'Chef's counter' now available at Fairbanks

Frontier House restaurant offering holiday sides & desserts

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

The attention to detail and care for ingredients that has become synonymous with Fairbanks is now on full display with the addition of the “chef’s counter.” Kitchen-side seating is available at the Frontier House restaurant, with a special tasting menu available for onlookers.

“The ‘chef's counter’ is something that has been really like our North Star – something we've been pointing to since we even looked at the space,” co-owner Jake Strawser said.

“We just launched the chef's counter last week to the public. It's super-limited for the time being. There are four seats at the counter, so we can accommodate up to eight guests an evening – whether that's four groups of two or two groups of four – and we're offering that Wednesday through Saturday.

“There are some set times that are bookable on our website, but we can obviously accommodate other times if people are looking for something special. We do have the ability to do more than that, as far as a tasting menu is concerned, but it obviously just can't be at the counter, just because we're limited by overall footprint.

“It's been truly spectacular. The people who have come already have had really great feedback for us. We did about a week of soft opening, invite-only to kind of get our feet wet and make sure that we were putting our best foot forward. And there is really the opportunity for the kitchen to really stretch their legs, both in a technique standpoint, and even somewhat in an ingredient standpoint. It really gives everyone in the kitchen the opportunity to be hyper-creative and to really show what they're capable of, both on a savory and a pastry side.”

The tasting menu offers between five and seven courses – a mix of savory and sweet – with optional beverage pairings.

Fairbanks guests also will notice a change in the main menu as winter sets in.

“We are truly a farm and seasonally driven restaurant,” Strawser said. “Stuff is coming from our chef's garden out in Clarence. We're utilizing Niagara Region growers, as well as Erie County growers.

“And the good news is, while we do lose some things – like we were really sad to see tomato season go, because it's one of our favorites – there are cold-weather crops that are still coming up. A lot of the farms that we work with and utilize do take some stuff indoors, so they have hoop houses or grow rooms that can support produce through the winter season.

“In addition to those items, and your tubers, your potatoes, your turnips, your parsnips, your carrots, your lettuces – all of those things that you'll see on our menu – we're also very lucky, because a lot of what we were doing leading up to our opening and up until now was also preserving a lot of ingredients; so, taking those things that we only get during the spring and summer, and treating them in ways that we can continue to use them through the colder months – whether that's through fermentation processes or pickling processes. That's just as important to us as it is using the new and fresh produce.

“You'll see some pickled or fermented items over the menu in very small increments, as just friendly reminders of summer and spring and kind of like the bounty that the local farms have given us. It'll be a healthy mix of in-season produce coming from the farms and also things that we've preserved.”

And for those looking to upgrade their big holiday meal later this month, “We're doing a Thanksgiving preorder right now, which we're super excited about,” Strawser said. “It was something that we kind of had talked about for a little bit. And Molly (Doherty), our executive pastry chef, came to me and was like, ‘You know what? I really want to do this.’ ”

Fairbanks is offering an apple and stone fruit crumble, homemade cinnamon ice cream, and homemade rolls and butter. Orders can be placed online at www.fairbankslewiston.com.

When Fairbanks opened in June, it provided the public its first opportunity to step inside the Frontier House since former tenant McDonald’s Restaurant ended its lease in December 2004.

“We've just been extremely grateful for the community, both near and far, and the support of the restaurant,” Strawser said. “A lot of people have been extremely excited to see this space renovated, to be complete – and I think we knew that going into it, but maybe even underestimated how important it really was for people to see that space occupied.

“So, that's been really awesome to see people come in who haven't been inside the building in a very long time, or used to work at McDonald's, or, in some cases, had been in the Frontier House restaurants some time ago. It's just been really, really cool to see that.”

Over the summer, “Festival season was so much fun,” Strawser said. “We had a great time working with the Chamber of Commerce. A great time working with the Historical Society on a handful of different events.”

Now, “I think it's a really cozy place that people can come in and enjoy some food and drink,” Strawser said.

Fairbanks is located at 460 Center St., Lewiston. Kitchen hours are 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The bar is open until 11 p.m. each of those nights.