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SPRING AT LAST
Such as it is in this part of the world. Glorious sunshine one moment, and buckets of snow the next. Still, the days are noticeably longer, and any minute now little green shoots will start to poke out from beneath the brown dusty remnants of winter. And not a moment too soon! Is it just me, or does winter seem to have lasted f-o-r-e-v-e-r this year?
 Spring means a refreshing of our menus at Quarry, and this year's switch is one that we are particularly happy with. Our friends at Broxburn Vegetables have at last started shipping the first of this year's crop of vine-ripened tomatoes from their wonderful greenhouse near Lethbridge. That means David and I can stop arguing over whether or not we should even allow a winter tomato to cross our threshold and we can bring back the Goat Cheese Tomato Tart.
Other delicious things on the new menu: Foie Gras Torchon, which you can have with some jelly made from Blasted Church's 'Hatfields Fuse' -- a blend from this renowned Okanagan winery that includes a healthy dose of Optima. Or you can add it to your Burger, or to one of the steaks. If meat is your thing, you will also be happy to know that the Buffalo Burger has a new squishy bun (homemade of course), and we have added an Elk Tenderloin to the menu. We have switched up some old favourites: the new Romaine Salad is lighter, springier; our Paté has gone a little bit country, and the Rocky Mountain Whitefish has made the move from pub to bistro. Finally, in the constant search for the perfect sustainable, seasonal fish, we have started bringing in Whole Fish -- usually Sea Bream or Euro Sea Bass -- which is pan seared to juicy perfection and served with greens and a French lentil vinaigrette. Yum!
Also to welcome Spring, from the land of eternal Spring and the birthplace of the Renaissance, our last wine dinner of this season will celebrate the flavours of Northern Italy. We hope you can join us next Thursday for some great wine, food and company. Andrew Jones, from Vendemmia International, will be with us. Mama mia! It is no wonder that this is the food and wine that we love so much: Prosecco, savoury antipasti, handmade pasta, Gaja, and something known as Stinco...
David's Kitchen Notes
The Golden Rule
As a code to live by it is hard to argue, treat others as you would be treated. It is also a notion that is the corner stone of how Naomi and I try to make things work at quarry. With staff, with clients, and with our purveyors and producers too. We are always striving to source the highest quality product available, but along with quality of product must come dealings that are of quality too.
 Recently Naomi and I had the opportunity to hop on a bus with a bunch of like minded restaurant people, and take a tour of some southern Alberta farms where we source much of our product. Leading us on our tour was one of our favorite purveyors of local quality, Rudy Knitel. Part of the ritual of my week in the kitchen at quarry is to receive an order of produce, meat, and cheese from Rudy and then sit and share a glass of wine and a meal with him to catch up on the events of the week. Quality dealings.
Rudy took us from Canmore to the area surrounding Lethbridge and a handful of farms that provide us with everything from herbs to rabbits, produce to pigs. It was a beautiful late winter day on the prairie, all sunshine and dry warm wind. We shared the trip by bus with some of our favorite restaurant people form Banff, Canmore, and Calgary, and once on the farms, with many of our favorite producers. It was inspiring to see the who and how of some of the local products that we use, and to gain another level of appreciation of the work that goes into them. I hope that the proof of the quality of these products, the toil and the passion that goes into them, and the relationships that we have surrounding them is on the plate when you eat at quarry.
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WINE DINNER
Northern Italy
Thursday April 24
Andrew Jones of Vendemmia International wines will be joining us for an evening exploring the flavours of northern Italy.
Wines we are featuring:
Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico, Veneto
2005 Pieropan Soave Classico Calvarino, Veneto
2005 Marchesi di Barolo Dolcetto d'Alba Boschetti, Piedmont
2005 Gaja Sito Moresco, Piedmont
Marchesi di Barolo Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont
Tickets are $95 and include dinner and wine pairings
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