Farm-to-Table Meets Fine Dining
A Seat Is Saved for You at Passerine
By Kylie Stoltzfus
Nestled along Lancaster’s bustling Gallery Row, Passerine is a neighborhood bottle shop and acclaimed restaurant with a farm-to-table approach. By prioritizing seasonal ingredients, Passerine transforms our county’s abundant harvest into a comfortable, unpretentious fine dining experience.
In 2024, Passerine was named among America’s Best Restaurants by The New York Times—a mention that was “world changing” for Co-Owner Kyle Sollenberger and his team. Last July, Sollenberger caught wind that one of the writers for The Times’ weekly food blog had stopped in. After the release of the article, business exploded and they gained national recognition that put the restaurant in the spotlight.
“No one could be prepared for going from a slow-ish restaurant to being completely booked out for every single night of the week,” Sollenberger says. “It's always surprising to me to see the spread of where people come from. I think one of the funniest moments was when I looked at our previous weekend's bookings, and Los Angeles was 15-percent of our visitors and Blue Ball, Pennsylvania was 15-percent… It was one of those charts where you're like, In what world are you going to have the same amount of people across the country as you have from a small town visiting your restaurant?”
The NYT mention amplified the exceptional labor, creativity, and care poured into every detail of service at Passerine and drew national attention to its mission, “to create a culture of equitable hospitality, cultivate an environment of communal learning, and showcase the best of our region through meaningful food, beverage, and conversation.”
“We set out to create something special, and it's extremely rewarding to have that be recognized on a national stage, but also just from the guests that come in every day,” Sollenberger says. “People are excited about the food that we're putting out and the service that we have. The expectations [are] really high. It raises the bar for everything that we do.”
Passerine has always been a hyper-seasonal restaurant. Chef Kevin Venbrux crafts a menu that changes with each season, utilizing the most fresh and abundant produce that Lancaster County has to offer at any given moment.
“My goal has always been to reach for simplicity,” says Kevin Venbrux, executive chef at Passerine. “With Lancaster’s bounty of such fantastic local ingredients, we try not to over process anything. We are walking distance from Central Market and have fantastic relationships with many local farms. The produce and products they produce are some of the best in the country.”
When it comes to the dishes, Venbrux aims to tell a story that provokes a feeling of comfort, approachability, and technique. This summer, Venbrux and his team hope to work with peas and beans – harkening back to a simple approach that allows the true flavors of each ingredient to have their moment in the sun.
“We start with a great quality product and then we're constantly researching. We're looking at what other restaurants are doing locally… what other restaurants are doing around the country and we're trying to take that and make it our own,” Sollenberger says. “We work closely with The Field’s Edge and Brogue Hydroponics and some of these local farms who are bringing us their first harvests… There's so many good things that are available late spring, early summer that end up on our plates.”
The kitchen is often in the throes of research and development, always asking how they can best preserve the vegetables and fruits that are in season so that they can be used all year long to bring bright flavors to the forefront of each dish. Even with the freshest and most abundant produce available, sometimes bringing out the best of what a season has to offer simply takes time.
“Fermentation and preserving things is very important to a restaurant like ours. Whenever you want some cool things to happen in November or December, you have to be preserving over the summer. If you want to really nail a really interesting, fun dish for spring, it's fun to have fermented sauce to go with that,” Sollenberger says. “That's where Chef Kevin and our team really focus their time and energy – [on] coming up with new and interesting flavors.”
Much like their food offerings, Passerine’s beverage menu is constantly changing. Beverage Director Jen Splain curates the bottle list and frequently adds new by-the-glass options to the menu. Many of the wines in Passerine’s selection are from Appalachia or the greater East Coast, with primary focus on serving small and underrepresented producers who are using interesting techniques.
“All of the wines that we bring in have to have a story,” Sollenberger says. “Our team is trained up on that and they try to really be able to share that.”
In addition to sharing the stories behind the wine and food on the menu, Passerine’s staff is eager to help guests find a beverage that accompanies the meal they’ve chosen for the evening.
“Hospitality is just about making people feel seen and special,” Sollenberger says. “It's walking in and being greeted with a smile… I think one of the proudest moments I had was when somebody left a review that [said, it] was [like] eating at your good friend's house who has good style, they have good taste… That's what we want. We want you to feel like you're eating at a close friend's house.”
Save your seat at the table.
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