Archive for the ‘Restaurants’ Category
Jorge’s Old Colorado City restaurant is like a younger sibling tentatively venturing out on his own while relying on the family name. The results are mixed. For years, Jorge’s Sombrero and Jorge’s Mercado have been mainstays in Pueblo for Mexican food. My dining companion, a longtime fan of the Pueblo restaurants, was pleased with upstart in Colorado Springs. I was less impressed.
When Jorge’s opened a few years ago in the old Henri’s location, it was hard to find anyone who had anything positive to say. After undergoing several months of renovation, it seemed as if the new restaurant was on track; I was ready to check it out. Perhaps if I’d had a margarita or two, I’d have enjoyed my meal more.
The menu is pretty standard: enchiladas, tacos, burritos. One especially nice feature is the ability to specify quantity. I ordered two cheese enchiladas with green sauce. The sauce was thick with chunks of pork and green chile. Unfortunately, the cheese was a solidified glob inside corn tortillas. Melted cheese should pull away like threads not bubble gum. The Avocado and Pork Burritos in green sauce were very good, just missing my benchmark: those made at El Taco Rey.
Service was slow, even on a quiet weekday. The dining rooms are dark, but the most dismal aspect was the fact that chips and salsa are not complimentary. If this is part of Jorge’s family lore, it may be time to establish some new traditions in Old Colorado City.
(Barely) Three Plates
2427 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, Colo
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes there is nothing I want more than a good burger. One pink in the middle and so juicy I have to wipe my mouth after every bite. I’d heard that hamburgers at Larkburger were cooked to order, but I wasn’t sure about the messiness potential. I needn’t have worried.
Made with 100 percent all natural Black Angus beef, the burgers come in two sizes: the Little Lark, which is slightly larger than a slider, and the 1/3 pound Larkburger. Lettuce, tomato and red onion are standard; other toppings include bacon and three cheese options.
No burger joint is worth its salt without fries. Of course, Larkburger serves French fries, but it also offers what can only be described as a gourmet variation. Truffle and Parmesan Fries, fried in truffle oil and dusted with Parmesan cheese and parsley, are even better than they sound. They’re downright addictive.
The menu provides plenty of variety including a vegetarian sandwich, BLT and Turkey Burger, among others. Three salads are also available.
One thing that caught my eye was The Five Dollar Shake; that’s not just how much it costs, but also what it’s called. I couldn’t bring myself to indulge this time, but such forthrightness suggests it might just worth the five bucks. Prices are on the high side, but quality does come at a cost, as does supporting a company’s efforts to be green.
My Little Lark was a three-napkin burger: every bite was a dripping mess.
Larkburger
Four Plates
1904 Southgate Road
Colorado Springs, Colo.
http://larkburger.com/
On Oct. 31, La Creperie will officially end its 35-year reign as the crepe queen of downtown Colorado Springs. Although, I suspect the crown has been slipping a bit in recent years. A friend asked that we celebrate his birthday with lunch at the bistro. We both admitted that it had been years since either of us had dined there. We’d had no official falling out, nor could we explain why we’d allowed so much time to elapse between meals there. It made sense to enjoy a swan song repast before La Creperie’s doors closed for good. 
I would have fared better to have let the restaurant fade away in my memory. My recollections overshadowed the quality of the food served, so I was disappointed. The highlight of the meal was the Gratin De Pommes De Terre. The tender slices of potatoes were decadently rich thanks to béchamel sauce and cheese in which they were baked. I had to exercise extreme self-control not to eat the entire serving on my friend’s plate. 
The chicken with mushrooms and almonds crepe was topped with Hollandaise sauce. The filling, when mixed with the sauce, was satisfactory, but not exceptional. The real disappointment was the crepe itself, which was dense and bland. I picked my way through the filling leaving a shambles of the crepe’s former identity on my plate. My companion did the same. I’m opting not to rate the meal since La Creperie will only be open a few weeks longer.
La Creperie
204 N. Tejon St. Colorado Springs, CO
cook st. helena features a relatively small menu but big flavors. This undersized, and noisy, restaurant in downtown St. Helena, in the heart of the Napa Valley, has barely more than two dozen offerings. In fact, its wine list is longer than the menu. This means the restaurant does a few things very well, rather than many mediocre.
In the soup and salad category there’s a Caesar or Chopped along with the soup of the day. However, heirloom tomatoes with evoo, grey salt and basil in the Sides listing caught my eye. That’s what I chose as my starter. There’s nothing that tastes like summer, even when fall is in the air, like a garden fresh tomato. The olive oil, grey salt and fresh basil were the equivalent of extra gifts on a special occasion.
Four types of house made pastas are available every night, and the entrees include chicken, pork, trout and a daily risotto. On my visit, the latter was served with a seared scallop, mussels and Temele cheese drizzled with a light fennel sauce. I asked the server three times to repeat the name of the cheese. I’d never heard of it, and it sounded intriguing; also I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a goat cheese. I wasn’t disappointed. The risotto was creamy thanks to the buttery soft cheese. My husband’s slow roasted pork was slightly spicy, but tender.
We were comfortably sated, and none of the desserts sounded tempting enough to push us over the edge.
cook st. helena
Four Plates
1310 Main St.
St. Helena, Calif.
Ad Hoc began as a temporary restaurant. More than seven years later it remains a dining hot spot in an area rich with popular dinner options. It was created by Thomas Keller, the man behind Bouchon and the French Laundry. Besides the Keller lineage and exceptional food, Ad Hoc has little in common with those restaurants.
The menu changes daily, meals are served family style and the eatery is only open five nights a week. Although accommodations are made for dietary needs, the four-course prix fixe menu means few decisions are necessary. A few add-ons are available.
The meal started with Iceberg Wedge Salad saved from ordinariness by the inclusion of lardon. The entrée was far more memorable: Grilled Hanger Steak with brown mushroom sauce, haricot verte, eggplant and butternut squash over Carolina Gold Rice. The latter is worth distinguishing: an aromatic long grain from South Carolina. The vegetables are from the tfl garden – The French Laundry garden. The meat. Ah, the meat was so flavorful just thinking of it would keep me from ever considering vegetarianism. 
A cheese plate with Cowgirl’s Creamery buttery Mt. Tam, toasted nuts and Marshall Farm honey was a nice segue from entrée to dessert. I’m typically not a fan of bread pudding, but this Caramel Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream and fresh blueberry sauce made me want to move to Yountville so I could come back for more. Since there’s no way to know what the menu is from one night to another, I’d just have to keep returning until it reappeared. Darn! 
Ad Hoc
Five Plates
6476 Washington St.
Yountville, Calif.
It’s often a barely discernible mistep on a fine dining experience that puts everything else off-kilter. When at a table set with a bread plate, a butter knife and a bottle of olive oil, I expect bread. Even if I don’t always eat it (which I usually do), the cues tell me it’s coming. Its absence is distracting. Such was the case at Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley. Since our server was nowhere in sight after our salads arrived we couldn’t even request it.
The mix of greens with red and yellow tomatoes were delicately coated in a pesto dressing. Roasted corn and pearl mozzarella, suggestive of miniature marshmallows, took the salad to another level. Nonetheless, the pesto dressing would have been perfect to soak up with a hard-crusted piece of bread.
Once the entrees arrived, I forgot the missing bread, at least temporarily. Pan-seared Ling Cod, delicate in flavor and texture, was served on a bed of creamed spinach. Creamed spinach gets a bad rep; I’ll defend it any chance I get. The addition of Shitake mushrooms made something good even better.
A choice of four desserts, not counting a selection of artisan cheeses, made it difficult to reach a decision, so the sampler settled the issue. Two were particularly intriguing: Piped Cheesecake and Sliced Chocolate. The former was a deconstructed version. The latter was dark chocolate with spheres of crème brulee. Don’t ask.
Still, I did miss that bread.
Wine Spectator Greystone
Four Plates (Barely)
25555 Main St.
St. Helena, Calif.
Typically, I have plenty of time to study the menu on the wall at Il Vicino. That’s because the line is long enough that I can read through the descriptions of pizzas and other offerings while waiting to place my order at the counter. Recently, however, there was no line, so even though there was no pressure to make a quick decision, I felt uneasy. I worried that people aren’t frequenting this gourmet pizza place like they should.
The small eatery offers more than dozen types of pizza, several calzones and Panini, salads and a few pasta dishes. From a traditional Margherita to pies with roasted chicken, tuna, even spicy shrimp. It’s often difficult to decide. Even with no one in line behind us I was torn.
We eventually settled on two salad/pizza combinations. The Pizza al Pesto is embellished with fresh pesto, sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, pine nuts and mozzarella. The bread-like crust was thick with wood-smoked flavor. The Spinach Salad was the perfect complement with a fresh pesto dressing, roasted red peppers, red onions, pine nuts and Gorgonzola cheese over a bed of spinach. The other combination included the Campagnola: a traditional marinara, sausage, mushrooms, and, instead of goat cheese, Asiago cheese. The sausage stood out in the crowd of ingredients. The beautifully-plated Insalata Il Vicino was a rift on a Cobb Salad with rows of chopped roasted chicken, diced egg, Gorgonzola, artichoke hearts and walnuts.
While leaving, the line in front of the menu board began to back up. Whew!
Il Vicino
Four Plates
11 S. Tejon St.
Colorado Springs, CO
The Blue Moose in Breckenridge has several issues: lengthy waits, cash only, and limited hours. The best advice is to forget about those things. Instead, focus on the food and friendly staff, which, fortunately, is easy. Mud season may be the only time it’s possible to walk in and sit down without a wait. Even then, it’s iffy since the restaurant appeals to locals just as much as, or more than, skiers and summer tourists.
Recently, we braced ourselves for a long wait and made sure we had plenty of cash in our wallets. We got a table soon after arriving and didn’t have to spend everything we had. The appeal is fresh food, and lots of it, almost too much. The Spuds and Vegies is one of my favorites. Sautéed broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers and spinach served over country potatoes. Eggs and cheese on top are optional. The meal is like eating a carb-building garden.
Several types of omelets and the usual parade of pancakes and French toast comprise the menu. Several items include names familiar to the central mountains, such as the Minturn Loop. It’s nothing more than choice of eggs, bacon or sausage, potatoes and toast. On the other hand, the English has everything to do with what’s served. It features plate-size pancakes, eggs and several meats: bacon, banger and ham. In case that’s not enough, toast and potatoes are included, as is a fresh tomato relish.
If you eat outside, nothing beats the mountain view — they’re worth the wait.
The Blue Moose
Four Plates
540 S. Main St.
Breckenridge, CO
Union Station just east of the downtown Los Angeles is a beautiful historic landmark. It’s an actual train station. It also serves as a central public transportation hub, and it is the home of Traxx Restaurant.
Diners can choose from three dining areas: the small, dark dining room, an outdoor garden, or the small space cordoned off from the main hall. It’s the latter that provides lots of distractions, which is important, and people-watching opportunities. The muffled sounds announcing the arrival or departure of trains is exciting. The hall has natural wood, ceramic tile, ornate light fixtures and high ceilings.
Back to the distractions, they’re necessary. The menu is ambitious, but doesn’t quite live up to the expectations imposed by Traxx’s environment. In some ways the dining area feels somewhat dingy, not dirty but worn. The sense of yesteryear evoked by the train station is very effective, but doesn’t work with the restaurant, at least at lunch when there’s too much light.
The Quinoa Salad was, nonetheless, beautifully plated. It featured cucumbers, eggplant, red onions, avocados, cherry tomatoes and lots of cilantro with an avocado vinaigrette. The onions were the bully on the plate; they overpowered everything. The Crabcakes were nicely cooked with a crunchy exterior and thick with crab served on a corn salsa with red pepper remoulade.
Even though I wasn’t traveling by train, I was more than ready to leave the station after discovering a long dark hair beneath the caramelized sugar layer of my crème brulee.
Traxx Restaurant
Three Plates
Union Station
800 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, Calif.
It’s obvious before entering the doors that Pizzeria Mozza isn’t a typical neighborhood pizza joint. The valet parking stand gives it away.
The menu is another clue; there’s also the fact that the owners are Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. Not surprisingly, their marks are everywhere: Silverton with the baked goods, and the men with their rustic Italian flair evident in everything, and all of them, of course, in the menu.
Our server would have happily explained the unfamiliar items, but it was fun studying the menu in advance. For example, Arancine alla Bolognese. I will eat almost anything with Bolognese, but it’s nice to know that at Mozza it’s served with rice balls made from creamy risotto, rolled in bread crumbs and fried. The texture is a marriage destined for bliss.
Although I don’t recall the sequence of arrival, each dish seemed to be better than the one before. The Fried Squash Blossoms filled with ricotta looks like an ugly duckling on the plate, but the burst of flavor reveals the literal inner beauty. The Bone Marrow al Forno is rich, beautifully plated, and decadent. It’s served with roasted garlic and toasted bread, and oozes fatty beefy flavor. The Chicken Wings alla Diavola, Prociutto di Parma, and Mozzerella di Bufala, and the Bianca pizza completed our meal. The latter, served with crispy fried sage and sottocenere, is just the kind of upscale pizza associated with valet parking. By the way, sottocenere, is white cheese with truffles.
Pizzeria Mozza
Four-and-a-half Plates
641 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, Calif.
The Blue Page Special 