Deal Yourself a Dining Deal

Dining Deck promotion saves dough and supports independent restaurants

The DINR Deck, a nifty deal cooked up by the Denver Network of Independent Restaurants, is a playing card-style deck that costs $50 and contains 52 cards, each good for $10 off a food purchase of $25 or more. The impressive list of participating restaurants includes some real stars in Denver and environs. Purchase one for yourself and others for gifts and enjoy the savings for months to come. Also, $1 from each deck goes to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Buy online (but you do have to add sales tax and a disproportionate shipping charge or $3.64 per deck) or at the Tattered Cover. If you order online, the shipping charge is waived with four or more, so think about stuffing a lot of stockings with an incentive to dine out in some of the Denver area's top dining spots.

Deal Yourself a Dining Deal

Denver Restaurant Weeks in 2010

Two weeks, two multi-course dinners for $52.80

Denver Restaurant Week 2010 is doubling from one week to two, stretching from February 20 through March 5 to become Denver Retaurant Weeks. Even if you eat out every single night, that's still only enough time to sample a small fraction of the participating restaurants. There were 225 last year, and 100 have already signed up for 2010. Participating restaurants typically offer a multi-course, fixed-priced meal for $52.80 for two, referencing Denver’s 5,280-foot elevation, or $26.40 for one. Last year, with a record 298,200 meals served, about 75 percent of the restaurants extended their Restaurant Week specials beyond the scheduled week of February 21-27, so this year, the second week becomes official.

Denver Restaurant Weeks in 2010

Chef Ian Kleinman Invents "The Inventing Room"

Innovative culinary catering by acclaimed Denver chef

Chef Ian Kleinman, until recently performing culinary magic at O's Steak & Seafood in the Westin Westminster, has set up a catering business called The Inventing Room, he reports "named after the place Willy Wonka thought up his sweetest concoctions." Kleinman sure does sweet and says that he can do ice cream parties for up to 1,000 guests with rich ice cream made with liquid nitrogen with a fabulous selection of toppings. He produces what he calls "the miracle fruit" that can alter the taste buds so that sour tastes sweet for the next 45 minutes of so. Kleinman also does savories of all sorts, using sous-vide, molecular and other cutting-edge techniques for small corporate groups or a gee-whiz party in a private home.

The good news is that Chef Ian will still be preparing these magical meals in the Denver area. The bad news is that we can't just make a reservation at the restaurant and enjoy the magic of the week. I hope he'll be able to catch the eye of some last-minute holiday party planners who want to do something really festive.

He promises a website, but right now, he can be reached right now at 303-319-2592 or catering@theinventingroom.com.

Best of luck, Chef Ian.

Chef Ian Kleinman Invents "The Inventing Room"

Calgary's Blink: A Winner

Fine 21st Century Fare in 1988 Olympic host city

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler are captivating the attention of winter sports fans, but 22 years ago, all eyes were on Calgary. Calgary and Denver are like twins, separated by a friendly border and 800 +/- miles. Both are at the edge of the plains and within sight of the Rocky Mountains. Both grew up on ranching and rail transportation. Both boom whenever oil does and are troubled when the oil industry is. Denver was awarded the 1976 Olympics but Colorado voters rejected them, but Calgary hosted the Games in '88. More germane to this blog, both have matured from steak-and-spuds dining cities to offer interesting and sophisticated cuisine. Case in point: Blink Restaurant & Bar.

Chef Andrew Richardson, a British-born chef was exec chef at the renowned Araxi in Whistler, and his wife Leslie Echino opened Blink a couple of years back, closed it for remodeling and reopened it. Locals tell me it is one of Calgary's best new (and new-style) eateries. Contemporary abstract paintings hanging on old exposed brick walls, a high ceiling with exposed pipes and, polished wood floors and huge white-leather chairs are stylish and classy -- as is the food that comes out of Richardson's open kitchen and Echino's front-of-the-house hospitality.

 
A dozen of us, in town for a speedskating World Cup, went to dinner at Blink. We shared some appetizers while waiting for everyone to gather. I didn't capture images of all of the dishes before the hungry horde dipped into them, but examples of the simple presentations and careful preparation of first-rate ingredients are below. The red wine drinkers had Kettle Valley Merlot, while the wine wine drinkers sipped Laughing Stock Chardonnay -- both from the Okanagan Valley in neighboring British Columbia.

A special starter du jour was this double-baked cheese souffle, which began tilting a tad while we toasted the evening and the new friends gathered around the table.

Asian pear, two kinds of endive, shaved Grizzly gouda and pecans dressed in a light coat of walnut vin and oil.

Silky foie gras (humanely raised, of course) with late-harvest ice wine jelly; triangles of toasted brioche were separately served on another plate.

Like Denver, Calgary is a long way from anyplace that scallops are raised, but these Alaska sea scalops were as fresh, tender and perfectly cooked as any I've had within sight of saltwater. They were served with Hokkaido squash, pumpkin seeds and microgreens.

Alberta beef is rightly famous, though the US -- in its total lack of wisdom, considering the numerous e coli incidents has banned it since one mad cow was traced to a provincial ranch some years ago. The beef special of the day was ordered by a majority of our group. This towering AAA beef tenderloin was sided by Parmesan polenta, Swiss chard and wild mushrooms.

The English sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce at the end of the meal struck me as a perfect balance to the cheese souffle in the beginning. Both were served in shallow soup plates with elegant simplicity and excellent preparation.

It's virtually impossible to go wrong with creme brulee, which every chef or pastry chef does well and tweaks a bit. Blink's is a subtle orange custard with chocolate in the caramel.

Calgary's Blink: A Winner

Early December News Notes

Openings and Endings

The restaurant rapidly taking shape in the location vacated by Boulder's Seven on Pearl now has a name, Circle, and an identity.The food will be primarily American and the prices moderate (mostly under $20), plus a full bar. Steve Abo, whose Abo's Pizza has 17 locations on the Front Range, is branching out with this new enterprise...Meanwhile, just down the street, the Heidi's Brooklyn Deli franchise in Boulder closed quietly at the end of November, but all or most of the 20-odd other locations in Colorado are still open....Elsewhere in downtown Boulder, the b.Side Lounge, a bar, restaurant and 150-seat entertainment venue, is closing after its December 31 New Year's party. Farewell...One of Boulder's most delightful restaurant venues, the long-vacant creekside space at 1724 Broadway (between Arapahoe and Canyon), is slated to re-open as a still-unnamed Australian pub. I hope it's operating by summer, because the site's patio is one of the best in town...Score one for local pizza-holics with the recent opening of a new style of Udi's, a pizza/bar/cafe in Olde Town Arvada. It's a partnership between Udi's bread founder Udi Bar-on and partner/head baker Maurizio Negrini, a third-generation artisan baker from Italy. It's open from 7:30 in the morning till late o'clock in the evening. The specialty is a wet pizza Bianca-style dough that requires a 48 hour fermentation window. Udi's artisanal breads has grown into Udi's Foods, including includes a sandwich catering business, an artisan bread bakery, a pastry shop, five casual restaurants, Udi’s Natural Artisan Granola and the new Udi’s Gluten Free line of baked goods...If Circle is opening fast, the very-long-anticipated Denver gourmet pizzeria called Kaos has finally opened. I think the original place was spring of 2008! Kaos also crafts wood-fired artisanal pies in standard and unusual flavors, plus salads, pasta and panini, and like Boulder's forthcoming Australian pub, it has a great patio.1439 South Pearl Street, Denver; 303-733-5267...Also open and serving pizza, -- East Coast-style, hooray! -- is Ernie's. Actually, I should see it's reopening, because the original Ernie's debuted in 1943. The reborn pizza-plus Ernie's Bar and Pizza at 2915 West 44th Avenue (at Federal) has an extensive, informal menu and also serves 30 beers on tap and 32 beers by the bottle. The phone number is 303-955-5580..Meanwhile, Gelazzi has closed its1411 Larimer Square location, but a sign in the door says that are still open down south at University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway and up north in Old Town Fort Collins. The sign also promises a new location. Let's hope...Elsewhere, ZG Grill at the base of Aspen Highland has closed....For more such eatery news, go to Westword's November list of "Open and Shut Cases."

Boulder Booze News

Evan Faber, formerly head of the wine program at the nearby St. Julien Hotel (incl;uding Jill's Restaurant and the swank T-Zero lounge), has joined SALT as beverage director. Happily, SALT has extended its happy hour until 6:00 p.m. It originally ended at 5:00. I wondered what that was all about! SALT is at 1047 Pearl Street, Boulder; 303-444-7258....Two local bartenders have co-founded the new Colorado Bartenders Guild, the first statewide chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. Bryan Dayton of Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine and Mike Henderson of TAG in Denver have launched the Colorado branch, including a three-tier master accreditation program...And if you want to learn to mix your own the way the pros do, check out the monthly classes at the Happy Noodle House's Bitter Bar: December 5, Perfect Holiday Party Cocktails; January 16, El Amor Cocktails; February 20, Classic Cocktails; and March 13, Brunch Cocktails. Mixologists James Lee and Mark Stoddard conduct the classes, which are from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and cost $25 per person for two cocktails, three recipes and a gift from the bartenders. Reservations at 303-442-3050. The address is 835 Walnut Street, Boulder, but for these classes, use the back door.

Denver's First Gastro-Cart

If you cross-breed gastropubs, a current culinrary rage, with food carts, of which Boulder has quite a number on Pearl Street and downtown Denver has relatively fewer, you come up the Gastro Cart, which rolled out early last month to a location just off the 16th Street Mall on the corner of 18th and Curtis streets. Bryan Hume and Mike Winston, both formerly at Table 6, prepare high-toned street food.  Click here for a rundown of some of their dishes from Westword's Kate Kennedy.

Salute to Escoffier at The Broadmoor

The eighth Annual “Salute to Escoffier” Weekend, January 29-31, launches with a “Taste of The Broadmoor” welcome reception Friday night. Saturday is filled with cooking demonstrations by The Broadmoor's award-winning restaurant chefs, a wine luncheon with the dishes guests saw demonstrated and an interactive cocktail class from the dynamic beverage team at Summit restaurant and finally the dazzling Grand Buffet. This gourmet spectacle features a progressive dinner of five separate courses with more than a hundred varied offerings. To truly honor Escoffier, fine wines and champagnes to complement the courses. Broadmoor entertainers Ken Miller and Lila Mori perform, and there's a live auction too. This event, the only one of its kind in America, benefits the Education Fund of the Colorado Restaurant Association and The Broadmoor’s Culinary Apprenticeship Program and Scholarship Fund.
Reservations are now available starting at $449 per person for two nights' lodging and all Salute to Escoffier activities.


Aspen Food & Wine Classic Tickets On Sale

Tickets are on sale now for the 28th annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, June 18-20, 2010. The big kahuna of Colorado food events attracts a who's-who of the culinary community. The star-chef  line-up includes veterans Mario Batali, David Chang, Giada De Laurentiis, Thomas Keller and Jacques Pépin along with first-timers Art Smith and Tim Love. It is three days filled with demonstrations by celebrity chefs, seminars with renowned wine experts and the TV-style head-to-head chefs competitions. Then there's the Grand Tasting Pavilion, where attendees can taste scores of wines and talk to winemakers and vintners from around the globe. Tickets are $1,085 before March 15, 2010 and $1,185 thereafter. Keep in mind that this past June, for the first time, the organizers sold $250 tickets for only the Grand Tasting, and it is possible that this might be an option again. The magazine is donating 2 percent of the proceeds from every Classic ticket sold to Grow for Good, its initiative for supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture. Register online or by calling 877-900-WINE. Use your American Express card and get $35 off.

Junk Junked

I can't say that I'm sorry to learn from EatAspen that developer Scott DeGraff's Las Vegas-style razzle-dazzle of Junk (an unfortunate name for something that was conceived of as a gourmet self-service restauant) and Liquid Sky (a club with the wrong name and the wrong concept) have tanked at Snowmass, and that Junk at the Red Onion in the heart of downtown Aspen won't happen. I still mourn the loss of the iconic Red Onion, which was established in 1892 and closed for good after the 2005-06 ski season. DeGraff started gutting it about two years ago. His legacy to Aspen is one big mess, and this isn't the place to discuss the financial and legal problems that Snowmass Base Village developer Pacific WestPac is in. Its parent company boasts about its award-winning projects elsewhere, but for some reason, does not see fit to put its headquarters address on its website. Let's just hope for better times for the old Red Onion and for Snowmass.

Early December News Notes

Arugula: Northern Italian in North Boulder

Refined flavors, presentation and service at Arugula Bar e Ristorante

I intended to post this First Bite Boulder report right after my husband and I went there on November 20 for our second FBB night, but I got way far behind in posting. So here it is, a little late -- but the memory of a fine dining experience does linger.

We had advance reservations with friends for Saturday, Nov. 14 (Sugarbeet in Longmont, click here for our experience) and for Saturday, Nov. 21 (Trattoria on Pearl, click here), but with a fairly full calendar in between, we had no other plans for this annual eatathon. When my husband came home from work on Friday, we impulsively decided to see whether we could snag a last-minute table at another restaurant we love. The line was busy when I phoned Arugula Bar e Ristorante, so I left a hopeful message. Paul Shuler, who captains the front of the house for his son, owner/chef Alec Shuler, called back in a couple of minutes and said, "You're in luck. I was on the phone taking a cancellation." Joy!

Arugula's FBB formula is a little different from the rest. The $26/three courses pricing is the same, but rather than one each starter/entree/dessert, they generously offered two dishes from three small plate listings (six Soups & Salads, seven Appetizers and six Primi-Sized Pasta, Gnocchi and Risotto) and then one of six Main Courses. We ordered wines by the glass (Fontannafredda, Briccontanda, Barbera Langhe 2007, and  Le Rote, Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2007). Had we wished to sample more or drink even more modestly, we could have selected half-glasses too, for Argula offers house wines by the 1/2 glass, glass and a variety of carafe sizes to one liter.

Starter/Appetizer Courses

For the first course, my husband and I both selected soups. The beautiful winter squash soup surrounds a dense cranberry/apple/bacon nugget.

The tomato/fennel bisque also appears on the current regular menu. A fennel island is encircled by a flavor float of Balsamic reduction.
 

House-made gnocchi with shrimp comes in a tomato/vodka sauce that is light in texture but robustly spiced. It is a regular menu item, priced at $19, again a reminder of what a value First Bite Boulder is.

Polenta that is soft inside but seared until crisp-crusted is a perfect accompaniment for warm mushrooms and chunks of Gorgonzola. On the regular menu, Gorgonzola mushrooms is one appetizer and seared polenta with lamb is another. The FBB combination was excellent.

Herb-rubbed mahi-mahi is perfectly grilled and topped with a salsa crudo in the classic summer combination of tomatoes, basil and capers that plays well on a cool fall evening too. Haricots verts provide a color and flavor contrast.

My husband ordered the grilled Harris Ranch hanger steak with Marsala/shallot sauce -- but without the

Gorgonzola dulce. He was fine with the toasted red potatoes. On the regular menu, this hanger steak entree is $21.

As I noted earlier, Arugula's First Bite Boulder did not include dessert, but we had to share one to close the meal, making it a 3 1/2-course dinner for each of us. Our choice was the moist Olive Oil Cake served with a wonderful blood orange sorbet, fresh whipped cream, a blackberry and the obligatory mint leaf.

Arugula: Northern Italian in North Boulder

Local Restaurants in Media Spotlight

5280 Magazine makes a list; the Wall Street Journal pays a visit

It's not yet "best of" issue time, but Denver and Boulder restaurants were spotlighted and praised in print, both local and (inter)national.

5280's Best New Restaurants List

The December 2009 issue of 5280 Magazine features words and photos in a cover story by Amanda Faison called "Denver's Best New Restaurants." Her top ten:

• Colt & Gray, Denver 

• Olivéa, Denver

• Salt, Boulder
• Hutch & Spoon, Denver
• Vert Kitchen, Denver
• The Squeaky Bean, Denver
• Arugula Bar e Ristorante, Boulder
• Venue Bistro, Denver
• TAG Restaurant, Denver
• Bones, Denver

Of these, I've only been to three: Arugula, Colt & Gray and Salt. I guess I've got to get out more!

Wall Street Journal Columnist Visits Boulder

A lifetime ago in New York, my path occasionally crossed that of Raymond Sokolov, who was then the New York Times food editor. The Saucier's Apprentice, his exhaustive cookbook about French sauces, is still my go-to source for detailed information and occasional recipes for this culinary category. Ray Sokolov now covers restaurants for the Wall Street Journal, I have lived in Boulder for more than 21 years, and he was here recently, sampling some of the best restaurants in town. Had I but known, we could have traded catch-up gossip over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

He documented his restaurant experiences in a piece called "Rocky Mountain Haute Cuisine" that ran last week in the Journal. In his introduction, he  wrote, "This used to be the hippiest, dippiest town around. The home of a Buddhist university, a public university and Red Zinger tea, over a mile high in the Rockies and also just plain high, Boulder embraced New Age culture like few other places. But a new aroma now fills the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall, and it comes from truffles and saffron, not cannabis. A gourmet revolution has edged out the cultural revolution."

I guess he must have missed the dozen or more medical marijuana dispenseries that have sprung up recently around town, but he didn't miss visiting a number of Boulder's best restaurants. He wrote about the iconic Flagstaff House which is as venerable as Salt is new, and also about Black Cat, Frasca Food and Wine and The Kitchen, bastions of excellent contemporary American and international food plus environmental consciousness in the heart of Boulder. He lauded them all.

Local Restaurants in Media Spotlight