Fast food doesn't have to mean Mcdonalds

My all time favorite sandwich (a sandwich of which i've probably eaten at least 2 dozen times) in Denver has to be the smoked turkey sandwich from Masterpiece deli.  The shaved turkey is pressed between two slices of toasted (and buttered) wheat bread with pears, arugula, cranberry honey and soft brie.  Amazingly, i've not met a single person who did not love it.

I recently tried a banh mi from Ba le bakery on south federal.  I ordered the special combination which came with ham, meatloaf (which was more like bologna) and pork pate spread.  The meat lay on a fresh french baguette which was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.  The pickled carrots and daikon, along with the cucumber, handful of cilantro and deseeded jalepeno were crunchy and flavorful which came together beautifully to create this spicy handheld and very cheap ($3) vietnamese sandwich!

Ba Le Bakery Plate Score: 8



The breakfast burrito from Santiago's (yes it is a colorado chain) is so good but probably not the healthiest breakfast option on most coloradan's list.  I biked to the one on Federal to earn this delicious meal. Steaming hot and stuffed with scrambled eggs, potatoes, medium pork green chile and cheese (meat optional), this burrito at just $2 needs more than just a few napkins.

After contemporary american cusine and all things asian (except indian), I am drawn to both authentic and contemporary interpretations of mexican street tacos.  I rarely go up to boulder, but after a Pure Barre workout, my friend and I went in search of the Comida food truck.  I know Denver and Boulder are getting overrun by fancy food trucks, however i was drawn to this one because the executive chef of Frasca (colorado's only James Beard nominated restaurant) mentioned it has his favorite in a recent edition of Travel and Leisure Magazine.    We both had the fish tacos ($3) with red cabbage and jicama slaw and the braised sirloin ($3) over a sweet potato mash (strange but nevertheless good).  Both were excellent but the fish which i think was mahi mahi was flakey, flavorful and my favorite.

Comida Plate Score: 9



I stopped by La Villa Real truck on Alameda and Raritan to compare their lengua tacos to the versions put forth by both el taco de mexico and pinche taco truck.  The entire menu is still in spanish only but i made it through and ordered a set of four.  I kind of wish i could have had one of each of the other types, but i guess i'll have to return. The slices of beef tongue were tender and sauteed on the flat top and sprinkled with diced onions, cilantro and a few wedges of lime.  I definitely appreciate how La Villa Real and El Taco de Mexico let the meat shine in their tacos, but Pinche's version is just an explosion of delicious flavors.

La Villa Real Plate Score: 7.5

At the base of the clock tower on the 16th street mall, you'll find a Brava Pizza, a brick oven on wheels serving up the lunch and happy hour crowd of the apparently Southwest Airlines sponsored space.  All pizzas are under $8 and on mondays the 10" Margherita pizza is just $5! Everything about it was absolutely delicious with the large leaves of fresh basil,the crushed san marzano tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella and charred crust.  Can't beat it!

Brava Pizza Plate Score: 10

Some of you might be wondering how this is a 10, go try it and let me know what you think!  The turkey sandwich from masterpiece might be close to 10 as well.

Denver Wrap Up Part III

Well since my plans have changed and I am not leaving for at least another month.  I will be eating my way through the Denver in which case you can expect at least one or two more wrap ups.

Last week at Civic center eats (Tues/Thurs 11-2pm), i sampled Mythos Greek Pork Souvlaki sandwich on a warm pita with tazatziki sauce, tomatoes red onions and FRENCH FRIES! The pita was soft and chewy but the pork was slightly dry and the sandwich could have benefited from alittle more crunch (think romaine lettuce!).  I also sampled the Pabellon Arepa from Quiero Arepas which has shredded beef, black beans, plantains and cheese.  The arepa was slightly too thin and crispy and the shredded beef was oily but i do love plantains.

The spicy tuna burger at Deluxe burger is diced and marinated with asian spices and loads of hoisin sauce and cooked to a nice medium rare.  Topped with a cucumber salad and cilantro leaves, this is a delicious and different burger if you need a break from all those land locked meats.

Snooze, one of my two all time favorite brunch spots (the other being watercourse) in denver has never disappointed me.  I even captured a pic of my bella bella benny, blueberry pancake to share and my roommate's breakfast tacos with hashbrowns inside the tortillas!

On the west side of town lacking a much needed froyo place, my favorite and hole in the wall US Thai Cafe in Edgewater neighborhood.   Delicious plate of pad thai.  They need to decide on what "mild" is because last time it definitely packed some heat, but this time "mild" meant no heat.

A friend suggested Yazoo bbq at the crazy corner intersection of 21st, Broadway and Champa in my quest to find good bbq here in Denver.  Another hole in the wall, this place was packed on a workday lunch, as i decided on the 2 ribs and 1/8 pound of both pork shoulder and brisket.  The ribs and pork shoulder were both standouts in terms of smoke flavor and tenderness but the brisket was just average with too many burnt ends.  I like that there were squeeze bottles of "sweet" "hot" or "super hot" bbq sauce so i could customize the amount of sauce on my meat.

In the 4 years i've been around, i don't remember walking the saturday cherry creek farmers market mostly because i don't care about organic overpriced produce and large crowds.  But somehow there is less grocery stuff and loads of prepared foods and free samples!  We sampled our way through dips, spreads, cakes and breads.  A few memorable ones came from waffle cakes and all of quick breads samples from outrageous baking (pumpkin, lemon poppyseed, chocolate zucchini).  Normally we expect burritos, tacos, sandwiches,  easy foods at a farmers' market but i wasn't expecting paella provided by the stand from le central.  For a mere $8 you got a "small" box of piping hot saffron scented rice cooked with chicken, pork, shrimp, bay scallops, mussels, chorizo and a myriad of classic paella veggies.  Excellent and cheap!

I've talked alot about Dim Sum particularly at star kitchen, an amazing family style brunch of steamed dumplings and super delicious buns stuffed with both savory and sweet fillings.  Classic "har gow" shrimp dumplings (upper right) and "siu mai" pork and shrimp dumplings (bottom right) plus not so classic ones such as tripe stew (bottom left) and tofu skin wrapped with pork and variety of black fungi (mushrooms!).

Then there is one bun the size of your fist that will put a smile on a anyone on their first dim sum experience.  The "pineapple bun" (crust is pineapple like?) is a baked sweet bread filled with an egg custard.  Perfect at the end of the meal or as an afternoon snack but always a winner!

Denver Wrap up Part II

Civic Center Eats down by the capitol features a dozen or more food trucks that feed hungry government workers (and me!) every tuesday and thursday from 11-2 through the end of September.  Check out the line up here

The beef tongue tacos from Pinche Tacos are different from El Taco de mexico, both delicious, but Pinche's version are not shredded but diced and triple cooked until tender, finished on the grill then topped with the usual cilantro and onion but also a roasted tomatillo salsa, honey mayo and a wedge of lime.

The korean steak skewer from the stick it to me food truck was sensational, tender and full of typical soy, ginger and garlic flavors

Third trip to Squeaky bean was just as innovative as the previous two times and I am sad to see it close June 12th after brunch 

 The wagyu beef tartare wrapped with avocado, chiles and teriyaki gel was exquisite and beatifully presented.

 The second appetizer which is a play on pork chili verde was a braised and seared pork belly with a pork shoulder corn bread sitting in a rich roasted green chili soup.  The soup itself was a little bitter which actually worked nicely with the sweetness from the cornbread.  Once again plating was beautiful.

 The halibut cheeks entree which was generously split for us sat atop of a brandade (basically mashed potatoes infused with mild salted halibut), pea puree, crushed marcona almonds and a variety of backyard greens.  Delicious.

The dessert called "chocolate and sugar" was a bit of a head scratcher and no where near as pretty as the other dishes.  The elements including meringue, chocolate ganache ribbon, chewy caramel triangles, chocolate moose, beet chocolate cookie, cocoa powder and spun sugar seemed did not provide a cohesive dish.

Watercourse foods on 17th was almost a weekly staple my first year here in Denver, yet i've never captured a picture of the scrumptuous food.  For lunch, I ordered my usual Toulouse (broccoli, mushrooms, artichokes and swiss) scramble with sweet potato homefries, biscuit with raspberry jelly and split a buckwheat supreme pancake with a friend of mine.  It has been a while since my last trip but everything was delicious, the buckwheat supreme pancake (which is now smaller in diameter than in previous years) comes with a choice of mango banana granola or cherry almond granola (We opted for banana mango).

Review: Linger

Root down's owner/executive chef just opened Linger (no menu online yet) in the former Mortuary space right behind Little Man Ice Cream in the Lohi neighborhood.  According to our server, the concept is worldly street food using local ingredients.  We nibbled on popcorn dusted with garam masala as we perused the menu, which is divided into asian, mediterranean, middle eastern and african shared plates.

We decided on 3 veggie, 1 meat and 1 seafood dish.

We started with a cup of the cucumber gazpacho with sliced radishes, grapes and a cool tomato sorbet.  The cold soup was innovative and refreshing on the warm summer night and a great start to our meal.  I forgot to take a photo of the fava bean and pea hummus which was served with accompaniments of preserved lemon, feta, hardboiled egg, paprika and whole wheat naan.  Westword raved about this dish in its initial review however for me, it was forgettable and there wasn't even enough naan.

The masaala dosa which is curry spiced potatoes and chick peas wrapped in an indian style crepe was delightful

The kobe beef short rib tacos were lacking salt and flavor.  You can't tell by this picture but the tortillas (which were too thick and more like pita) were drenched in oil from the short ribs and the neither the kimchi nor the guacamole could improve this flat dish.  If i'm looking for asian fusion tacos, i'll head to NYC for Korilla Bbq's version.

The seared scallops were well cooked but did not blow me away and the dressing on the arugula was sweet and salty which caught me off guard, and not in a good way.  However the corn fritters were light and airy. e.  Just like the short ribs, the scallops were sitting atop of a collection of oily mushrooms.  We skipped dessert and opted for ice cream at Little Man next door

Given that Linger just opened last week, i'll probably give this place a second chance in the future


Plate Score:  6

Denver Wrap up Part I

On a list with so many things to do before I leave colorado, at least half the list consists of food related activities.  Here is the wrap up in the past week on adventures on my dinner plate

- Beef tongue tacos from El taco de mexico were delicious as usual, though the corn tortilla's started to fall apart as I stuffed my face.

-$2 street tacos (on Tuesdays) from El Camino in the highlands were great particularly the carnitas and the al pastor tacos with chunks of sweet pineapple and diced onions.  Do not sit at the end of the bar near the door, it is awkwardly shaped and the arm pit/black hole of the restaurant where we could barely get a server's attention without the help of other patrons.

-The bison burger from Rackhouse pub was juicy but a bit too gamey in flavor and needed some salt.  A LA times food critic who stopped through denver last year praised the beer baked mac and cheese which can be ordered as a side with any sandwich, even the triple grilled cheese sandwich.  If you get tired of the brewery tours around town, rackhouse pub also moonlights as a distillery for Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey and offers free tours during the week.

-The green chicken chile from Mod market had a nice mild heat with hearty chunks of white meat chicken and roasted green chiles in a soothing broth.

-The tempura fried half avocado from Leaf restaurant in boulder.  Stuffed with mango salsa with an orange blossom sauce and a black rice cake, this place satisfies the vegetarian, vegan and raw palates of hippies across boulder.  It was interesting but will never replace my first love, watercourse

Sad times
According to Westword, one of my favorite restaurants Squeaky Bean is closing its doors June 12th due to leasing issues and will reemerge as a different restaurant concept in about a month.  Go now but if you need to be convinced check out my reviews here or if you need a second opinon, i guess yelp would do. They have a new spring menu which is not updated on the website.

Need something to do tonight?
The Justice League of Food trucks is having their season kick off party from 5-10pm tonight.  Check out their facebook page for details!