News From Ridgway, March 7, 2016

Have You Heard?

Did you see Ridgway Bar & Grill recently on ABC 7’s Out and About program? We were excited to welcome their team at the restaurant for filming a couple of weeks ago, and it was a thrill to get to share what we do with all of you. You can check out the video here. Let us know what you think!

A Taste of Tony’s

More than 75 happy people joined us on Tuesday, February 23 for a fantastic wine tasting at Tony’s Off Third! The theme was the “best of what’s next” and featured over a dozen up-and-coming wines that Sukie selected specifically because they’re a little new and different – and, as always, excellent! Take a look at some photos of the evening. Do you want to learn about future Tony’s wine tastings? Make sure to sign up for our newsletters !

Wine Notes

Over the past two years Sukie has noticed an increasing interest in value-oriented Italian reds and whites. In response she and her staff tasted over 60 wines representing 12 growing regions in Italy and Sicily. A new section has been created in the shop offering excellent wines in the $14 to $26 range. To assist the browsing shopper, Sukie has created bottle neck tags with brief descriptions and grape compositions. Salute!

At The Table With Tony

The bakery has always been a place of comfort for me. After all, my cooking career began as an eight-year-old in Pennsylvania baking apple pie. A year and a half ago, I needed to hire a new lead baker in Tony’s Off Third. Lexie Ward, who decorates the beautiful cakes you see in our front window, had a friend who was looking to relocate. From my first conversation with Clifford Parris, it was respect and admiration, and that has only continued. Under Clifford’s direction on the bakery side and with Lexie’s skill at decorating, at 20 years since it first opened Tony’s is flourishing.

A busy bakery requires many sets of hands. Mary Ann runs the show behind the scenes. She’s been with us for years and we all count on her to make everything go so smoothly. Lexie and Brittany work with Mary Ann in what we call the finishing room, where the cakes and pastries are assembled and decorated. Brittany has become our expert on tempering chocolate and makes the salted chocolate caramels.

There is a whole separate team that handles the baking itself. Overnight, Curtis bakes the bread and Lynn handles the breakfast baking. They’re the reason you have fresh scones at 7am and fresh ciabatta rolls in Ridgway every day! Clifford, Santos, and Patricia are the bakers during the daytime responsible for the scratch-made cakes, the key lime tarts, the cake layers that go into the chocolate almond tarts, and – most proudly on their part – they are behind of all of the galettes sold at Tony’s and on Ridgway’s dessert menu.

I love working with this crew. We’re constantly working to perfect our recipes. No more so than with baking’s most simple but most challenging recipe: short pastry dough, or, in layman’s terms, pie crust! When Clifford first arrived I showed him my personal technique, which floored him. Admittedly my method goes against all standard baking beliefs, but Clifford accepted the challenge and over the past year we’ve made something really special.

For your own peace of mind, I won’t tell you how much butter we use, but just trust us that it’s worth it! Our guests in the bakery love it. The guests at Ridgway who enjoy the Apple Galette love it. And I, the old baker, am so proud of his kids.

Stop by Tony’s and see why people come from all over town for our pastries, cookies, and cakes. If I’m there I’m happy to provide a recommendation. Better yet, spend the next weeks and months sampling and find your personal favorite. In my family, we like to call that “market research.”

Your Friend,

Tony

Around the Restaurant

As much as Tony Ridgway likes to talk about food (and that’s a lot!) he’s equally at home talking about his garden. Not only is our beautiful garden along the western side of the restaurant a truly delightful place to spend an hour or two enjoying a fine meal with loved ones, it is also a product of Tony and Wynne’s direct efforts and tender loving care. Starting in the fall each year, they go about cleaning up the summer’s growth and planning the new planting for the winter season. Half the fun is picking out the flowers and colors, and the other half is the planting itself! And the pay-off comes this time of the year when everything is flourishing, and the garden is at its best. The next time you make a reservation, let us know if you’d like to reserve a table in the garden. We venture to guess it might become your preferred spot, as it is for Tony, Wynne, and Sukie! As an aside, it’s worth remembering that the garden also makes a terrific venue for your private party!

Join Us and Enter to Win!

Don’t forget about our ongoing gift certificate giveaway! As a sincere thank you to our friends and followers, all active recipients of our emails are entered into a drawing for a $1000 gift certificate to Ridgway Bar & Grill, with the drawing slated for May 1, 2016.

News From Ridgway, March 7, 2016

Ridgway Bar & Grill

Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar

Tony’s Off Third

Sukie’s Wine Shop