Tuesday Night, Ladies Night

Tuesday night Jill, Ivory, Suzie, Sarah, Laura, Tanya and I all met at Steuben's for our sort of quarterly meet up and catch up. I'd had a very late lunch so I only had the butterscotch pudding for dinner, but man was it good. The conversation included, but was in no way limited to, Tanya's honeymoon, Suzie's wedding, Laura's daughter and (6 year!) anniversary, Ivory's new house and baby, Sarah's new home and subsequent renovation, Jill's job search, and my impending relocation. It's so amazing, spending a great night with great friends who are all in such different places in life. It certainly illustrates what a rich and colorful tapestry life can be.

Good Stuff

This weekend was full of good stuff. First Suzie, Jill and I had a nice dinner at North. i might have been a tiny bit under dressed for the joint, but in Denver you can get away with that. After dinner, this motley crew met up to catch a burlesque show. It was great, sexy but not vulgar, kitschy and a little bit campy. I left the show wanting to sign up for lessons. Sunday morning we met for brunch and endless mimosas. For a normal group of folks endless mimosas might mean two or three, but not us. Maybe ten mimosas and four hours later we left brunch to get on with the beautiful day. Some servers might have resented or relentless camping and blatant abuse of the endless mimosa situation, but our server was the most pleasant server I've had in a very long time.

Pinot, Malbec, Muscato Oh My

Considering how much of this I did last night at dinner: I am surprised I feel so gosh darn chipper this morning. Last night my parents and I went to dinner, I was planning on hitting up the local Mexican joint, Tequilas, but my mom sounded kind of disappointed when I said that. She's still bummed about missing out on restaurant week because I had the flu. So i got us a reservation at Vita, a she she kind of place in the Highlands. It was great. We had lots of great food, and lots of good wine.

Sushi and Sunshine

This is what I woke up to (bright and early) Monday morning: Like every morning, brush the teeth, walk the dog, head off to work. It looks like a closet bomb went off in my bedroom. Vow to do laundry and clean up this mess when I get home from work today. And I would have, I swear I had the very best intentions.... But the circumstances and the amazing weather conspired against me. And instead of laundry and vacuuming I opted for a nice walk with these two lovelies. Our walk took us down to Cherry Creek for sushi at Sushi Tazu. The weather was so nice in fact, that we opted to dine on the patio in the sunshine. I was clearly channeling 1993. A little tempura.... A crazy roll with eel, avocado, tomato, yellow pepper and mozzarella cheese (!!!!)... And a soft shell crab roll later we strolled back to Suzie's house. Overall I feel that one less thing crossed off my to-do list today is a worthy price to pay for such a lovely afternoon spent with friends.

Tuesday With Jill and Sarah

On Tuesday night I actually made it up to Boulder. Sarah volunteered her much more winter in Colorado appropriate SUV and drove us up. The drive up was a little treacherous, but by the time dinner was over the roads were fine. Sarah and I met Jill at The Kitchen [Upstairs], a comfortable space in what used to be a small book store, we had some wine and snacks. We all started with a glass of the red Vin du Jour ($5) Tuesdays wine was a palatable Shiraz-Grenache blend, and shared House Cut garlic Fries ($3) and Macaroni and Cheese ($4) and The Kitchen Tomato Soup with olive oil ($3). The fries were perfect, thick cut and piping hot topped with shaved garlic, the mac and cheese left a lot to be desired, the soup was silky and tangy. We talked about boys and work and made eyes at good looking college boys at the next table. The Bartender joined us after a bit and was charming and funny and friendly. The four of us shared three entrees for supper. Flat Bread – with la quercia prosciutto & burrata cheese ($15) So good, the flat bread was really light and crisp, the prosciutto nicely salty, and the cheese creamy and fresh. Red Snapper – with parsnip puree, baby spinach & preserved lemon tapanade ($26) The snapper was replaced with some gorgeous tuna, grilled medium rare, it was good, but the potatoes with tapenade stole the show. I'd never considered this flavor combo before, but I just may throw some lemon zest and kalamata olives in nest time I make mashers. Coleman Ranch Hanger Steak – with french fries & greens ($24) I was french fried out at this point, but the marinated hanger steak was so good that I actually moaned aloud when I took my first bite. I wish I had the recipe. I have certainly been enjoying The Bartender's company lately. He is fun and funny and thoughtful. But the thing is, and I was the same way when I was in the industry, he's just a little too... "I'm the guy" if you know what I mean. We go out and he knows everybody and has to schmooze, and a lot of these everybodies are hot young women. I'm not jealous, because we're just getting to know each other, and he is so obviously interested in me, and so cute about it. We said good night and he kissed me on the cheek, then later sent me a text asking if that was OK. Cute.

Brasserie Ten Ten

Last night we treked up to Boulder for dinner at Brasserie Ten Ten. The atmosphere was nice, unfortunately my meal was pretty terrible. I ordered an outrageously overcooked sea bass. I was going to just eat it anyway, so I asked for a side of sauce that didn't come until 20 minutes later. We could see it sitting in the window, but could not flag anyone down to bring it to us. When the server finally brought it to us everyone else was finished eating and my dry fish was also cold. I decided to send it back and just cancel my order. I did taste Jill's lamb chops and Susie's Chicken and both were outstanding. This is definitely a restaurant I'd like to try again, but hopefully with a more attentive server. I was having such a great time that I forgot to take any pictures! I only have this one from before Suzie and Ivory even arrived. Jill and I both look like we need naps. I was finally able to get my dress off last night, avoiding a potential extreme walk of shame situation this morning at work.

Brunette Barbie

After waking up Saturday morning feeling 110% better and after working for a while I got ready for the evening and headed to Denver. I did my hair and make-up and packed my costume so I could change and go after dinner. Met the Ladies (and Nick)at Solera for a World Series Baseball special, 2-for-1 glasses of wine and a selected bar menu during the game. Ivory was able to join us (Jamie was obviously at the game) and now I totally get what people mean when they say that the expecting glow. Pregnancy definitely suits her. Tanya looked great with her new specs and dramatic bangs. Suzie joked that with my over-the-top hair and make-up (we were going to a Halloween party later) and my excellent cleavage (if I do say so myself) that I looked like Brunette Barbie. I was kind of tickled. This might be the best picture of Jill I have ever taken. I wish I had a solo shot of Suzie, her new hair color photographs really well. See! It looks great, in fact, this is a really great photo of everyone. Mmm, great big glasses of 2-for-1 wine. I had the really great 2006 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc (OK actually I ended up having several) that our server suggested. It was a little sweet, but not overly so, with really crisp pear notes. I am not even going to mention the little altercation we had with the bitchy woman who was breast-feeding her baby at the bar (not just in the bar, actually sitting at the bar). OK, I mentioned it, but that is not getting anymore of my attention. I will say that the wine was good, but I was disappointed with the food, as well as the managers attitude during the "incident", I certainly won't be returning. it was awesome to get together with everyone, I wish we could do it more often, but I'll settle for every once in a while, when thing work out just so.

Pie in the Face

Always funny.

Radda Tratoria

On Monday night I headed up to Boulder to go to a yoga class with Jill, followed by dinner at Radda Trattoria. We'd eaten there once before, when Gina was in town, and loved it, so it was time for another go.

We started with the ensalada radda, endive, hazelnuts, pecorino, lemon vinaigrette. Nice, rich and bitter all at once. They have a very thoughtful wine list, I had a nice crisp white wine with dinner, I wish I could remember what it was, but I can't, and Jill had a rather light sangiovese that I thought was fine. For dinner, we shared spaghetti with duck confit and cauliflower and the salmon pizza. I love this pizza; creme fraiche, capers, slivers or red onion, arugula, and cured, not smoked, salmon. I love the texture of smoked salmon, but I don't care for the taste. This cured version has the same texture, and a mild, buttery flavor. Yum.

We probably didn't need two entrees, but we certainly cleaned our plates! We also followed up with dessert. Lemon-Rosemary cake, no where near as good as the rest of the meal. I believe I have learned my lesson, and in the future, I'll just skip dessert here.

Gina!

So, I'm going to have to work this weekend. Bummer, I know, but the reason I need to work this weekend is because Gina is in town, and we got absolutely wrecked last night. I stopped at work this morning to pick up some things I could work on at home, headed home and parked it on my couch. Poor Jill has to work all day. I don't know what we were thinking. Last night we met for happy hour at Jax and had some oysters and some cocktails. Despite our best efforts, we weren't able to talk Gina into eating somewhere on Pearl street and we headed north to Ratta Trattoria. Boy am I glad she was so insistent! Probably the best Italian meal I've had in Colorado ever. After dinner we went and played some pool, then dancing. Today I am so hurt, I had a coca-cola, a couple of darvacet, and ordered a pizza. So yeah, working tomorrow.

New York

So far the vacay has been good, but I'm spending too much money. Easy to do here, with all the shopping and the food and the drinking. Went to Oyster Bar for lunch today, it was awesome, but other than that I have yet to eat anything really tasty.

Happy Mother's Day!

I took my mom to lunch today at NoRTH in Cherry Creek, the food was pretty good, but oh my stars the service was bad. I don't know what we did to our server, and maybe she was just hungover, but it sure felt like contempt. NoRTH is a good restaurant, maybe a little too big for it's britches if you ask me. If you ask them; Taking its cue from an Italian trattoria, NoRTH offers a contemporary approach to Modern Italian Cuisine. With sleek interiors, a sexy atmosphere, and a menu offering unique antipasti, wood fired pizzas, inventive pasta dishes and many wood roasted and grilled dishes North is the perfect spot for any dining occasion. When it first opened it was hot, but now the service isn't great, their menu hasn't changed since I was last there (in early 2006? 2005?), and the "sexy atmosphere" needs a good cleaning. But, the walls opened up and it reminded my mom of the last time we ate in Little Italy where the restaurant opened up to the street. The day was beautiful, I had a lovely riesling which started out too acidic, but opened up beautifully when it warmed to room temperature. Mom had the short-rib "osso buco"which I've had before, tough stuff to mess up, tasty. I had an "italian-style" benedict with prosciutto, asparagus and sun-dried tomato hollandaise. It was fine, perfunctory benedict, but can I just say what is up with the sun-dried tomatoes everywhere. It's like 1994 came to Denver and never left. There's a whole world of flavors out there, lets try something else once in a while, OK?

Champagne

Instead of doing anything productive on Saturday, Jill and I hung out a Suzie's place and nursed our hangovers all day. We eschewed the Cinco de Mayo festivities and opted instead to lay on the couches and drink champagne all day. I went to Lime with Suzie and Mike for dinner. I have never liked margaritas, but I keep trying them in the hopes that one day they'll grow on me. I had some pomegranate margaritas that I am sure are only the first of many I will enjoy this summer. After dinner Suzie and Mike went to a party, and I went to Corridor 44 to have a few drinks while I waited for Sameera and her husband. I have always kind of liked being out by myself, because I always meet new people, and I just don't feel uncomfortable dining or going to a movie or even having a few cocktails alone. Finally, this cocktail, champagne with a splash of Guinness, delicious. Who'd have thought.

Steuben's / Uptown Tavern

Friday night we had a rare girl's night out. We convened for a late dinner, and decided to go to Steuben's. I had never been before, and I was looking forward to checking it out. On their website, they have this to say about themselves: Steuben’s is named after a restaurant in Boston that my Great Uncles, Max and Joe opened in 1945. Steubens became a famous Boston restaurant, nightclub, and hotspot from the 1940’s to the 1960’s on Boylston Street. The Vienna Room, The Cave, and The Blue Room were all part of the Steubens space and hosted Big Bands, Jazz Bands, Swing Bands, The Rat Pack, Proms and Sweet Sixteens. In its prime, Steuben’s was the center of the Boston dining and nightlife scene. Steubens, Denver, is a restaurant that respects the history of its name and the core ingredients of the American Regional classics we have attempted to recreate. These dishes are America’s cuisine and American’s interpretations of the dishes of our diverse cultural heritage. We have enjoyed the endless debates, opinions, stories, research, consultations and food memories that have led us to the opening version of the Steuben’s menu. I think they are spot on with their vision. It is a great space, that is going to be even better in the summer when the garage door-style windows open up to the street. The patrons were all very young, and hip, and I love the comfort food revival. The cocktails were a little pricey, but the entrees are big enough to share. Jill and I split a monte cristo which was great, crispy and melty, but not greasy. Suz and Sara split an iceberg wedge salad, and order of mac and cheese, and a great looking pan roasted chicken. I am sure we will be back, and hopefully for brunch, because their brunch menu looks great. After dinner we popped across the street to Uptown Tavern to have some drinks. I don't usually love uptown, but the ladies like it. This particular night however, I had a nice time. Not a great time, and I wasn't compelled to stay all night, but it was a good place to get warmed up.