Introducing: Tuesday Table
September is a liminal time of year in the mountains: the sun gives way to the moon earlier in the day, children go back to school, the heat of summer yields to cooler autumn nights. For us at Rhubarb, this changing of the season is celebrated by 'putting up' the last of the summer harvest -- we pickle watermelon rinds, roast the ripest tomatoes for sauce, string waxy-fleshed peppers like britches on a clothesline. All this work so that we can remember the warmth and the sunshine. Our kitchen turns to figs, squash, grapes, and apples to lend sweetness to bitter greens and root vegetables that are bountiful this time of year. You, our guests, get to enjoy the best of both worlds as our menu straddles the line between the seasons and we can all reflect on the busy summer as we head into a bustling fall.
The change of seasons also reminds us that the world continues along its orbit at a steady pace, even when the pace of our lives at times leaves us breathless. The days often seem long but the years feel short; our To Do lists never-ending. Our minds can become filled with tasks, anxieties, memes, and fatigued from the constant need to do. Now is the time, in this breath between seasons, to stop for a moment and simply be. Escape the chaos, recenter ourselves, focus on what is important, and savor time together around the table. Whether it's a celebration of an engagement or birthday with family, a rare night out with old friends, or simply a much needed evening off from cooking at home, the restaurant can be more than a business. The table becomes a touchstone. It allows us to gather together and enjoy the company of those we love. It gives us time to press pause on the rest of the day and focus on the nourishment of our bodies and souls.
Hospitality is at the heart of what we do at Rhubarb: providing a welcoming space for you and yours to relax, eat, drink, and catch up. Since we opened in 2013, our Sunday Supper experience was a favorite of guests and staff alike. The menu changed each week to reflect the bounty of Appalachia but the table was always set the same: a family-style meal to pass around the way you do a good story. We had a communal seating, bringing folks together and allowing a community to form around the table, even if just for the night. Often a farmer or forager would join us, and speak to the offerings of the menu, connecting the farm to the table in a deeper way. Our culinary team flexed their creative muscles around themed menus: honoring Black chef's for Black History Month, paying homage to Mom in May, and digging deep into their Southern repertoires with sweet tea brined fried chicken. If you've joined us for a Sunday Supper in the past, you know the joy we found together during this time to 'chat and chew.'
We paused Sunday Supper in March of 2020. The quickly-shifting landscape of the world, and of restaurant operations in particular, meant that communal seating (or in fact, any seating for a time) was no longer viable. Our small but nimble team focused on keeping the essence of hospitality while navigating health and safety challenges, adding new offerings like online ordering, and generally keeping Rhubarb in bloom. We have evolved and adapted over the last two years and now, in this September caesura between 'what was' and 'what will be,' we are thrilled to announce a return to this experience, on a new day.
Join us on Tuesdays starting September 20th for Tuesday Table.
Each week, Rhubarb's dining room will offer the space for friends and family to gather around the table with a new prix-fixe menu, one that always provides good food and good drink for your good company. Tuesdays have long been sacred to the Rhu Cru as a day to reset and relax. In opening our doors on Tuesday, we are inviting you to our table in a way that feels more personal, more special. It will also be a little different, as we will only be offering the Tuesday Table prix-fixe menu and not our a la carte dinner menu. While we aren't doing communal seating at this time, you will be able to make reservations of up to 8 guests in the dining room to enjoy this family-style menu. We hope that all those fans of our Sunday Supper will find the right mix of nostalgia and novelty -- and that all who join us for Tuesday Table will come with open minds and trusting palates, and leave with lighter hearts and full bellies.