Seated below twinkling lights, patrons chat minutes after being introduced to each other. The clinking of silverware and glasses harmonize with exclamations of intrigue and "oh, that's so good!"
Where is this lovely experience located? Just off Main Street in downtown Independence, inside Indy Commons' rentable restaurant space. But only if you can snag tickets to this coveted food event.
The twice-a-month dinner is aptly described as "a chef and a farmer throw a dinner party" by its creators and fiancées chef Lindsay Darling and farmer Eden Olsen, owner of Lucky Crow Farm. The Eat Crow Supper Club dinners were an idea the two had discussed for a few years but it only came to fruition earlier this year.
"It would be tough to have a restaurant, so that's why we do this," Darling said. "Once you're faced with labor constraints and food costs, that hospitality is the first thing out the window because you have to focus on the nuts and bolts. That's why we choose to do it every now and then so we can make it work."
How the chef and the farmer came together
Besides being a chef, Darling is the restaurant space and kitchen manager of Indy Commons, where the supper club pop-up is located.
Darling took on the role of what was initially just the commissary kitchen manager in 2022 after the beginning of the pandemic shut down restaurant operations at The Valkyrie Wine Tavern, where she was the chef. She is the daughter of a chef and has more than a decade of experience in restaurants in New Orleans and California.
Olsen is a local sixth-generation farmer from a family that grew seed crops in Monmouth. She left the area to pursue studies in sustainable agriculture, then worked in Bay Area farmers markets and a farm near San Jose. She returned in 2017 to start Lucky Crow on the family property. Now in its eighth season, the farm offers produce at farmers markets, an online shop and a Community Supported Agriculture arrangement with consumers.
Darling was introduced to Olsen in 2020 and the two have been together ever since, they said.
A project between the two was "inevitable," Darling said.
Supper club?
The first hosted dinner was not technically for the supper club but would become the first draft. The couple held it last June, providing the meal as a thank you to the members of Lucky Crow Farm's CSA, held inside the office space. To the couple's surprise, many of them asked when the next dinner would be.
This inspired the couple to come up with a different structure, as they had to be accommodating Olsen's farming schedule, while not being overly laborious for Darling and her staff to prepare.
The name Eat Crow Supper Club is "hilarious" to the couple. It's a play on Lucky Crow Farm. The use of "supper club" is from Darling's background with Sunday suppers, a mainstay of the South, she said. It was a time of eating and drinking merrily, family-style, and she wanted to bring that atmosphere with the dinners.
But don't be put off by the name, because the last thing the couple wants is to be perceived as pretentious.
"We don't have time for that anymore," Darling said. "People can choose to eat anywhere, but to come in and have an experience with a staff who anticipate what you want before you know what you want is hospitality."
The supper club experience
Eat Crow Supper Club held its first dinner in March. Each dinner has a theme that Darling comes up with based on what is seasonally available. April's meal was New Orleans-cuisine inspired, while May's showcased the spring/summer bounty.
The meal is prix fixe, meaning beyond listing what your dietary restrictions are, all the courses are decided by the chef and served to you. There are no substitutions, and everyone eats the same dish every course.
Tickets are released online at the beginning of each month and cost $80 per person. The meal is five courses and comes with wine. The courses include field toast, salad, a vegetarian dish, a meat dish and dessert. Dining is leisurely, and the overall meal lasts about two hours.
The dinner experience is not for everyone. If you enjoy slower dinners, being surprised by your meal and a homey environment, this would be an experience to try.
If enough people waitlist in the future, there may be more interest in expanding to an additional night for future months, Darling said.
For more info, check out the website, eatcrowsupperclub.com.
Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her atechan@gannett.com and follow her on X @catchuptoemily.
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