Rye: A Public House, Fennville, MI

Rye is the more casual sister to the Journeyman Cafe, a restaurant notable for its commitment to local ingredients. I've had several good experiences there. Rye is located next door to the Journeyman, with a separate entrance:



Like the Journeyman, it, too, focuses on local, responsibly-raised and farmed ingredients, albeit with a much more casual, pubby menu. It is also about 25%-40% cheaper than the Journeyman. On Fridays, they feature live music. The music schedule is listed on the wall:



Being in Michigan, the beer list heavy on local brews, including Bell's, from nearby Kalamazoo, New Holland, from nearby Holland, and Founder's from nearby Grand Rapids. On tap consistently is something from Bell's and something from New Holland:



The wine list also offers a good amount of Michigan wines, including some from very local Fenn Valley winery up the road, but also offers decent choices from other parts of the world by the glass. I realize that this is a flaw in their local mantra, but they do have to globalize their wine selection as Michigan wines are still works in progress, although they've mostly come a long way recently.

The menu is focused on casual pub food. According to their website, the menu is inspired by "our American farm heritage and the pub and bar traditions of England, France, & Italy." In Chicago, where "bar food" menus are almost universally the same, and have come to mean some variation of a burger (always advertised as "the best ever" or "world-famous"), chicken wings, quesadillas, etc., it is refreshing to see a bar menu that actually draws from European culinary bar traditions. In my opinion, that type of food is much more interesting. Hence, most dishes are rustic in nature, as they should be: A Ploughman's Plate, mussels with cider, leeks and cream, and, in the winter, a very comforting dish of excellent house-made sausages with Alsatian sauerkraut and wine-roasted fingerlings. House-made fennel sausage is served over freshly made pappardelle in a light sauce. Recently, there was a very homey creamed chicken with morels and peas on the menu that took advantage of the best the spring season offers. There is, of course, the obligatory burger, but the meat is from grass-fed cows. My photos are not the best, but a skirt steak (which I believe is grass-fed) was delicious and served with warm potato salad:



The Journeyman is noted for its bread-making and their wood-fired pizzas. Those pizzas are offered at Rye, including a smaller, individually-sized version. This one has the house-made fennel sausage and roasted peppers:



The crust is perfect - crunchy on the outside and pillowy and chewy inside. Do not expect adherence to Neapolitan or NY-style traditions here. It really is a just an exercise in good bread-making without regard to any particular style, as you can see from the obligatory LTH crust shot:



The cheeses are a blend of provolone, parmesan and "fumicata" mozzarella, so it is much stronger tasting than your average Italian-style pizza. How can you go wrong with a place that wood-fires fresh artichokes and offers them as a pizza topping?

In addition to beer and wine, there is also an extensive cocktail menu which mostly offers creative classics, but do not expect the meticulous attention to tradition or detail like the Violet Hour. Sometimes they'll switch ingredients up, or serve them differently. But these offerings are unique in an area where "cocktail" means a G&T (not that there's anything wrong with that ). In terms of sheer balance, a French 75 I had here beat the pants off of one I had awhile back at the Peninsula, and was about $11 cheaper.


Havana cocktail


French 75, one of my favorites

Rye, bar shot:


Rye
112 E. Main Street
Fennville, MI 49408
(269) 561-2269