Patios and Boulder dumplings and scallops

On a beautiful saturday afternoon after five hours of AP biology, i met a friend for a quick and delicious lunch on the patio of  Squeaky Bean for my second visit in the last two months.  You can read my first review here.  Since Squeaky Bean eliminated lunch service effective last week, I was momentarily disappointed that the duck confit sandwich on the lunch menu did not appear on the brunch menu so on the waiter's recommendation I ordered the roast pork sandwich on a crusty ciabatta roll with wilted greens, an amazingly sweet sundried tomato jam and a small cup of butternut squash soup.

Though the pork was not particularly seasoned, it was tender and complemented each component of the sandwich beautifully.  Additionally the butternut squash soup was light with a beautiful maple flavor and topped with microgreens.  My friend's roasted beet salad had a green mild basil sauce with greens and toasted hazelnuts but the her side order of salmon lox was oversalted in the curing process and was inedible alone.

Plate Score: 8

As we walked down the the pearl street mall before dinner, we decided to stop into the fast casual dumpling and noodle bar Zoe Ma Ma on the west end for a quick snack.  We settled for one each of the regular and vegan potstickers, pork sumai and the bbq bun (not in picture).  Despite boasting fresh ingredients, the dumplings tasted anything but that. The skin was too thick, the filling was forgettable and had all been sitting in warmers when we got there.  Additionally the bbq pork bun from Star kitchen would blow Zoe Ma Ma's out of the water.

Plate score: 3



Zolo is part of the same restaurant group as Lola, Jax, Westend Tavern and Centro and I've had several excellent meals at both Lola's and Jax and continue to read reviews on Centro's superior brunch so I was excited to try this place out. 

The three giant scallops were perfectly cooked with a nice crust and came with roasted sunchokes, peas, microgreens, pickled onions with a balanced amount of heat from the spicy chorizo and a light seafood chile broth.  It was hands down the best scallop dish i've had in a while, might even be better than the appetizer scallops from Edge during restaurant week.  On a side note, we shared an arugula salad beforehand and was happy to find that the greens were perfectly dressed with a honey truffle vinaigrette and in my opinion nothing is worse than too much dressing on a salad.

Plate score: 9

Something other than sushi

With a $50 gift card in tow and and a craving for japanese, my roommate and I headed to my perennial favorite sushi den.  We decided we could go a little bit crazy, so apart from ordering a a few rolls (shrimp tempura, kobe beef and rainbow roll), sashimi and a side salad which were all exquisite as usual, I decided to venture away from the sushi menu for the alaskan halibut pictured below.

Though the halibut was overcooked, the sear left a nice crust and the accompanying sides were fantastically fresh.  The miso beurre blanc was perfect with the spears of asparagus, mushroom medley, spinach and the sweet potato gnocchi.  When the plate first arrived, i was looking for the orange variety of sweet potato gnocchi but was surprised to find the asian purple version which was pan fried but remained remarkably light.

Plate score of the halibut entree alone: 7.5

sandwiches, ice cream and vietnamese

Madison street is a local pub serving sandwiches, salads, small plates and bland tacos.  The grilled mahi mahi fish tacos were flavorless and could have used more than sprinkle of salt.  In other words it was forgettable.  The porchetta sandwich was a unique dish with extremely tender slices of italian style slow cooked pork with a mustard herb sauce.  The pork sandwich alone however will not be a strong enough reason for me to return in the near future.

Plate score:  5



I am a loyalist when comes to ice cream and little man ice cream it is at the top of my list.  I am always
willing to give other places a try, mostly to confirm that little man is the best in denver. On my third trip to Sweet action ice cream they had atypical flavors such as guiness milk chocolate ice cream and banana reeses pieces.  I sampled the saigon cinnamon and vietnamese coffee, both were excellent too bad they wouldn't let me have half of each.  I agonized over which flavor i should choose and settled on the vietnamese coffee with flecks of ground espresso beans.  Other interesting flavors included the blackberry lavender ice cream which was interesting, but not good enough to warrant a full scoop.

Plate score: 8




My vietnamese food radar is admittedly pretty limited to Pho 95 and Pho 79 however i ventured to New Saigon on Federal for a new experience.  They have a menu as overwhelming as one you would find at The Cheesecake Factory.  Luckily my friend directed me to the noodle specialities where i settled on the combination rice noodle bowl.  If you have never had one, mine included, grilled steak, pork, shrimp, vietnamese egg rolls, fresh raw veggies and herbs such as cilantro, green onions, sprouts all over a heaping of rice noodles.  It is served with a mild sweet and sour rice vinegar fish sauce which you pour over the noodles.  The entire dish was delicious, the noodles were thicker than the usual rice noodles in pho and the grilled meats were thin, marinated and as my friend described it like wet jerky.  If that turned you off, i'm sorry but it was very so flavorful and well infused.  Vietnamese egg rolls are stuffed with ground pork seasoned with asian spices and like anything fried it was delicious.  At just $7.95, the entire bowl with all of its components was a delicious dinner and could be perfect for takeout in the future.

On a side note they have a large menu of boba teas which are fruit or tea smoothies with black tapioca balls.  I decided on the papaya one because it was advertised to be made with "real papaya"  What came out was papaya powder blended with condensed milk and ice with 2 dozen bobas floating on the bottom.  False advertising.  I mostly review foods so this drink though sub par does not detract from the fantastic meal.

Plate score: 9

Canned veggies?

A perfect view of sloan's lake on a beautiful sunny morning did not unfortunately include a delicious brunch from breakfast on the edge.  My veggie hash which came highly recommended by our waitress was strange and not in a good way.  Th large slices of carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, were mixed with mashed potatoes and warmed on the griddle topped with two eggs over medium....it  had a strange vinegar like taste.  It reminded me of the liquid you find in canned veggies.  The toast was stale and the pancake was dense and chewy.  I will not be returning....I am currenlty 0-2 on my search for a delicious but more importantly a legitimate hash.  Check out my review on jelly for the other hash mishap.

Plate score: 4

Final Wrap Up Restaurant Week 2011 Part 3

Restaurant Kevin Taylor DRW-Menu

Highlights:  It's been exactly 2 years since I dined at Restaurant Kevin Taylor again for restaurant week. The amuse bouche of rock shrimp with green curry and apples was refreshingly light and the curry flavor was subtle.  The pork belly was braised then pan fried to add a layer of crispiness. It was incredibly tender and melted in my mouth and i'm pretty sure it clogged a major artery in the process.    The ginger carrot butter sauce under the seared scallops was rich and delicious.  Creme brulee is never that exciting to me but Kevin Taylor's version was creamy and a had perfectly balanced sweetness.

Second Thoughts:  Chocolate is pretty hard to mess up but the flourless chocolate torte was like a brick.
Plate Score: 8


Fuel Cafe DRW-Menu

Located in the Rino district (aka the middle of no where off brighton and 31st), Fuel cafe has been on my list of places to try since I first moved to denver.  A top 10 best new restaurant in 2007, this place reminded me of rootdown with ikea style furniture.

Highlights: The celery root puree underneath the behemoth of a trout (see below) was smooth with a delicious buttery finish.  That's it.....

Second Thoughts:  When we arrived we were informed that for $52.80, we each got an entree but had to share an appetizer and the dessert.  Not sure who's fault this is (DRW website or a sneaky fuel cafe) but strike one for false advertising.

The goat cheese caramelle (above) were like sealed cannelonis (described by our waitress as wrapped candies) with a red wine reduction sauce and an interesting use of grapes in a savory dish.  This wasn't necessarily the best dish but it gets points for creativity.

The blue cheese biscuits were not what we expected, i'm disappointed we didn't get a picture to help prove my point.  Instead of getting a southern style biscuit with blue cheese and proscuitto baked into something light and fluffy, we were given what was essentially a cheese plate.  Strike two for false advertising.  The small plate had four mini croissant like pastries, shaved proscuitto, a few non spicy cousins of the jalepeno and a hunk of bonrus cheese which upon further research is not even blue cheese!  I'll admit that it was good when you built your own mini sandwich with the saltiness from the meat and the creaminess from the cheese, but hello!?!!?!  you advertised for blue cheese biscuits.

I am not a fan of FALSE ADVERTISING

Plate Score: 6

Restaurant Week Part 2

Duo-DRW Menu

Highlights:  The sweetness from the red wine mustard glaze on the fish complemented the salty and crispiness from the skin of the salmon.  It is hard to mess up chocolate and the flourless chocolate cake was indeed divine.

Second thoughts:  Both the salmon and NY strip came out medium well instead of the requested medium rare and the famous sticky toffee pudding dessert was dense and swimming in a soup of liquid sugar.  The white ganache ice cream had a strange nutty and salty flavor, things i don't associate with white chocolate ganache.  Finally the service at Duo was below average as our waitress was not familiar with the items on the restaurant menu given they were only serving the DRW menu for the next 10 days....

Plate score: 5

TAG-DRW Menu

Highlights: To break up the monotony of watching students take standardized tests for 4 days, i enjoyed a DRW meal at TAG.  The seared kangaroo loin appetizer paired nicely with the lemongrass gnocchi and a slice of tempura kabocha squash.  For those of you who are wondering kangaroo is similar to venison.  The trout was seared to an absolutely perfectly medium where the fish was soft and flakey but did not overshadow the quinoa, soy beans and peppers which were a perfect accompainment.  The bison short ribs had great flavor and the side of raspberry lemongrass sorbet next to the nutella semifreddo was incredibly refreshing during the dessert round.

Second thoughts:  Since empanadas are deep fried, we were expecting our mouths to be burning as we took our first bites, but the chicken and goat cheese mixture in those savory pastries were less than lukewarm.

My dining friends were much harsher critics when it came to the plate score, but looking at the overall meal, i defend my position :)

Plate score: 9

Cuba Cuba-DRW

Highlights: I entered this meal with very little experience with cuban food, but luckily I have my roommate who is peruvian and very very knowledgeable about cuban cuisine having grown up next door to cuba in Miami.  Cuba Cuba is located on the the corner of 12th and Delaware in a teal blue house with the interior with very carribean colors.  The tuna appetizer was fresh and the contrast of textures from the wasabi peas and onion with the chopped ahi and avocado was superb.  There was perhaps alittle too much red onion but overall an excellent start.  The ropa vieja y maduros entree is a classic cuban dish with a rustic but equally delicious flavor.  I would never seek out this place on my own but i'm glad I went.

Second Thoughts: The key lime pie filling was a little too soft, more like custard and according to my roommate, the guava and cream cheese pastry which is a traditional cuban dessert was lacking the guava component.  

Side note:  I normally pay for my meals using a credit card but since I cashed my part of the coaching check i decided to carry just enough money for the DRW meal ($35 for me) Unfortunately, my roommate accidentally brought her empty wallet with no credit cards and just $3....luckily the owner was very understanding and didn't force us to clean dishes for a few hours and even allowed my roommate to call in with her card info.  We left happy but slightly embarassed.

Plate score: 8 

I will compile a photo album of some of the dishes soon enough!