Fancypants blew me away. I don't say that often. I do give a lot of five star reviews because I adjust for expectations and situation, but Fancypants is so amazing I would rate it 10/5 if I could.
The vibe is immaculate. Red velvet, gold streamers, a fancy chinatown vibe.
You get a welcome cocktail for free, just for walking in the door.
We sat on the patio, though a number of seating options are available. The patio was warm and breezy, lit with Christmas lights, and well separated from the street (though every now and then obnoxious street hotrods might make some noise).
We started with the jammy ramen egg. And it's exactly as described. Jammy, not too runny, rich, savory, and a little spicy. Six bucks.
After that, things start to get a little more pricey, but it's worth every penny.
We also tried the ruffell's potato chips, sour cream, and caviar. I'm not even a caviar person, but I ordered it because where else am I gonna get the chance to try this combo?! It was salty and tangy and such an unexpected tastebud explosion. You can tell someone put a lot of thought into this menu.
We shared an entree, the "roasted nubby farms chicken." My friend wanted this dish, so I acquiesced. I normally find chicken boring. But this dish was made with peach mostarda, mustard jus, spring onion mousseline . . . and the staff painstakingly explained each dish to us, but our senses were overwhelmed . . . but they served two different parts of the chicken and one was like this crazy almost bacon like flavor bomb and the other was this sexy, silky, moist, tantalizing wing and breast.
I took more photos of my meal, but I was so excited that they were mostly blurry, so what you see is what you get, and you have to rely on my raving review.
There are so many dishes I'm interested in here . . . including their BBQ mushroom, their vodka shells, the roasted cauliflower, Italian sausage. If we had been more hungry (we'd had a big day with small appetites), we would have gone for the chef's special or chef's big night out, where the kitchen chooses for you. They also had a giant steak available.
The fun thing about this place is that it's kinda mysterious. The only menu you can find online are photos of menus, like mine, and it seems to change all the time. I don't know what you'd call this place aside from "fusion." Fusion of what? I have no idea. Japanese? American? Something else? NO IDEA. But it's amazing.
For drinks, they have an interesting cocktail menu, but I am privileged enough that I could try their "roulette whiskey" game, where they bring a roulette wheel to the table and you might end up with a standard whiskey/bourbon or something that's usually 160 dollars a glass, like a rare Pappy Van Winkle. The game is truly random and fair and not fixed at all. And I broke even essentially, though honestly, the cheaper bourbon tasted better to me. The bartender brought it out personally, with the bottle, and explained what it was, the flavor profile, and why he made the particular cocktail he made (I requested a cocktail, you can also have it straight or on the rocks).
The service is unmatched. I've been to a lot of Michelin star restaurants, and this service just . . . floored me. Every single person made it their mission to make sure this was the best dining experience I ever had. In addition to perfect dinner service, I asked where the bathroom was, in the back of the restaurant mind you, and the person led me all the way to the bathroom personally. Even though, "take a right and it's right next to the front door" would have easily done the job.
These people have PRIDE in their work. The food is phenomenal. I am trying to come up with a reason to come here again soon. Like, who can I ask to go out with me? Who is adventurous? Who else can I share this fantastical place with?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?! read more