Food Trucks

Need something to do/eat this weekend?

If you have ever been to the Justice League of Food Truck parties behind coors field where you can sample items from several food trucks you'll love the 2nd generation of this group collectively known as the Food Truck Warriors.  They are having a kick off party this saturday from 2-9pm.  You can find details here!


Need something to do/eat in a month?

Eat Denver, a group of independent restaurants is throwing a block party by Union Station where restaurants like duo, black pearl, snooze and steubens to name a few will showcase the strengths of denver's restaurant scene.  Tickets are $20 but will guarantee to be a blast.  You can find details here!

TAG Raw Bar

If you haven't been to TAG, you should really do that, and if you want something else from the TAG family of restaurants, you should try Troy Guard's new concept: TAG raw bar.  Located below street level in a tiny space in larimer square, it has a surprisingly small interior with a dozen orange stools at the bar and 2 five tops.  The atmosphere was casual with music from an ipod mix(i believe TLC came up at one point).  We picked two seats at the bar where we could watch the only two chefs and the bartender/waiter command the line. The restaurant focuses on small plates with raw or almost raw preparation techniques.  They change their menu frequently, maybe even daily so chances are you won't find the same stuff if you plan on going soon.  In addition to a free spicy tuna roll (kitchen mistake!) below is a sampling of what we enjoyed last night

Fire and Ice Sushi with Hirasama (yellowtail), Ahi, cucumber, avocado with wasabi tofu foam

Heirloom tomato salad with mache, sesame leaves, shaved ricotta salata and apple balsamic glaze

Perhaps the best dish of the night.  Seared colorado lamb loin with whisky peach gastrique, shaved pecorino and microgreens.  The meat was tender and rare without being gamey.

Duo of Tuna (Ahi and Amberjack) with miso, seaweed and himalayan sea salt.  The fish was so fresh but the flavors infused within weren't necessarily my favorite

"Ceviche Imagination" - changes daily, today it was scallop and ahi tuna with pico de gallo, cilantro and lime.  Incredibly refreshing.

TAG Raw Bar Plate score:  8.5


We wanted little man ice cream for dessert but they closed at 9, so as we fought our way through the hurricane like gusts, we settled on a slice of the coffee kahlua cheesecake from the cheesecake factory.  Delicious!

NYC 2011 Part 1

After a much needed nap from my terrible red eye flight from Denver, i returned to my favorite Japanese noodle house Ippudo with my sister for lunch.  This place is consistently packed with long lines out the door and today was no different.  The noodles are definitely the star, housemade and al dente sitting in a flavorful pipping hot broth of your choice (traditional soy or soy and miso blends) with roasted pork and veggies.   If you like eggs, make sure to add the soft boiled marinated egg for $2!  I was so excited to eat it that I forgot to take a photo....

Ippudo Plate score: 9.5

Japanese is probably my sister's all time favorite so a fusion japanese compromise at Bond St was a good choice on Friday night before I headed to my hotel for the weekend conference.  We shared a few rolls, beef sushi (seared wagyu over rice), sashimi and the two dishes below.

The seared john dory on the right was cooked perfectly surrounded by a light chili lime broth with roasted beets and microgreens. There was no hint of japanese influence there but nevertheless excellent.  The braised short ribs which were oddly pressed into a square ring mold sat atop of columns of daikon radish.  The asian pear puree on top of the short ribs contrasted nicely with the saltiness from the meat.

Another reason I chose this place was for the dessert below, the green tea mille crepe.  As the name suggests, this a multi layer dessert is made with at least two dozen crepes filled with a green tea cream.    I ordered a nine inch one for my sister last year for her birthday from Lady M.  Needless to say she loves it.

Bond St Plate Score:  7.5

Beauty and Essex, according to my sister is NYC's hottest place these days.  She even mentioned the fact that there was champagne in the women's bathroom  on her last visit there.  With a focus on contemporary tapas which is easily my favorite way to dine.  It is so easy to mistake this for something else as you have to walk through a pawn shop to get to the actual restaurant.  The secret entrance leads into a dimly lit restaurant with big velvet couches, ceiling to floor drapes and chandeliers that fill the interior and reminded me of something you would see in one of Chuck Bass' Party (Gossip Girl).  

All dishes were good including the beef tartare, roasted bone marrow, lobster asparagus pizette and a chestnut and ricotta ravioli but won't necessarily bring me back for seconds on my next trip.  The molten chocolate bread pudding dessert was soft and decadent and paired nicely with the mild hazelnut ice cream and was a great end to the the weekend before fighting and running my way through the busy airport at JFK.

   Beef Tartare

                       Roasted Bone Marrow with red onion marmalade, microgreens and toasted ciabatta 

                                           Lobster and asparagus on a cracker thin pizette

                            

Miso-sake glazed sugar snap peas, and chestnut ricotta ravioli with butternut squash sauce and crispy pancetta

Beauty and Essex Plate Score: 8

Fun Fact: Chris Santos is the executive chef of B&E and also a regular judge on Food Network's Chopped!

Affordable times 2

The next time you are at steubens order a side of the crispy brussel sprouts for a cool price of $3.  As the name suggests, the brussel sprouts are fried till they are crispy and seasoned liberally with salt.  It has a strange addictive quality similar to popcorn or in my case kettle corn that keeps you going back for more. The double chocolate cake is not too bad either.

Plate score: 8




I don't profess to know much about cuisine from south and central america but on the recommendation of Best of Westword Food and Drink, i opted for a new gastronomical adventure with venezuelan cuisine at Empanada express.  The original one in Golden consistently garners great reviews so i was hoping the 2nd outpost on 44th and Stuart (1 block East of Tennyson) would measure up.  So I met a friend for a super late lunch or senior citizen early bird dinner at 4:15, depending on how you look at it.  The place is small with a few tables and since we were the only patrons so we decided on "patio" seating given the beautiful, albeit blustery weather.  Our server brought out free samples of yucca fries, a starchy and flavorless root vegetable like a potato sprinkled with white cheese and a few slices of avocado.  He also brought out two squeeze bottles with what looked like a chipotle dipping sauce and cilantro dipping sauce which brought some life to the root veggies and were a great addition to the arepa.  The arepa, if you are unfamilar is a corn cake sandwich (like a pita) stuffed with a variety of fillings.  My arepa arrived fresh with a nice crust finished off on the stove stuffed with shredded flavorful beef, black beans and white cheese.  Served with fresh red cabbage and slices of fried plantains, it was excellent and for a very affordable price of $4.75.  We finished with fresh sopapillas with condensed milk.   I am often criticized for my expensive taste but i can be equally happy with a hole in the wall gem.  This can be a great lunch take out place in the future, i hope it survives.

Plate score: 9

Fried Green Tomatoes and Grandma's 80th

With a $15 groupon in tow, we headed to the fickle pickle in downtown Roswell right outside of Atlanta.  Located in a small house, this fast casual eatery offers up sandwichs, soups and salads for both lunch and dinner service.  The variety of mac and cheese (particularly the roasted veggie and goat cheese) caught my eye for dinner but I settled for the fried green tomato sandwich with bacon instead of pepperjack.  The tomato jam was more like a sweet chunky salsa but was nicely balanced by the bitter arugula and the thick slices of cormeal crusted green tomatoes between fresh sour dough bread.   My mom ordered the southwestern shrimp salad and seemed pleased and we shared a double chocolate ginger cookie for dessert!

Plate Score: 8

My Grandmother turned 80 this past weekend and we seriously ate as though it was her last meal.  We celebrated with a dinner banquet for 90 people at a chinese restaurant with ten authentic chinese dishes and three sets of dessert.  I was in a food coma at the end.  Here are a few highlights!

Appetizer platter with jellyfish (center), marinated beef shin (back left), chinese bologna (not sure exactly what that was) and some type of shellfish (similar to giant clam) dyed an interesting color.

Stir fried Seafood and Veggie Medley in a "birds nest", a fried shoe string potato basket

Fried Shrimp and Crab claw ball

My Favorite dish of the night ginger and scallion lobster 

Longevity buns.  This is traditional dessert served at weddings and birthdays.  Normally filled with lotus paste but these had red bean paste in it.  

You eat these to ensure a long life, hence the name "longevity buns"

We also had fried rice, seafood noodles, pepper steak, sweet and sour pork, fish and crabmeat soup, and crispy skin chicken, a publix sheet cake and sliced oranges.....

Plate score: 9.5 

If you are looking for more authentic stuff here in Denver, Star Kitchen will probably do the trick.