butter burgers are back

Riel chef Ryan Lachaine finds new home at River Oaks restaurant

Ryan Lachaine is the new executive chef at State of Grace.

Courtesy of Rocket Farm Restaurants

It didn’t take Ryan Lachaine very long to find a new job. Fresh off closing his acclaimed Montrose restaurant Riel at the end of August, Lachaine recently accepted a new role as the executive chef at River Oaks restaurant State of Grace.

After a brief training stint in Atlanta, the chef has quietly been at State of Grace for the past couple of weeks. He tells CultureMap that his existing relationship with culinary director Bobby Matos and chef-owner Ford Fry made the restaurant a logical choice for his next move. His sous chef at Riel, Anitra Broussard, has also joined State of Grace as a lead line cook.

“I wasn’t going to work for someone I didn’t know,” Lachaine says. “It wasn’t a hard transition. It’s not me going somewhere new. It made the transition a little easier.”

He’s already putting his mark on the menu with two Riel favorites — the caviar tater tots and the butter burger are both available at State of Grace. But don’t expect other dishes like the kimchi carbonara or honey walnut crawfish.

“Riel, we had a great run,” Lachaine says. “I don’t want to bring a bunch of stuff over. That wouldn’t be fair. That happened in that space. I don’t know if it will work [at State of Grace].”

What will work are items that utilize State of Grace’s wood-burning hearth paired with classic, French-inspired sauces and techniques. Working with those influences, Lachaine has contributed a couple of new items for fall, including a NY strip steak with sauce vert on the lunch menu, wood-fired oysters with burnet lime and chili butter that are available all day, and three new items at dinner: pan-roasted halibut with maple-miso, duck agnolotti with sage brown butter nage, and hearth-roasted half chicken with pommes puree.

“It’s forcing me to think outside my box,” Lachaine says. “I’m excited about it. I’m reading different cookbooks and getting ideas from different restaurants. I think it’s great.”

He also appreciates being part of Fry’s Rocket Farm Restaurants group, the Atlanta-based company that also operates Little Rey, Superica, and La Lucha. After being responsible for everything that took place at Riel for almost 10 years, having colleagues like Matos to turn to allows Lachine to focus on cooking and leading the kitchen.

“If something breaks, they have a whole part of the company where someone comes and fixes it,” he says. “I can focus on the restaurant and cooking and not the roof leaking. It’s refreshing. Bobby’s been awesome.”

Expect to see Lachaine and Matos at events soon. With Riel closed, State of Grace is taking its spot at the upcoming Southern Smoke Festival. In the meantime, diners will find Lachaine at State of Grace during both lunch and dinner. He’s been laying low, but an influx of Riel regulars could change that.

“This is the first time I’ve ever worked in a closed kitchen,” he says. “It’s the first time I’ve been stuck in the back. I’ve met a couple regulars, but I haven’t been out there shaking hands or any of that yet.”

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River Oaks Remix

River Oaks lounge reboots around '90s DJ culture and retro bites

Photo by Michael Anthony

The recently formed LCN Hospitality group—David Anderson III, Mikos Adams, and DJ Mr. Rogers—have relaunched Fancy's with chef Dominick Lee curating the menu.

Less than two years after opening, a River Oaks cocktail lounge has new ownership and a new personality, though under the same name: Fancy’s.

Located at 1947 W. Gray St., the original Fancy’s opened in May 2024 under the guidance of Clé Group owners Zack Truesdell, Salim Dehkordi, and Dallas Rodriguez (BLVD Park, KISS, Heights Social, Say No Mas). The name said it all: an upscale, reservation-recommended lounge with a strictly enforced dress code.

The River Oaks spot is looking a little more approachable these days under new leadership. David Anderson III and Mikos Adams, both partners in downtown record lounge Off the Record, have joined with local producer and DJ Mr. Rogers to relaunch the space as a sound-driven cocktail lounge. This is the first joint venture of the trio under the recently formed LCN Hospitality group.

Fancy’s next chapter took shape through the success of DJ Mr. Rogers’ S.U.S.H.I. (Songs U Should Hear Immediately), a no-requests music-omakase pop-up during the lounge’s previous run.

“We were already spending time in the space through a music-forward pop-up, and the response made it clear there was a real appetite for guided music experiences where the DJ sets the tone and leads discovery, rather than competing for attention,” Anderson said in a statement. “After years in nightlife, where spectacle often comes first, it felt exciting to imagine something different. We thought back to the way DJs shaped culture in the ’90s and wanted to pair that sensibility with the history and energy of River Oaks.”

Former and first-time patrons will find a concept built around weekly programming, including:

S.U.S.H.I. Wednesdays (Songs U Should Hear Immediately)
Global House Thursdays
Funk, Disco, and R&B Fridays
Saturday Night After Hours, high-energy dance-focused programming

Photo by Michael Anthony

The recently formed LCN Hospitality group—David Anderson III, Mikos Adams, and DJ Mr. Rogers—have relaunched Fancy's with chef Dominick Lee curating the menu.

"As a producer and DJ, I've always been drawn to the idea of creating experiences where music is the guide, not the background,” Rogers said. “At Fancy's, we're building a space where discovery happens naturally, whether you're hearing something for the first time or rediscovering a classic through a different lens.”

In the kitchen, chef Dominick Lee looked to lavish River Oaks dinner parties of the ’90s, researching Baron Ricky di Porta Nova, a local legend known for extravagant gatherings. The result is nostalgic small plates and canapés such as Oysters di Porta Nova, a caviar-topped pasta tucked into an oyster shell, and refined chicken nuggets served with three unique dipping sauces and an optional caviar add-on.

"It's a different dinner party every night, shaped by a different sound experience," Lee said. "The food is there to complement that—indulgent but not heavy, familiar but elevated, always in service of the night unfolding around it.”

Behind the bar, bartender Sergio Contreras (formerly of L’Colombe d’Or and Tony’s) has crafted a drink menu that riffs on classic cocktails. Syrups are made in-house using natural, low-sugar ingredients, so patrons can imbibe without the sugar crash. Contreras’ menu includes highlights like the Razzle Dazzle, a French 75 remix, and Forbidden Love, a margarita with a Cabernet float.

"It's all about balance," Contreras said. "We want people to feel good while they're here and when they wake up the next morning after a late night on the dance floor. The classics are the foundation, but we're reworking them in a way that feels modern and intentional."

For those easing into the evening, the lounge offers “Fancy Hour” daily from 5 to 8 pm, featuring $10 signature cocktails and half-off the food menu. On Thursdays, the special runs all day.

The 102-seat bar also includes a second-floor outdoor patio and two private dining spaces. Fancy’s is open Wednesday through Friday, 5 pm-12 am, and Saturday from 7 pm-2 am. Reservations are available via OpenTable.