Archive for the ‘dining’ Tag
Friendly servers can make a meal fun and relaxing; yet, super-outgoing ones run the risk of casting a shadow. This happened at La Casita Mexicana, a vibrant exciting restaurant known for its mole. Our server’s problem was his affability with everyone. He took photos of birthday celebrations, he bantered with a couple waiting for their bill, he visited with busboys, and all the while orders weren’t taken and food wasn’t served.
Eventually we got bowls of soup, which we would have gladly foregone. The menu did indicate that meals came with the house soup, but no further details were provided. We learned it was rice soup, but the faux salmon color was reminiscent of canned tomato soup and the flavor wasn’t much better.
Three types of mole are available: poblano, verde and pepian. It’s best to sample all. According to the menu, the poblano is a family recipe with 46 ingredients. Its dark red color and range of flavors includes its namesake chile and pumpkin seeds. The verde combines green chile, tomatillos, cilantro – along with an array of herbs and spices. Ground pistachios and chile are the base for the pepian.
I ordered the pork with tres moles. The meat was tender and moist; a perfect vehicle for the sauces.
Our server gave all appearances of being busy — probably because he moved with such enthusiasm to see who he could socialize with next. Fortunately, once the entrees finally arrived, we forgot the gregarious guy and could focus on the mole.
La Casita Mexicana
Three-and-a-half Plates Three Plates
4030 E. Gage Ave.
Bell, Calif.
I’m not Italian, but that’s my go-to comfort food and pasta tops the list. At Terroni in downtown Los Angeles, the pasta is made fresh daily on site. There’s little else that can offer such solace when it comes to food.
Terroni is located in a cavernous space that once housed a bank. The ceiling seems to reach several stories. Sculptures hang overhead, a boar’s head and art adorn the wall, the open kitchen surges with activity and the dining room is very contemporary given the historic roots of the building.
Bread is brought to the table in a brown paper bag. It’s old world and clever at the same time. Plus, the bread is soft with a chewy crust. We start with Arancini di Modica. The spin on these rice balls, besides the artful way they’re plated, is the cheese and hearty ragu. There are three of us and four arancini. We’re polite about it, but wish we didn’t have to share the fourth.
I order Maccheroncini Geppetto, which was difficult to say, but easy to eat. The rigatoni-like pasta was suffused with a tomato-based sauce featuring homemade sausage, garlic and fontina. The sausage had a nice spice kick easily absorbed by the pasta. I tasted the Spaghetti al Limone, which was like a lemon grove. Olive oil and parmigiano were part of the mix, but lemon was the overwhelming essence.
The restaurant is beautiful and likely to be noisy when busy; fortunately, it wasn’t on our visit. I enjoy good conversation with my comfort food.
Terroni Downtown
Four Plates
802 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles
A bistro is most often associated with Europe. It’s typically a small, neighborhood eatery emphasizing good food in a casual atmosphere. Except for the first part of the definition, Union An American Bistro in Castle Rock fits the bill, but the effort is strained – and it’s difficult to explain why. The service is great, the menu vast, and the beautiful wood floors and brick walls create a contemporary, albeit noisy, ambiance. Yet, Union lacks a sense of natural ease with itself. Maybe it’s the menu.
There’s Thai, Mexican, Italian; there’s blackened, sticky, grilled, roasted; there’s flatbread, salads, sandwiches, entrees. And, there’s too much cleverness: salmon tots, poke tuna nachos, jalapeno bratwurst burger. In the end, the more traditional fare is what we found appealing: a Bacon Cheeseburger, the Cobb Blackened Chicken Salad, Chicken Salad Club Sandwich and Salmon with Risotto.
Again, the service was exemplary: attentive and no trace of judgment in our request for substitutions or alterations to our decisions. Further, we never felt rushed to order or to eat even though there was a wait for tables.
The flakey salmon was the perfect vehicle for the velvety dill sauce augmented by fresh ground pepper. The risotto was creamy and the bits of smoked applewood bacon provide texture – and, well, you can’t go wrong with bacon.
I usually drive past Castle Rock to or from Denver. Although I may not return to Union, it made me realize the town offers more than the fast food places visible from the interstate.
Union An American Bistro
Three plates
3 Wilcox St.
Castle Rock, CO
The menu at McGinty’s Wood Oven Pub identifies the restaurant as “A Touch of Ireland in Colorado!” This is no delicate light-handed touch, though. It’s as if every day was meant to celebrate St. Paddy. The odd thing is that it works.
Nearly every menu item is a spin on something Irish: from appetizers heavy on cheese, the color green and stout to the entrees, including the pizzas, also known as “Patty Cakes.” But first, back to the appetizers. We ordered the Brick Oven Brie served warm, but not gooey, so it spread easily over pieces of flatbread, slices of pears and apple. The star of the plate was the fig jam which complemented the smooth, creamy brie. We were amused, but not tempted, by the Hun Lee O’Connor: egg rolls filled with corned beef and cabbage.
Since it was lunch I didn’t want anything very heavy, the Fields of Anthenry Salad seemed a nice fit. The large plate of field greens was difficult to eat; and maybe having a second dish with brie was not the best choice, but the honey mustard vinaigrette provided a nice zip. The salad was an impressive combination of flavors and textures.
The menu also features an array of sandwiches, several soups, the aforementioned pizza, as well as pizza pot pies.
Although we weren’t there on St. Patrick’s Day, it was close enough so we ordered Guinness with Chambord. The combination, while sublime, transported us, but not necessarily to the Emerald Isle.
McGinty’s Wood Oven Pub
Three-and-a-half Plates
11115 W. Highway 24
Divide, CO
All I knew about Peruvian food had to do with potatoes; it has around 4,000 different varieties. After dining at CVI.CHE 105 in Miami, I know a little more. 
Let’s start with the restaurant’s namesake: ceviche, raw fish in citrus marinade. The acid from the citrus, “cooks” the fish. It didn’t seem right not trying an order, but it was difficult to know which among the dozen or so options to choose. Our server recommended the evening’s special: a mix of shrimp, squid and snapper in three different sauces. The first was a pesto cream sauce, the second a yellow pepper sauce and the third a red pepper sauce with a slight kick. Each layer of flavor was like a perfect dance partner to the firm succulent pieces of fish.
The large menu was filled with mostly unfamiliar dishes. I opted for Beef Stew Frijoles con Seco. This deconstructed stew featured three stacks of fork-tender beef between thick slices of potato and carrot all smothered in a rich brown sauce of onions and peppers. The frijoles (beans) were earthy and creamy.
I came close to ordering Lomo Salteado (steak with yellow peppers and onions), but at least got to taste it. Sautéed pieces of skirt steak were lightly coated with soy sauce and had a depth of flavor usually found in thicker, more expensive cuts of meat.
The restaurant is lively and popular. As the night wore on the number of those waiting for tables kept growing.
CVI.CHE 105
Four Plates
105 N.E. 3rdAve.
Miami, FL
Although I try not to review a place more than once, lunch at Shuga’s inspired me to write again about its signature dish.
Shuga’s Restaurant is noisy! What’s more, it’s small to the point of being cramped, and in the winter, because it’s an old clapboard house, it’s cold. This is not the place for a romantic interlude or a business meeting. Despite these negatives, this is where to come for remarkable flavor combinations and lively, albeit loud, conversation.
The menu features a handful of what are called Boards but could easily be labeled tapas, sandwiches, salads and soups, including Shuga’s signature dish: Spicy Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Soup. It’s available by the bowl or cup, but unfortunately not by the tureen. Nonetheless, it’s a mouthful. That’s a good thing. It’s spicy thanks to a jalapeno kick, and the sweet, rich coconut milk base is evident in taste and thickness, but there’s more – more even than the plump, firm shrimp that sink to the bottom of the bowl. The addition of grated ginger and, although it takes a few sips to distinguish, creamy peanut butter elevate the soup from the exotic to the sublime.
When the food arrives at tables, the din doesn’t diminish. There’s never a lull even as the flavors transcend the animated setting of the modest house, but no one minds.
Shuga’s Restaurant
Four-and-a-half Plates
702 S. Cascade Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO
Although most of the lyrics eluded us, my friends and I sang what we remembered of Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl en route to Humboldt because it’s located in Uptown Denver. That set the mood for a thoroughly enjoyable meal.
Humboldt Farm Fish Wine is uptown in more ways than just its geographic location. It’s contemporary, bright and offers a diverse menu while putting new spins on time-honored familiars. It also helped that our server was exceptionally well-versed in the restaurant’s offerings.
Steak Salad usually doesn’t catch my attention, but when the ingredients include harissa, bleu cheese and chimichurri, it’s hard to resist. I’m glad I didn’t. The tender pieces of flank steak and harissa, a Middle Eastern condiment of chile, garlic, cumin and other spices, would have been satisfying on their own. The inclusion of bleu cheese, roasted red peppers, cipollini onions and peppery arugula dressed with chimichurri in vinaigratte form resulted in an exquisite combination of flavors typically not associated with one another.
Our server recommended the Rueben which was served on artistically-marbled rye bread. Each element was perfectly balanced: corned beef, cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island Dressing. However, it was nearly overshadowed by the side of roasted cauliflower.
All I sampled from the Albacore Tuna Salad was a beet because goat cheese, of which I’m not a fan, was a main ingredient. Still, I was intrigued by the pomegranate vanilla dressing, but not enough to taste more than the red vegie.
For a little while, we were living in an “uptown world.”
Humboldt Farm Fish Wine
Nearly Five Plates
1700 Humboldt St.,
Denver, CO
The first thing to have at Paravicini’s Italian Bistro is a reservation. We did and were seated right away. The vantage from our table clearly illustrated the wisdom of calling ahead. It’s no wonder this is a popular eatery. The menu, albeit extensive, is creative, the atmosphere is charged, and the food warrants the crowd.
There are plenty of Italian standards: various pastas and several spins on veal and chicken preparations. The surprises come in the form of what are billed as “Paravicini Originals” and the Seafood offerings.
Entrees are served with a house salad. We didn’t realize it was served family style until a bowl too large for one, but not quite big enough for four arrived at the table. The focaccia-like bread was perfect for sopping up olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The Chicken Valeria falls into the “Originals” category. Two lightly-breaded chicken breasts are cooked with lots of garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a subtle mushroom sauce. It was all served over a bed of angel hair pasta.
The Lasagna was traditional and apparently satisfying since my husband happily cleaned his plate. I didn’t sample my friend’s Grilled Salmon, but it looked delicious. We all shared an order of Green Beans cooked al dente shimmery with olive oil and speckled with copious amounts of diced garlic and chunks of pancetta.
The servings are generous, so much so that three of us each had plenty for lunch the next day. It’s possible people are still waiting for a table.
Paravicini’s Italian Bistro
Four Plates
2801 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO
Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna is almost a cliché with its frescos of other-worldly-blue skies and snow-white structures found only in Greece. Fortunately, the food overshadows the décor of the large dining area, and a friendly, attentive staff enhances the meal.
Lunch with friends from work reminded me that Jake and Telly’s is a place worth returning to – it had been years since my last visit; I’d simply forgotten about it. I was also prompted to recall that different groups of friends have different dining styles. For example, the last time I was there I knew that whatever I ordered I would be sharing with that friend. She and I think nothing of eating off each other’s plates. I don’t want to do that with just anyone, no matter how much I enjoy their company. However, I was sorely tempted to take a bite of my colleague’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes on this recent visit, especially when she raved about them.
The mashers seemed an unlikely accompaniment in a Greek restaurant. The other options were Roasted Potatoes, Red Lentil Soup, Avgolemono Soup, and Pasta Salad. The latter was made with orzo, so it and the lemon soup were more traditional. I was pleased with my roasted potatoes, which were crispy and flavored with lemon pepper and herbs. Still, I can only imagine the richness within those mashed potatoes.
My entrée of Souvlaki was made with tender, roasted marinated pork instead of lamb and served with creamy tzatziki enfolded in pita.
Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna
Four Plates
2616 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO.
It’s always a good idea to wait (at least) a few weeks after a new restaurant opens to give it some time to iron out any wrinkles. I knew that Gertrude’s in Old Colorado City had closed and was going to be reincarnated as something else, but had no idea of the time frame. It turns out we wandered into Alchemy, formerly known as Gertrude’s, on its first night of business.
All that remains of the former occupant are a few wooden booths and memories. Alchemy represents a new direction: an upscale pub. The interior has been completely redone, literally right down to the brick beneath some lathe. The rumples included a slow kitchen and tentative, although friendly, servers. It was easy enough to respond gracefully; after all, it was opening night.
My husband is a Fish and Chips fan; me not so much. I decided on the Osso Bucco. I just didn’t expect it to take so long to arrive at our table – especially since once it did carrots and celery were al dente while the pork (yes pork not veal) was fork tender. Even with the missteps of crunchy vegies, the depth of flavor was augmented by a basil gremolata. Typically, parsley is the only herb, but the licorice-like hints in the basil were a nice variation. It was all served atop quinoa. The variations demonstrate confident and creative, albeit lengthy, execution by the staff.
The introduction occurred sooner than desired, but overall left a favorable first impression.
Alchemy
Four Plates
2625 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Blue Page Special 