For the Heritage Day long weekend, my boyfriend and I headed to Canmore for a lovely hike and a tasty dinner at Quarry, a local hot spot located smack dab in the middle of Main Street. Our first glimpse of Quarry’s menu, which features French and Italian provincial cuisine, had us cooing over which dishes we would sample.
Our friendly server greeted us with a basket of delectable house-made focaccia and a small bowl of tasty olives. After selecting a glass from Quarry’s fantastic menu of 100 wines under $100, we blissfully began our meal.
From the “to share” section of the menu, we started with something out of the ordinary — shaved fennel and grana padano cheese ($8). The dish could have incorporated more fennel, as it was quite cheesy, but there were nice hints of pepper that went a long way towards cutting through the dominant flavour.
For our next dish, we ordered the house-made country-style pâté ($11) with Brassica mustard, onion sprouts and cornichons. It was a nice choice after a day in the mountains, and reflected the character of Quarry’s space; both modern and rustic. My only criticism was that the accompanying crackers were a little too salty for the dish. The mustard, however, was bursting with flavour. We liked it so much we asked for more.
Our third plate was the goat cheese tart ($12), featuring broxburn cherry tomatoes and basil. The tart’s consistency resembled that of a quiche. The dish itself was beautiful, plated to highlight the brilliant tomatoes and drizzles of balsamic vinegar. I loved the saltiness of this dish, and the goat cheese was splendid, but I did find it slightly heavy with egg. Blame it on my slight dislike of quiche.
For our first entrée, we had the five-ounce elk tenderloin with greens and tomatoes ($36). Having been raised on wild game, I was excited to try elk in another setting besides my parent’s kitchen. The cut was tender and well prepared. The accompanying shallots, mascarpone cheese and mushrooms were a nice touch, and brought much-needed flavour to the elk. That’s the downside of preparing game — it can be quite bland if not spiced properly. The side tomatoes and greens were a disappointment, not offering much in the flavour department. We should have gone with the potatoes.
Our second entrée was fresh arctic char with caramelized pearl onions, organic agria potatoes, green peas and chunks of double-smoked bacon with canola vinaigrette ($28). The combination of flavours was very nice. Though it was a bit of a task piling my fork with each ingredient, every time I did, the result was pure bliss.
I will definitely be back in the fall to check out what Quarry does on a seasonal basis. With a menu that highlights local producers and farmers, I’m interested in seeing what they’ll do next.
Quarry is located at 718 Main Street, Canmore; phone, 403-678-6088.
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