We don’t get a chance yet to eat at Emmer & Rye, the eagerly awaited new restaurant from Seth Caswell, but here’s a little appetizer: Caswell just started up a Tuesday night dinner series at Art of the Table, where he’ll be serving five-course dinners with pairings of wine or beer. (Cost: $65 for food, $25 more for alcohol, tax and tip included, cash only.)

Here’s the wrinkle I like best, from Caswell’s e-mail to his mailing list: 

“On Thursday of each week I will be sending out an email asking two questions: would you like to join me for dinner on the following Tuesday, and what would you like me to cook for you? The first question is pretty straightforward.  The second is going to require a little bit of your input. 

If you should choose to dine on the following Tuesday, I will send a list of 40-50 seasonal ingredients and you will pick out 3-5 that you’d like to have for dinner.  I will create a menu based on the first 20 responses I receive.  I hope to be able to include everybody’s choices each week and feature some inventive flavor and texture combinations.  Remember, I am a huge supporter of local agricultural and keeping food money in the hands of smaller, regional businesses. So don’t expect lobster and bananas, coconut and alligator, or ostrich and tamarind.”

Want in? You can join the mailing list by e-mailing Caswell at tuesday@emmerandrye.com. This week’s menu, according to Caswell’s Twitter feed: “Farro fries, Skagit Beef Ravs, Sablefish, Heirloom Apples, Hazelnut Meringue.” 

And, wondering what’s going on with Emmer & Rye, which we had hoped would be open by summer? Caswell wrote that “the past 15 ½ months have been filled with unexpected challenges and obstacles that I’d never imagined I’d be facing.  One of these days we’ll sit down with a nice bottle of whiskey (rye, preferably) and laugh about it.” Part of the short version is that, after months of work on his planned location downtown, “the landlord decided he did not want a restaurant in the space.” He’s negotiating on a new location now, and working on investors. And he’s trying to be patient. Believe him, he wrote, “nobody wants this more than I do.” In the meantime, he gets to keep his skills sharp, and we all get to have some input into his meals. 

Tuesdays are a night when Art of the Table, a hit for chef-owner Dustin Ronspies, is usually closed. The arrangement reminds me a little of how Spinasse started out as a dinner party on the off nights at Sitka and Spruce. I hope this deal turns out as well. 


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