The approach of Woodwright Brewing Co. — from its beginnings as the Dunedin Woodwright showroom, then a brewery, to putting on live concerts in what used to be the late woodworking business’s wood shop — has always been organic evolution. Led by the downtown Dunedin brewery’s recently opened kitchen, Coattails, the inception of an intimate, beer-paired Valentine’s Day dinner is no different.
“We’re letting it all happen organically, and we’re letting people inform us as to what they would like. But, also, we’re willing to stick our neck out and say, ‘Hey, we want to try this. Come enjoy this for a night,’” said Grant Painter, who owns Woodwright Brewing with head brewer Eunice, his wife. “And then if it was a hit, we’ll do it again. If it’s not, then we’ll do something else.
“We’re not really forcing anything — it’s all just kind of evolving.”
Another wife-and-husband duo, Traci Bryant Ferguson and Kurt Ferguson, are the minds behind Coattails Kitchen. Operating out of a custom-built, stand-alone trailer in the beer garden, the chefs specialize in fast-casual Old World street food made with ethically raised proteins and local, organic produce whenever possible.
Kurt and Traci are no strangers to curating adventurous dining events. The couple’s hospitality company, NINA, has previously organized several pop-up experiences, solo and collaboratively with other chefs, including The Raven’s Mike Webb, at restaurants around town. That seasoned track record is good news for the guests of Nuit d’Amore, the inaugural introduction to an ongoing dinner series between Coattails and Woodwright Brewing.
Also hosted inside the old Dunedin Woodwright shop — a rustic setting that Grant says is still used to build various woodworking projects for the brewery, and is quite the juxtaposition for a fine-dining-style spread — the seven-course “Night of Love” at 7 p.m. Feb. 14 is set to showcase aphrodisiacs in honor of the holiday; look no further than items like Wellfleet oysters with citrus pearls and chili oil, or red leaf lettuce salad with Bing cherry, pepitas and chili vinaigrette.
However, dishes incorporating ingredients that might not boost your sex drive, but are sexy in their own way, are also planned.
“There’s other foods on the menu that I just find sexy, you know?” Traci said (arousing eats, after all, are sort of in the eye of the beholder). “So, stone crab — we’re doing a play on stone soup with stone crab and stone fruit. Escargot, also one of those ones that I just love.”
Like the regular Coattails menu, each course is meant to complement the house beer, including Eunice’s Kölsch, Helles, amber ale, altbier and dunkelweiss. While the Fergusons haven’t done much brews-and-bites matching in the past, Traci says their food lends itself to it.
Tickets for Nuit d’Amore — limited to 36 guests dining at a 40-foot-long communal table, which Grant and Co. fashioned, of course — can be purchased online for $120 each. Seats are dwindling fast, but, luckily, additional beer dinners are scheduled for March 14 and April 11.
“With events like this, we get to play with stuff that maybe we can’t always have on the normal menu,” Traci said. “But I think it’s nice that it’s gonna be a special space and environment. We’re thinking about even the music and how that interacts with it.”
Imagine the first feast as a large dinner party, she continued — with a classic record player providing the tunes and all.
Grant added: “A lot of friendships develop here. We pride ourselves on [Woodwright Brewing] being the friendliest place we can possibly make it. It’s friendly, it’s welcoming. We’re inviting people into our home, and that’s kind of what’s being carried into this communal dinner.”
This article appears in Feb 8-15, 2018.
