The loom of winter seems to be coming to its certain, inevitable end, and in turn will bring us the fruit of a more preferable season. Signs of this transformation are everywhere. In the backyard, the heirloom daffodils I foraged from the old Oklahoma homestead are poking through the matted, moldy leaves that look like untempered layers of chocolate. Seeds are sprouting in my basement under the fluorescent lamp contraption my dad referred to as a “tanning bed” that I fashioned out of some old 40W shop lights. The beautiful, dark green overwintered spinach brought in from Community Crops has made its way on my menu this week in the risotto, salads and entrees. Soon it will be time to air up the tires on the little green wagon and drag it through the Farmer’s Market that opens in May. I love this time of year.

This will be our third year for our Saturday tradition known as The Market Meal. For those unfamiliar, this is where we shop the nearby Farmers Market and source ingredients for our evening menu from the vendors and their immediate supply. In this way, our menu is dynamic and seasonal, changing every week. The result for you, the customer, is a unique, original and local menu planned that day, and for our staff, a chance to hone our skills and challenge our creativity every single week.

In keeping with this movement of change, I wanted to give you an idea of what to expect should you plan to attend one of our Market Meals this year. It’s our desire to provide you with an experience that you and your friends will find deeply enjoyable. As written above our kitchen, we will set the table, and do our very best at doing so; you need only bring the conversation, savor the food, the moment, and the camaraderie that naturally follows.

In many instances, we subscribe to the “less is more” theory. More options don’t necessarily lead to better choices. Sometimes it’s confusing and fatiguing to look at a long list of items and make a simple decision about what to eat. So we are going to help with that. We will offer a 3-course and a 5-course fixed price menu, with three entrée choices within each, one always being a vegetarian option. We are doing this for a few reasons. One, we think it will give you a better menu by allowing us to focus more intently on preparing fewer items in such a short time period. Two, it will give you a chance to trust the chef to guide your meal, leaving you free to sit back and enjoy the experience.

I know this is a risk, especially in a town that has no precedent for this kind of approach to eating, but we are going to give it a shot and see how it goes. I like to think of it as a form of hospitality that usually is expressed at home. When you invite some friends over, you have the pleasure of preparing and serving their dinner. Your friends trust you to put on a good spread. They don’t expect you to have numerous options. The friendship is the focus.

This may sound counterintuitive coming from a chef, but I believe your visit to my restaurant is first about the people you are with, and secondly about the food I put in front of you. This doesn’t mean my food isn’t important, but in perspective, your friendships will last longer than the meal at my table. I hope to be a link in the chain that connects people and those memories together.