Archive for the ‘restaurants’ Tag
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
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
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.
Bouchon Bistro used to only offer fried chicken dinners once a month. Reservations filled within minutes; sometimes it felt like having one wrong lottery number. Now the odds are a little better: the crispy fried chicken in Thomas Keller’s restaurant is served twice monthly.
Although, the regular menu is available, I have to wonder why anyone would consider it. The sides, aren’t always the same, but by all accounts the chicken has a consistently high wow factor. Recently, the meal included fork-crushed potatoes, pole bean salad and Parker House rolls. The chicken is the star of the night. Plump from soaking in a lemon/herb brine for more than 12 hours, it’s deep-fried for a coating that shatters as soon as it meets your lips.
(Keller has numerous dining establishments. He’s authored several cookbooks, including Ad Hoc at Home featuring the fried chicken recipe. The description of the process and lengthy list of ingredients intrigued me, so last winter I tried it. It was good to know that, with fortitude and lots of time, the chicken can be made at home very close to what Bouchon serves. Keller also edits Finesse, a beautifully-designed magazine with articles celebrating the beauty of kitchens: design, cooking, gadgets and techniques.)
Back to that chicken, it’s juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside for the perfect combination of texture and taste: buttermilk, rosemary and thyme. The bean salad in bacon vinaigrette, although flavorful, wasn’t as stellar as the creamy potatoes and rolls; even with a chicken-only meal I’d feel like a winner.
Bouchon Bistro
Five Plates
235 North Canon Dr.
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Creekside dining at The Wines of Colorado provides a relaxing location; the fact that it was once a convenience store somehow adds to the experience.
One of my friends joked that The Wines should get an award for the best re-use of a 7-Eleven; she’s right. It takes a strong memory, or good imagination, to envision the space as a one-time Slurpee dispenser. The several additions – including a deck and the creekside patio – hide the past well. The restaurant is part wine shop featuring Colorado wines, what else? Since I didn’t have any, I’ll keep my opinion about that to myself.
The food, though, is inventive and surprising. I ordered a portabella stuffed with spinach, diced tomato, feta, herbs, and served with hummus and pita bread on the side. Feta isn’t one of my favorite cheeses, but its slight tanginess and gooey consistency when melted provided a palette-pleasing contrast to the mushroom’s texture. It’s hard to go wrong with smooth, earthy hummus, although I did run out of pita.
My friends ordered the salmon Cesar and the ravioli salads. The smoky, flakey salmon made the Romaine appear superfluous. The latter salad featured large raviolis on a bed of greens, which was a successful combination.
Since it was such a pleasant setting after a hot morning hike, we shared the Carrot Cake for Four. Chock-full of nuts, raisins and flecks of carrots, the rich, thick frosting was like a blanket no one needed.
Oh thank heaven for, well, Wines of Colorado.
The Wines of Colorado
Three-and-half Plates
8045 W. Highway 24
Cascade, Colo.
It’s been a while since I’ve written about dinner The Margarita at Pine Creek, one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Recently, I was there for lunch, when the choices are fewer and lighter, just right for a summer day. (Dinners are served as three or five course options.) Some things such as service, ambiance and the food are remarkable no matter when you’re there.
A good friend suggested it as the place to celebrate my birthday. He is an accomplished chef and connoisseur of fine foods. I am always happy to dine with him, not just for his good company, but also to get his take on the cuisine.
The lunch menu is strong on salads, with a few other selections, but I was immediately drawn to the Sesame Chicken Salad. My host was torn between that and the Duck Confit Salad, so he asked to substitute the duck for the chicken. Even though I was very pleased with my choice, I almost wish I had done the same.
A small loaf of fresh whole wheat bread with a ramekin of pimento cheese arrived at the table. Pimento-spimento you might say. Go ahead because then I could have the creamy, slightly tangy red-flecked spread all to myself.
The salads were large and overloaded with ingredients to augment the greens and roasted chicken/duck confit: fresh vegetables and a lightly-flavored sesame dressing.
A pecan crumb topping coffee cake was served as dessert. Although it was very good, it’s better suited to breakfast or brunch, something I’ll look forward to.
The Margarita at Pine Creek
Four-and-a-half Plates
7350 Pine Creek Rd.
Colorado Springs, 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.
The Blue Page Special 