From the same team behind critically-acclaimed Tail Up Goat, Rye Bunny has transformed the former fine dining space into a counter-service-hybrid model with dishes that are packed with comfort and flavor. In this episode of Now Open, co-owners Jon Sybert and Jill Tyler walk Eater through a day of food prep and service at the new Adams Morgan spot.
Instead of increasing menu prices, Tyler and Sybert decided to shut down the Michelin-starred Tail Up Goat and open Rye Bunny — they never wanted to become an inaccessible restaurant that diners could only afford as a treat. The new counter service spot employs less workers, offers competitive pay, and keep prices at a more sustainable level. In the revamped space, stained glass lines the entryway, separating the dining room from where people are waiting in line to order.
In the kitchen, prep starts. Pork chops sourced from Autumn Olive Farm in Virginia are dropped into a water and sugar marinade, with a few other herbs and ingredients, before being seared and drizzled with some high-quality vinegars. Stinging nettle, spinach, Swiss chard, and ramp-filled ravioli are prepped next, with sheep’s milk ricotta adding some creaminess to the greens. The pasta dough is made from scratch. The raviolis are tossed with fava beans and brown butter sauce, plus a final sprinkling of shaved sheep’s milk cheese.
Next is fried chicken and anchovy toast prep. A fresh milk bread is made in house, proofing overnight and getting a final proof in large bread pans. Cooked down red onion and blood orange jam top the fluffy bread before being crowned with a Spanish anchovy and fennel fronds.
“I don’t know that this specific model has to be the future, but there are going to have to be some changes to the model for restaurants to continue to provide the level of dining that they have provided in the past,” Sybert sums up as he glances at diners lining up in front of the kitchen.
Watch the owners of Rye Bunny navigate operating a more casual restaurant that is still serving a hyper-seasonal mid-Atlantic menu in the this episode of Now Open.
