changes every three to four weeks.

John Bosma brings personality, experience and some excellent wine selections to the front of the house while Rex and his sous chefs turn out French classics that will make you completely forget that the massive plates of nachos arriving at tables next door are being prepared on the counter next to your confit de canard (duck confit, $6) or boeuf tartare (beef tartar, $6).

Come instead expecting to be surprised both at the reasonable prices and the quality of the food.  Unless you demand that every hint of pink be broiled out of your meat, try the Muscovy canard seín (duck breast, $23). Ours arrived medium rare with crispy skin and a bacon polenta cake and a spray of bright asparagus. While I wouldn’t call the asparagus a “seasonal vegetable” this time of year as the menu does, it worked with the duck and polenta.

The paulet (French chicken, $23) also arrived perfectly cooked, stuffed with mushrooms and Roquefort, and drizzled in a pomegranate demi. The perfect parmesan risotto served with the chicken is technically an Italian specialty rather than a French one, but there wasn’t a single complaint at our table at this gastronomic Euro Zone expansion.

One other note: Rex couldn’t resist slipping a hamburger onto the Fraiche menu ($18), but unlike the burgers in the pub, this one comes topped with foie gras, black truffle and a seared duck egg.

Rex’s Burgers and Brews: Pub Fare

Next door, in what was Niko’s larger dining room, is the other half of this two-restaurant-one-kitchen-creation. It is a straightforward sports bar boasting eleven flat screens, neon beer signs in the window, and a menu celebrating gourmet burgers. Rex had the concept for a restaurant like this in mind even before he and Naccarato opened their original Scratch in the Montvale Hotel.

At Rex’s you can order steaks, pastas, salmon and some mean Baby Back Ribs ($13.95 for a half rack), but 9 out of 10 guests who walk in the door ask for a burger. The basic model complete with an 8-ounce beef patty starts at $8.95 and you are encouraged to customize from there.

Pick one of ten cheeses for $.75. Add ham, buffalo chili or any one of three types of bacon for another dollar. Toss on an egg, grilled onions, pineapple, roasted peppers, mushrooms, or guacamole for another $.50. Against one wall is a condiment bar to further customize your creation at no additional charge. Finish off by choosing fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, tater tots or one of several salads as a side.

Here is what works:

  • Fresh, in-house ground beef, buffalo, elk, duck and turkey.
  • Hamburger buns baked fresh each morning are another high point. Rex uses a sourdough recipe for the buns that he has tweaked for ten years and cold-proofs the dough overnight.
  • A well-executed wedge salad ($5.95) with peppercorn bacon, gorgonzola crumbles and hard-boiled egg.
  • An expansive “happy hour” menu served from 3-6 and after 10 each night.
  • The sheer number of choices. If you love to customize and accessorize, Rex’s has a burger for you. They even offer grilled chicken, grilled salmon and a black bean burger if none of the ground meats strike your fancy.

On the other hand, the space feels stuck between its former existence as an upscale Greek dining room and a place where you want to watch a game and catch up with friends. The food also gets caught at times between Rex’s great from-scratch ideas and spotty execution. On one visit the spicy buttermilk-batter onion rings tasted like flour. On another visit, the menu and our server assured us that the beef and pork sliders came on rolls made in-house; both arrived instead on mass-produced grocery store buns without an apology. The do-it-yourself condiment bar is a winner in need of a few upgrades – particularly where the lettuce is concerned. Serve the green leaf variety for the people who want their burger to look pretty for the camera phone shot, but put up some greens with flavor for the rest of us: romaine, arugula and spinach would be a great start.

The Verdict Thus Far

This latest two-restaurants-from-one-kitchen venture brings Rex and Naccarato’s establishment ownership total to five, and they answered my initial skepticism. Two completely separate concepts side-by-side can work. One kitchen can serve up both pub classics and haute cuisine, and with more consistency quality on the pub side, this experiment could turn into something more: a template for other out-of-the-box restaurateurs.

Fraiche and Rex’s Burgers and Brews are both located at 14 North Post Street in Spokane. Fraiche is open Monday – Saturday, 4 p.m. to close. (509) 474-0575. Rex’s Burgers and Brews is open Monday  – Thursday, 11 a.m. -10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 2 a.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. (509) 474-0564