I was in Denver recently and truly ate my way across the city. I began with a visit to my favorite spice shop, the
Savory Spice Shop (listed to the left for a long time at Cooking with Ideas!) and a chocolate place right next door. Both are wonderful; I got green chili powder (among other things) at the spice shop and some treats for home at the chocolate place (which has beautiful brown bags with pink polka dots). Then I did my work in Denver, visited with friends, and ate -- yes, I ate a lot. Here are the places:
Lucille's -- is a creole cafe with three locations in Boulder (303-442-4743), Denver ( 303-282-6258), and Longmont (303-774-9814). I ate immediately upon arrival (ok, after those first two stops I noted above!) at Lucille's where I had the Farmer's Breakfast (which includes some swell sausage) and a biscuit. I was warned not to eat the whole biscuit (it was huge) because though incredibly tasty, I would then never be able to eat the whole meal. I must say this: the Farmer's breakfast was huge, wonderful and I took loads of it away to put in a refrigerator (I did not eat the rest, alas). I considered the red beans and rice, the gumbo and loads of other possibilities which I am sure I would try as a regular. But on this visit, the Farmer's breakfast was perfect(though I should have shared it with 5 other people).
Potager (for a google list of 51 diner reviews, click
here), located at 1109 Ogden Street in Denver (303-832-5788), is a delightful restaurant where I could have eaten repeatedly. Featuring local and seasonal foods, the menu changes regularly. It always ncludes loads of nice starters (the top half of the menu) and then is followed by mains. I had pork shoulder on braised turnips with cream and a bit of spinach; the turnips were sliced like a sort of creamy gratin. The vegetables made the dish; the pork shoulder was fine -- but the veggies were great. As an appetizer, I shared a small spinach souffle which was presented well and tasted even better. The menu also features wine pairings with every food option; I had a nice velaquez (how does one spell that?) The ambience is swell -- the walls are rough and make you feel like you are inside an antique while the tables are modern-ish and covered in white --though the atmosphere is a sort of studied casual. One notable dish for the people I was with: a salad of greens with a little olive oil and salt --simple but delightful. --Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will be happy here. The name means "kitchen garden" -- and the restaurant both lives up to its name -- and reaches beyond. For a Denver Post review, click
here.
Benny's Restaurant is a Mexican place in the Capitol Hill district of Denver at 301 E. 7th Avenue between Logan and Grant (303-894-0788). I had the chicken enchiladas with red mole and hot green sauce on the side. Tasty. Preceded, as usual in such places, with chips and salsa, I also had a margarita. The place takes (I think) no reservations -- but we were seated easily -- and it was packed. The owner ran by several times -- and seemed pleased with the hustle and flow. The acoustics here (and in fact everywhere I was in Denver) were swell - very high ceilings but the noise somehow got damped down and everyone was audible at my table.
Spanky's Roadhouse at 1800 East Evans Avenue is in the University of Denver neighborhood. I confess, I had been there before -- and that they do a great (to my mind) burger. Spanky's is sort of a cross between a bar and a joint -- and their burger with blue cheese and bacon is perfection incarnate. It is big, comes with ok fries, and is called the bleu moon. I had iced tea with it. One thing: don't get the nachos. They looked dull and really, there are other places to get good nachos. For a Denver Post review with picture, click
here.
Rio Grande seems to be well known by people in Denver for its margaritas. I was repeatedly told not to have more than one; I did not. Their official limit is two.. The food, friends say, is NOT the reason to go there. Yes, I ate anyway -- adequate enchiladas de queso which came with unusually good black beans and ok rice. The margarita I had came in a martini shaker -- and was both tasty and lethal. The Rio as people call it, has multiple locations; in denver it is at 1525 Blake Street in LoDo. It did verge on noisy and I was there for lunch (ostensibly).
Ok, before I left, I had brunch at
Watercourse Food which is a veggie (if you count eggs as veggie) restaurant which somehow made me feel like I was in a small neighborhood despite being pretty large place. Unlike Lucille's the biscuits were not huge and made with white flour and lighter than air -- but they were pretty darn good -- though healthier -- at least if carrot bits and whole grains mean healthy to you. I had breakfast: eggs with feta and related things and a biscuit. And lots and lots of coffee. All in all a good brunch -- in fact a more reasonable size than Lucille's and the eggs were cooked perfectly.I'd be in danger, if either Lucille's or Watercourse became my local -- or even scarier,if they were both within driving distance. The location for Watercourse: 837 E. 17th Avenue, Unit 103, 17th and Emerson, Denver CO 80218 phone 303-832-7313; web address
www.watercoursefoods.comSo, yes, I ate my way across Denver. The food was good -- the company wonderful. The sky -- well, not as blue as one would hope for a visit, but I admit it freely: I love Denver.