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!

Restaurant Week 2011 Part 1

My favorite 2 weeks of the year has started! Denver Restaurant Week which started yesterday and runs through March 11th offers 3 course menus for $26.40 from over 200 restaurants from downtown Denver all the way to Boulder.  Most of the popular places are booked solid but i can certainly suggest a hidden gem if you are looking for one.

Edge- DRW Menu

Located in the new Four Seasons hotel downtown, Edge is a reason to brave the horrific opera traffic on a saturday night.  I would probably never eat here as the appetizers ($12-18) and entrees ($25-45 would make a large dent in my wallet so restaurant week at Edge is an absolute steal!  The overall meal was delicious but the star was most definitely the appetizer: pan seared (JUMBO) scallops with brandy apples, huckleberry gastrique and mache salad.  The two scallops were seared perfectly and i can think of a few people who would certainly enjoy those.  A steakhouse that can do seafood successfully wins a place in my books.  Too bad i forgot my camera....

When they bring your check, they bring you a piece of a cow shaped piece of dark chocolate on a stick to sweeten the deal

Plate Score: 9

Bittersweet

Just north of Wash park on Alameda and Pennsylvannia, this former garage space has been transformed into Bittersweet, a small artisanal spot manned by Chef Olav Peterson formally of Bistro one.  The space is small with two dining rooms with a little more than a dozen total tables.  The plain grey walls and white (ikea like) furniture were uninspiring but then again, i'm not an interior decorator but rather a self proclaimed foodie.  Neither of us were very hungry so we skipped the appetizers and ordered the lamb canneloni and monkfish as our entrees.  As we waited for our entrees, we nibbled on the fresh and crusty house roll of fennel and kalamata olive.  For those of you who know me, i despise olives but i did not taste it at all, probably masked by the distinct flavor fennel seeds.  Additionally more places should have complimentary bread.

The lamb canneloni with housemade pasta and ricotta, was dressed with some microgreens and a reduced bacon lamb and mushroom sauce.  I found the sauce to be slightly salty but the shredded lamb was tender and not too gamey as it can sometimes be.  The  two pieces of pan fried monkfish were served with a roasted baby cauliflower and lobster hash and a cauliflower bisque (really more like a sauce).  I don't usually encounter monkfish here in denver, but the texture is a cross between lobster and halibut.  It was a unique dish with nice chunks of lobster but the flavor profile was a bit flat.   I think bittersweet has potential but I don't feel the need to revisit anytime soon.

Plate score: 7

Woodfire grill

Now that the semester has ended, i am back in atlanta for a couple more days and eating my way through the holidays! First stop after my flight landed last saturday was Woodfire grill in Midtown. The chef Kevin Gillespie was the runner up on Bravo's Top Chef Season 6. The food was solid with emphasis on grilled meat entrees. I must say the highlight was the actually the roasted root vegetable soup, perfectly diced celery root, potato, carrots swimming in a light and flavorful broth with braised kale and the bread basket with herb butter. Perfect starter. My mom had the roasted quail and pork belly entree while i had the roasted duck breast. Though i ordered it medium rare, it was closer to medium well :( Nevertheless the quality was still fantastic on both of our dishes. Dessert was 2 mini chocolate crepes filled with a mocha cream with a latte "broth" and streusel topping :)

Plate Score: 8

Colt and Gray

As a celebration to the start of fall break, i went to Colt & Gray, a new american restaurant that opened in August on platte street between 15th and 16th st near the REI. The weather was quickly deteriorating with the impending snow storm in the area, nevertheless the atmosphere inside was energetic for a tuesday night. We were promptly greeted and seated at a table that was awkwardly placed in the dining room but luckily for them the french bread they brought us was wonderfully crusty, perfect while we waited for our meal to begin. I ordered a gnocchi appetizer with roasted pumpkin and brown butter sage sauce with shaved parmesan which was a perfect portion. My roommate ordered a pumpkin soup perfect for a cold fall night but it was served lukewarm so she sent it back.

We both ordered dinner salads, mine with a roasted salmon filet and hers was tossed with a sliced flank steak. Neither of us were that impressed, nothing to write home about. To end the meal, my roommate ordered the potted cheesecake with salted caramel, which was served in a glass jar with a metal latch top. This presentation strangely reminded me of my mom's face cream containers :) The consistency was softer than usual and had no graham cracker crust but still had a great flavor. The salted caramel on top definitely complemented the sweetness of the cheesecake.

I will probably be back to try a more robust entree- the colorado rack of lamb at the next table looked amazing

Plate score: 7