The Dep is so much more than just a cafe, grocery stop, and sometimes restaurant. It’s also an inspiration and reminder to gather with loved ones, congregate with kindred spirited strangers, and let someone else do the cooking at least once in a while…
by Ryan Bigge | October 3rd, 2012 | brokenpencil.com
“Indie food can be expensive and exclusionary. And it often lacks the community infrastructure that is so crucial to subcultures. Senater is working hard to change that. The Depanneur is unafraid to be ridiculous and ambitious and affordable and accessible. Past food events include Porknography (a nine-course meal, with each recipe featuring pig), a drop-in Ital dinner (Rastafarian-informed vegan cuisine that avoids the use of salt), and a black and white meal with a black and white dress code. For Senater, the goal is to enable creativity, spontaneity and originality while removing any element of elitism or luxury or decadence. (As he jokes, “This may be detrimental to our long- term success. Sometimes I get the feeling that if I charged three times as much I’d be way busier.”) Seating about 20 people, Senater wants to foster the atmosphere of an intimate social supper club, rather than a restaurant.”
—Ryan Bigge