just plain different
Williamsburg’s Extra Fancy serves up seafood with a whimsical twist
Extra Fancy is a restaurant built on contradictions — and co-owner Mark Rancourt conceived it that way.
From its name — usually found on the side of condiment bottles — to the menu — casual seafood — the Williamsburg eatery is serving up clam shack fare infused with whimsy.
“The initial idea was to do boardwalk food, but updated,” says Rancourt, a New England native.
In keeping with the restaurant’s concept, Extra Fancy offers a mix of simple and complex dishes.
“We really tried throughout the menu to represent high-end and low-end. We have Budweiser on draft and a stout finished with live oysters,” Rancourt points out. “There’s a new bar snack coming out that’s smoked mussels with saltines. Our version of deviled eggs has picked onion leaves and charred roe. We play with the whole contradiction of what fancy is and what every day is. It’s the same thing with the bar program.”
Two of Extra Fancy’s signature drinks were created by Rancourt, a former bartender at Macao Trading Co.
The Ray-Ray, made with celery soda, chervil, lemon juice and cucumbers, is a stripped-down version of a Pimm’s Cup. The Willie B — named after the building’s former occupant — is a watermelon cocktail.
“If you check the menu, we pay attention to all the ingredients by season. We have a large cider selection because apples are such a big part of the vocabulary of New England,” Rancourt says. “We started looking for old vegetables that can be new again and researching Native American recipes.”
Rancourt, along with partners David Brilliant and Robert Krueger, settled on the concept of “upscale seafood shack” after touring the spacious Metropolitan Ave. spot. In addition to a cozy bar and booth seating, the restaurant is also home to a large backyard.
“After signing the lease, we ate every meal in this area and noticed there was a general lack of seafood. You can get raw bar in a lot of spots and they’re good at it, but if it wasn’t for one fish dish, you’re just getting a lot of fried chicken, pork belly and barbecue,” Rancourt recalls. “With this huge outdoor space, we thought it’d be great to have some sort of seafood that equated with sunshine.”
Figuring out the decor, modeled after 1950s gas stations that doubled as clam shacks, was a fun project for Rancourt, an avid antique collector — in fact, he was looking for a patio table (the very same tables diners now sit at in the yard) when he first stumbled upon the space.
“We wanted it to feel like it could have been a clam shack or service station, something utilitarian,” says Rancourt. “The coffer lighting that’s hanging was the first thing I bought and I designed the restaurant around it.
“The brand has the mixed typography because, as we were looking at stock photos of service stations and clam shacks, they had the handwriting of 12 different people, depending on the specials. The gray paint is like an oyster shell. We’re a fully conceived space.”