Root Down Green Restaurant Tour

Not long ago a friend, L, and I attended the Green Route Restaurant Tour stop at Root Down. When we got there, we still weren't sure what to expect from the "tour." We thought there would be a tour of the kitchen (which is pretty laughable if you see the size of Root Down't kitchen--plus it's pretty open and you can see it when you walk by it to your table). It turned out to basically be free appetizers and drink specials. Woohoo!

Denver's Green Route, it turns out, is "a green map for the City of Denver, showcasing the cutting edge sustainable businesses and organizations that make Denver a global leader in sustainability." The "tour" was a series of evenings at green restaurants in Denver, featuring free apps and drink specials to encourage people to try a new green restaurant (or re-visit an old one). The tour is over for now, but the Green Route host told me there would be another one this summer, so watch their site for announcements. You do need to reserve a spot and have a pass. Definitely worth attending.


I love the retro decorations of the restaurant. It's in an old garage with doors that can be pulled up when the weather is nice. They have this wall of rotary phones in the bar area (photo courtesy here). They have a similar wall of retro scales in the ladies room, which I took a picture of, but can't seem to find now. Check out this slide show at Metromix for some good pictures of the decor and food.


Green Route served us a number of appetizers including sweet potato fries with a toasted curry-lime yogurt dipping sauce, smoked portobello wontons with leeks, shallots, mascarpone & soy-mint "dunk," and sweet potato samosa "spring rolls," my favorite. Some people were lucky enough to get oyster sliders (but sadly not me). We really liked all of the appetizers. L and I drank “42 Below” rosemary-lavender lemonades, which were refreshing and delicious.

We also had dinner reservations. Our server was super nice and wearing some great jewelry. I commented on one of her rings and it turns out they're her own designs. She takes old vinyl records and other materials and melts them down to make really cool designs. She doesn't have a website yet, but she does sell her items at Eve, Inc. boutique on Larimer. I'm pretty certain the black rings and cuffs here are hers. Just go there and ask for Junky Funk Designs jewelry.

Anyways, back to the food. We shared a nice cheese plate and seared diver scallops with plantain hash, lemon-habanero tartar Sauce & crispy leeks. The scallops were a bit underdone for my taste and the accompaniments were super salty. We each had a different slider plate. I had the hoisin duck confit slider with lemon creme fraiche, shoestring sweet potatoes, and arugula, served on an Udis challah bun. This dish was WAY too sweet for my taste (a common problem with duck dishes, I've found), and L had buffalo sliders with Mongolian BBQ, shitake mushroom relish, and arugula, also served on an Udi’s challah bun with burdock root chips, which she enjoyed.

While I didn't love all the dishes, I still had a great time and would definitely go back--especially for appetizers and cocktails.

The Squeaky Bean

B and I recently had one of the most fun nights out we've had in a long time, with a night out with another couple at The Squeaky Bean. L and I met the guys (our husbands) there. It was loud and packed and they were waiting at the bar and VERY happy that they were drinking "Man Beer," which is a beer from Bull and Bush. When you order, make sure you do so in a very manly voice.



I ordered a "Squeaky Spritz," which consists of Prosecco, Aperol Italian Aperitivo Liqueur, Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water, and is garnished with a Castelvetrano olive. I had to get it because it sounded like such an odd combination withe the olive. It looks like an orange pop (although this pic looks red)--pretty much the color of that nasty orange drink from McDonalds that you used to get in the big yellow and red jugs. Ick. But it was surprisingly refreshing and not too sweet--just the way I like my cocktails. I'd venture to say it's one of my new favorite cocktails, but unfortunately one I probably won't try to recreate at home, due to the unique ingredients. And the olive just...works. Weird. I got the photo to the left from a nice photo essay on The Squeaky Bean from Metromix.






We started off with the Pig Platter and the fonduta. Seriously, how can you go wrong with something called a "pig platter?" And it is served on the cutest wooden pig tray ever. Basically, it was an assortment of cured pork (duh).










The fonduta was made out of gruyere and pureed potato and was served with grilled bread. Decadent and delicious! I could bathe in the stuff. Seriously.










After we got a table we ordered the crispy medjool dates with cambazola and prosciutto--always a crowd pleaser. We also got the burrata, which comes with butternut squash agro-dulce, micro fennel, and grilled bread. This was the only "disappointment" of the evening and it really was quite good. It just didn't stand up to the other dishes. (Plus I'm totally spoiled by Osteria Marco's burrata and should know better than to order it anywhere else).

We also got the roasted cauliflower salad with medjool dates, smoked trout, curry vinaigrette, and parsley coulis. I would never think to order this, if it hadn't been for this post from Denveater. Please go there to see a gorgeous pic of this amazing dish. Cauliflower is just not something that usually interests me particularly. I have nothing against it. This salad elevated cauliflower to a higher level. Although, I suppose if you mix just about any vegetable with medjool dates, smoked trout, curry vinaigrette, and parsley coulis it's going to be amazing, right?

After so many small plates, we got just two entrees to share between the four of us. By this time (ie., after several Squeaky Spritzes--and let's not even talk about the boys and their Man Beers), I wasn't taking pics and not paying attention to the details of the menu, but one had pork belly and one had kobe beef. The pork belly was awesome and the kobe wasn't my favorite as the sauce was really salty. I seem to recall there being a lot of mint and peas on the dishes, since SB focuses on seasonal ingredients. In fact, I swear I could still taste peas the next day. Plus I was ridiculously full all day the next day too!

At some point in the evening I also tried the Tejon Fizz cocktail, which our server described as tasting just like a gummy bear. It's made of Van Gogh pineapple vodka, muddled cardamom pods, fresh lemon juice, a whisper of agave nectar, and club soda. It was definitely sweet and a little too sweet for me. Plus I just liked that Squeaky Spritz so damn much...

I did not see the kitchen, but I've heard that it is very tiny and has only one convection oven. How they put out so many incredible dishes is truly a feat. This is now one of our favorite places in town. Can't wait to go back!

A Dish Here, A Dish There

Seared foie gras with fried bacon bread pudding and fig compote at Solera:



Crappy picture. Great dish.

Ruth Reichl at Tattered Cover April 27

One of my favorite memoirists (and so much more!) will be at Tattered Cover on April 27th to read and sign from her new book. I'll be there or be square.

From the Tattered Cover website:

Ruth Reichl
Tuesday, April 27, 7:30 pm, Colfax Avenue
A former New York Times restaurant critic, editor-in-chief of Gourmet, and the author of three bestselling memoirs, Ruth Reichl will read from and sign the new paperback edition of her memoir For You, Mom. Finally ($13.00 Penguin), her openhearted investigation of the life of a woman she realizes she never really knew—her mother.

Queen Creek Olive Mill, Arizona

My parents winter in Mesa, Arizona, since their WY cabin is too far off the grid to inhabit properly (or pleasantly) in the winter. We recently visited them and they took us to Queen Creek Olive Mill, Arizona's only operating olive farm and mill.

There, they have--in addition--to the farm and mill--a snack bar and shop. The snack bar, del Piero at the Mill, was really quite special.



I had a fantastic antipasto plate with fresh Mozzarella drizzled with fresh basil pesto, artisan cheeses, “Pork Shop” gourmet meats, fruit, roasted vegetables, local pistachios, del Piero Country Olive Mix, and grilled olive bread. I got the plate for one, but it was huge and I shared it with all. I had a glass of chianti with it. B had a sandwich and the boys got nutella and banana sandwiches (the place has kids meals!) with chips and a cookie.

We ate our lunch on their gorgeous, shaded patio area surrounded by herb gardens and lawns.





Don't you like how the olive leaves frame that last picture as if I photoshopped a border? (I didn't.) My only complaint about the place is that "for safety reasons" you can't tour the farm area and see the "real" olive trees. The ones on the visitor's center are all ornamental olives.

The "tour" was short and quick. It started with us seated outside while one of the workers told us the history, etc. of the place. We then moved inside where we got to see the olives being pressed. Here is the "caca," as they called it--or leftovers after the oil has been pressed out of the olives.



Mmmm...appetizing, eh?

But look at these beautiful olives:



We then got to taste the freshest olive oil I've ever tasted (less than 20 minutes after pressing) and a number of their olives.

In the shop, they also have all of their olive oils for tasting. I went a little nuts in the shop. I got truffle olive oil and Mexican Lime olive oil (my favorite--makes fantastic vinaigrette). As a gift for a coworker, I got blood orange olive oil and pomegranate white balsamic vinegar. I also got some sun-baked tomato basil stuffed olives and some Mexican Lime olive oil cakes (these were awesome!). You can order all, but the cakes, through their website.

Here is the recipe for the olive oil cake from their website:

Olive Oil Cake

3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
10 oz. QCOM Mexican Lime Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 oz. milk
2 oz. lime juice
3 tsp. lime zest
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if convection oven). Grease a 10 inch pan. Whisk the eggs, sugar, olive oil, milk, citrus juice, and zest. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Whisk until blended. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour.



Queen Creek Olive Mill was low key and delicious. I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

Denver Restaurant Week Update: Panzano

Last but not least, and a little late since Denver Restaurant Week. Panzano was really doing a nice deal because they offered four, rather than the usual three, dishes for $52.80 (for two people). As you can see on their published menu, they had 3-5 options for each course. They also had $5 glasses of a red wine and $4 glasses of a white, contributing to the good deal.

I started with the "Anatra Mousse con Zeppole," which consisted of duck liver mousse with thyme, parmesan doughnuts and a cranberry maple compote. I've been dying to try this dish ever since I read about it here on Denveater. Check out that link for some good pics too. Who knew that duck could taste so dessert-y? Because this tasted more like a dessert than an app. The donuts were light and a little sweet and a little savory. I believe the duck liver mousse had honey on it (or maybe maple syrup?) and was so creamy. When you put it with the the cranberry maple compote on the donuts, it was totally something I'd enjoy as dessert or as an appetizer.

For the second dish, I had the Truffled Potato Leek Soup. It was my least favorite dish of the night. Not bad, but didn't excite me.

For my entree, I had the Gamberi Griglia: "grilled jumbo shrimp stuffed with Medjool dates wrapped with house pancetta, served over polenta, and topped with gorgonzola cheese." This was a great dish: sweet from the dates, salty from the pancetta, pungent from the gorgonzola (but not overpoweringly). I loved it.

For dessert, I had the lavender Chocolate Pâté with sea salt, micro-basil, extra virgin olive oil, candied orange zest and toasted hazelnuts--quite the plethora of flavors! Yet, somehow it all worked. I've had a lot of things with chocolate, but not basil. I guess I shouldn't be surprised it worked, since dark chocolate and basil are two fo my favorite things. It was a small slab of chocolate, but was so rich and flavorful, you wouldn't want more. I could barely finish it!

Our server was great. Very friendly and helpful.

It's hard to choose which was better for DRW--Rioja or Panzano--if it hadn't been for the entree meats at Rioja they'd "win." I guess I'll leave it at they both were fantastic and a great deal for $52.80.

Denver Harvest Week - Black Pearl Report

Last Saturday we got a sitter and headed on over to Black Pearl restaurant to celebrate Denver Restaurant Week. They have a nice, cozy space. We sat in the loft area, which was crowded and warm, but overall pleasant none the less.

B was disappointed that they changed their published DRW menu and didn't have the short ribs. What was annoying was that the problem wasn't that they didn't have the short ribs, they just moved them to their "tasting menu" which was a (little) more expensive ($33) and had different choices for the other courses, which he didn't want. They also replaced with the buffalo chili with a curry carrot soup.

I, however, was happy with the changes. The soup was A. MAY. ZING. I could have licked my bowl. I got the cassoulet and B got the snapper (which replaced the short ribs). We both liked our entrees, but switched half way through, because we like the other's better.

For dessert, we shared the two options: a "Butterscotch" Pot de Creme with a chocolate cookie, which wasn't very butterscotchy--more like a custard--but was very tasty; and a cheese plate, which was small, but an okay size for me (and for a DRW menu).

Our server was very nice. There was a snafu with our bread, but she was so nice it didn't matter. BTW, they serve their bread with butter that has a smoky-flavored salt on it. I've seen this salt (or something similar) at Savory Spice Shop and almost got it. Now I definitely have to stop in and pick some up. Yum!

After dinner, we stopped in at Pearl Martini Lounge, above India's Pearl, for one drink. I had a cardamom martini, which was downright nasty, even though I love cardamom and martinis. The cardamom was just too concentrated and perhaps they're too tastes which don't go together). However, it was a nice space and the smell coming from India's Pearl was amazing. We'll be heading there soon, fo sho.

Denver Restaurant Week Update: Steuben's

We hit Steuben's up for Denver Restaurant Week, because a) it's a place we can take the kids and b) I've been wanting to try their lobster roll. For $52.80 (for two), you each get a big bowl of clam chowder, their lobster roll, pudding, and a Sam Adams. They list "R.W. Pudding" on their published menu, which is a butterscotch pudding, but the night we went, they also had a chocolate pudding. These are all items on their regular menu, except the desserts (I think).

The clam chowder was decent but not thrilling. The lobster roll is served on grilled, buttered Texas Toast and I liked it very much, but B wasn't thrilled. Here's a picture from Westword's Cafe Society:



I had the off-menu chocolate pudding which was salted and had a hint of chile. If you don't like salt with your chocolate, you wouldn't like this, because it was uber-salty. But I must admit I like it that way. The meal itself was pretty darn salty. Our server was not the friendliest I've ever had, but adequate.

The highlight of the meal was the Scorpion Bowl--or as B and I like to call it, the Flaming Moe--which was not this:



but the possibly even more exciting this:



This is for 2-4 people, people--we had 3 and there was more than enough to go around. It's hard to tell in our picture, but that center well is filled with 151 Rum and FLAMING! The drink is 48 whopping ounces and consists of Myers's Original Dark Rum, Three Olives Cherry Vodka, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, pineapple juice, OJ and cranberry juice (in addition to that flaming Bacardi 151). At first sip, I thought, ick. But the more you drink that baby, the better it tastes!

Denver Restaurant Week Update: Rioja (and a little TAG)

The first night of Denver Restaurant Week we went to Rioja. Their DRW menu featured many of its regular items, but some with an upcharge. I started with some kind of pear/almond cocktail that was thick, since it had pear puree in it, but was delicious. They brought around their bread. One thing that Rioja does especially well is homemade breads and crackers. A server brings around a large basket of bread with several choices. I had the lavender sourdough and goat cheese-rosemary bread. I LOVE that lavender sourdough. I mentioned it before when I posted about Rioja's Sips and Snacks. I'm afraid I did not get pictures, so here is one from kevinEats.



For our appetizer, we got the Rioja “picnic” to share--a trio of artisan meats (prosciutto, soppressata, and salami if I remember correctly), gorgonzola, olives, almonds, truffle fennel salad, orange confit, and sweet goat cheese balls with pine nuts that were battered and fried. It came with homemade crackers. It was all delicious, but the salad, confit and goat cheese balls were out of this world. It's an appetizer for two and quite filling. I love me a meat/cheese/ snack plate and this one was exceptional. Here is a picture from Meal Makeover Moms.



Before I get to the entrees, let's talk about dessert. You got to choose one dessert to share for their DRW menu (I don't know what they do if only person orders the DRW menu). We got their famous beignets--sweet goat cheese and black mission fig filled pastries served with a ruby port wine reduction. These beignets were on Denver Magazine's "100 Things You Must Eat in Denver" and rated the highest of that list on Must Eat Denver. Here is the latter's picture:



They definitely live up to the hype. Oh my, the texture. They literally melt in your mouth--it's not just a cliched saying in this case. They have a light crispy outside that starts melting away almost as soon as you put them in your mouth, revealing the sweet goat cheese. There is not an overpowering figgy taste. The figs just add a little more sweetness to the beignet. I swear their little pillows of heaven and may be one of my all time favorite desserts. My only complaint is that there were only 5 in the serving and that wasn't enough to share! If you go this week, order an extra one. You'll be glad you did.

For our entrees, I got the Muscovy duck breast with saffron manchego risotto, pistachio pine nut stuffed Medjool dates, a saffron almond cracker, and spiced citrus jus for a $7 upcharge. I was so looking forward to this and was so disappointed. Everything on the plate was amazing, except for the duck, and sorry, but the meat of your entree is kind of an important part of the meal. The duck was ridiculously tough and chewy. I couldn't cut or chew through it and finally gave up on it (I was afraid it would fly across the room while I tried to saw through it! BTW, Rioja, you need sharper steak knives). The risotto was great and tasted comfortingly like cheesy rice a roni, haha, and I mean that in a good way. The pistachio stuffed dates were sweet and nutty and I would love to try to make something like that for a party appetizer someday. The cracker was so good. And I don't usually get excited about crackers!

B had the Colorado lamb two ways for a $4 upcharge: grilled t-bone, house made lamb merguez sausage, crisp couscous pillows, caramelized fennel, tomato coulis, and preserved lemon yogurt. He was also disappointed. The sausage and couscous "pillow" was very good, but the grilled t-bone was gristly and also hard for him to cut. Bummer! This dish was pictured in the Denver Post article about Rioja recently:



Because the entree meats were so disappointing, we can't help but wonder if they used lower quality cuts for DRW. Or maybe we just got unlucky. Perhaps we have "sucker" stamped on our foreheads? I'm kicking myself for not saying anything. I don't know what I was thinking. So really I'm to blame as much as the kitchen.

But for that complaint, we still had an incredible meal. Everything else was so outstanding, including the service, that it more than made up for the one downside. The rest of the food really was ridiculously good.

I must add a little side note too. Prior to Rioja, we stopped in at TAG next door for a quick cocktail. They were busy, but there was room for a bar. They have the most amazing mise en place for a bar that I've ever seen (Is that term used for bars too? I think so). Check it out:



They had numerous fresh herbs, like thyme, cilantro, mint, etc. They had homemade tonic and grenadine; Little droppers of homemade bitters; and who knows what else. It was gorgeous and so cool! Our bartender was incredibly nice about all my questions and even explained how to make tonic, since I noted that I didn't realize real tonic is not clear and bubbly. To make it, basically you take a bunch of herbs and citrus juice, boil it up, and strain it, and add some sugar. Here's a recipe I found on the web. I don't know how close it is to TAG's recipe, but it'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

I had the Full Monty with gin, brandy, lemongrass/coriander syrup, and lemon. It was garnished with a cucumber slice and the bartender carefully placed some coriander seeds on the slice with forceps. So pretty! And delicious, of course. The bartender noted that this drink will be (or has been?) entered in a Hendrick's gin contest. I can see it as a winner. I definitely can't wait to go back to TAG for more than just drinks.


Postscript: The great thing about a restaurant like Rioja is that it's so popular people take pictures of their food and post them on the web. Thanks to all whose pictures I used. I'm never sure of the etiquette of using other pics on the webs, but if any site owners have a problem, let me know and I'll take them down. I enjoyed reading all your posts.

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!

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.



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.



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.



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).



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.

Ethnic Eats in Golden Part 2 - Empanada Express Grill

More recently, another ethnic restaurant opened up in Golden, Empanada Express Grill, which serves Venezuelan food. It's a tiny little restaurant on the end of a strip mall, and it was soon packed after we got there.

I first heard of it on Westword's Cafe Society. Apparently it used to be in a trailer and recently graduated to a more permanent home. I haven't had much in the way of Venezuelan food other than the americanized version of an empanada. But the flavors are familiar and I think even my kids might like the food--corn cakes, beans, plantains, cheese, etc. The food is inexpensive too. I got the most expensive thing on the menu, the "Taste of Venezuela" so I could try a lot of different things, and it was still only $10.99. You could eat a nice sized meal for $7 or so.

I broke my camera this week, so all I had was my blackberry. I think the Barbara Walters "soft light" effect is due to some lint on the lens, haha. If you know of any good deals on small, but decent quality cameras (I need one that I can carry in my purse at all times), let me know.



On this plate, you see clockwise from top: an arepa, a cachapa, two tequenos, some fried plaintains, and an empanada.

Empanadas are shaped like a turnover and made of corn meal. They let you choose any of their numerous fillings for the combo plate. I got the Reina Pepiada filled with white cheese, chicken salad and avocado. Arepas are also made of corn meal, but are circular corn cakes sliced in half and filled to make a sandwich. I got the La Gallina filled with shredded chicken, black beans, white cheese and sweet fried plantain. They were both good, but I definitely preferred the gallina over the chicken salad.

Tequenos are wheat flour dough sticks surrounding a melted white cheese center. Cachapas (Arepas De Choclo) are a Venezuelan pancake made with sweet kettle corn and served with melted cheese and butter.

They also serve fresh juices and I got the lime juice, served like a limeade. It was sweet, sour, and delicious. Definitely worth the $3. Unfortunately, they don't have a liquor license. The food would be so good with a beer!

I hope to return soon, explore the menu some more, and hopefully get some better pictures.

Ethnic Eats in Golden Part 1 - Sherpa House

I hate to say it, but Golden has long had a dearth of good dining. Restaurants come and go fairly quickly and many have had poor service, food, or both. But things are changing.





Earlier this year, Sherpa House opened up, serving Himalayan food (Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian). It's located in a little house on Washington Street. When you first walk in, you're struck by its decor, as it also serves as a cultural center and is decorated as "an authentic representation of a typical Sherpa house in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal," complete with shrine.



There's a collection of photographs of Nepal and even a Yeti replica (that's my little ham).



Speaking of yetis, I recently received an email from them that they are hosting "Yeti Night in Golden" next Saturday, Oct. 15th. From the email:

"An exciting event is taking place in Historic Down Town Golden CO. On Saturday Oct. 15 2009, a group of big and small YETIS (ABOMINABLE SNOWMANS) will be walking through the Historic Down Town of Golden, CO. It will all start from the American Mountaineering center in Golden and end at Sherpa House Restaurant and Cultural Center. The event will start at 5:30 pm at the Mountaineering Center with a Yeti custom making contest. The winner will not only get some prizes, but also get a free dinner at Sherpa House. There will be story telling about the legendary snowman (YETI) and participants get to see the mountaineering library and museum. Once the contest is done, around 7:00 pm, all the Yetis will be walking to Sherpa House Restaurant for a party (five minute walk). Everyone in costume will get a discounted dinner and buy one get one drinks free. Free chai tea for every one."

The patio is lovely too and a fantastic place to hang out on a warm day. It's decorated with prayer flags, tibetan art, and a garden. They serve Golden City Brewery beer, another plus and great for patio-sitting.







But how is the food? Excellent! I always start with the chicken momo (they also have veggie and beef momo)--steamed dumplings with spiced, ground chicken, served with a spicy tomato dipping sauce:



One favorite entree is the Daal Bhat, a "traditional Nepali platter of rice and lentil soup served with a vegetable side dish and a Naan bread. Choice of vegetable, chicken, beef, lamb or yak meat." Yes, they serve yak! They have a number of dishes that you can get with yak. B ordered it once and it wasn't bad. The daal bhat comes with rice, lentil soup, steamed vegetables, and the entree in a curry sauce. A server told me one should mix it all together.

As it comes:



All mixed together:



Other favorites are the Chicken Tikka Masala (tender boneless chicken pieces broiled in a traditional clay oven and cooked in tomato, onion and cream sauce) and Chicken Makhani (marinated chicken pieces barbecued in a traditional clay oven and cooked with onions, tomatoes in a cream sauce). The descriptions, tastes, and even looks are pretty much the same, but both are good.

The Tikka Masala:



and the Makhani:



Occasionally, they'll have fish specials featuring tuna or salmon. I've had the salmon one and it was great. The sauce was so delicious. This picture is so yellow because we were sitting under a yellow awning at the time.



One thing we like about Sherpa House is that it has a kids menu, something which isn't always so common in ethnic restaurants. My 5 year old loves the momos, but my picky 7 year old sticks to the mac 'n' cheese (sad, isn't it?).

One of My Favorite Meals of the Year

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, and since I've waited so long, you only have one more chance to get this meal: this Saturday.

We like to go to Golden's Farmers Market on Saturdays--the last one is this weekend, until next year. There is a tortilla stand there that sells tortillas and frozen tamals and meals, including quesadillas, burritos, tacos, and my favorite: pupusas. Pupusas are from El Salvadore and are a thick corn-based tortilla or flat bread, stuffed with goodness. I prefer the pork and cheese-filled ones from this stand. They serve it with a side of salsa and a salad of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and chiles.

Get your pupusa (or other treat--I've tried the burritos, tamals, and quesadillas, and they're all good) to go. Then hop on over to nearby Golden City Brewery, where you can order a beer and sit at one of the picnic tables with your lunch. Recently they've had a seasonal brew that I adore called Golden Gose. Gose beer is a beer I'd never heard of--a wheat beer brewed with coriander and salt. GCB serves it with a shot of raspberry. Sounds gross, but is delicious! Truthfully, I can't taste the coriander and salt really, but the beer is light and perfect for a summer's day--it doesn't even really taste like beer. And it just happens to pair with the pupusas perfectly.

Another great thing about this perfect meal is that you can take the kids. Mine get hot dogs from the Farmers Market and buy a juice or pop at GCB. There's even a wooden train for the kids to play on at GCB. My boys love it.

In my picture of my perfect meal, you can see the wipes we brought for the kids and even a juice bag (or joosh bag, as we like to call them) in the upper corner. Shown here is my delicious pupusa with salsa and salad spread all over it--the best way to eat it, a pint of Golden Gose and some samples of other brews, which GCB is always happy to let you have.



So get on over there this Saturday! Maybe you'll see me.

ETA: and here are pictures from the last weekend (pardon the fuzzy camera phone quality). Gose is probably still available at GBC, so you can still check it out. I talked to the woman at the pupusa stand and she said they want to open a restaurant but don't know where or even what it will be called. So hopefully they'll be back at Golden Farmers Market next year.

Colorado Mountain Winefest

Last weekend B and I went to the Colorado Mountain Winefest in Palisade as an early celebration for our anniversary (11 years on 10/2). We did this as a sort of follow up to our big 10 year anniversary trip to Napa/Sonoma last year.

It was packed! This will give you a little sense of the crowds.



This display of t-shirts gave me a giggle.



There were 52 wineries there each with numerous wines to sample. It was overwhelming! We hit the first table and tried each wine. We did the same at the second table. Then we realized that this strategy was not going to work--in fact it was a recipe for disaster! So from then on we only tasted award winners and wines that caught our eye. And we still tasted a lot. We also dumped anything we didn't immediately like. I hate the thought of wasting wine, but I was a dedicated dumper. I don't even know how much wine we must have consumed and dumped--bottles probably. By the end of the day we were definitely wined out. A good way to be! The festival was great for people watching too--especially as the day wore on. I generally hate crowds, but I didn't seem to mind it this day. I guess the wine put me in a good mood.

In our opinion--which is certainly not terribly knowledgeable, we just know what we like--Colorado does white, sweeter wines well, like Rieslings and Gewurztraminers. It does not do reds so well. The only red we bought was from Denver's own Balistreri winery. We ended up coming home with 15 bottles (3 were a gift). More on those later in this post.

On Friday, we visited St. Kathryn Cellars and Confre cellars (in the same building), the first tasting room off the road. It was the only one we went to before the festival, because we got to Palisade just a few minutes before 5 pm. The wines there were not our favorite, and they seemed to focus on fruit flavored wines, which I'm usually not too fond of. But there were a lot of wines to taste, so it's worth a stop if you're in Palisade.

We stayed in Grand Junction and tried a few restaurants in GJ and Palisade, but none that really excited us. On Friday, we tried Inari's in Palisade. The high point was sitting at our table under an umbrella in a hail storm (and sunny!). We were excited by the sample menu online which included "Southern Fried ½ Rabbit With edamame succotash and potato" and a "Colorado Leg of Lamb Braised for 9 hours with tomatoes and red wine." Yum! But the current menu had nothing like this and was fairly uninspired. B got a ho hum pasta bolognese and I got an even more ho hum fish cake dish. Here's my cutie:



And our calamari starter. It was okay. That "aioli" next to it tasted a lot like thousand island. That's a Colorado wine next to it, of course!



B's half eaten bolognese. I never got around to taking a picture of my dish. You can see the hail in this pic, which is why I'm posting, since it's not a particularly pretty table pic.



After we hit the town of Palisade. First we stopped at Peach Street Distillers, where they make all manner of booze: vodka, gin, brandies, and Colorado's first bourbon. They make everything from Olathe sweet corn. You can sample their wares and buy a number of mixed drinks, which they quaintly serve in jars. B had a bloody mary and I had a gin drink. Here you can see our drinks and the brewing casks (is that what they're called?).



This is not the best quality picture, but it shows the distillery's kitty, who was very friendly.



Check out these gorgeous bottles of pear and peach brandy. Yes, that's a pear in the bottle. There's grappa pictured too. The pear tasted like it needed to develop a bit more, but I think it will be quite good. And that bottle is beautiful! Look for the handmade beads in the shape of pears and peaches hanging from the bottle.



Here's the Colorado Straight Bourbon, "Colorado's first bourbon," also with a handmade bead. I bought a bottle.



As you can see, the distillery made me very happy.



The bar tender was very friendly and suggested we go meet her boyfriend who was tending bar at Palisade Brewery just a few buildings over. The beer there was quite good. Like the dragon decoration?





Later that evening we checked out 626 on Rood in Grand Junction for some late night snacks. The lighting was bad so I didn't get worthwhile pictures and the service was lacking, but the snacks were tasty. We got the seared Foie Gras with caramelized blood orange and Cointreau Noir sauce--the sauce was a little too sweet, but otherwise it was a good dish--and the cheese fries with white truffle oil and French sea salt--hard to ruin those and they most certainly did not. Yum!

On Saturday evening (after the festival), we went to Bin 707 Food and Wine, where we did NOT have any wine (we were actually sick of it). It was okay.

On Sunday, we visited wineries. We started out with a tasting at Whitewater Hill Vineyards. We particularly liked their Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, and Zero Below, which I believe is an ice wine.

We then headed to Carlson Vineyards Winery.



My mom had asked me to buy them some of their Laughing Cat Riesling, saying it's one of the only wines my dad likes. It is really quite good, but I thought their Laughing Cat Gewurztraminer was fabulous. They had kitties in the winery too!

I know I said earlier that I don't generally like fruit flavored wines, but I really liked their Cherry Wine, which is made with pie cherries and tastes like it. They served it in a glass whose rim was dipped in chocolate and together they were just like chocolate covered cherries! They sold the wine with or without some meltable chocolate from Enstroms. I bet you can guess which one I bought.

We headed over to Plum Creek Winery, where we got a nice tour in addition to the tasting. Our tour guide, who takes care of the wines (can't remember what the title is), was really knowledgeable and was so nice. We joined the tour late and after he took just the two of us and "re-did" what we missed. Now that's some service!



I got some pictures of the vines and grapes too. That background scenery sure is different from California wine country.







Last but not least, we visited Garfield Estates winery, a small but lovely little place. Here's B here, showing his love for wine:



On our way out of town, we stopped at one of the roadside "stands" and bought a half bush of peaches (which I just put up today), some peach syrup, and some honey. This is from another stand down the road, but it was just too cute.



And last, but not least, a very Colorado picture of B at a rest stop we stopped at in Eagle. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the aspens! But they were in full swing. Gorgeous! It was a great weekend. Happy anniversary (early), honey!