Good food and sub par service

Encore
I have driven by the Encore at least 10 dozen times since moving to Denver in 2007, but I had never attempted to try this restaurant, which is located on the same block of colfax as tattered cover, twist and shout and the chipotle.  I recently learned that one of my colleague's brother and sister own the restaurant that has garnered good reviews from the denver post, 5280 as well as westword which raved about Encore's fig and pig flatbread pizza.   The menu offers a large variety of dishes from sandwiches and salads to larger meat entrees and pastas.  I settled for the home made tagliatelle with lamb ragu and my friend ordered the mussels and fries.  The thick strips of pasta was cooked al dente and were tossed with the flavorful nice chunks of braised lamb.  The lemon rosemary infused ricotta added a nice creaminess to the dish but was well balanced by the peppery flavor of the wilted arugula.  My friend's mussels steamed with tomato, vodka cream and pancetta seemed to enjoy her dish, particularly the shoe string fries but casually mentioned that she would probably not order it again given the large variety of choices on their menu.

On a side note:  We waited for over 10 minutes for our plates to be cleared after dinner.  I spoke to my friend at school and she was not suprised when i mentioned that the service needed some attention.

Plate score: 8






Banzai Sushi
Located off of leetsdale road in South Denver, Banzai sushi's menu boasts a hundred options of sushi rolls.  I am often skeptical about sushi places that are not as well known with the risk of low turnover rates for their raw fish and as a result the increased chance of food poisoning.  But, my friend had a groupon, so i couldn't say no.  As i stepped into the restaurant, we were greeted by a old japanese lady who cheerfully directed us to the a two top near the sushi bar.  There were several occupied tables on this cold thursday night but by the time we left around 7:30, the restaurant was almost full.  The extensive number of crazy roll options (fish on outside, rice on outside, tempura rolls) was overwhelming so we settled for some classics:  salmon nigiri, california roll, yellowtail and scallion, shrimp tempura roll, avocado roll and salmon skin roll.  The california roll incorporated the japanese mayo and added a nice sweetness to the imitation crab.  The salmon skin was not crispy enough despite the nice assortment of veggies in the maki roll itself. Overall the sushi was fine and I left there with a happy and healthy stomach, but for similar prices and superior quality i will stick to sushi den.

Plate score: 7


TAG
A 9:30 reservation at TAG restaurant in Larimer square is a perfect start to a Friday night in LoDo.  I ordered the Barramundi, an Australian whitefish similar to stripped bass.   The filet was pan seared skin side down served with a tablespoon of mango chutney.  The chutney did not add nor detract from the overall dish but I was fascinated with the roasted sunchokes scattered on the plate.  I was not familiar with sunchokes, also known as jerusalem artichokes but they taste like a hybrid between an artichoke and a potato.  Its starchy consistency was a nice textural contrast to the fish and I've since considered making it for a side dish this christmas.  The lobster sambal (asian chili) butter sauce was smooth and creamy with a spiciness that lingered in the back of my throat and the pancetta added a nice salty flavor  to the sauce but the actual presence of the diced meat was unnecessary.

Other things to note:
The service was sub par.  Our waiter dressed in an ugly and form fitting chrismas sweater let our water glasses run empty for at least 5 minutes before attempting to refill them.  He also forgot one of our dishes and put in the wrong order for another but then proceeded to blame the kitchen saying "those bastards".  Sure, i've been a waitress and I 've blamed the kitchen for my mistakes, however i would not use that language in front of customers.  It could just be me.  I was happy with my food but I think that our waiter should have offered us a complimentary dessert for two of his mistakes.

Plate score:  8


Snooze
Trying to decide when to go to Snooze is a decision in itself.  On the weekends you can expect to wait between 45 to 90 minutes, luckily they have free coffee and a heated patio while you wait.  We decided to head to the ball park location right before 1pm and were pleasantly suprised to only have to wait 30 minutes for our round table booth.  The table decided on the huevos racheros, ham benedict III, the vegetable pot pie and I ordered the tuscano benedict,  We also ordered a single chocolate chip and blueberry pancake to share.  My tuscano benedict was a ragout of white beans, squash, tomato and kale with shredded parmesan served with two poached eggs and the cream cheese hollandaise on the side (by request).  I substituted the french bread with their homemade english muffin and was extremely pleased with the creative vegetarian approach to the benedict.  My only complaint was the benedict stack was served lukewarm where as the plate was curling iron hot ....something doesn't seem right in this scenario.  Serve things at the right temperature!

Plate score: 9


Happy Holidays everyone! my next post will be from the ATL.....aka the dirty south (Atlanta)

Cholon

I truly apprecitate restaurants that embrace fusion cusine (think Zengo and TAG), so I was particulary excited to finally dine at Cholon, which opened in LoDo in early october to rave reviews.  5280 magazine even named it one of its top ten best new restaurants of 2010!  Headed by a  NYC trained chef,  the interior of the restaurants was sleek with an exposed ceiling and kitchen and hand crafted wood tables and bamboo accents.  As we scanned the menu, our waiter handed us a weekday prix fixe option which turned out to be an amazing deal.  It was a steal, $55 for two people considering that an entree is already in the low twenties.  We decided on the kaya toast, pork belly dumplings, butternut squash soup, braised lamb shank, chinese sausage fried rice and one and a half desserts (i'll explain soon enough).  Everything was served family style (thank the Asian cultures!) and was delicious, even the "bread basket" was unique

This is a puffed rice cracker with sesame seeds, served with a spicy tomato jam.  The tamarind (a sweet soy glaze) lamb shank served with roasted peanuts, asian pear and butternut squash puree was flavorful and fell off the bone, but i kind of wished there was more of a sauce for the meat.  The star of the show was the Kaya toast with coconut jam and egg cloud.

It is actually hard to describe the flavor, but the toast (what i assume is brioche) was glazed with some type of lightly sweetened condensed milk, neither of us could taste the coconut.  The "egg cloud" was an emulsion of sorts with a slight saltiness that complemented the sweet flavors on the toast.  My description might seem unappetizing to many of you but if you go to Cholon, you MUST order this!

The dessert was a chocolate molten cake with salted peanut ice cream and homemade marshmallows.  We (well my roommate mostly) complained that the ice cream was too much like eating peanut butter and to quote her, "little man's ice cream would kick this ice cream's ass."  She is a serious ice cream connoisseur.  I on the other hand sweet talked my way to a delicious replacement scoop of vietnamese coffee ice cream.  Sweet ending to fantastic deal!

Plate Score:  8.5

Snarfs

Everything about Snarf's (11th and ogden across the street from whole foods and park tavern) reminded me of pot belly's the toasty sandwich joint found on GW's campus (my college), the east coast and midwest and upon my research texas as well.  The menu is handwritten on a chalk board offering at least two dozen novice (5"), snarf (7") and pro (12") sandwich options.  There were traditional deli choices and some unique combinations such as eggplant parmesan and bbq brisket.  Similar to potbelly's concept, all sandwiches are served toasted with your choice of veggies, classic condiments, oil and "seasoning."  Just as i had anticipated, the seasoning was just an italian blend of dried herbs including basil and oregano.  I was disappointed when they said they didn't have vinegar for their sandwichs.  Doesn't oil and vinegar naturally go together?  The lady offered me italian dressing instead......The sandwich was solid but the star was the crusty french bread that held the turkey, cheese and veggies in place.  The turkey sandwich is not like Masterpiece deli 's turkey sandwich in many ways but nevertheless,  Snarf's offers sandwichs that are definitely one step up from subway and that other toasty sub place....

happy holidays!

the "classic" nativity scene for all you pork lovers......

Bimbimbap!

Unless I am getting my car serviced I am rarely in the south parker and havana area of Aurora.  I have quickly realized it is a small korea town so I researched my way to Sae Jong Kwan, famous for their authentic korean bbq experience (where you are the chef!) for lunch.  I immediately noticed only asian couples quietly enjoying their bento box style lunches which is generally a good sign :)  I ordered the bimbimbap for lunch and for $7.50, it was a great deal.  It came with at least a cup and a half of amazing sticky white rice, tons of sliced veggies marinated in sesame oil and of course the signature fried egg and red pepper paste on top.  It is normally served in a sizzling cast iron bowl which keeps the food warm and crisps up the bed of rice however i opted to go without it and saved $2.  The flavor of the sliced ribeye was sweet and savory from the classic korean marinade of what i assume must include soy sauce, sugar, ginger and green onions.  However, the meat was slightly mushy probably a result of overmarinating which breaks down the  connective tissue in the beef.  The cold side dishes that accompanied my bimbimbap consisted of 3 types of spicy red pepper marinated veggies and tofu, kimchi (the most famous korean dish of pickled and preserved spicy cabbage) and pickled cucumbers and seaweed.  I would have preferred more mild side dishes but the main item was definitely solid.

Plate score: 8