Archive for the ‘dining’ Tag
Under the right circumstances, even a restaurant in a strip mall can feel like home. It may have nothing to do with the food, but everything to do with the friendliness of the staff. In the case of Uchenna, an Ethiopian restaurant, very little on the menu was familiar. Yet, the owner made my companion and me feel as if we were long lost family members. Actually, she did this to everyone who walked in.
We were treated to small cups of tea with rose water and lemonade. Neither one appealed to me, although my friend particularly enjoyed the tea.
Having no real clue what to order, the combination plate seemed like a great way to sample several different tastes. It featured red lentils in a mild spice mix, and green lentils in a traditional berbere sauce, which is a blend of garlic, red pepper, cardamom, coriander and other spices. Also on the plate were green beans and carrots in a spicy tomato sauce along with cabbage in a briny garlic and onion sauce. Everything was served over injera, the traditional Ethiopian thin, sponge-like bread. Rolls of injera lined the plate.
The owner instructed me to push up my sleeves, tear off a piece of bread to use as a scoop. She suggested trying each item separately to get a sense of each flavor.
Eating without silverware slows down the process resulting in an experience more than a meal. It was far from what I knew, but surprisingly close to my heart.
Uchenna
Four Plates
2501 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
A cellar may conjure something dark and musty; fortunately, neither describes the Mona Lisa Wine Cellar. This offspring of The Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant in the space above features an extensive wine list along with cheese and chocolate fondue.
The super-friendly one-person staff oversees the 10 or 12 tables. Even though the menu is limited, diners still have decisions to make. For example, it’s not just cheese fondue. It’s possibly Old World, New World, South of the Border, Creamy Fontina, Greek Isle, or Brie. We opted for two fondue pots: Old World and Brie. These not only complemented one another, but also were the right amount for our group of four. The Old World is a blend of Emmental and Gruyere cheeses in a white wine base; the Brie, too, was in a white wine base and accented with almonds slivers. Both were gooey with nutty undertones; the Brie was slightly creamier. Bite-size pieces of bread, fresh fruit and raw vegies are served for dipping.
Even if one of my friends was not celebrating a birthday, we were primed for chocolate fondue. Again, a number of choices are available including dark, milk and white. Further flavor profiles are created with the addition of liqueurs. We chose dark chocolate and chocolate with raspberry. Fresh fruit, cookies, marshmallows, pound cake, Angel food cake and brownies are served for dipping.
The beauty of fondue is that it’s communal and requires a slow pace. Add a bottle of wine and the meal is rich in taste and camaraderie.
Mona Lisa Wine Cellar
Four Plates
733 Manitou Ave.
Manitou Springs, CO
Luigi’s Homemade Italian Food is practically a cliché when it comes to Italian restaurants. Red-checkered covered tables and hundreds – yes hundreds – of straw-cupped Chianti bottles adorn the walls. Fortunately, the food overshadows the décor.
Luigi’s has been part of Colorado Springs’ dining scene for 55 years. Although that’s much longer than I’ve been eating there, my guess is little has changed. On every visit a line of people wait for tables. This wouldn’t be the case if the food wasn’t worth it.
Only open for dinner, the menu features pasta and pizza, with several other options. It would be silly to miss the pasta, especially the homemade manicotti, which is the special Fridays and Saturdays – that just means it’s $13 instead of the regular $16.25. The manicotti are filled with seasoned ricotta, topped with a pungent tomato sauce and rich, creamy béchamel with a suggestion of nutmeg. The dish comes with a choice of meatball or sausage, which are made in-house. I’ve tried them both, but because it’s easier to make meatballs at home, I usually opt for the sausage. Just the right amount of fennel complements the pork. This is a flavorful and abundant plate of food. It comes with a choice of salad or minestrone, and bread.
My husband loves Spumoni and ordered a dish of the multi-flavored ice cream. His serving had only pistachio and cherry; it usually includes chocolate or vanilla.
I, like most of the patrons, usually walk out with a container of my leftovers.
Luigi’s
Three- and three-quarters Plates
947 S. Tejon St.
Colorado Springs, CO
Normally, ants don’t garner much attention, but one dashing across a table where I’ve just finished eating is disconcerting. Ants are for picnics, not restaurants, except, apparently, at the Stagecoach Inn.
The Stagecoach in Manitou Springs is one of those places I walk or drive past more times than I can count. It has a steady stream of diners coming and going; in the summer, the patio, which faces Manitou Avenue, is always filled. There must be some explanation for its longevity. Yet, it’d been years, many years, since I last ate there; I decided it was time to give it another try.
The unwieldy, Western-themed menu, with photos of the food and brief descriptions, features steaks, chicken and fish. We started with Caesar Salads, full of more withered pieces of Romaine than I like.
I opted for the Black and Bleu Steak, sirloin with a blackened crust, comprised mostly of pepper, sea salt and thyme, then topped with bleu cheese crumbles. I always order medium rare. The dead center of the cut was perfectly cooked, but the rest of the steak was overdone. My husband’s New York Strip was fine and he enjoyed the onion rings as much as I liked the baked potato: more than the meat.
We ordered dessert: bland cherry cobbler topped with mushy oat topping. Then came the ant.
My husband and I jokingly argued whether it was 20 or 25 years since our last visit; we agreed we can wait that long again before returning again – if ever.
Stagecoach Inn
Two Plates
702 Manitou Ave.
Manitou Springs, CO
Upside Down Pizza doesn’t sound nearly as appetizing as Chicago Stuffed Pizza, although it actually is topsy turvy. Except for the crust, everything is out of place: cheese is first covered by the generous toppings, which are underneath the rich tomato sauce – and it’s all a couple inches thick. The place for stuffed pizza in Chicago is Giordano’s. More than a dozen Giordanos grace the city, and numerous others are in the suburbs, but this does not have the feel of a pizza chain.
A recent trip passing through the Windy City’s downtown included just enough time to dine at Giordano’s – keep in mind it’s not a place to grab a quick bite; plan on 35 minutes from the time the order is placed to when the heavyset pizza arrives at your table. The waiters were consistent in their time estimate. And, they were pretty accurate. It’s worth the wait.
Deep dish is a more apt description of the pizza at Giordano’s. Toppings, or fillings if you want to be more accurate, include the standards – pepperoni, sausage, pineapple – but also offer some creative options – broccoli, artichokes, pesto chicken. Our visit was on a Friday, during Lent, so we ordered a pie with green peppers and mushrooms.
Besides its very bulk, one of the most impressive features of the pizza is the buttery crust: it’s flakey! And, given the weight it carries, it doesn’t lose its texture. Although thin crust is a menu option, it only raises the question: why?
Giordano’s
Four Plates
815 W. Van Buren
Chicago, Ill.
Last year we attended a fundraiser dinner at the Magic Meadows Yurt in Crested Butte. It was a magical experience. We couldn’t return for the annual event, but did attend one of the Moonlight Dinners held each month.
Several similarities surfaced between the two experiences. Both times a winter storm covered the snow-packed terrain with fresh powder. It may have been slightly more exercise than simply cross-country skiing on a groomed trail, but the weather enhanced the evening’s adventure. Live music and good food were in good supply both occasions.
The Crested Butte Nordic Center contracts with Creative Catering for the monthly events. Reservations are made online. Cost is $70 per person (I’ll come back to this), including trail pass and ski rental.
We pre-ordered the Steak au Poirve and Encrusted Salmon. The five-course meal included appetizer, avocado and grapefruit salad with a ginger-based dressing, roasted red pepper soup, entrée and tiramisu. Although the food was transported via snowmobile from town (a little over a mile) with final touches added at the yurt, it was hot, fresh and impressive. The beef was tender and absorbed the creamy peppercorn sauce. Mashed potatoes and rosemary carrots rounded out my main course.
When it came time to tally our wine bill we wanted to include a gratuity for our servers. We were surprised when 20 percent was automatically added to the $70 (per person, which was pre-paid) total. This not only made for an expensive outing, but diminished the good taste left by the food. Next year we’ll plan for the fundraiser again.
Magic Meadows Yurt
Three-and-a-half Plates
Crested Butte, Colo
If there’s ever a contest for creating the most unusual topping combination for pizza, The Secret Stash Pizza in Crested Butte is definitely in the running.
It’s hard to fathom why anyone — over the age of 12 — would only consider pepperoni or sausage with such varied possibilities as the Mac Daddy: a combination of Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, red onions, pickles and shaved beef. Or, the New Potato Caboose: traditional sauce, roasted potato, bacon, green onion, cheddar and sour cream. We opted for the Figalicious/Notorious F.I.G., featuring, of course, figs, bleu cheese, asiago cheese, prosciutto and truffle oil. In keeping with the ious-motif, it was delicious. It was also decadently rich. The sweet figs countered the saltiness of the prosciutto and the cheeses bound everything together.
The Secret Stash, located at the western end of Elk Street, has been part of the Crested Butte dining scene since 2002. In June, the owners plan to move to a larger location in the center of town.
In addition to the variety of imaginative pizzas, the Stash has an eclectic décor, as if perhaps its name came from the idea of being a receptacle for anything funky, fun or startling. Vintage photos, knick knacks, all manner of kitsch adorn the restaurant. A surfboard, bust of King Tut and miniature Volkswagen bus rested on a shelf above our table. There was more, much, much more, but my eyes kept returning to Tut, and my taste buds kept enjoying the pizza combos.
The Secret Stash Pizza
Four Plates
2 Elk Ave.
Crested Butte, CO
We aren’t planning any trips to Albuquerque anytime soon, but when we do we’ll make sure to include a stop at a Flying Star Café. There are eight in the Duke City area, plus one in Santa Fe. It’s similar to Panera Bread, but with a far more ambitious menu. Dinner and breakfast are served all day, which means the lunch options are plentiful.
A recent road trip resulted in our introduction to the Flying Star. Orders are placed at the counter, but the fare is delivered to the table. The emphasis is on comfort food that can be prepared quickly without sinking to a fast food template.
I chose the smaller portion of the Buddha Bowl (appropriately called the Baby Buddha). Featuring stir-fried vegetables in a lemongrass-ginger sauce served over brown rice. The ginger adds a nice zing to the medley, and the fried wontons provide texture.
The Macaroni and Cheese has apparently developed a cult-like following among diners trying to discern the types of cheese included in this classic dish. A few years ago, it was the recipient of an area newspaper’s Best Mac and Cheese Award. Curly pasta is coated in a very rich, very creamy cheese sauce. It’s decadent. One of the most elevated, and least expensive, menu items is the $5.99 Grilled Cheese Sandwich: gobs of melted cheddar on toasted sourdough bread.
The café was bustling, but the food provided a nice respite from the basic off-the-highway-for-a-quick-bite meal we’ve settled for in the past.
Flying Star Café
Three-and-a-half Plates
8000 Paseo Del Norte
Albuquerque, N.M.
Josephine’s in Flagstaff, Ariz., describes itself as a “Modern American Bistro,” which is an apt description. The only missing detail is how successful it is at reaching its mark.
The occasion being celebrated, the companionship of the dining party, the holiday ambiance inside – and out, thanks to a mid-December snowstorm – and the homelike comfort of the restaurant contributed to an excellent dining experience. Without a doubt, though, the quality of the food was the exclamation point. The interior and exterior of the craftsman-style bungalow are captivating. Listed on the National Historic Register, it’s easy to be distracted by the stonework, wainscoting and exposed beams. Still, the food is the real attraction.
The menu features fewer than a dozen entrees; several in our group had trouble making choices. I was torn: Diablo Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese, Josephine’s Pot Pie or Smoked Pork Tenderloin with Ranchero Sauce. I thought the Eggplant Enchilada also sounded intriguing.
When placing our orders, the server consistently said “Great choice” or “Very nice.” I pointed this out, to which he responded, “What can I say? Everything is fantastic.”
I was very pleased with my pot pie. Simmering beneath the flakey pastry were tender pieces of beef, mushrooms and other vegetables in a rich wine sauce. The savory beef practically melted in my mouth. I sampled the mac and cheese, with plump, juicy shrimp, which had a spicy kick in a gouda cheese sauce.
Although the events may not conspire to recreate this perfect dining experience, I am confident the food will.
Josephine’s
Five Plates
503 N. Humphreys St.
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Four of the six people having breakfast together at Adams Mountain Café wanted the Planet Burger, a blend of brown rice, roasted nuts, onions and cheese. The only problem was that it’s on the lunch menu. Although we pleaded with our server to ask the kitchen to make this possible, she politely, but unfortunately, recited those all-too-familiar words: “If we make an exception for you, we have to make an exception for everyone.”
Only somewhat reluctantly, we ordered traditional breakfast entrees. Of course, at Adams this is not a problem and our collective disappointment was short-lived. Adams is popular for many reasons. It appeals to runners, hikers, shoppers and friends wanting a comfortable place to eat where the food is reliably fresh and good. It’s not uncommon to wait for a table – especially during breakfast service. It’s worth the time.
I ordered the omelet special which, on this particular day, was filled with sliced fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh basil, mozzarella and sprinkled with truffle oil. The licorice flavor of the basil mingled well with the decadent truffle oil. Omelets at Adams are made with three farm-fresh eggs and are light, without being full of air. In fact, the menu describes them as being “French style.”
Other fare includes plate-size pancakes, French toast, homemade cinnamon rolls, a variety of egg dishes and oatmeal. Most meals come with fresh fruit or slices of sunflower whole grain toast. Until, the Planet Burger is served before 11 a.m., it’s easy to “settle” for something else.
Adams Mountain Café
Four Plates
934 Manitou Ave.
Manitou Springs, Colo.
The Blue Page Special 