Open wide…
Jason Quinn’s Playground is about ready to open up shop. According to his Facebook page, Quinn is going to have sort of a soft opening this Saturday, Nov. 5, during the Santa Ana Art Walk. He won’t be open yet but will be letting folks have a sneak peek at his new restaurant. Their grand opening has been set for Nov. 18-20.
Quinn is famous for his Lime Truck, which was featured on the Great Food Truck Race in the Spring of 2011. You can read about his vision for Playground on his new website. Apparently his dad helped fund the new business.
Quinn has assembled a very talented team, that you can read about here. Their team includes Brad Radack, Karl Pfleider, and April Ventura.
Their menu is amazing. Have a look:
Snacks
- “Bread and Butter” $4, Our handmade rolls/Your handmade butter/Garlic
- Caramelized Japanese Snacks $6, Soy-sambal caramel/Shishito peppers/Edamame/Sesame
- Hand Cut “Duck Fat” Fries $5, Foie fat powder/Ketchup salt/Double egg mayo
- Handmade Mozzarella $7, Balsamic tomato marmalade/Basil jellies
- “Steak and Eggs” $12, Chopped filet/Egg-yolk carpaccio/Parmesan toast
- Crispy Fat Back $5, Cinnamon sugar/Chile-lime salt
Medium
- Smoked Trout Benedict $11, House English muffin/Elderflower hollandaise/60° farm egg
- Hamachi Tartare $9, Toasted amaranth seed/Blood orange vin/Avocado
- Asparagus Hot Browns $6, Add Niman Ranch Bacon $2, Grilled toast/White cheddar mornay sauce
- Waldorf Risotto $8, Candied walnuts/Pickled grapes/St. Agur butter
- Handmade Gnocchi $10, Chile verde/Pork belly/Cotija/Cilantro
- Handmade Buccatini $11, San Marzano tomatoes/Fresh Parmesan
- Seared Scallop $9, Curried cauliflower puree/Cauliflower cous cous/Bulls blood
Large
- Playground Burger $14, Wagyu chuck & dry-age ribeye “torchon”/Tomme de Savoie/Maple-bourbon onions
- PEI Mussels $14, Bacon/Caramelized onion/White wine/Housemade crème fraîche/Grilled toast
- Maitake Mushroom Poutine $13, Housemade cheese curd/Roasted maiatake/Shallot confit/Truffle gravy/Fries
- Duck Confit Salad $15, Add Seared Foie Gras $8, 5-spice vin/Candied pistachios/House greens/Cherry mostarda
- Jidori Chicken Wings $12, Orange/Sriracha/Fried rice
- Whole Fresh Lobster $24, 500 degree salt/6 minutes/Olive oil
- Beer Drinking Plate $15 Add Jamon Iberico de Bellota $10, Whatever sounds good to us
Click here to check out their extensive craft beer list.
Playground is located at 220 E. Fourth Street, in Santa Ana. Their phone number is (714) 560-4444. They will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to Close.
Playground is also accepting applications. Download their application here.
A $14.00 burger – I will stick with the Habit burgers – $10.00 total for 2 people with fries and a drink.
Although, the poutine does sound interesting. I haven’t seen poutine on a menu south of Quebec, Canada. This frog is going to have to give that a try.
Junior, while the burger sounds expensive (not compared to some, like Crow Burger or even Crosby, Chapter One or Lola Gaspar), you should save up and try it once. We’re housegrinding fresh Wagyu (Kobe) beef, known for its lusciousness with dry-aged rib-eye, which will add that rich, mature beef flavor. As we grind the combined beef, we maintain its long grain by forming it into a long cylinder of perfect meat called a torchon. This is then cut as patties are needed. We believe that there are sound culinary reasons for maintaining the consistent, perpendicular grain of the meat and we love the mouth feel and texture when we bite into it. So you’ve got the best meat, freshly ground in a painstaking and labor intensive manner in a burger cooked by a chef who puts love into every dish he serves. At least once, it will be worth $14.
Bob Quinn (Jason’s dad and co-owner of The Playground)
Bob – Thanks for the low-down – it sounds scrumpciuos – I will have to try it. I had a $14.00 burger at Zov’s – that one was rank.
Another question – how does a mick come up with the French Canadian dish poutine? Is yours true to the frog canuck tradition?