Tessa McKillop
In my former life, I remember a good gal pal of mine purchasing one of those new Volkswagen Beetles… and then, within an instant, they were to be found all over the city. Well, I spotted my first Tessa McKillop at Design After Dark back in January and I’ve been seeing them with some frequency ever since….. and reading about them, too.
Highly crafted, McKillop’s large-scale, black-and-white portraits (often confused for photographs) are full of emotion. They’re much too striking not to be experienced in person. I highly suggest stopping by Sputnik on S. Broadway while you can to see them for yourself. Next thing you know, you’ll be spotting them all over town, too.
Oscar Feast!
My friend Nancy is visiting from out of town for the weekend and so on Saturday night Alastair and I decided to take her to our very favorite Denver restaurant, Potager (see Alastair’s very favorable review here). It was, and it pains me to say this, a little disappointing. The appetizers — wilted savory greens, spinach and mushroom toast — were both fantastic. The main courses, however, not so much. The shellfish stew was more broth with scallops and mussels than it was stew as I understand the term, all topped off with a saffron aioli, which proceeded to disintegrate into unappetizing floating clumps in the broth. I like mayonnaise in pretty much any form but this was distinctly unappetizing. Nancy and Alastair both got the roast chicken and while the bird itself was well cooked, the jumble of accompaniments just didn’t work that well, and seemed to be different from what usually comes with the chicken. This time: arugula, dried apples(?), pine nuts, olives, and about fifteen other things. One got the impression that Potager might have been trying to clean out its fridge. The flourless chocolate cake, however, was divine. And the service, as always, was fantastic.
Alastair's Sardine Toast with my Canadian Flag Cocktail Napkins and Grandmother's Monogram Plates
But after a disappointing dinner Alastair and I felt duty-bound to prepare something pretty fantastic for the out-of-towner, especially as we were going to be settling in for a long night of Oscar-watching chez moi. And a veritable feast it was! We began with Alastair’s signature sardine toast: sardines, lemon, mustard, minced onion, oil, and butter, all combined and then toasted on a baguette. Delicious.
Caesar Salad with PLENTY of Anchovies
Loyal DOD readers may recall that Alastair and I have ordered a number of disappointing Caesar salads of late, so I decided it was time to make it right. I used my grandmother’s recipe for the dressing (as well as her bowl), fried my own croutons (pictured below) and Alastair brought over plenty of anchovies. It was all topped off by some grated parmesan, and I have to say it was pretty amazing. Tangy and salty and crunchy and thoroughly unhealthy, the croutons particularly. I think it was seeing the amount of butter and oil I used that might have given Nancy a heart attack, not the croutons themselves.
Homemade Croutons cooked in a gallon of oil and pound of butter
English Cucumber
We finished the meal with a delicious pasta salad prepared by Alastair: shrimp, dill, and English cucumbers, all tossed with perfectly cooked shell pasta and a tangy lemony dressing. Unfortunately my pictures of this scrumptious concoction all came out blurry. Maybe a consequence of all the wine we had consumed by that point?
On to the Oscars: We began eating and drinking and watching at 4:00 as E! began its red carpet coverage. I always find these things a little bit painful as the hosts bend over backwards to ingratiate themselves with the celebrities. Though we were grateful it wasn’t Joan and Melissa Rivers, Ryan Seacrest wasn’t much of an improvement. I just felt embarrassed for him. That said, he was leagues better than the horrendous Kathy Ireland, Sherri Shepherd, and Jess Cagle, who were hosting ABC’s half-hour coverage before the show actually began. Ireland, looking far too skinny, was, in a word, wooden. And yet absurdly peppy at the same time!!!! All inflection seemed to be thoroughly rehearsed. Please take her away and never let her do this again!
The awards went to the predicted winners. There weren’t really any surprises. We all cheered for Kathryn Bigelow as much for the fact that she beat out her ex-husband, James Cameron as for her being the first woman to win an Oscar for directing. Suck it, Jimmy! And I loved Sandra Bullock’s remarkably gracious acceptance speech, as she wittily acknowledged the other actresses in her category, gave a shout-out to mothers, and spoke about her own mother’s influence, particularly her insistence that no person, regardless of race, religion, color, class, or sexual orientation, is better than anyone else. I am also very much a fan of the format where each best actor/actress nominee gets a little speech delivered by someone who knows them. Many were quite touching.
As for dress, the real reason to watch, it was the general consensus of the room that the following looked horrible: Vera Farmiga (even though we love her); SJP (who fiddled with her neckline the whole night and seemed to have bathed in bronzer); Charlize Theron (who has to really work to look bad); Zoe Saldana (were those ornamental cabbages on her dress?); Kate Winslet (great from the waist up but otherwise seemed to be wearing separates, not a dress; maybe a twinset?); and Miley Cyrus. We were fans of the sartorial choices of Sandra Bullock, Rachel McAdams (Canadian!), Queen Latifah (all hail the Queen!), Carey Mulligan (hair, not dress), Julianne Moore, Helen Mirren, and Oprah Winfrey. George Clooney’s hair was horrendous and his attitude even worse. And finally, James Cameron’s wife needs to investigate the power of food; not only is it tasty, it also covers up your jutting collar bone!
The Gaucho
You may have read my past posts (here, and here) regarding my obsession with Capitol Hill apartments and more specifically the unrelated names often given to them. Well, I’ve made little progress finding out why the trend is so prevalent in Denver, especially when compared to the other cities I’ve lived in. However, that’s not going to stop me from continuing to share these little gems with all of you. I’ve also decided to make the experience a lot more fun for everyone. Introducing the Gaucho, located at E. 12th Avenue and Clarkson.
Gaucho, 1201 Clarkson
Don’t be fooled, the Gaucho is an apartment building, not a church.
Gaucho Signage
The gaucho… a romantic image of the past, represented freedom from colonial control… the dusty boots, poncho, his bandy legs, and an untamed spirit. Massive estancias. I present to you the Gaucho, re-imagined:
The Gaucho: Reimagined
Deluxe Burger: Love in a Bun
Last night Blake and I joined a few of our best gal pals to try out Deluxe Burger, the newly opened joint venture between chef Dylan Moore (of the restaurant Deluxe and neighboring bar Delite) and mid-century furniture outlet Mod Livin’ on East Colfax Avenue. The place was jumping!
With their use of bold color, large-scale George Nelson bubble lamps, and customized furniture they’ve transformed a dreary former liquor store into a gourmet, chef-driven burger joint were everything on the menu is made in-house, including the ketchup, mustard, pickles, and fries.
In addition to standard burgers, made with Angus beef, ground free-range chicken, and ground ahi tuna, the concise menu offers up a number of “signature burgers” without being over-whelming. These include a BBQ Burger, the Spicy Tuna Burger, and a Truffle Burger. Nothing knocked the seven of us off of our chairs (well, perhaps the Diet Coke that Blake ordered in a bottle he had never seen before…. and Blake’s had a lot of Diet Coke), but we were all very pleased with our choices… enough so that most of us will return to try out more of the menu.
The Denver Burger
I had the Denver Burger, which came with sautéed Anaheim chilies, onions, pico, cheddar cheese, and smoked jalapeno aioli. It was a great tasting burger. I personally wanted to experience a little more spice or smoke considering all the ingredients the burger was topped with. Blake enjoyed his Basil BLT Chicken Burger, and the Truffle Burger with shiitake mushrooms and truffled swiss cheese was a hit.
One thing that we all generally agreed upon was that the fries could use some fine-tuning. Now, you’re not going to be able to please everyone. For instance, Blake likes his fries thinner (shocking!) and crispy. In fact, I think he was so upset that he ate most if not all of the accompanying ketchup… and Blake don’t eat ketchup! Is it ketchup if it doesn’t come out of a bottle? That’s another discussion… I like the crispy thin fries, but I also really enjoy a thicker cut steak fry like my mother made in the Fry Daddy. Let’s face it… I love my potatoes. It’s the Irish blood in me body.
Deluxe Tuna Burger and Truffle & Parm Fries
Deluxe offers “Fat Fries” (do fries make you fat?) that fall closer to my personal preference. We all felt that the hand cut fries with fresh thyme and garlic could have been crispier… it wasn’t that they were underdone, but maybe they needed another toss in the oil. Oddly enough the truffle and parm fries had more of the crisp everyone was after. Perhaps it was the addition of the parmesan?
One member of our team had the homemade tomato soup topped with fresh basil…. I think he enjoyed it! Another had the Orangecicle Shake which I now wish I had ordered.
Home Made Tomato Soup w/ Fresh Basil
When ordering I asked the cashier whether the Denver Burger was messy, she told me that “all of our burgers are messy” and when it came to eating them, it was recommended that we leave the burger inside the half-wrapper that they serve it in. This did make it easier to eat, but some of those juices still escaped from our clutches. That said, we were all very impressed by how well the Kaiser buns held up and tasted!
All I know is that my meal got me through the rest of the evening which involved some heavy drinking… I woke up this morning feeling great and looking fabulous. Thanks Deluxe Burger!
Burger Juice!
Next on our list of burger joints, H-Burger in the Sugar Cube building on the 16th Street Mall. Stay tuned.
Back Off Denver Drivers!
Alastair and I have long noted a trend among Denver drivers: they don’t pay attention to pedestrians. This is probably because there aren’t all that many pedestrians in this car-centric culture, even as many Coloradans pursue exercise in any number of other ways. This is one of Alastair’s biggest pet peeves because he walks to work. I notice because I am a runner, sometimes through Cheesman or Wash Park, but more frequently along city streets and sidewalks. Just yesterday I was heading along Seventh Avenue at a decent clip and was just about to cross the street at Josephine when a car whips around the corner and cuts me off at a green light, my green light. For future reference Denver drivers, this means that a pedestrian has the right of way:
My Right of Way, Not Yours!
Yes, this particular driver was on her cell phone and that probably contributed to her inability to see that she had almost run me down. But the greater problem is that Denver drivers do not seem to realize that while pedestrians may often be confined to the sidewalk, in order to get from sidewalk to sidewalk, we, too, must cross the street (or alley; don’t even get me started on how drivers don’t check before emerging from one of Denver’s alleys). The roads belong to all of us!
I used to live in a big city with crazy traffic, a city whose drivers have a bad reputation, but it was also a city of pedestrians, millions of them, and so drivers also knew that there could always be other people using the roads, and they were often ready for us. Not so in Denver.
Doors Open Denver 2010
Doors Open Denver is a free two-day event that celebrates architecture and design. The event is designed to create access, awareness, and excitement about good design in Denver. It’s also a great opportunity to go behind the scenes of the city’s many historic and modern architectural sites, as well as lesser-known treasures typically inaccessible to the general public. This year’s program is being held Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
O·ster·i·a Marco
Just this past Friday, Blake and I finally stopped by Frank Bonanno’s Osteria Marco for dinner. We’ve been to Bones, Bonanno’s Asian-inspired establishment at 7th and Grant, on numerous occasions. This, however, was our first visit to his Larimer Square outpost. Those of you who have been singing its praises… we were not let down!
Upon arrival for our 8:30 p.m. reservation, we were kindly greeted by the front line staff and informed that there was a bit of a reservations back up… and without hesitation Blake and I immediately saddled up to the bar. We both ordered a lovely glass of the Soave Classico. [Side note: Soave has become my tried and true white wine of choice these days. Ever since returning from a trip last spring to Verona and Venice, I’ve been making a rather popular-with-the-locals white wine-based cocktail called an Aperol Spritz—a dry Italian white wine served with a splash of Aperol and topped off with sparkling mineral water. If you haven't tried it, I highly suggest picking up a bottle of Aperol and a bottle of Soave at Argonaut. They're particularly pleasant in the summertime.] Ok, back to the point of the post. Perhaps the most notable event during our time at the bar happened immediately before we had been taken to our table. Out of the blue, one of the bar staffed yelled out “Alastair!” with bill in hand. I was a little confused, but as I was signing the slip a hostess came over and informed us that our table was ready. Now that’s communication… It was a nice touch.
Spritz!
After being seated, Blake and I were startled and amused to hear that it was Denver Restaurant Week, “a two-week celebration of the culinary scene in Denver.” Apparently, someone did not inform them that every week is restaurant week for the DOD boys! In any case, participating restaurants offer special multi-course dinners for the fixed price of $52.80 for two, or $26.40 for one (not including tax or gratuity). We opted to forgo the special menu and chose from the other regularly offered dishes. We immediately started off with the Chef’s assortment of meat and cheeses: prosciutto, salame, sopressata picante, mozzarella, ricotta, robiola, and a red onion relish. It was amazing. I honestly could have consumed the entire plate on my own… but Blake has a big appetite, and well, things would get scrappy. The rest of the meal followed the same pattern. Caesar salad with shaved pecorino and one white anchovy split between the two of us. Really, one anchovy!? Blake has more to share regarding anchovies… In any case, it was a very good salad and by the time our Carne pizza arrived we had moved on. Sausage! Meatball! Pepperoni! And an amazing house ricotta made for an amazing pie, also split between the two of us. Even Blake would have had trouble finishing this pie on his own. An inquiry to our waitress confirmed our thoughts that most people could not complete one entirely on their own. However, considering how good this pizza was, Blake would have put up a good fight! Just saying… we’ll be visiting Osteria Marco again. In the meantime, I will be having dreams of salumi and cheese.
Denver Airport Volunteers
I’ve just returned from another trip to the Bay Area to see the Gentleman Friend and, while I could talk about the fun restaurants we visited and the endless tasty food I consumed, this is supposed to be a blog about Denver, not San Francisco.
Photo Courtesy of the Denver Post
So, in that spirit: Upon my return to DIA I took the airport tram to the main terminal, ascended the escalator, and once again was faced with the volunteers in their cowboy hats, bolo ties, and faux shearling vests. Who are these people? I’m assuming that they are volunteers, particularly so because most of them appear to be senior citizens and they are there no matter the time of day. But why volunteer at the airport? What about homeless people? A soup kitchen? The illiterate? Your local women’s shelter? Political campaign? Public park litter patrol? Unlike these sorts of activities — some of which I have done myself — what kind of rosy altruistic glow does one achieve through volunteering at DIA? ”Without me, that woman never would have found the Hertz counter. I made a difference today, I sure did.” ”Sometimes I get up in the morning and I feel a little useless, but then I remember that it’s because of me that weary travelers figure out where the baggage claim is about 15 seconds faster than they would if they just looked at the signs. And then I know that I have a real purpose in life!”
I’m not making fun of volunteer work here; for that I have a profound respect. I’m making fun of this volunteer work, which seems so profoundly useless. Is it just that most volunteer work that I would consider doing — on behalf of women, the gays, the poor, the environment; causes that need my help, in other words – seems political by definition and this is volunteer work utterly stripped of ideology? To me that’s what makes it so pointless but maybe that is precisely its appeal? Any thoughts, dear reader?
Chili Verde
At this point you may be under the impression that the DOD boys do nothing but eat out and are incapable of cooking an actual meal. Today’s post will not help. While we do cook a fair bit on weekdays in our respective kitchens, weekends are definitely for meals out. And last night was no exception. We ventured out to the Highlands to meet up with some friends of ours for dinner. Our first stop, which didn’t take reservations, would have taken about an hour to seat our party, and I was, by that point, ravenous. An hour was far too much time. So we walked a few blocks over to a Mexican place at 37th and Tejon that one of the friends had heard about but not tried: Chili Verde. And we were not disappointed!
The Cactus Margarita Glass
Though it was busy we were seated immediately and just as quickly presented with chips and a number of different dips: salsa, some hot and smoky mixture, and what looked to me like refried bean dip with queso fresco (I’m not much for beans so didn’t try it). We ordered a round of margaritas, which came in these lovely cactus glasses, and then set about determining what to have for dinner. We opted for a shared appetizer: the calamari with chipotle dipping sauce. The calamari was crisp and yet also tender, just as it should be. And the sauce had a little bite, which is rare in Denver, where restaurants tend to assume that diners can’t handle anything spicy. In this respect, Denver can feel just as Midwestern as many of its transplants.
But not at Chili Verde, where our entrees also did not stint on the heat. Alastair and I both opted for the fajitas. I got mine with chicken and Alastair requested a shrimp and steak combo, what he called surf ‘n’ turf. Our dining partners got the chili verde platter and the poblano crepes: shredded chicken rolled in a crepe accompanied by a poblano sauce and rice. The food was all well seasoned and tasty; portions were generous without being overwhelming. All four of us became members of the clean plate club. And to top it all off, the owner very graciously sent over a complimentary dessert, an order of changas: deep fried tortillas wrapped around chocolate and topped with more chocolate, ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream. The perfect end to a very tasty meal. Could the DOD celebrity have spread to the point that we are now getting free desserts? We’ll try not to let it go to our collective head.
The atmosphere at Chili Verde may not be to everyone’s liking. It is very well lit, with each table having an individual low-hanging pendant light over it. These lights become somewhat problematic when tables get moved around to accommodate larger groups. And there is a huge green rectangle painted on the dining room’s main wall; in the midst of it is a photograph of green chiles that is somewhat dwarfed by the enormity of the painted green rectangle. The front room also contains a bar and a big TV (must all restaurants have a TV?) and some raised tables and bar stools. Last night there was a large gathering of basketball fans who got a little rowdy at times, cheering on their team (Kentucky). They were somewhat irritating, though one of our dining companions appreciated (something of an understatement) the fact that a number of the male fans were wearing basketball jersey tank tops and thus were showing off their well-proportioned arms.
It’s clear that Chili Verde is hoping to be both restaurant and neighborhood hangout and they seem to be succeeding at both. Not only would we recommend it, we hope to return again soon!
Potager
J’aimerais un jardin potager! On Friday, Blake and I visited what has to be our favorite eating establishment located conveniently in the DOD neighborhood on Ogden Street at East 11th Avenue, Potager. Let’s just start this post with “it’s a good time to be here,” some initial words our waiter, John shared with us.
Potager
Potager reminds me of the dining experiences I frequently had in my former life. It changes its menu every month using what is in season and fresh from local farms, such as Pachamama Farm, John Long’s Pork, and Grass Root’s Farm, to name a few. The wine list also changes with the dinner menu. The list highlights local wine distributors and importers, and the majority of the wines are sustainably grown or organic.
After arriving, Blake and I were immediately seated by our favorite hostess (who we are convinced plays a larger role at Potager, beyond the greeting and seating of guests). We sat next to one of the large picture windows that minimize the use of electricity (and may have been responsible for the sudden increases and decreases in temperature we experienced with frequency near the end of our meal). I ordered a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc / Sémillon Bordeaux from France while Blake chose the drier Rioja Blanco from Spain. Both were very nice wines. When it came to ordering, the task was not easy. Like John said, it was a good time to be at Potager. The current menu features many great choices… in addition there were four spectacular specials, each described in depth by our waiter, who also apologized for the myriad of spelling mistakes written on the specials board. John was very attentive but at no point did I feel rushed.
Not ready to choose our main course, Blake and I proceeded to order our starters: a bruleed (yes, as in crème brûlée) duck liver mousse with orange marmalade and the shrimp chowder special with herbed croutons. The dishes came out almost immediately and considering my hunger, it was perfect timing. Blake thought the orange marmalade was very tasty… and he really doesn’t like marmalade. The brûlée provided a great crunch to the mousse. The shrimp chowder, with potatoes and crisp bacon, was with the addition of a touch of salt and pepper, a perfect start.
When we ordered our waiter did not simply acknowledge it in a way that demonstrated he had heard us and understood, instead he had to approve of everything we had said. It started to seem insincere… and honestly, was there anything that he would have disapproved of? In any case, Blake and I were thoroughly entertained by the specials board… Now, if there was one guest that evening to mention this to in advance, John picked the right one! With his editing eye, Blake pointed out one after another: shitaki… giniger… srimp… and perhaps my favorite, wantan!
Speaking of wontons, I ordered the Asian-style braised Grass Roots Farm grass fed beef short ribs with a thankfully toned down version of homemade kimchi [the national dish of Korea] and sticky rice. The sauce that covered the ribs was amazing with just the right amount of sweetness. I paired this with the suggested red wine, a Cabernet-Tempranillo blend. Blake had the grilled long line caught swordfish with lemon. It came with perfectly cooked rosemary potatoes and Jay Hill Farm Swiss chard sauteed with currants, pine nuts, and capers. Blake was very happy. So much so that he indulged my interest in sharing dessert. Ordering dessert is not common amongst the DOD boys, however we settled on a delicious, but hard to tackle Meyer lemon framboise layer cake with lemon cream filling homemade white chocolate lemon ice cream, and blueberry sauce.
It was a superb meal and a wonderful dining experience. Not a surprise at Potager. If you’re looking for a great meal with a warm atmosphere and a wine list to match, the DOD boys highly suggest that you take advantage of the newest menu at Potager before it disappears. I’ve already decided to return soon to taste both the ramen noodle bowl and shellfish stew. Bon appétit!
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