Rye: Where global flavors meet local ingredients

After 13 years in Eugene, Rye, on Third Avenue between Mill Street and Coburg Road, has built a following through its commitment to globally inspired food, nose-to-tail cooking and a bourbon-focused bar program.

Chef and owner Jeff Passerotti has taken a winding path to Rye. He has spent decades in the restaurant industry, in San Francisco in the 1980s and later at dining scene standouts in Eugene like Steelhead Brewery, Marché and Adam’s Place. 

Passerotti lived in Eugene, then went to California at a time when restaurants were “exploding,” he said. “People like me who had multiple skills, because I could cook, I knew how to butcher, and I knew how to be a pastry chef, I could pretty much move around. A core group of us, like six people … were kind of the go-to crew for a new restaurant.”

His diverse background and chef de cuisine Amanda Gefre’s experience is apparent in Rye’s approach, which marries classical techniques applied to comfort dishes with international flair. 

“We’re not trying to be like everyone else,” Gefre said. “I look around town at what other people are doing, and I kind of don’t want to do that. I ask myself, ‘How can I do something that’s just a little bit different but still works for us? What’s homey but a little more elevated?’ I take things that are approachable and make them just a little more unique.”

Passerotti’s idea at the beginning of Rye was: “The world is a village, welcome to ours,” he said. 

Gefre has been with Rye nearly 12 years. Over that time, she’s kept some things on the menu while also refining them. For instance, the lamb daube is a type of French stew that is still on the menu, but it’s been changed a little over time.

“A lot of the recipes we use are old recipes that have now been carried down and have gotten revised and are now better,” she said. “Just more ‘us.’ We’ve honed it.”

In the beginning, Passerotti said, the crew was “shooting a little bit from the hip, but going after certain flavors in certain countries and really featuring that cuisine. The fine tuning has been happening over the last few years and now we can see that these are good, solid recipes, but knowing what we know now, let’s make it better.”

Their philosophy drives a menu that changes seasonally but maintains its core identity of sophisticated versions of simple fare. Current staples include a bourbon-brined pork chop from Oregon-based Carlton Farms ($31) served during summer with chimichurri, zucchini hush puppies and sweet potato succotash; beef short rib braises ($35) served over scallion mashed potatoes with sautéed spinach and fried onions; and a French onion soup appetizer ($10) that is made from a recipe Passerotti learned while in San Francisco. One popular appetizer is poutine ($18), featuring fries with duck confit, cheese curds, duck demi-glace and pickled slaw. Another popular appetizer is the fried goat cheese, on the menu as chevre frite(s) ($10/$14) for either one or two balls of fresh goat cheese breaded and fried, served with onion marmalade and toasted bread. 

“We can’t take those off the menu,” Passerotti said. 

If any dish uses seasonal produce, such as tomatoes, Gefre will wait until the product is at its peak to add the meal to the menu. For instance, chicken samfaina ($29), an entree featuring brined, breaded and fried chicken breast served over a braise of eggplant, zucchini, tomato and bell peppers, is currently on the menu.

Passerotti is looking forward to a bourbon-brined pork chop with blackberries, and recipes using corn and more tomatoes. 

Zero-waste philosophy

Rye’s kitchen team uses every part of the ingredients they source, which reduces waste and keeps food costs lower, and means that almost everything on the menu is made in-house. The kitchen breaks down whole ducks, using breasts for dinner service while the legs become confit, livers become pâté, tenderloins become terrines, bones become stock, and stock becomes gravy.

“We use every last bit of what we get,” Passerotti said.

Food scraps that can’t be repurposed go to staff members with chickens or to their compost piles. 

Bar and sweets

Rye’s bar program matches the kitchen’s creativity with themed cocktail menus that change every few months and a wine program focused on value. In July, the drinks were inspired by the movie “Anchorman,” including drinks named the Ron Burgundy, made with Glenlivet 12-year scotch, and Speaking in Generalities, made with a blend of four rums. 

Rye will be participating in the upcoming FlavorFest event to benefit Pete Moore Hospice House. Gefre will showcase Rye’s Moroccan-spiced braised lamb tagine, which Gefre says represents their culinary ambition since the early days. 

Rye is also known for its chocolates, made by Davey Wendt, a chocolatier in Eugene since the early 2000s who is also now the lunch line cook. Wendt provides the restaurant with coconut haystacks, toffees and caramels, peanut butter cups, and more ($4 each). All are matched with a drink if so desired. Rye also has other desserts, such as cheesecake or pot de crème.

Perhaps what most defines Rye is its role as a neighborhood gathering place. Passerotti says 85% of their business is returning customers, including customers who have been dining there for lunch twice a week for years.

“We built a following,” he said. “At the beginning I might not have guessed that we would last this long, but now we’re established, and people like it a lot. We still think it’s a special place.”

Want to go?

Rye
444 E. Third Ave.
541-653-8509
https://ryeon3rd.com