Monday, February 22, 2010

What's in Season...NOW...Where YOU Live

This is a cool site that foodista posted on Twitter:

http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/

You input your state and the time of the season it is and it tells you what local produce is available specific to you right now.

For example, in CO right now (late Feb.), the following are available:
Apples*
Onions *
Pinto Beans
Popcorn
Potatoes

* Indicates availability from local hothouse or storage

There's also a full year list available, so you can plan ahead.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Denver Restaurant Week(s) 2010

In case you live in Denver and have been living under a rock, Denver Restaurant Week (which is actually 2 weeks) starts tomorrow. I love DRW, because it's normally so expensive for us to eat at nice restaurants because we have to pay the added expense of a sitter (which is usually $50 or more). So now, we can get a sitter, but try out a pricier restaurant for only $52.80 for the two of us (granted we usually end up paying much more with drinks!).

Tomorrow night we're going to Rioja, where they will feature most of their regular menu (some of it for an extra cost). Their restaurant week menu is posted on their website under "Events." I've been to their Tuesday night Sips and Snacks before (where we added on an appetizer), but never had a full meal there. Chef Jennifer Jasinski was just nominated for a James Beard award (Best Chef Southwest). Really looking forward to it!

Next Saturday, we're off to Black Pearl--another place I've been meaning to check out forever, but never had a chance to.. You can see the menu at that link.

I may also have a night out with the girls some place. I'm hoping for maybe The Argyll, Ondo's, Parallel Seventeen, Shazz, TAG, The Squeaky Bean (this probably would be my first choice since it's their entire regular menu!), or Venue. How to choose, how to choose? I suppose it will depend on where we can get reservations.

I'm also hoping to convince B that we should take the boys to Steubens (since it is M's THIRD favorite restaurant and all), because we can all go there and I've been wanting to try their lobster roll anyway.

It's going to be an expensive two weeks!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Terroir Restaurant in Longmont, CO

It's embarassing how long ago I had this meal (hint: First Bite Boulder), but it was a meal worth posting anyway.

We decided to trek to a far, far away land called Longmont. While it was a trek, it was also fun to take a mini "trip" for the evening. Terroir focuses on local, seasonal ingredients, so the menu probably changes regularly. While many of the dishes below were available on the regular menu at the time, they aren't now, although there are some dishes that are similar. I went with the recommended wine pairings with the dishes and they did well with the pairings.

For our first course, B had the blue cheese gnocchi made with White Mountain Farm potato, moucou creamy blue, and rosemary. The blue cheese was not over-done and this was our favorite of the starters.

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I had a beet salad made with "My Momma’s Hat" beets (how cute is that name?), Haystack Mountain fresh chevre, candied walnuts, Oxford Garden greens, and a beet vinaigrette. If you love beets this is the salad for you. To me, beets are okay, but just okay. I try them on a regular basis to see if I can figure out the fuss, but I still haven't. This salad was very "beet-y" and was decent, but didn't thrill me. I thought it was a bit over-dressed too. But it was definitely a beautiful salad with the red and gold beets and red dressing.

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My main was the hit of the night--for me at least--it was a bit sweet for B. I tell you, I am still dreaming of this dish. If I ever see it on their menu again, I'm making the trek to Longmont. It was maple-glazed duck confit with spaetzle, Long Family Farm bacon, and brussel sprouts. Heck, even the brussel sprouts were tasty! That can be difficult. Unlike B, I did not think the dish was too sweet. Everyone knows bacon tastes great with maple...yummy salty sweet goodness...but don't think there was anything breakfasty about this dish. It was a hearty and filling true "dinner" dish. I practically stuffed myself trying to eat every morsel, it was so good. If we hadn't been in public, I probably would have licked the plate.

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B had the River Ranch oxtail ragu with house-made papperdelle, winter greens,and gremolata. This also was a nice, hearty dish for a cold winter night (which it was).

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For dessert we had lavender crème brulee, which I really liked. Lavender in a dessert can be overpowering, but this was just the right touch--the lavender really stood out without tasting like a Crabtree and Evelyn soap. We also had a toasted coconut semi freddo, which really did not excite me, but wasn't bad. If they had added some dark chocolate, it would have tasted like an Almond Joy and that would have done it.

There were several hits and no true misses, so if you're up in the Longmont area, I would definitely recommend checking Terroir out.