Tea Party for Downton Abbey

My parents and I have become addicted to the British drama Downton Abbey. We powered through season one and are deep into season two. We thought it would be fun to have a tea party to watch some episodes. Well... I sort of demanded we have one... I didn't have as much time as I'd hoped to perfect the menu. I ended up only making tea and tea sandwiches.

I mimicked the sandwiches I've had at a wonderful tea restaurant in Denver called the House of Commons. I made four different types. The first was cucumber slices with Alouette brand garlic and herb cheese spread. I think they paired quite well. I peeled and sliced the cucumbers very thin. Since my mom can't eat dairy, I made another cucumber sandwich with Sabra garlic hummus. That was a delicious alternative to the cheese. It might even be better.

I also made a roast beef and horseradish sandwich. I just used deli roast beef from King Soopers. I used simple prepared horseradish instead of creamy partly because of my mom's dietary restrictions and partly because that's what my family prefers. This was another delicious combo. The horseradish gave the sandwiches quite a kick! We were all snorting a little bit at the bite.

The last type of sandwich I prepared was apricot and cheese. I used Bonne Maman brand apricot jam and Kerrygold brand sharp white cheddar. I used thin slices of cheese along with a thin smear of jam. The cheese had a fairly strong taste so my family and I were surprised at how yummy it was with the jam. I've come to adore fruit and cheese pairings.

I used Sara Lee soft & smooth wheat bread because I needed something soft and thinly sliced. I was glad to find a soft wheat bread since I'm not a big fan of white any more. I cut off the crusts and cut the sandwiches into small triangles to make for easy snacking.

For tea, I brought over an amazing collection from Teavana that my brother got me for Christmas. My mom chose the Sakura Allure. It's a green tea that pours red because of the cherry and rose blossoms in it. It was delicious. We made a big pot to share among the family.

The tea and snacks put us in the perfect mood for some British drama.

Le Grand Bistro Groupon

Website
1512 Curtis Street Denver, Colorado
303.534.1155

I had a Groupon from a friend for Le Grand Bistro that I had received as a birthday gift.  The expiration date was coming up and my schedule wasn’t matching with any of my friends’.  I decided to take myself out for an unforgettable dinner and spend the entire Groupon on myself. 

I decided to sit at the bar since I was only one person.  The bartender had been there on a previous visit for happy hour.  She was very friendly and talked to me throughout the evening.  She held conversations with all of the couples visiting Denver that sat at the bar.

I started my meal with a glass of the Segura Rosé sparkling wine.  The happy hour price is only $3 a glass.  I like this wine because it is dry and light.  It is a refreshing glass that really should be drunk on a summer afternoon.  With dinner, I tried two different white wines.  The bartender was nice enough to let me have a half glass of each to see how they paired with the food.  The first was the Le Grand Noir Chardonnay $7.  This is their house white and I didn’t see it on the regular wine list.  The next was the Schlumberger Pinot Blanc $8.  As I write this, I can’t remember the details of each wine.  I only remember that both of them were very good and paired in different ways with the dinner.

I started my meal with amazing appetizers.  I gorged myself on Le Grand Charcuterie ($23).  This is a plate of their cured meats.  They are all served on a black slate and artistically arranged.  The duck prosciutto is very similar to regular pork prosciutto.  The Mortadella had pecan slices in it and had surprisingly good flavor to me.  The chicken liver mousse was served in its own little jar accompanied by toasted baguette slices and a shallot compote.  The texture was very smooth and the flavor was intense.  There was also salmon gravlox accompanied with little capers and a drizzle of dill sauce.  The other foods were matched with a drizzle of port gastrique and a drizzle of another foodgasmic sauce: truffle honey.  The plate was also decorated with olives and salad greens.

 

The other appetizer I ordered, because I can never resist, is the Foie Gras Mousse.  This is Hudson Valley foie gras, Sauturnes, heavy cream, and port gastrique $12.  It is a creamy bite of heaven that had me literally curling my toes in my shoes at the bar. 

 

I ordered the Rabbit Sausage ($25) for my main dish.  The bartender wanted to put the order in later so that I wasn’t overwhelmed by all my dishes at once.  She forgot to put it in and it ended up being late.  This was fine with me because I took a long time enjoying my appetizers.  I was so full from them that I had to take most of my main dish home.  The sausage came in large, thick round slices.  It is their House-made rabbit sausage with mustard spatzle, pickled sausage, and rabbit jus.  Everything was delicious.  I wanted to eat it there but I was full to bursting.  It was one of the most extravagant and indulgent dinners I’d ever had.  It was incredibly fun to treat myself to such an amazing dinner.

Bara Sushi

Website
8000 E Belleview Avenue
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
720.489.5509

A friend of mine had a Groupon to Bara Sushi and was kind enough to invite me along for dinner.  I was feeling hungry so I ended up ordering a larger dinner rather than simple sushi.  I got the Dinner Combination Entrée.  My dinner started with miso soup and a salad.  I picked the toasted sesame dressing for my salad.  I absolutely loved this dressing.  I preferred it to the ginger dressing that is usually on Asian salads.  For the entrée, I got to choose one grilled item and I picked the Salmon Teriyaki.  It was served with delicious hot rice and a thick teriyaki sauce.  The salmon had pretty good flavor.  I got to choose a sushi as well and I picked the spicy tuna roll.  It was so spicy that I could barely finish it.  The meal also came with a tempura option so I took the shrimp tempura.  It came with a few vegetables as well.  Their tempura was light and flaky.  I enjoyed it.  I drank hot sake with my meal too, taking advantage of the fact that my friend drove.

My friend and I also shared some appetizer and sushi items.  He picked the Gangam style sushi roll.  This came with Korean style barbecue beef with spicy tuna on top.  It was surprisingly good.  We also had a side of the Korean barbecue ribs.  I was intrigued by how they were cut to have lots of meat and a little cross section of bone.  The sushi roll we shared was the Cherry Blossom roll.  This was a California roll topped with tuna, salmon and avocado.  I enjoyed the avocado on top of the roll.  It always adds a delicious creaminess to the dish.

The atmosphere and decorations of the restaurant are very nice.  It would make for a nice date place or a business meeting.  I’ve heard that the restaurant recently changed owners and I have yet to see how it has changed.

Paramount Cafe and Common Grounds

Common Grounds website: http:\\www.commongroundscoffeehouse.com
1550 Wazee Suite 110
Denver, CO

I ventured into Denver, braving below-freezing temperatures, to attend an English language meetup. I go to return the favor to foreign language speakers who help me learn their native languages. We met at the Common Grounds coffee shop, the usual location. This cafe has always been welcoming to our large group. It's a great place to meet up and it's just quiet enough that you can hear the conversations. I had a delicious cafe mocha and an everything bagel with cream cheese. It helped wake me up since the meetup was taking place at an earlier hour than usual.

I enjoyed a conversation with two Lybians. We covered a wide variety of topics including new year celebrations in the U.S.

Paramount Website: http:\\www.paramountcafe.com
519 16th Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.893.2000

Afterward, I went out to lunch with a Texan and a Mexican. We took the shuttle down 16th Street and ended up in front of the Paramount Cafe. The Texan's inability to withstand cold decided our lunch location for us. I had been to this place once before at night but I had never tried their food.

The atmosphere was not very cheerful because the cafe is lit by dim, pink lights. The ceiling is also very tall since the location is in an older building. The walls are covered with pictures of smiling customers.

We managed to snag a booth and peruse the menu. Everything I saw looked good to me. I was torn between about five different choices. I ended up choosing a burger since I hadn't had one in a long time. I ordered the BBQ Elk Burger. This was: Colorado elk, applewood smoked bacon, jack cheese, grilled onions, house BBQ sauce, and roasted garlic aioli on a challa bun. I didn't taste much of a difference between the elk and normal ground beef. It did have really good flavor, though. My absolute favorite part was the garlic aioli. It tasted like happiness on a bun. I ordered fries as my side. I was only able to eat about half of the burger.

Despite the dim lighting and the shouts of the fevered football crowd, I would go back for the food. I have my eye on the Shrimp Po' Boy sandwich.

Lucile's

Website
2852 West Bowles Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120
303.797.1190

I spent New Year's Eve in downtown Denver with a group of friends.  We had a fun time and stayed up all night.  New Year's Day, we were in need of some serious fuel.  Crystal, Nick, and I decided to go to Lucile's.  It's a Cajun restaurant in my neck of the woods.

The decorations are fun.  There are roosters and various plates on the wall to make it look like you're in someone's kitchen.  The main dining area has a tall ceiling.

I ordered an orange juice to drink instead of coffee.  We got an order of the Beignets to share.  These are Louisiana style doughnuts.  They look more like pillows and are dusted with powdered sugar.  They were pretty tasty but a bit large for me.

Our meals all came with the house biscuits.  I really could have used a warning before the plate was set down.  These biscuits are gigantic cubes that take up an entire side plate.  They look as if they're cooked in a deep pan and then cut into big squares.  Nick ordered a side of sausage gravy because he says it's the only way to have the biscuits.   After trying them together, I completely agree.  I also tasted it with jam but the gravy was the best.  Unfortunately, the biscuit was so big that I ended up filling up fairly quick just on that.

For my meal, I ordered the Cajun Breakfast.  This has a mixture of red beans and meat topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.  It's served with grits on the side.  I liked the flavors together.  I've only had poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on eggs benedict before.  It was interesting to try it on something else.  The grits were sufficiently buttery and creamy.  Everything tasted wonderful.  (Even if it's not the healthiest way to start the year).