Our Tuesday dinner was pushed back to Wednesday. I decided to make fish for Crystal at my apartment. I had some frozen coconut crusted tilapia that I cooked in the oven. Along with the coconut, there were also mango pieces in the crust. I served the fish with wedges of lemon to help season it. For the vegetable, I decided to cook up some fresh broccoli, carrots and snow peas in an Asian type sauce. I put the vegetables in a pot with a little water, sesame oil, garlic olive oil, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce. I also prepared some garlic and olive oil couscous to have on the side. Luckily, the dinner was prepared fairly quickly without too much preparation beforehand.
The fish had pretty good flavor for being frozen. The lemon helped bring out the coconut flavor. The vegetables didn’t turn out quite like I wanted. They were a bit overcooked so had lost most of their crunch. I also added too much soy sauce. It was too salty for my taste but would have probably been okay for a normal palate. I did enjoy the little bit of heat that the Sriracha added.
Since I had lemon for the fish, I couldn’t resist serving a Colorado whiskey and 7up with a twist of lemon to drink. For dessert, Crystal and I shared a cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. It was chocolate chocolate chip. It had a light drizzle of white frosting on it. I normally am not a fan of chocolate cake itself but this one had amazing flavor. The chocolate chips in it were also high quality. The mini bundt cake was just the right size to split. Of course I’m sure I could have eaten the whole thing if I was feeling a bit greedy.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Buenos Aires Pizzeria
Buenos Aires Pizzeria website
1307 22nd Street
Denver, CO
303.296.6710
When dining at an international restaurant, I like to know when I am enjoying an authentic experience. I had just the occasion at the Buenos Aires Pizzeria on Sunday. I went there with an Argentinean friend, named Paz, who is from Córdoba. Her father used to run a pizzeria and now makes gelato. I felt I had an expert on Argentinean food with me.
I have never been to Argentina but the décor looked very authentic. The walls are painted off-white and green and decorated with soccer flags, tango pictures and other Argentina pictures. It was late on a Sunday so the place was mostly empty and had that lazy afternoon feel. We were joined by a few other diners.
While the restaurant is better known for its pizza, Paz and I decided to have an afternoon snack of empanadas and gelato. I ordered a beef picante empanada. I was surprised by some of the ingredients. It had ground beef, red pepper flakes, green olives and hard boiled egg white. I also had a ham and cheese empanada along with a margarita empanada. The margarita has cheese, basil and tomato. Paz had the margarita empanada as well as a chicken margarita empanada. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. The homemade dough had excellent flavor as well. Paz told me that they were authentic Argentinean empanadas though a little larger. Each empanada was about the size of my fist. I was definitely full after eating three of them.
We finished off our rather large snack with some gelato. Since we were able to get up to two flavors, Paz tried the dulce de leche and chocolate almond. On her recommendation of typical Argentinean flavors, I tried the dulce de leche and sambayón gelatos. The dulce de leche had a deliciously sweet caramel flavor. The sambayón is made from an egg liqueur. It was a new taste to me. The gelato was creamy and had a hint of a richer fermented flavor from the liqueur. I enjoyed it paired with the dulce de leche but I probably would not like it on its own because of its strong flavor.
One of the owners came out to talk to Paz. She was very friendly. I loved the atmosphere and the food was very good and homemade. I need to return to try their pizza. I hear it’s very different from the pizza we know here. I also saw on their website that they have a Gnocchi special on the 29th of every month from an Argentinean tradition. It looks like a must-taste dish.
1307 22nd Street
Denver, CO
303.296.6710
When dining at an international restaurant, I like to know when I am enjoying an authentic experience. I had just the occasion at the Buenos Aires Pizzeria on Sunday. I went there with an Argentinean friend, named Paz, who is from Córdoba. Her father used to run a pizzeria and now makes gelato. I felt I had an expert on Argentinean food with me.
I have never been to Argentina but the décor looked very authentic. The walls are painted off-white and green and decorated with soccer flags, tango pictures and other Argentina pictures. It was late on a Sunday so the place was mostly empty and had that lazy afternoon feel. We were joined by a few other diners.
While the restaurant is better known for its pizza, Paz and I decided to have an afternoon snack of empanadas and gelato. I ordered a beef picante empanada. I was surprised by some of the ingredients. It had ground beef, red pepper flakes, green olives and hard boiled egg white. I also had a ham and cheese empanada along with a margarita empanada. The margarita has cheese, basil and tomato. Paz had the margarita empanada as well as a chicken margarita empanada. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. The homemade dough had excellent flavor as well. Paz told me that they were authentic Argentinean empanadas though a little larger. Each empanada was about the size of my fist. I was definitely full after eating three of them.
We finished off our rather large snack with some gelato. Since we were able to get up to two flavors, Paz tried the dulce de leche and chocolate almond. On her recommendation of typical Argentinean flavors, I tried the dulce de leche and sambayón gelatos. The dulce de leche had a deliciously sweet caramel flavor. The sambayón is made from an egg liqueur. It was a new taste to me. The gelato was creamy and had a hint of a richer fermented flavor from the liqueur. I enjoyed it paired with the dulce de leche but I probably would not like it on its own because of its strong flavor.
One of the owners came out to talk to Paz. She was very friendly. I loved the atmosphere and the food was very good and homemade. I need to return to try their pizza. I hear it’s very different from the pizza we know here. I also saw on their website that they have a Gnocchi special on the 29th of every month from an Argentinean tradition. It looks like a must-taste dish.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Amore Gelato
Amore Gelato website
535 16th Street #120
Denver, CO 80202
303.825.0609
After the Da Vinci inventions exhibit, my parents and I went across the street to a gelato shop that caught our eye. It was called Amore Gelato and had Italian style gelato and sorbetto. The sorbetto is dairy-free so we stuck to that to share with my mom.
My dad got the Forest Berry gelato that had lots of red berries in it. It was light and fresh and perfect for a Spring day at the mall. I got the Red Orange gelato which was made of blood orange. It tasted really good to me but I also thought it tasted like orange tic-tacs.
We got to eat at the outside tables. There was a rush of people when we arrived but after we got our sorbetto, it cleared out. The staff was a bit flustered with the crush of people but they managed to get us through smooth enough.
535 16th Street #120
Denver, CO 80202
303.825.0609
After the Da Vinci inventions exhibit, my parents and I went across the street to a gelato shop that caught our eye. It was called Amore Gelato and had Italian style gelato and sorbetto. The sorbetto is dairy-free so we stuck to that to share with my mom.
My dad got the Forest Berry gelato that had lots of red berries in it. It was light and fresh and perfect for a Spring day at the mall. I got the Red Orange gelato which was made of blood orange. It tasted really good to me but I also thought it tasted like orange tic-tacs.
We got to eat at the outside tables. There was a rush of people when we arrived but after we got our sorbetto, it cleared out. The staff was a bit flustered with the crush of people but they managed to get us through smooth enough.
Le Grand Bistro
Le Grand Bistro website
1512 Curtis Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.534.1155
I’ve been to Le Grand Bistro before and I want to keep going back. Everything I’ve had there has been delicious and interesting. I’ve been for dinner and brunch. I went in January with my friend Tom for his birthday. That was when we discovered that weekend brunch had bottomless mimosas for $9. That made for a, how do you say… special birthday.
This trip brought me to Le Grand Bistro for another brunch with my parents. We were seated more toward the bar area which led to another discovery: the Bloody Mary bar. It’s $10 to make your own Bloody Mary. Grabbing life by the olives, I decided to go for it. The waitress served me a glass filled with ice and an impressive amount of vodka. (You can choose your alcohol.) I then made my way to the bar. The first thing to mention was the absolute beauty of the setup. All of the ingredients were very artfully arranged. There were three different Bloody Mary mixes to choose from. There was the Pescatarian mix which included Clamato. There was the Herbivore which included V8. I chose to try the Carnivore which had the following ingredients: veal stock, chicken stock, tomato juice, Tabasco, Cholula, celery salt, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Saracha, all-spice, chili flake, pepper, sea salt, onion powder and garlic. Each mix then had ingredients to match. The Pescatarian had shrimp and fish, the Carnivore had bacon and beef jerky, and the Herbivore had an array of vegetables. They even had some large celery stalks to put in there. I added to my drink: green olives, lemon and lime slices, pearl onions, cherry tomato, a piece of bacon, a piece of beef jerky, celery salt and garlic cloves. My drink may sound disgusting but it was wonderful! I wasn’t expecting such a large amount of alcohol in the drink so by the end of brunch I was somewhat “sleepy.”
Whew. Now that I’ve written a novel about my drink, on to the food! My mom and I both ordered the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Instead of an English muffin, the base was a lump crab cake. It was topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. The crab cake was actually just a patty made of all crab. It was the best I’ve ever had in a Colorado restaurant. It was fresh and sweet. The egg was poached to perfection and the hollandaise sauce was appropriately creamy and buttery. Each bite was heaven. My dad chose the Steak Benedict. This had the English muffin with skirt steak, poached eggs, and au poivre hollandaise sauce. The steak looked tender. The au poivre sauce was basically the hollandaise sauce with peppercorns in it. The taste I had was still good. All of our dishes came with breakfast potatoes. Even these were impressive since they included regular red potatoes, sweet potatoes and purple potatoes. I’d never seen purple potatoes before.
I had so much fun. I want to go back and spend all day at brunch. Afterward, we made our way down the 16th Street mall in Denver to an exhibit of Da Vinci’s inventions.
1512 Curtis Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.534.1155
I’ve been to Le Grand Bistro before and I want to keep going back. Everything I’ve had there has been delicious and interesting. I’ve been for dinner and brunch. I went in January with my friend Tom for his birthday. That was when we discovered that weekend brunch had bottomless mimosas for $9. That made for a, how do you say… special birthday.
This trip brought me to Le Grand Bistro for another brunch with my parents. We were seated more toward the bar area which led to another discovery: the Bloody Mary bar. It’s $10 to make your own Bloody Mary. Grabbing life by the olives, I decided to go for it. The waitress served me a glass filled with ice and an impressive amount of vodka. (You can choose your alcohol.) I then made my way to the bar. The first thing to mention was the absolute beauty of the setup. All of the ingredients were very artfully arranged. There were three different Bloody Mary mixes to choose from. There was the Pescatarian mix which included Clamato. There was the Herbivore which included V8. I chose to try the Carnivore which had the following ingredients: veal stock, chicken stock, tomato juice, Tabasco, Cholula, celery salt, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Saracha, all-spice, chili flake, pepper, sea salt, onion powder and garlic. Each mix then had ingredients to match. The Pescatarian had shrimp and fish, the Carnivore had bacon and beef jerky, and the Herbivore had an array of vegetables. They even had some large celery stalks to put in there. I added to my drink: green olives, lemon and lime slices, pearl onions, cherry tomato, a piece of bacon, a piece of beef jerky, celery salt and garlic cloves. My drink may sound disgusting but it was wonderful! I wasn’t expecting such a large amount of alcohol in the drink so by the end of brunch I was somewhat “sleepy.”
Whew. Now that I’ve written a novel about my drink, on to the food! My mom and I both ordered the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Instead of an English muffin, the base was a lump crab cake. It was topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. The crab cake was actually just a patty made of all crab. It was the best I’ve ever had in a Colorado restaurant. It was fresh and sweet. The egg was poached to perfection and the hollandaise sauce was appropriately creamy and buttery. Each bite was heaven. My dad chose the Steak Benedict. This had the English muffin with skirt steak, poached eggs, and au poivre hollandaise sauce. The steak looked tender. The au poivre sauce was basically the hollandaise sauce with peppercorns in it. The taste I had was still good. All of our dishes came with breakfast potatoes. Even these were impressive since they included regular red potatoes, sweet potatoes and purple potatoes. I’d never seen purple potatoes before.
I had so much fun. I want to go back and spend all day at brunch. Afterward, we made our way down the 16th Street mall in Denver to an exhibit of Da Vinci’s inventions.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Ethiopian Restaurant
2816 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
303.322.5939
No, I am not blanking on the name of the restaurant. The actual name of it is “The Ethiopian Restaurant” and it’s located in Denver. It can be recognized by the outer walls which are painted the green, yellow and red colors of the Ethiopian flag. It doesn't have a website so I included its other information above. I went to this restaurant with a very large Meetup group. It’s a small mom and pop place with a small dining area. Our group of 20 or so people almost took up their whole room. Luckily there was still space for other parties on the perimeters.
I started with a glass of the house chardonnay. It was pretty unremarkable. I took the hint from some others and followed it up with a glass of their house honey mead. This was much more interesting! It was sweet but still very light. It almost had a floral taste to it. Very pleasant.
I don’t remember the Ethiopian names for what we ordered but basically the dishes were spicy chicken, spicy lamb, mild lamb and spicy lamb. The spicy dishes were red with chili powder. The waiter assured us it wasn’t as spicy as actual Ethiopian food because “we want you to come back.” The chicken dishes were two drumsticks served with a hard boiled egg. The lamb was small pieces of lamb in the sauces. I enjoyed the family style way of serving. We had a huge plate the size of a bicycle wheel in the center for 4 people. The plate was covered in the spongy sourdough bread called Injera. Each dish that people ordered was piled in front of them in the big plate. In the center, our waiter put a mixture of cooked cabbage and onions. Next to each individual pile of food was a yellow chickpea mixture. There were no utensils. We had a side plate of the Injera bread that we tore off and used to pick up food and dab sauce. I couldn’t believe the level of flavor in each dish. Even the mild dishes had their own delicious flavor.
I highly recommend this place to people who want a fun and interesting night out. The waiter/owner was very patient with our large group and had a fantastic sense of humor. The entrees ran about $10 so it was very filling and affordable.
303.322.5939
No, I am not blanking on the name of the restaurant. The actual name of it is “The Ethiopian Restaurant” and it’s located in Denver. It can be recognized by the outer walls which are painted the green, yellow and red colors of the Ethiopian flag. It doesn't have a website so I included its other information above. I went to this restaurant with a very large Meetup group. It’s a small mom and pop place with a small dining area. Our group of 20 or so people almost took up their whole room. Luckily there was still space for other parties on the perimeters.
I started with a glass of the house chardonnay. It was pretty unremarkable. I took the hint from some others and followed it up with a glass of their house honey mead. This was much more interesting! It was sweet but still very light. It almost had a floral taste to it. Very pleasant.
I don’t remember the Ethiopian names for what we ordered but basically the dishes were spicy chicken, spicy lamb, mild lamb and spicy lamb. The spicy dishes were red with chili powder. The waiter assured us it wasn’t as spicy as actual Ethiopian food because “we want you to come back.” The chicken dishes were two drumsticks served with a hard boiled egg. The lamb was small pieces of lamb in the sauces. I enjoyed the family style way of serving. We had a huge plate the size of a bicycle wheel in the center for 4 people. The plate was covered in the spongy sourdough bread called Injera. Each dish that people ordered was piled in front of them in the big plate. In the center, our waiter put a mixture of cooked cabbage and onions. Next to each individual pile of food was a yellow chickpea mixture. There were no utensils. We had a side plate of the Injera bread that we tore off and used to pick up food and dab sauce. I couldn’t believe the level of flavor in each dish. Even the mild dishes had their own delicious flavor.
I highly recommend this place to people who want a fun and interesting night out. The waiter/owner was very patient with our large group and had a fantastic sense of humor. The entrees ran about $10 so it was very filling and affordable.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Night-time Cookout
It was my turn to cook but Crystal wanted to host. She was dying for a barbecue. This meant that she gave me a shopping list of specific items. I grabbed some charcoal from my parents as well as all of the other ingredients and headed over. We also invited Shan.
By the time we got the barbecue set up, the sun had already set. Luckily, we all had headlamps to help us see. We finally got the coals going and were able to start cooking. We had Ballpark brand New York deli style beef hot dogs to grill. Crystal had picked up some buns. While we waited for them to cook, we munched on the other snacks I’d brought. We also got to listen to some of my French pop music on my mini speakers that I’d brought. I’d gotten a small watermelon that we cut up. Even Crystal’s corgi, Vankira, got a little piece to chew on. I also got three different kinds of chips. Crystal requested the Lays Carolina tangy BBQ chips. I chose Lays Flamin’ Hot and Doritos Jacked! Enchilada Supreme. The BBQ chips were better than I thought they’d be. They had a nice vinegar taste to them. The Flamin’ Hot chips got to be very spicy after a few bites. Shan brought us some Arizona Iced Tea to drink. I also had ciders. I had a Strongbow to start and then switched to the pomegranate iced tea.
We finally got to eat in full dark. I chopped up a yellow onion and had my hotdog with that, spicy mustard and dill relish. I brought spicy peppers but the heat from the chips was enough.
After we ate our hot dogs, we toasted marshmallows over the coals. I’d also brought the ingredients to make s’mores. I couldn’t believe we were having a barbecue in April. Once we finished licking the marshmallow goo off our fingers, we laid out blankets on the grass nearby. We switched the music to some soft meditation variety. Some of us (Shan) did yoga while some did meditation (Crystal) while yet others (me) sprawled out on the blanket and tried not to snore. I had done an hour workout that afternoon so I was ready to just lie flat on my back. Eventually, the night cooled down and a humid chill crept down the hill toward us. We packed everything up and went home to sleep.
By the time we got the barbecue set up, the sun had already set. Luckily, we all had headlamps to help us see. We finally got the coals going and were able to start cooking. We had Ballpark brand New York deli style beef hot dogs to grill. Crystal had picked up some buns. While we waited for them to cook, we munched on the other snacks I’d brought. We also got to listen to some of my French pop music on my mini speakers that I’d brought. I’d gotten a small watermelon that we cut up. Even Crystal’s corgi, Vankira, got a little piece to chew on. I also got three different kinds of chips. Crystal requested the Lays Carolina tangy BBQ chips. I chose Lays Flamin’ Hot and Doritos Jacked! Enchilada Supreme. The BBQ chips were better than I thought they’d be. They had a nice vinegar taste to them. The Flamin’ Hot chips got to be very spicy after a few bites. Shan brought us some Arizona Iced Tea to drink. I also had ciders. I had a Strongbow to start and then switched to the pomegranate iced tea.
We finally got to eat in full dark. I chopped up a yellow onion and had my hotdog with that, spicy mustard and dill relish. I brought spicy peppers but the heat from the chips was enough.
After we ate our hot dogs, we toasted marshmallows over the coals. I’d also brought the ingredients to make s’mores. I couldn’t believe we were having a barbecue in April. Once we finished licking the marshmallow goo off our fingers, we laid out blankets on the grass nearby. We switched the music to some soft meditation variety. Some of us (Shan) did yoga while some did meditation (Crystal) while yet others (me) sprawled out on the blanket and tried not to snore. I had done an hour workout that afternoon so I was ready to just lie flat on my back. Eventually, the night cooled down and a humid chill crept down the hill toward us. We packed everything up and went home to sleep.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Holy Land Easter Dinner
My mom decided to prepare Middle Eastern food for Easter. It was one fantastic feast with the whole family. Our friend Peggy also joined us. We started off with hummus and pita chips as hors d’oeuvres along with deviled eggs. My mom puts mayonnaise, chopped dill pickle, spicy mustard and a little pickle juice into her deviled egg mixture. She put a dash of smoked paprika on them too. The smoked flavor went really well with it. For the main course, she roasted a boneless leg of lamb. She put cloves of garlic in the top and really seasoned the outside. The meat was quite tender. She paired this with whole wheat couscous seasoned with chicken broth.
I was in charge of the other side dish. That was my signature dish: ratatouille. I prepare mine in a crock pot. I put in fresh tomatoes, onion, eggplant, zucchini, garlic cloves, granulated garlic, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, tomato sauce, basil, Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. It’s a little different each time and this time I added some fire roasted stewed tomatoes from a can. We served that over the couscous on the side of the lamb. The wine for the evening was Castle Rock red.
Even though we’d been snacking on Easter candy all afternoon we also had some dessert. We had little personal angel food cake bundts that my mom and dad got at Costco. These were topped with some sliced strawberries and whipped cream. We also drank some Cal Poly dessert wine.
I was in charge of the other side dish. That was my signature dish: ratatouille. I prepare mine in a crock pot. I put in fresh tomatoes, onion, eggplant, zucchini, garlic cloves, granulated garlic, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, tomato sauce, basil, Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. It’s a little different each time and this time I added some fire roasted stewed tomatoes from a can. We served that over the couscous on the side of the lamb. The wine for the evening was Castle Rock red.
Even though we’d been snacking on Easter candy all afternoon we also had some dessert. We had little personal angel food cake bundts that my mom and dad got at Costco. These were topped with some sliced strawberries and whipped cream. We also drank some Cal Poly dessert wine.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Surprise Udon!
I was over at Crystal’s house on a Sunday and she decided to make dinner! She had some Udon noodles so she boiled those up. She also cooked up a stir fry to mix with the noodles. I helped her cut up some strips of chicken for it. She cooked those in a pan with frozen stir fry vegetables, teriyaki sauce and shiitake mushrooms. The shiitake mushrooms were dried ones that I’d gotten from my parents. I helped rehydrate them and cut them into strips. The Udon stir fry mixed together really well. She also prepared some egg rolls in the oven to have on the side. It was prepared amazingly quick and filled our hungry bellies.
We enjoyed our dinner while one of us enjoyed watching Phantom of the Opera. (Crystal was not a fan.)
We enjoyed our dinner while one of us enjoyed watching Phantom of the Opera. (Crystal was not a fan.)
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