The Stumbling Goat’s Seth Caswell finally has his own place, Emmer & Rye, at the top of Queen Anne where Julia’s was. (I met Caswell two summers back at the amazing carnivorous feast-in-a-field Burning Beast and haven’t seen him since, though I heard one potential space for the restaurant got frustratingly far along before falling through.)
Emmer & Rye’s local/seasonal menu—check it out here—doesn’t sound surprising anymore (which is a good thing), but it does sound delicious, so I went up there last night and had the honor of being the very first table at 5 p.m.
The space, which is in an old house, still feels like brunch at Julia’s, with old-fashioned wooden chairs and decorations of the farm-tools-and-antique-photos ilk, more ye olde Americana than the rustic-Italy template. It’s not a style I especially admire, but I do admire Emmer & Rye for taking over the place and getting up and running in a matter of weeks, decor be damned.
And the food is good. A dish of cauliflower, foraged mushrooms, and wild greens didn’t look like much, but walnut oil rounded out the earthy healthiness, making it something people actually fought over. The other undeniably great menu item (so far): goat crepinette—meat and herbs chopped together and formed into rustic sausages—that’ll be changing minds about goat right and left. It’s meaty yet light, served with slippery/snappy black trumpet mushrooms and a butternut gratin that practically floated up off the plate.
Service was, of course, not 100 percent smooth, but they acknowledged bumps and had a sense of humor about it, which for me is all it takes to make a little sloshed drink or a moment of whose-plate-is-whose totally forgivable.
The place was full up when I left at 7 p.m. Didn’t see Caswell—there’s no fancy open kitchen here—so congratulations, sir.
You should go try it out, but better call for a reservation.
The menu looks super tasty and I’m happily surprised at how affordable the prices seem. Can’t wait to try it!
Jeez – whoever designed their web site has better eyesight than I do.
Menu looks great, though.
what, no pictures? you need to buy yourself a little point and shoot to carry with you.
what happened to the julia’s there? not enough business to keep that branch open?
I tried it out Friday night, and I completely agree. Friendly service (they seem to be running smoothly now) and great local food.
Great menu in a great location. But is it still owned by Julia’s? It would appear so. Brilliant.
Approved Date: 1/25/2010
Business Name: JULIA’S ON QUEEN ANNE
Business Location: 1825 QUEEN ANNE AVE N, SEATTLE, WA 98109-2849
Liquor License Type: 442, SPIRITS/BR/WN REST SERVICE BAR
Application Type: ADDED/CHANGE OF TRADENAME
License Number: 400705
Agree with you that the food is amazing and the decor less than lackluster. In fact the decor is kind of awful. Someone needs to point out to them that the big picture of grain they have hanging isn’t rye but CORN. Also, I recommend they strip most of that old lady crap out of there so the look of the place matches the understated elegance of the food. Seriously.