I’ve found myself in Denver for an extended stay with a friend. While I’ve always used the Mile High City as a jumping point from the airport to straight to the mountains of Summit County (or somewhere in that vicinity…) This week, I’m staying put. Working from home during the day and enjoying my friends in the evening. So what do you do when you’re stuck in a town you’re not really familiar with? Eat.
In my opinion, the best way to get to know a place is by the pulse of its restaurant scene. Where are the top spots? How are the chefs making a statement in what they do? Who frequents the different areas of town? These are questions I’d like to get to the bottom of. Fortunately, my husband and friends are around to oblige me in helping me on my quest… as well as 5280 magazine—Denver’s longtime city lifestyle rag known for its coverage of food, style, city politics, state issues, PLUS, it has a handful of Medill Graduates on staff (whoop!)
Almost fresh off the plane, I stopped at King Sooper’s (Safeway) for some staple items and nabbed a 5280 off the newsstand. Just my luck their cover story is the “25 Best Restaurants in Denver.” Looks like food editor Amanda Faison had already narrowed down some of the top prospects for me – PERFECT. (Plus, I have a little help from some of my local Denver friends.)
Since I’m here for a while, I figure the best way to share the experience is a couple of restaurants at a time…
First Up:
Steuben’s: (Friday night my friend and I headed west on Sante Fe (I’m staying in Littleton) towards 17th Avenue in Uptown, a hip little strip near downtown featuring a row of hip new restaurants and bars. It sort of reminded me of the Greenville Avenue area of Dallas, only a little more revitalized.
Originally the goal was to nab a table at the petite chic dining room of Olivéa, one of the 5280 top 25… But our hopes were soon dashed when we skirted through the velvet curtain at the entrance to find a near 2-hour wait. (What were thinking? Squeezing into a hip little spot like this on a Friday night… and on the tail end of Denver’s restaurant week as well!)
According to 5280, Olivéa is a place that “challenges and educates with each bite.” The menu reveals a blissful blend of Spanish, Italian, and French flavors featuring anything from duck meatballs on creamy polenta to pork belly with tangerine glaze and lentils. Alas, it was clear we would neither be challenged or educated at this restaurant for the evening.
We strolled down 17th Avenue to another popular neighborhood spot that, although lower on the elegance scale, was equally as dynamic in vibe and character. Steuben’s is the spt for down home cooking in a 1950s-retro atmosphere. But you won’t find a cream-of-mushroom-based casserole or aluminum tray TV dinners here. We’re talking mac-n-cheese and fried chicken.
With a short, but varied menu, it seems regardless of what part of country you come from, Steuben’s has got that special home-cooked vice you’ve been craving. From Memphis-style barbeque ribs and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, to Chicago-style hot dogs, Louisiana etoufée, and barbecue beef brisket with cole slaw and Texas toast. They even have a curious side order option of sugar-coated hush puppies—sort of the best of both worlds between donuts and a fried catfish dinner. I enjoyed a classic roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Simple, yes. But also tender and juicy and perfect for quenching that comfort-food craving.
The wide expansive bar is great for after work drinks and the heated patio is a great addition allowing diners to spill onto the active 17th Avenue streetside. With an eclectic mix of jukebox tunes ranging from Patsy Cline to Spoon, Steuben’s is great for families, and even better for a casual date or a night out with friends.
Next up… Drinks at Beatrice & Woodsley on South Broadway and a fantastic feast at Table 6.
Make 1/4 inch individual-sized rounds of polenta. Place on a broiling rack in the oven at 375 to 400 degrees and slowly toast these. You want the polenta to dry out a little so it’s more like a toasted crostini. (About 20 minutes or until golden.)
Place desired amount of lettuce into each bowl. Add slices of avocado, a handful of pomegranate seeds, grapefruit supremes (which means slices of grapefruit without the bitter pulp. Wiki it for directions.), and a handful of warm toasted almonds.
Take for instance the new additions of grass-fed beef carpaccio with truffled arugula and a farm fresh egg served sunny-side-up, or the sweet and citrusy grouper ceviche accented with a side of gin-soaked sliced cucumbers. Both were excellent. Kerri was insistent that we try her favorite—the lamb sliders with cabbage and tzatziki and a side of “the best steak fries in the world.” (According the Kerri.) I have to say, I’m glad she was so intent. The sliders were tasty indeed and the fries were, well, see aforementioned quote…
After sharing a few bits of juicy engagement tidbits with us, he hinted at a few other items from the main dinner menu worth trying, namely the wild mushroom-stuffed ravioli with sage-brown-butter sauce and spiced butternut squash that made me feel as if I were at my grandmother’s for Thanksgiving.
He also insisted we try a crispy order of “sunchoke tots.” These little fritters arrive as balls of shredded potato and sunchoke (root of sunflowers) salted and fried like tater tots and served in a warm cast iron dish over gooey blue cheese. Though these menu items are not on the Happy Hour menu, it’s worth asking for an order. YUM!
No Happy Hour is complete without a tasty libation. And perhaps I should have mentioned this first as the wines by the glass menu is quite simply phenomenal. What else would you expect from the fine-tuned palate of Trio’s convivial sommelier, Mark Sayre, who has meticulously handpicked a list of wines that are not only exquisite, but nicely varied for a variety of personal tastes. Kerri’s an albariño fan, and Sayre was eager to give her a taste of a bottle of the Spanish white varietal he had just added to the menu: Burgans from Rias Baizis, Spain. And while helping decide on a full yet juicy Cabernet from Amavi Cellars in Washington, he shared that he’ll be heading back to Washington this year to work on his second round of winemaking with Justin Wylie at Va Piano Vineyards in Walla Walla.
Somewhere between Fredericksburg, Kerrville, and Boerne in the heart of the Hill Country is Comfort, Texas. It’s a place I was lucky enough to find when my husband brought me to his parent’s home more than eight years ago. They live on the main drag of this tee-niny town that sits right along the Guadalupe River.
High’s is great in the morning for a rich cup of cinnamon spice coffee and a toasted bacon, cheddar, and chive scone. I usually grab a couple of these savory treats to take home with me when we leave for Austin.
I love to get their “salad trio,” which is a scoop of homemade chicken salad and a scoop of homemade tuna salad on a fresh field green salad. (From this point forward, you can pretty much assume that everything here is homemade, so I’ll refrain from using the term so prevalently.)
For dessert… Again, I have to comment about my mother-in-law’s home. Often referred to as “Camp Comfort,” dessert comes pretty fast and furious once you enter her home. From the chocolate candy bowl in the living room, to the pumpkin sugar cookies at the kitchen counter, or the fresh cherry-chocolate cake with an inch-thick slab of fudgy frosting that just came out of the oven, it’s hard to give your sweet tooth business to anyone else in town. But when it’s High’s, I’m willing to take the risk. Especially for a fudge-walnut brownie, a lemon cupcake, or a chewy cowboy chocolate-chip cookie.
To say Whole Foods downtown is a hot spot for Sunday morning brunch is an understatement. From ladies lunching after church to power couples taking a break with their pups from a run on Lady Bird Lake, WFM downtown is a the Sunday place to be… Especially if the weather is nice as it was this past Sunday, and even more so when the hot cup of Joe you’re nursing is in anticipation of meeting Alton Brown. He was in town for a book signing of his newly released cookbook, Good Eats, the Early Years, and I managed an invite to the media preview event, complete with a fresh copy of the book for signing.
So did I learn anything from the famous food geek? Well, no. Believe it or not, all I was able to manage was a firm handshake and introduction, before my mind went blank and I was, well… star struck. He ended up asking all the questions: Do you like to cook? How long have you been a writer? Who would you like me to sign this book for?
There’s something about the lobby bar here that’s particularly inviting on the weekends. Whether you find an overstuffed couch or a stately leather wingback chair to enjoy a cocktail, there’s the unmistakable feeling that you’re sharing an experience in one of the biggest and best living rooms in the city. Myers chose a tasty seasonal lemon-basil mojito. I kept to my ‘usual,’ a clean and dry gin martini, up with a few olives.
Some our favorite spots to celebrate a special occasion include Uchi, Wink, and Vespaio. But tonight, Myers wanted to keep me guessing. He steered us in the direction of East 6th Street to the hip and lively 
The chicken was juicy and tender, and although the plate was a little monochromatic in color, it was fragrant with flavor and the potato-carrot mash beneath soaked in all of the wonderful juices. The entrees were fantastic. And the potato gratin oozing with cheese, butter, and garlic was devilishly good too. Capped off with a luscious homemade pear tartlet, we were pretty much left undone.
While dining, Mickie stopped by our table to say hello and encouraged me to walk around the restaurant to check out the new art they’d just brought in that week. I took her suggestion and was stunned to see the horse, framed and hanging on the wall where my husband and Jeff Stockton had placed it earlier that day. I admit I shed a tear or two. After six years, I was reminded that I had married not only someone who knew my heart but who also knew how to keep life fun and unexpected. I married my best friend.
Every town needs a cocktail to call its own. New York has the Manhattan (and for a good few years in the late ’90s, the Appletini), New Orleans has the Sazerac, and Milwaukee has, what else? Beer. When it comes to signature cocktails, Austin is no different. Except that instead of claiming just one “cocktail of all time,” this city of creative thought, live music, and generally keeping things weird, likes to name a new signature cocktail every year at the Austin Cocktail Throwdown.
