Potager - Restaurant Review

Potager is a great concept in Locavore (source from local farmers).  And overall the experience was pretty fantastic.  Included is a menu with wine recommendations offered at bottle, glass and half glass (I have never seen half glass) for every dish on the menu.  BUT (and I mean Sir Mix-a-lot style), there were short-comings.

The food was great sans one dish.  The service was great until the final 45 minutes of a 2:30 evening.  Now all said and done we spent 360 for 4 people including tip over 2.5 hours, which works out to over 30 bucks an hour for our waitress.  IE, we were running a nice bill and service should have remained superb.  The dish, the steak, was the most expensive item on the menu and my wife ordered it.  It was awful.  I asked for a second bite thinking she gave me a bad piece.  Jennifer was disappointed as well.  Dana ordered it not sure what to order and figuring the steak would be safe.  She never contemplated sending it back.  That was my bad for not recognizing and taking control.  But either way that shit-bone piece of meat should not have left the kitchen.

The rest of the food was actually spectacular.  But the service dipped hard at the end.  Our waitress was friendly and interesting.  She wrote down nothing and remembered our orders, but she took a good 10 minutes to get Jennifer her Port for dessert.  Another 10 for Dana and I to share one.  And then 10 more for the check.  That was a half hour or more wasted.

On to the food porn:

WARM, TWICE BAKED MUNSON FARM CORN AND RICOTTA SOUFFLE with red wagon farm cherry tomatoes 

and basil 12.00

HOMEMADE GOAT CHEESE RAVIOLI with morton’s orchard peaches, corn and red wine syrup 12.50

INGRID’S MUSSELS wood fired in a cast iron pot with fennel, garlic, tomato, herbs and grilled bread 18.00

SALAD OF MORTON’S ORCHARD PEACHES, FRESH MOZZARELLA, PROSCUITTO with cracked almonds and fresh basil 15.00

4 Happy diners

 

GRILLED GRASS ROOT’S FARM GRASS FED STRIP STEAK with basil butter and a salad of potatoes, 

bacon, tomatoes, cucumber, buttermilk dressing and fried onions 29.00

 MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM ON THE MENU - GIANT LOSER, worst steak ever (Dana should have sent it back)

SEARED RARE TUNA NICOISE with green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, farm egg, olives and 

tomato-oregano vinaigrette 29.00

FOX FIRE FARM’S GRASS FED LAMB MEATBALLS tossed with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onion, peppers, 

goat feta, mint and yogurt dressing 25.00

JOHN LONG’S SPICY TOMATO BRAISED PORK RIBS with a peach-cucumber slaw and 

pickled watermelon rind 25.00

Cherry and other fruit crisp, Jenn and Bryan liked it.

Chocolate Mousse (death by chocolate Dana called it)

So highlight ideas.  The mussels are just mussels (Dana's interpretation).  I just wanted mussels.  The lamb deal was basically a gyro, but it tasted awesome and made me want another bite.  The death by chocolate was great.  The restroom was clean with the roller towels (bounty, or whatever is on the roller, i hope i am remembering this right, we went to another restaurant with this right after), but this is a good thing.  We were close to an A- but the steak was a big negative and then the dip in service pushed Potager to a B+.

Happy Dining!

Opus - Restaurant Review

A little late writing this.  I think we went here about 3 weeks ago, but with Ironman and everything, I have been a bit busy.  This will basically be a food porn post.  The restaurant was spectacular and the bill was our highest to date.  It seems that the 5280 list is very highly correlated between price and quality so far.  This is good in that you don't get ripped off, but the flip side is there are no screaming deals.

An amuse-bouche from the chef, Salmon Tartar:

Crispy Pork Belly
baked rhubarb, ginger froth, phyllo napoleon

Crab Duet: Hot and Cold

pecan crab cake, hollandaise foam, jumbo lump crab, tomato gelee

Pan Seared Goat Cheese Gnocchi

prosciutto broth, Rocky Ford melon , prosciutto chips

Pan Roasted Black Cod “Butterfish”

nori, watermelon, miso butter, summer radish

This is the Lamb Tenderloin special that was not on the menu

The following are 3 different desserts

The service was spectacular, the restrooms were clean.  The waiter was also very wine knowledgeable.  If this restaurant was downtown Denver, it would probably be one of the best known restaurants in Colorado.  I give this dining experience an A+.  Best place I have tried so far.

Happy Dining!

The Kitchen - Restaurant Review

The Kitchen probably has the lowest bar of any place we have been.  Dana and I went here with Barb and Randy after a 70 mile bike ride from Boulder to Ward and through Lyons back to Boulder.  Needless to say we were famished and this was for brunch.  The 4 of us ordered 6 entrees.  They were kind enough to actually split them for us too.

The food was delicious.  Dana and I shared the lamb burger, the trout and an omellete.  Randy and Barb went with the farmers special (ham and eggs), french toast and the eggs benedict I believe.  These dishes had fancier names but you get the gist.  The server was very accommodating and friendly.  The people who brought the food looked surprised at all the food, two small chicks and two not very big guys.  We cleaned our plates!

Dana also enjoyed a Bloody Mary

The atmosphere was chic casual but being Boulder we were fine in our grungy half bike gear, half normal clothes.  The bathroom was clean and had white cloths for drying your hands, very eco-friendly.  The food was delicious and well prepared.  The cool thing about this restaurant is it is farm to table, so ingredients are locally grown.  I would go back here easily for brunch.  Some day I would like to try dinner here and see how they deliver on fancier fares.  I give this restaurant an A- as a brunch establishment with similar hopes for dinner.

Happy dining!

Venue - Restaurant Restaurant Review

So Venue is a restaurant up in Highland, a trendy neighborhood on the northwestern side of Denver.  We were joined at Venue by new friends Dan and Cassandra.  This was a new neighborhood in our Denver dining voyage and close to there home.  The evening was tame and enjoyable the night before my half marathon.  Dana and I also had a big ride planned Sunday and Dan had hockey.  A simple but diverse menu:

Ricotta Dumplings

Kurobuta Pork Belly

Dan and Cassandra had the Parmesan Gnocchi, the sauce was delightful.  That white thing is a poached egg on top.

Dana had the Oxtail Cassoulet, very lean and clean tasting.

Norwegian Salmon, was my choice and was very perfectly done, tender and moist.

A light, custard and berry pastry, this might have been my favorite.

This restaurant was very cool, in a nice setting.  The service was spotty at times, with them seeming slightly understaffed.  The wine list was very simple, we had some Brut, Sauvignon Blanc and some Pinot Noir, which were simple and enjoyable.  The bathroom was a bit small and only one for the restaurant.  The food was quite good.  Overall I give this restaurant a B+.

Happy Dining!

Mizuna - Restaurant Review

Well this is restaurant 4 in the 5280 journey, we are a bit behind from triathlons, 24 hour races and life but we'll make it up.  This one was with fellow endurance athletes Barb and Randy.  We all had races on Sunday so this Friday would be no wine list.  Barb was leery as was I about the service.  But luckily our waiter, Steven, was a St Croix half IM veteran.  So we had fun and no worries about our non drinking status.  It was actually quite cool to have a triathlete waiter to chat with.

Dana and I presented Barb with her well earned gifts for scoring her first 4-handle half Ironman.  Trading bonds one refers to the left of the decimal as the handle, e.g. a 99.50 priced bond has a 99 handle.  So I use this for tris and can say Barb loved it when she heard it, simplifies things.  So 4 handle is under 5 hours which is rockstar in the tri world.  She nailed Kansas and got a super cool, uber nerd designed T-shirt and a very solid Kazakhstan good luck charm, my wife is more elegant than I am.

So the cool thing about dinner is Randy and Barb are foodies like Dana and I.  More importantly they shared their food with me, very cool.  I also shared my lamb with Randy who was ready to slap his mama, that shit was so good.  I tried his veal which was good but like rabbit tasted like ham to me, hmmm weird.  I don't eat veal or foie gras normally but for this project I have suspended policies for the evening to experience the gamut.  But funny thing is, neither of those has impressed me.  The veal was nice and tender but the flavor was lacking.  Now Barb's halibut was very nice and light.  Definitely something to order 2 days before you throw down a 2 minute PR at the Boulder Sprint (she's a little intense).  Now the clear winner was my lamb order but the dark horse, my wife's Ostrich filets was a close second and if I had an Ironman on Sunday that was the way to go.  Uber lean and well prepared.  I loved it.

Spring Truffle Quiche (Fresh Farm Egg, Truffle Duxelles, Asparagus Salad)

Macaroni & Cheese (Poached Maine Lobster & Mascarpone Enriched Elbow Pasta)

BBQ Wagyu Beef Short Ribs (House Made Rolls, "Cole Slaw" Texas BBQ Sauce)

Pan Roasted Ostrich Loin (St. Augur & Walnut Bouche, Calvados Glazed Beets, Mache)

Rack of Colorado Lamb (Goat Cheese & Herb Gnudi, English Pea, Pancetta, Parmesan Emulsion)

Alaskan Halibut (Whipped Potato Napoleon, Fava Beans, Spring Garlic Veloute)

Roasted Veal Ribeye (Braised Veal Short Rib, Grilled Artichoke, Sauce Hollendaise)

On to dessert, Randy and Barb picked better.  We went with the white chocolate filled crepes with banana foam or something, very lacking in flavor.  They got homemade graham crackers, delish, and a pot of chocolate and caramel and marshmallow sauce to make new school smores.  Way better.

White Chocolate Mousse-Stuffed Crepes (Carmelized Banana Foam & Candied Walnuts)

Chocolate Butterscotch Souffle (Marshmallow Creme, House Made Graham Cracker)

Four Happy Diners

So the really cool thing about Mizuna, is all of our food was ordered off of June's menu.  It changes every month, so that is really interesting going forward.  The service from Steven was superb.  The food was very good also, maybe just  a little less than that flavor where I can't stop eating.  The restroom was simple and clean.  Overall I highly recognize this Denver classic.  I give it an A- on my 5280 project.

Las Vegas Dining Experience

Well we originally intended to arrive in Vegas in time for dinner, which was supposed to be sushi.  Unfortunately mother nature sent tornado warnings to Denver, so dinner was a salad at the cafe.  The next morning we woke up early and decided on a nice breakfast at Payard, a French cafe, instead of the buffet.  Great decision.

Payard has a very quaint setting even though has a huge presentation from the outside looking in from Caesar's casino.  Dana decided to eat the Eggs Florentine, while I went with the Classic Croque Madame.  Everything was quite good albeit a little rich considering my next stop was the gym.

The Classic Croque Madame

The Eggs Florentine

Eiffel Tower Restaurant View from our Table:

This was our big night out dinner.  So we knew it would be pricey, and we were not disappointed.  The restaurant is quite cool.  You walk into the Paris Casino and go to the middle.  There is an elevator straight up the middle to the base of the faux Eiffel Tower.  Then from the restaurant, 2 entire walls are glass looking out over the Bellagio water fountains.  It reminded me of Windows on the World, which sadly does not exist anymore.

We decided that Dana would order the tasting menu and I would selectively pick some other orders.  We also decided on the American Caviar flight of 3 caviars.  The black tasted close to sturgeon, which is the good Russian and Iranian caviar.

Dana's Tasting Menu

The Scallops were delicious

The Cream of English Peas, Smoked Trout, Creme Fraiche

Not sure

And then my phone finally died and no more pictures.  I have some from Nero's on a disposable camera once I get it developed.  I highly recommend the Eiffel Tower restaurant.  The service was great.  The sommelier was knowledgeable and the setting is cool.  I am surprised it doesn't get more press.

Nero Seafood and Steakhouse

This was a disappointment.  The meat was charred way too much on my T-bone.  I like Northwoods Inn by my house for 1 third the price much better.  But the bone marrow was interesting and shocking.  A giant bone full of marrow was the presentation.  It was very rich.  Not sure I am a fan but it is a delicacy.  The crab and lobster appetizer was delicious though.  I think the steak just didn't work for me.  But the restaurant in general was quite nice.

BBQ Recipes

OK, so some of you have asked Dana or I how to make the food that I created for the BBQ.  Gotta go offf memory but here's my best guess.

Buffalo Shrimp

1 Stick of butter
1 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp Garlic Powder (you can use fresh garlic but it burns on the grill)
Cook it all on medium low for about 20 minutes.  Pour it over thawed shrimp in a bowl and let sit in the fridge over night.  Cook the shrimp on skewers for about 2.5 minutes per side for big shrimp, 1.5 for smaller.

The Angus Burger Marinade - more of a paste than a marinade

In a blender combine 1 cup olive oil
1 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup fresh portabello mushrooms.
2 tbsp white truffle oil

Remove from blender and heat in a sauce pan on medium for 10 minutes.  Spread evenly over one side of the burger.  Cook meat side down first and then flip and cook sauce side down.

The Asparagus

Quite simple

Clean the asparagus by holding it in the middle and the fat end, bend 1 piece till it breaks.  This is where the rest should be cut.  Then wash it.

Place in microwave safe container
Drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce, sprinkle salt and black pepper.  Microwave for 4 minutes or 5 for a big batch.  Then remove and take it to the grill until slightly charred.  I take it back to the microwave container and slosh it around in the microwave juice/oil combination.  That's it.

Other items included the Buffalo Franks.  I soaked those in apple cider overnight.  The bratwursts were simmered in the crockpot for 2 hours in 2 bottles of Heineken, 1 cup of chicken stock, and garlic and onion.  The corn on the cob was cooked in water first and seasoned with white truffle oil, salt and pepper.  All items were placed on the grill until slightly charred.  I think I got everything.

Happy Dining!

Vesta Dipping Grill - Restaurant Review

We decided on Vesta Dipping Grill on Saturday, May 8.  I wrote this last weekend, but left it sitting in my edit queue.  Interesting concept for this restaurant.  The meals and desserts come with 3 different dipping sauces.  You can choose from an extensive list or accept the recommended for your dish.  The ambiance is kind of bar chic.  We arrived spot on time for our 7:15 reservation, but had to wait a noticeable amount of time for our table.  Jonathon, Roland, Sarah and Susan all arrived around the same, so we grabbed a round of beers at the bar, while we waited.  It was nice to relax before the dinner and get the conversation rolling a bit.

We got seated in a cozy booth and began to review the menu.  I had looked at it before hand and decided whole heartedly on the lamb.  However, I started to wander once I was seated.  I was happy the wine menu had vintage as the online menu did not.  We bounced around ideas for appetizers but unanimously agreed to try the sampler, 5 sauces with pita bread to tip in them, the meat plate and the cheese plate.  They were all quite tasty.  Here they are in order.

Truckloads of flavor across the board.  The sausage was probably my favorite of the tasty little morsels.  I tried the Kenwood "Yalupa" Cabernet Sauvignon to wash it down.  A nice balanced wine, smooth finish with very light fruit taste.  I was disappointed in the glass, but pleased with the wine in general.

For the main dish I wavered back and forth.  Ultimately I decided to see if the chef was up to the flank steak challenge.  Flank steak is notable for requiring careful preparation, but the payoff is a remarkable meal.  The chef did not disappoint.  Roland also went with the flank steak.

The pomme frites (french fries) and clams were incredible.  It could have used a little more sausage, but the steak it self was ridiculously tender and well prepared.  All 3 sauces were great the tamarind chipotle and carolina bbq but the smoked habanero salsa was the best.  Smokey flavor and just the right amount of spice.


I followed a hint from Michael Gelb's, "Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking," and asked for a bourdeax style glass to try the Chateau de Saint Cosme Grenache NV.  This was bigger wine in my opinion with peppery taste and fit well with the  meats.


Dana and Sarah had the bison special which was also very enjoyable.

Susan had the pork tenderloin which was also high on my list.

And Jonathon went with my original choice of lamb, which he noted was incredible.

There were 6 happy diners when we are all said and done.  We had light desserts with some of the Taylor Fladgate 10 year old port.  The desserts were a cassis sorbet and a house made candy bar with ice cream.  Both were light, simply and tasty.  The port was an incredible delicacy to top things off.

The restroom was clean and modern with simple towels.  I would officially rate this restaurant an A-.  Relative to Luca d'Italia, it's a better value, but Luca was luxury.  VDG is a great concept, with pretty spot on execution.  Plus with all the sauces, you can abandon one you dislike with little guilt.


Happy Dining!