Ann Arbor native takes over The Ravens Club kitchen
The Raven's Club has a new chef running the kitchen: Ann Arbor native Frank Fejeran.
Courtesy photo
Chef Frank Fejeran grew up in Ann Arbor and cut his culinary teeth in a variety of high-profile kitchens, including The Hopleaf in Chicago and Takashi Yagihashi's Tribute in Farmington Hills. He moved back to Ann Arbor in 2009, working for a time as sous chef at Grange Kitchen and Bar.
Ravens Club managing partner Jeff Paquin says that the menu that he and Chef Fejeran have been working on for the past four weeks is now live, though they will be making some small tweaks based on customer feedback.
"The menu Frank and I have worked on is closer to my original vision," said Paquin in an email to AnnArbor.com. "Since I used to spend a lot of time in Chicago, I wanted to bring a little of that big-city swagger to our neck of the woods. This menu is much more aggressive from a housemade perspective than menus past. I wanted to make even more in-house, such as mustards, ketchups, better pickles, burger ground in house, beef jerky, cured meats, more desserts, etc."
The Ravens Club is located at 207 S Main St., Ann Arbor. You can find the new Ravens Club menu on the restaurant's website.
Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at JessicaWebster@annarbor.com. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Alison
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 2:56 a.m.
Frank is incredibly talented! Really looking forward to checking out the new menu.
Jessica Webster
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
And here's a fun tidbit from a friend who worked with Chef Frank at the Hopleaf in Chicago: He used to own a little baby potbellied pig named Notorious BLT!
bwp
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
Awesome!
Jessica Webster
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 7:16 p.m.
I asked Jeff Paquin if Ravens Club will maintain its strong dedication to locally-sourced food under Chef Frank's leadership: "Yes we are, as much as we were when Dan Vernia was our Chef. That was the biggest reason I went with local Chef talent; Frank already knows everyone in town and all our Farmer friends. We actually still host the Washtenaw Food Hub folks, the first Monday of the month, so they have a rallying point while their property is being renovated. We have made far too many friends in that local food community to ever do anything different, at this point."
cubicle
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 6:17 p.m.
Interesting. I was a fan of the previous menu, so we'll have to see what the new one holds.
Jessica Webster
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 6:32 p.m.
Jeff Paquin told me that their ultimate goal is: "perfection without pretention both in the kitchen and behind the bar." I'm really looking forward to tasting the food under Chef Frank's leadership. Maybe I didn't give them enough of a chance, but my experiences under the previous chef were pretty hit-or-miss.
Ben Freed
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 6:14 p.m.
The PB&J grilled cheese looks delish!
sun runner
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 6:45 p.m.
I was there last night and had the roasted broccolini and the pork bolognese, both of which were delicious. The house-made noodles in the bolognese were excellent!
Jessica Webster
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 6:30 p.m.
I'm kind of jonesing for the pork bolognese and the chocolate torte with bourbon whipped cream.