sunday night dinner

Located in "SOBO" (south broadway on 1st), the hornet is perfect for some delicious american pub food with a twist. The menu has plenty of options from posole soup, quesadillas, salmon and spinach salad to seared ahi wraps and burgers. I decided on the colorado lamb patty with feta, grape tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms cumin yogurt served in a split pita. Though i asked for medium, it was more on the medium well/well side, nevertheless, the grill flavor was great and perfect with the heaping of sweet potato fries served with chipotle spiced ketchup. My friend jess enjoyed her grilled salmon wrap with feta, greens and a light roasted tomato vinaigrette with a side salad,

Plate score: 9

Sweet action ice cream half a block from the hornet has some interesting flavors, vegan options, popsicles, and ice cream sandwichs

ESB oreo- apparently stands for "Extra Special Bitter" i think she meant to say "beer" there was strange undertone of miller light.... it was weird

Coffee yeti stout- hints of guinness, just a more bitter coffee ice cream.

Not my first choice for ice cream in the city BUT an experience for those with adventurous palates

Plate score: 6

Tamayo

I was disappointed by my meal at tamayo, perhaps my expectations were too high considering my strong liking of Zengo (a sister restaurant by chef richard sandoval). The highlight was the refreshing roasted yellow and red beet salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, orange and watercress tossed in an ancho-pilonchillo glaze. I ordered the the beef tenderloin taco appetizer as my entree.....needless to say it was not very good, the meat was overcooked and flavorless and the panela cheese according to my roommate tasted like dried cottage cheese.... it desperately needed a sauce or a salsa of some sort to bring the flavors together. My roommate's lobster crepe was equally disappointing....not sure if i will make another trip.

Plate score: 5

Marco's coal fired pizza

Upon my return to MCFP, the experience was pleasant but i do have one or two things. I ordered a specialty salad with fresh arugula and basil leaves, topped with roasted local colorado peaches and haystack goat cheese. What was supposed to be a balsamic glaze (also known as a reduction to many) ended up being mostly vinegar, which caught my friend brittany and I quite off guard, enough to clear up any stuffed sinuses.

I distinctly remember the crust being absolutely delicious, plenty of chewiness as well as crispiness, however the main part of the pie was a bit flimsy. I do not blame the pizza makers but the mushrooms we ordered as a topping. As i am sure you know, similar to spinach, mushrooms are mostly made of water, so as they cooked they released their liquids onto the dough. Despite the mushroom issue, the pizza and plenty of flavor and i will return for another soon enough sans mushrooms!

Plate score: 8

Smart tip: mon-fri $9 includes salad, margherita pizza and soda or ice tea! A steal!

Kashi madness

i am not a frozen meal type of person but target is having a kashi sample extravaganza with $1 off coupon when you buy 2 or more products from their collection (frozen meals, bars, cereals). I sampled 4 types of cereal and bars and 3 of their frozen meals for "lunch" today: the lemongrass chicken, southwest chicken and black bean mango. All three are served with some type of whole grain rice pilaf with under 350 calories and 8g of fat. Good for a frozen meal.

All of the kashi products are on sale for $2.88 (normally $3.99 i think) and when you buy 5 in any combination you get a $5 target gift card! that put a smile on my face. Sale ends sunday (9/20)

Forest room 5

After 3 hours of parent teacher conferences, kate and I needed something quick before heading home and collapsing from exhaustion. We decided on Forest room 5 on 15th street right past the REI in the lower highlands, commonly referred to as LOHI.... We had always discussed going out there on the weekends, but the location was always deemed awkward and inconvenient to our partying plans.

It was dark in there, too dark to properly see the menu or each other for that matter but perhaps perfect for drinking and socializing. That was not our goal at all. The menu was large with tapas, salads, sandwichs, pastas and main entrees. I settled on a pear and gorgonzola salad. The salad was pleasant except for what is usually candied pecans or walnuts ended up being roasted peanuts from a jar which perhaps you know is a legume and NOT a nut. I also ordered some the sliders which were 2 top sirloin patties on a mini brioche buns topped with mushrooms, onions and cheddar cheese which i enjoyed much more than the salad

While we were enjoying our food in the dark, there was a video of 2 people having sex being projected onto a the back wall behind the bar, 10 feet by 8 feet of it, it was a little bit much

for a thursday evening.

Plate score: 7

El Tacos de Mexico

When my former roommate jess craved for some "sketchy" mexican, i suggested el tacos de mexico for our wednesday night meal. I had been reading up on this place and was quite excited despite the reviews about the "rude" ladies who work behind the counter. Located on sante fe drive between 7th and 8th, el tacos is housed in a bright yellow bungalow with plenty of outdoor seating perfect for a spring/summer night. The restaurant inside is simple with several booths and a long counter where patrons can oversee their food being made to order. Contrary to the reviews online, the ladies of el taco were very pleasant, working hard to churn out mexican specialties. Jess ordered a chile relleno burrito with rice and beans smothered with green chile. It was literally the size of my forearm. I decided on the taco plate with minced beef tongue sprinkled with chopped onions and housemade salsa with just the right amount of heat. I think my sister would enjoy the beef tongue. Along side the 3 corn tacos was a flavorful side of rice and beans. Overall we were both very happy with our selections and would recommend this place to the those who wish to taste some of the real stuff.

small tip: it's chilly in there so bring a jacket :)

Plate score: 9

Let's get started

So i have been told by countless friends that i should start an online blog about my weird and unnatural obsession with anything food. After many nudges, i decided that this could be a fun way to share my new adventures exploring food websites, tv shows, recipes and of course my favorite: the local and global restaurant scene.

This week:

Harvest Week September 12-18 Local restaurants celebrating the use of local ingredients

New discovery:

Kashi just came out with a delicious new chewy bar: dark mocha almond.....4g of fiber and 6g of protein. YUM!