November 2009 Newsletter Now we’re Playing! by Steve Beckta Boneless chicken wings anyone? The chef threw out a little contest to our cooks to see who could come up with the greatest “chicken wings” in the kitchen and now we have them on the menu. “Red-Cooked” and served with Asian BBQ sauce and kim chi. I love this fun spin on a great classic. Silly as it sounds, the other most exciting thing on the menu for me right now is the side of winter veg. Weʼve got the most incredible local root vegetables and late fall add-ons from two of our favourite farms, all glazed with mushroom stock and served in mini cast-iron skillets, that just make you feel more alive when you eat them. This totally represents what I had hoped for when we opened our doors. Making great, serious food easy and playful. I should also tell you about an incredible new wine that we are pouring right now: Stratus Gamay Noir. Tiny production, super concentrated and a real game-changer for Niagara reds from the incredible ʼ07 vintage. We are honoured to be able to share this for a week or two with our guests who are into something new, fun and very unique. In addition to the food & wine, I feel like our whole team has gelled and hit our stride in the restaurant now, offering a super experience without asking too much money or time, whether you want a great night out or quick, delicious lunch. Thank you all for the great support you have offered us over the past 10 months and we sure hope to see you soon when youʼre looking for a little fortification against the cold Canadian winter. -CHEERS! Our New In-House Artist Please welcome Andrew Van Beek of Photo Van Beek who will be showcasing his extraordinary artwork at Play for the next while. (Check out this incredibly compelling shot -at left - printed on metallic canvas, currently on display in our upstairs dining room). In addition, he will be moving his studio and gallery into the third floor space above Play starting in April. His gripping, real-life and nature-based photos printed on different mediums can be re- produced in various sizes by contacting Andrew directly. Please check out his full gallery at: http://www.photovanbeek.com/
Transcript
November 2009 Newsletter
Now we’re Playing! by Steve BecktaBoneless chicken wings anyone? The chef threw out a little contest to our cooks to see who could come up with the greatest “chicken wings” in the kitchen and now we have them on the menu. “Red-Cooked” and served with Asian BBQ sauce and kim chi. I love this fun spin on a great classic. Silly as it sounds, the other most exciting thing on the menu for me right now is the side of winter veg. Weʼve got the most incredible local root vegetables and late fall add-ons from two of our favourite farms, all glazed with mushroom stock and served in mini cast-iron skillets, that just make you feel more alive when you eat them. This totally represents what I had hoped for when we opened our doors. Making great, serious food easy and playful. I should also tell you about an incredible new wine that we are pouring right now: Stratus Gamay Noir. Tiny production, super concentrated and a real game-changer for Niagara reds from the incredible ʼ07 vintage. We are honoured to be able to share this for a week or two with our guests who are into something new, fun and very unique. In addition to the food & wine, I feel like our whole team has gelled and hit our stride in the restaurant now, offering a super experience without asking too much money or time, whether you want a great night out or quick, delicious lunch. Thank you all for the great support you have offered us over the past 10 months and we sure hope to see you soon when youʼre looking for a little fortification against the cold Canadian winter. -CHEERS!
Our New In-House ArtistPlease welcome Andrew Van Beek of Photo Van Beek who will be showcasing his extraordinary artwork at Play for the next while. (Check out this incredibly compelling shot -at left - printed on metallic canvas, currently on display in our upstairs dining room). In addition, he will be moving his studio and gallery into the third floor space above Play starting in April. His gripping, real-life and nature-based photos printed on different mediums can be re-produced in various sizes by contacting Andrew directly. Please check out his full gallery at:http://www.photovanbeek.com/
What’s new at Play...
Play is now online in more places than ever Thank you to all those who have already shown how much they love Play by becoming fans on Facebook. If you’d like to check out our page, just search for “Play food & wine” and see what we are up to . Become a fan and keep up to date with up-coming events, what new wines we are pouring, new dishes our chef’s are featuring, or read what other people post on our wall about their experiences dining with us. Feel free to post your own experiences! We always love to hear from you.
We have two new additions to our management team. Please welcome Anne-Marie Fore as our new head server and assistant sommelier and Darren Flowers as our new Sous-Chef. Both are Beckta Alums who moved over to Play to help us open the place and have done great things since January.
You can also follow us on Twitter...@playfoodandwine
Great New People you should know...
Anne-Marie is as excited by new wines as a kid in a candy store and helps Grayson with the wine and cocktail programs in addition to helping manage the dining room at Play on a nightly basis. Darren was recently promoted to Sous-Chef where he brings his intense love of cooking and rugged good looks (notice his excellent Movember mustache in support of Prostate Cancer research) to our open kitchen bar. Please say hello next time you are in for a bite or glass of wine.
Helping you with your holiday shopping...With all of the running around and celebrations of the holiday season quickly approaching, we at Play would like to take a moment to wish all of our friends our very best wishes. We would also like to extend a big thank you for all the wonderful support and enthusiasm you have all given us over over our first year in business. We hope you will keep us in mind this year when considering gifts for your loved ones and colleagues. Our gift certificates are available for any dollar amount, never expire and can also be used at our award-winning sister-restaurant, Beckta Dining & Wine. You can purchase them either online at www.playfood.ca or in person at either restaurant.
The large group area on our second floor is capable of seating a group of up to 26 guests over 3 tables, all next to each other in an intimate setting. This area has windows on two sides, overlooking Sussex Dr. and a stunning view of the Peace Tower. For groups larger than 26, we offer options to book the entire first floor adjacent to our main bar for more of a standing cocktail / reception-style event for up to 100, of which we’ve hosted several successful versions. The most popular large event format at Play is where servers pass around the chef’s most interesting canapés of the season, alongside artisan cheese and charcuterie platters. In addition, we can also set up food stations manned by our chefs around the room for guests to mix and mingle while having a more substantial meal of made-to-order small plates. Our counter-height, 2-foot deep glazed window sills that ring the room provide a wonderful leaning space or drop counter for dishes and glassware while gazing through the oversized windows into the historic Byward Market surroundings, making the space perfect for stand-up events.
In a small sauce pot melt butter, add flour, and cook 10 mins. to make a stiff roux. In a separate small saucepan, heat cream and blue cheese together until cheese has melted. Add cheese/cream mixture to roux and cook until thickened to a spreadable paste (will thicken more upon cooling). Spread baguette slices with olive oil and toast in a warm oven, approx. 275F until crisp exterior has formed, about 7-8 minutes (alternatively you can grill the bread to add a nice smoky flavour). Combine lobster, green apple and mayo. Season with salt and pepper. Spread cheese mixture on baguette, place 2 oz lobster mixture on top, garnish with chives. Serve at room temperature.
-1 lb lobster meat, shredded, or 2 whole lobsters (roughly 1 1/4 lb. ea), fully cooked, cooled, meat removed and shredded-1 ½ green apples, julienned- ½ cup mayonnaise, homemade preferable-10 slices baguette, ¾ ” thick, toasted or grilled-1 tbs extra virgin olive oil-½ bunch chives, chopped-1 tbs cup flour-1 tbs cup butter-¼ cup Ermite blue cheese, or similar creamy pungent blue-1 tbs cup 35% cream-salt & pepper to taste
Lobster Crostada by Chef Mike Moffattserves 4-5 as appetizers
As we’re getting ready for another busy holiday season, we wanted to take a moment and invite you to join us for New Year’s Eve dinner. It would be our pleasure to host you and your guests as we see off 2009 and welcome the possibilities of 2010. We’re currently taking reservations every half hour starting at 6:00 pm to experience Chef Mike Moffatt’s amazing four-course New Year’s Eve Menu. The price is $65 per person with optional wine pairings for $45 (all prices before taxes and gratuity). If you would like to ring in the New Year with us, we suggest a later reservation time (8:00 pm or later). However, If you have other places or parties to be at when the clock strikes 12, please let us know, so we can make sure you get to your next event on time. It promises to be an extraordinary evening. Please make your reservation by calling us at 613-667-9207. And, if you aren't able to join us for New Year's Eve, you can still celebrate any night of the week with our constantly changing menu available on our website at www.playfood.ca.
New Year’s Eve @
mixed charcuterie or
salmon gravlax / green apple remoulade / salt-roasted beets / ginger gastrique ~
butter-poached lobster / vanilla polenta / hen of the woods / truffle or
Thesewineries maynotnecessarilybenewbut alotoftheirwines were newtomeandI knowtheyare likelynewtoa lotofODawa winelovers.Abigpart of the trip was to discover what smallerwineries might be doing that is compelling anddelicious. Mission accomplished! First stop:OrganizedCrime. Small produc5on,handcraKed,very interes5ng packaging, delicious. Comingsoon. The second stop was Fielding. A winerywho’sPinotGris many ofyouhavehadherethissummer. They are doing other great thingsincludingaverytropical andluscious Viognieranda funredblendwhichyouwillhavethe op5ontotasteby theglass in thenear future. The brandnewRavineVineyardswasadiscoverymade by acouple great regulars of ours while blissfullycheersing their way around Niagara on theirhoneymoon.This restoredhousesteepedinlocalNiagara‐On‐The‐Lakehistoryis locatedina uniquemicro‐climatethatmakes bothexcellentBordeauxstyle reds as well as whites withMerlotbeingtheirspecialty. Aswell as theirMerlot I was smiDenwiththeir08Gewurztraminer.Theyhaven’tfoundan ODawa home… yet and they’re all organic,leadingmeto:
Newer,SmallerandCooler GreenandInnova;ve
Beinggoodstewardsofthelandseemstogohandinhand with being good people because that’swhat Ikept running into. ThreeofCanada’s most renownedwineries havebeenreally,reallygreensincetheycametoNiagara:Southbrook,Stratusand LeClosJordanne.Wehavebeenproudtocarrysome oftheirtastytreatssince day one. Southbrook became Canada’s onlybiodynamicwinery for the2008 line. Thisis a super‐chargedorganicdesigna5onthatinvolveslunarenergyandspecial teaplantsprays.Saywhatyouwantaboutit some of thebest winesinFrancehavebeenmadethis way fordecadesandwinemakerAnnSperlinghasvery ably grabbed that torch for Canada. Amongothers wearecarryingtheir07TriompheSyrahwhichis whatwebelieve tobeoneofCanada’s bestwines onthemarket. Ihad thechance to spend the day withwinemaker extrordinaire Thomas Balcheder fromCanada’s most Burgundianwinery, Le Clos Jordanne.Hedescribed theday hebecamecer5fiedorganic asone ofthebestinhis lifeandlifeis tooshortnottotryhis exemplary Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. The 07singlevineyardlineisworththemoney(the Claystonebeing my favourite and will be hi\ng the wine listsoon).Atrue lessoninterroir.Stratuswasthelaststopand I’m gladI had lots of 5mefor them. There’s somuchtosee andtaste. Spending5mewithJLGroux,theirchiefwinemakeris preDyspecialfora wine geeklike me. He aDributes his consistent excellence(whethertheyaretheWildass value line,theblends orthesingle varietals)toembracingthefactthatNiagarais a cool climateandnottryingtofightagainstit.Theys5ll managetoalwaysachieveripenessbutinbalance.Avisitthere is a must.The07StratusGamay is bytheglass rightnowand is beDer thanany Beaujolais CruI’veeverhad.
