Archive for the 'Travel Log' Category

Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead (…or just visiting for a week.)

Published March 12, 2010 Travel Log Leave a Comment
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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.

High’s Times in Comfort, Texas

Published October 19, 2009 Travel Log 1 Comment
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highsSomewhere 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.

As you might expect, Comfort is a town that is big on heart and big on charm. But unlike many other Hill Country towns, Comfort has an eclectic mix of people that function more like one big family rather than a bunch of neighbors. It’s a place where, as my mother-in-law likes to put it, “if someone sneezes on one end of town, someone on the other end of town says, ‘bless you!’” It’s not uncommon to ask for a cup of sugar from your neighbor one minute and find you’re sitting on their front porch spinning the town gossip long past dinnertime. People usually enter a friend’s home without knocking; plan pot lucks for the latest person to come down with a cold, and spend countless hours raising money for the local library—I’m told people on the library board are as important as the White House staff.

If Everybody’s Somebody in Luckenbach, then Everybody’s Welcome in Comfort…. (Except for maybe some days when all you want to do is enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on your front porch, but I guess you can’t always have it all.)

Though the town is only a fraction the size of Fredericksburg or Boerne, there are a number of gift and antique shops to keep you company for an afternoon. And if you happen to have time for lunch, there’s really only one place you have to go—and no, it isn’t my mother-in-law’s house, although if you stop by at lunch, she’ll likely have a glass of iced tea, a fresh cup of soup and a thick slice of chocolate cake ready for you. (I’m not kidding.)

When I’m not getting my fill of my mother-in-law’s delectable home cooking, I love to make a stop at High’s. (It’s named for the main thoroughfare in town: High Street.) It’s a little café that once only had enough room for about 10 people to stand and order at the counter. Today it’s expanded into a two-room café and shop with some of the best finds in the Hill Country—and at much better prices than you’ll find in Fredericksburg.

sconeHigh’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 dining here for lunch. It’s a fairly quick and simple menu with soups, salads, and sandwiches, but you’ll find a lot more flavor and pizzazz here than you will in a good 10-mile radius. For those Fredericksburg lovers, think Rebecca Rather’s Rather Sweet Bakery with a little less tourist traffic, and a laid back, sunshiny feel.

sand soupI 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.)

Last weekend I veered from my normal order and lost myself in a creamy pimento cheese sandwich on nine-grain bread that was easy on the mayonnaise and spicy with black ground pepper. I split an order of thick and garlicky hummus with crispy pita chips with my husband before he polished off a hearty meatloaf sandwich, and licked every one of his fingers when he was through.

lemonbrownieFor 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.

If you ever make it to this Hill Country gem of a town, be sure to stroll the shops, take in the history, and stay for a tasty treat or two. If you knock and my mother-in-law isn’t home, High’s is the next best place.

Dallas Dining: Part 1 – Fearing’s

Published August 26, 2009 Travel Log Leave a Comment

Fearing's Quesadilla - A Happy Hour SnackI recently spent a few days in Dallas for the Drink Local Wine conference and the Texas Sommelier’s conference. I rarely have the opportunity to visit this sprawling Texas metropolis so I made a point to try and get to know it a little better—through the restaurant scene, of course. I ate at some great places and some not-so-great places. But all in all, my little tour of eating my way through Dallas revealed a new found love for the Big D. I’ll include a few of my favorites in a series of posts beginning with a festive Happy Hour at Fearing’s…

I Rolled into the Big D about an hour earlier than I thought I would and killed time with a quick coffee to replenish my depleted energy after driving for 4 hours on I-35—and let me just say, that is the worst drive in Texas… ugly, boring, dangerous, and stressful.

I was meeting friends at Fearing’s at the Ritz for drinks and appetizers. Although we had dinner reservations for the Grape in the Greenville area, I wanted to at least catch the vibe at the Fearing’s Rattlesnake Bar—which consequently really is modeled after a rattlesnake with a moving tail at the end. Since I was early, I figured I’d at least try to secure a good spot in the bar for people watching. At 5:05 pm, this place was already hopping with executive types dressed in suits or at a minimum slacks with ties, the majority of which were men. (If this small cross section of people reflects the general population of this city, then what people say is right, Dallas is a VERY attractive city.)

The only available spot was amidst a collection of 2 couches and a couple of chairs, which already had one iPhone-browsing occupant nursing a vodka martini. He happened to look up just in time to notice me eyeing the ample seating space he was protecting. And, just as you’d expect a good Texas gentleman to do, he kindly offered for me to join him… and buy me a drink. Nice.

The Purple People Eater

Being the good Texas lady, I kindly accepted. But I’m afraid I chose rather poorly on the cocktail… They called it the Trinity River Project. A seemingly nice concoction of Hendricks Gin and Paula’s Texas Lemon, but I neglected to read the final ingredient in making my hasty order: Pagès Parfait Amour Crème de Violette… Note the “violette,” which means exactly what you think: purple. Yes, I ordered a purple drink, which arrived in a short martini glass as purple as grape Kool-Aid with a twist of lemon. And yes, it tasted as purple and sugary as it looked. Strike 1 against Fearing’s cocktail menu.

Looking back, I should have ordered the Fearing’s French Fizz, an intriguing mix of Grey Goose La Poire, St~Germain Elderflower Liqueur, and Champagne. But I had a long evening ahead of me and decided to just grin and bear it with my purple swill.

Turns out my Texas gentleman, Scott, was a commercial real estate broker who worked just down the street. He was waiting for a few coworkers for a rather regular post-work activity at the Rattlesnake. Lounging on the rather cushy leather sofas, I quickly ascertained the latest grim report on the Dallas commercial market and soon met his colleagues as they arrived. Within minutes it seemed we were all new-found BFF’s and it reminded me why I love being a Texan so much—we’re all such social, likable people. The evening turned into a rather jovial exchange, especially once my friends, Marcy and Jon, arrived to add to the party

Redeemable Appetizers

Although I made a poor cocktail choice, I was very happy with our appetizer order. Chicken, poblano, and mango quesadillas with a lime cream dipping sauce, and Lobster Nachos with charred tomato salsa. That’s right, when the list of toppings for nachos includes lobster, you order it. And it was fantastic. Plump, buttery morsels of lobster perched on gooey, cheesy, bean-dippy tortilla chips. They were delicious.

Alas, the time came for us to part with our new-found friends. But cards were exchanged, as were promises to grab drinks whenever we were next in town—which may or most likely will not happen. (Why do we always feel compelled to do that?)

Dallas Dining: Part 2 – The Grape

Published August 26, 2009 Travel Log Leave a Comment

 

Proud of The #1 Burger in Texas

The next stop on the Dallas Dining Tour: The Grape. The little diamond in the rough nestled in the sports bar and cantina ridden Greenville Avenue, that recently won the honorable recognition as having the #1 burger in Texas by Texas Monthly.

Word to the wise: the burgers are only served at “brunch” on Sundays and Mondays. This turned out to be a good thing as me and my imminently likeable companions, Marcy and Jon, were not interested in a burger. We were interested in just about everything else on the quaint chalkboard menu that loomed overhead at the back of this charming little place. Our first comments as we were seated at a 4-top literally 2 inches from another party of diners included phrases like, “wow, this feels so much like Europe,” “I feel like we’re stepping into the Old World,” “This place is precious,” and “Oh my God, look what that couple is eating over there. We have to get that!”

Our friendly waiter guided us through the menu for a few Grape specialties. We started with the mushroom soup, an item that has been on the menu since the restaurant opened in the early ‘70s. I’m not usually the soup type, but after the fervent suggestion from our waiter, I decided to check it out. He was right. It was phenomenal. I felt I’d been transported back to a tiny French bistro with this decadent cup of love. You could taste the centuries that this recipe had traveled through combining butter, onions, white wine, mushrooms, and just a little bit of cream. I honestly could have stopped with right here, and slapped one of my own personal restaurant stars on this place. (Ok, so my stars aren’t as revered as the coveted Michelin, but I do guard them discriminately, and the Grape absolutely deserves one.)

The rest of the meal followed suit. We were all bowled over by the lamb tartines. A happy mixture of tender lamb stewed with tomatoes, garlic, onion, and all sorts of tasty aromatics plopped onto crusty toast and finished with melted cambazola cheese. Holy rich and gooey goodness, Batman!!!

Marcy and Jon each savored their entrees of Scottish Salmon finished in a honey-chipotle barbecue sauce with tomato-corn salsa, and a quartered chicken braised in quajillo and beer served in a red chili broth of potatoes, corn, and house-made chorizo. I ordered the steak frites. (I just had to keep the French theme going…) The steak was perfectly seasoned and medium rare and every single crunchy garlic-herb fry was bliss… That’s right, I ate them all. I’m sure I let Marcy and Jon try one, but I lacked the self control to leave ANY of them on the plate. And no, I don’t regret it.

Something I wholeheartedly regret: We were way too stuffed to even entertain dessert. A horrible mistake. Especially with a fresh Texas peach crisp headlining the chalkboard dessert menu. Next time.

To be honest, Jon’s chicken dish didn’t come together for me. Particularly in the way a classic roasted chicken dish might present in a Parisian bistro. (Yes I know it was prepared with a Latin flare, but the elements lacked the cohesiveness you’d expect.) But this little detail is insignificant in light of everything else we had. And I’m merely one opinion. My suggestion is that you book your next reservation at The Grape—whether you’re from Dallas or not—and taste it all for yourself. Just be sure you don’t make the same mistake we made; Save room for dessert!

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