Dine and Dish: Rainbird in Downtown Merced

Rainbird is tucked inside the El Capitan Hotel on Main Street in Downtown Merced.

"Well, I feel we're the nicest hotel in town," says Food and Beverage Director, Rita Hornack.

"I really just wanted a light Mediterranean-style flavor running through this menu," says Executive Chef Evan Morrison.

Morrison prepared a favorite -- Meyer lemon-glazed salmon.

"We glaze it with a little honey after it comes out of the oven, and then we have our orzo pasta that we saute with local kale and local heirloom cherry tomatoes," he said. "There's a sumac yogurt underneath it. We fold a little pesto into the orzo pasta."

The avocado toast looks much different here.

"Local radish, heirloom cherry tomatoes and our pea tendrils that we get from a local microgreen farmer," Morrison said.

The toast stands tall.

"If you want something more savory, I would go for the Rainbird benedict -- it's traditional eggs benedict," Hornack said.

The duck leg for duck confit is produced locally by Muscovy Farms.

"We confit it for three hours," Morrison said.

Confit-cooked in its own fat until it is crispy and tender.

"We serve it with a red beet puree, and we do a little endive salad that we char with a little lemon vinaigrette," Morrison said. "It has honey ricotta and some grilled local peaches."

Rainbird pivoted from fine dining and is now a breakfast, lunch and dinner spot.

"We see a lot more locals now, which is really nice," Hornack said. "We're more approachable."

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