=" /> The Mile High Eater: 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Going Green With Black Cat chef Eric Skokan

Going Green with Eric Skokan of the Black Cat
a interview with Eric Skokan


Hi all,


We were fortunate enough to be invited out to meet Chef Eric Skokan of the Black Cat in Boulder and spend some time talking with him about his cooking and his garden. For those of you that don’t know, in the summer 80% of the produce used in the meals at the Black Cat come from Chef Eric’s garden and even in the winter you can expect something on your plate to have come from there, which is a pretty darn cool thing in this age of shipping in everything from hundreds of miles away.

When I first walked up, Chef Skokan was busy tending his garden, with his son Avery following around. As we talked and walked around, Chef Eric would pick a little something here and there for all of us to try, such as pole beans, pepper cress and a couple bright red strawberries, which his son was very happy to see. And to be completely honest, so was I as it was very sweet and juicy. After a little while his wife and older son came around the corner from picking some fresh grapes, which I also got to sample. The dark ones had a taste that was just out of this world and the lucky chickens in the back yard were busy having a field day with some of them that they had dropped inside the pen.

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Chef Skokan

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The front garden and Avery

Inside the chicken coop, which he tends to move around the yard a bit to even out the use of the land he has, there are enough chickens to hopefully provide all the eggs for the restaurant. There are even 2 quails that he uses just for the eggs. He mentioned that one thing he really liked about raising the chickens is the circle they formed with the restaurant. He brings scraps form the kitchen back to feed the chickens who in turn lay eggs for the restaurant and of course do what chickens do on the ground, which is composted up with other items and then is used to fertilize the garden which grows the food that will end up being scraps for their food!


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I asked Chef Skokan a few questions which I will list below with his answers.

1. What attracted you to cooking?

When I asked him this question he told me he had always been interested in gardening and cooking from a young age and it was just following his love that lead him into it. But, after talking to him for a bit, another story came out that I would like to share here. At 22 years of age he was in school to become a lawyer and as time went on he found himself really not liking going to school but really loving going to work at the restaurant job he had at the time and finally decided that it was more important to do what he loved and since then has been in the fortunate position to be able to go to a job he loves ever since. And let me tell you, you can taste that love of cooking and the love of gardening in every bite of the food you have at the Black Cat.


2. What is the philosophy behind your cooking, or in your kitchen?

Cooking is all about taking care of people and that comes first. I don’t do tall food that is beautiful to look at but darn near impossible to figure how to eat and I think that bringing in the produce from my garden and reducing the waste we produce also is a way of taking care of people.

3. What is the biggest influence on the way you cook?

What is in season! As the year goes on I try to spotlight the things that are in season on my dishes. For example, peaches. I only use peaches a few months a year and then you won’t see them again for months and months. But, that first sweet piece that comes back into the kitchen makes that meal even more special. Another large influence is the person he trained under and in particular an incident that happened where he had, to put it bluntly, screwed up a parsnip soup. He went to the chef and said he thought he could fix it by adding more heavy cream and butter. He was told not to. When he asked why, he was told that it is the easy way out and anyone can make something taste better by dumping in cream, but a great chef can do it without. He took this to heart and to this day in his cooking he finishes the cooking process with cream and butter when it is needed, and does not begin with them so the dish can stand on its own with out them and just explode when he does add it at the end.

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Second garden

4. Is there a chef living today you would like to work with?

Jean George Vongerichten. Because he has done so much innovative work with French cuisine and getting away from the heavy cream and butter.

5. Is there a particular ingredient you like to cook with more than others?

Every first item that comes, the first tomato, the first bean, but even more the first fresh wild herbs that pop up in the spring because that just gives the feel that we have made it through the winter and the spring and summer is coming with its bounty of flavors.

6. If stuck on a desert isle and you could have only one thing to eat fort he rest of your life what would it be.

Eric went back and forth between good bread and a good risotto and finally decided on the risotto.

7. What 2 restaurants would you suggest to visit besides your own in Colorado?

Frasca Food and Wine (www.frascafoodandwine.com) which he credits with being one of the best restaurants as far as service goes in Colorado and secondly Pupusas Sabor Hispano also in Boulder which serves Salvadoran and Mexican fare which he says is heads and tails above all its competition!

8. What do you do for produce in the winter months?

To this he quickly answered, lament! But he does manage to get produce as late as December from his outside garden and he does some small things inside his garage with grow lights year round.

9. Why did you decide to provide produce from your garden and why not just hire a local farmer to do it for you?

To answer the first question, he used to chef at another Colorado restaurant and seeing it be a “factory” with three or more pallets of food shipped in everyday and a pallet of flattened boxes going out and all the other waste and that was the driving force for his producing his own garden as well as his love for gardening. For the second question he says he is a very hands on person and loves gardening almost as much as he loves cooking and doing the garden lets him experiment and see what works here in Colorado and what does not, as well as to play with those ingredients in different meals to see what flavors he can come up with.


10. You have a vegan and vegetarian tasting menu. What kind of challenges does that bring?

With most restaurants it would be a real problem but with the way I cook almost all my meals start out as vegetarian and I don’t add such items as cream or butter or even the meat items till later, so it is very easy for me to have a great tasting vegan/vegetarian tasting.

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11. Would you be willing to share a recipe with us?

Of course! After you come by and eat at the restaurant, let me know which dish you liked the most and I will share the recipe.

12. What do you see for yourself in the future?

I have leased a 10 acre plot for gardening starting next year and am going to bury a storage trailer out there as well to use as cold storage. Hopefully using this and the extra land I will be able to provide more and more produce for the restaurant later and later into the year.


We strolled around a bit more and talked food and dining and about Colorado and then I took my leave knowing he had a full day in front of him. How he manages to run that garden and his kitchen and provide such high quality food, I have no idea, but I am glad we have him. He did mention something about his tasting menu. If you have read my posting about the Black Cat previously you will know that Barb and I came out of that meal stuffed to the gills and he told me the reason. The reason he puts so much food out there for a tasting menu is because two times in the past few years he had people say that they were still hungry after the meal. To him that is a crime, so he wants to make sure that no one ever feels they have to go eat somewhere else after they finish a meal at his restaurant.

One of the final things I asked Chef Skokan about was the name of his restaurant. Originally it was to be named flying saucers (picture a chef tossing saucers around), but they had so many problems with construction that one day while Eric was commenting to his wife that maybe it was a bad idea to open up a place on 13th street and it was commented that this place may be a "black cat" and the name stuck.




I am going to break this into 2 parts. The second part will include our experiences and pictures from our recent meal there and the recipe from Chef Skokan. One last thing I would like to pass on is that in December, the Black Cat is going to have a 4course tasting menu where everything on it will have been raised within a hundred mile radius!


Thanks again for coming by and if you have any questions or comments please let us know, we would be happy to hear from you.

Barb and Jonathan

Digg!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Harvest week at Luca d'italia

Hi all,

For Harvest week, Barb and I decided to head out to Luca D’Italia and try out their Harvest Week tasting menu. Luca’s (www.lucadenver.com) chefs are Frank Bonnano and Michael Peshek. For those of you who don’t know, Harvest Week is a week where many Colorado restaurants make menu items or whole menus using Colorado grown food only and even set up local wine parings in several cases.


We entered Luca and were seated promptly by the window; the seats here are far enough apart that you do have enough privacy to hold your own conversations without having the next table being a part of it. The overall feel is very comfortable with a window into the kitchen in the back so you can see a brief glimpse of the hustle and bustle of the kitchen.

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If you are curious what’s on the black board in the kitchen it was that evening's tasting menu.


The first thing that came out was this.

Luca Starter

Halibut Salad on Semolina Cristini with Pea Sprouts and Pickled Carrots.

I have become a big fan of this sort of dish ever since our lunch at Le Bernardin in NYC ( http://milehigheater.blogspot.com/search?q=eric+ripert). The bread was nice and crisp and had a great buttery taste even though I think it was just olive oil that the bread had been drenched with before it was toasted up. The spread itself had a very nice non fishy taste and the pickled carrots gave it nice sharp vinaigrette taste that hit you right at first. I will give the starter an 8. Barb actually liked this more than I did. She enjoyed the crispy and soft mixed together, with just the right amount of seasoning. She gave it a 9. (She says: If I could have had this for another course, I would have been happy, it was truly a delicious start to the menu).


The Bread

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Ok, I normally don’t list bread here, even though fresh bread is a wonderful thing because in most places like this, the bread is very good without exception. Why then am I bringing it up? I am bringing it up because of the “butter”. My mind was wandering the first time the waiter described the butter, so my experience basically went like this. Hello, what is this? The bread tastes like meat. I have never had bread that tastes like meat. Wait a minute that’s not the bread, that’s the butter. Oh, I need to know more about this Mmmmmm meaty tasting butter. So, when the waiter came around again I inquired about it. Well my friends, that was not just any old butter, it was pork fat with spices. You may say ewww and honestly my first reaction was to push it slightly away from me, but you know as long as you just put a light bit on the bread it was very very good. It tasted more than anything like bread that had been used to soak up a little au jus or something like that. I won’t give this a rating as it was just bread and “butter” with a twist but I do think it shows a very high level of inventiveness going on here.


Amuse Bouche

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Sadly somehow we forgot to write down what each item was here I have contacted Luca about this but at this time have not received any information.

1. The shooter:
He says: Was a tomato soup which was very similar to the cold heirloom tomato soup we had a while back at Mizuna. However this was served warm and had a sharp spicy punch that hit you at then end which was very good. I give it an 8.

She says: I'm still not convinced that I like cold soup. Although it was tasty, I didn't even drink it all because I like my soup hot. I give it a 6.
2. Not sure 
3. He says: This tasted like a very good macaroni and cheese with a toasted bread topping. The cheese sauce was very creamy with a great taste and the beans were cooked perfectly. Moms if you want your kids to eat beans this is the recipe you need! 8.5
She says: Jonathan is right in saying this looks like macaroni and cheese, but it sure didn't taste like mac and cheese. The beans were chewy and delicious. The topping on the cheese gave it a nice crusty taste. I would give it an 8.

4. He says: So many different flavors here the balsamic vinegar the peaches the onion I thought it would just be way too much but the flavors melted together and formed a great overall taste. I give it a 7.5

She says: Unfortunately, I don't remember this dish at all. I guess that says a lot about it. So, I feel unfair giving it a score.

Antipasti 1

lucasalad

Mixed Greens- Finochetta, Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese and Local Tomatoes.

He says: Finochetta is fennel salami that’s made in-house and of course haystack mountain goat cheese is wonderful. The salad had a nice balsamic dressing and the greens and everything were very fresh. The tomatoes were introduced to me as roof top tomatoes and silly me asked why he called them roof top and he said, of course, because we grow them on the roof. In the end, it was a salad. A salad with goat cheese and salami but still a salad a 7.
She says: The salad was tasty and had the right amount of ingredients to give it a fullness. The tomatoes were delicious (and again, I'm not a huge tomato fan). I give it a 7 as well.


Antipasti 2

lucafish

Striped Bass- Olathe Corn Puree, Pea Shoots and Beets

He says: When this came out, I was like, "Excuse me, bass? I thought this was all Colorado food. But, as it turns out these are farmed raised here in Colorado (near Alamosa) so it stuck with the Harvest Week theme. Perfectly prepared, with very crisp outer skin and a tender and moist inside. The beets and the corn just added to the flavors I enjoyed this a lot and the beets and sauce left a very cool pattern on the plate when you finished with all the different colors. I give it a 7.5
She says: I'm becoming more of a fish fan than I ever thought I would be. This dish was truly delicious. The bass cooked to perfection and the veggies blended in nicely. I give this an 8.

Primi

lucacheese

Raw Cows Milk Ricotta Agnolotti and Local Herbs

He says: Here it comes, YUMMMY! This dish yanked the darn Yummm right out of my mouth. Such a fantastic cheese taste and the agnolotti melted right in your mouth I do however want to complain a little there was not near enough of it. I needed maybe 6 or 7 more plates full. :) And this now will take a 10 for me - best Agnolotti I have had.
She says:

Secondi
lucalamb

Colorado Lamb-White bean and Bacon Ragu, Green and Yellow Zucchini.

He says: MMMMMMMM, yep, MM MM MMMMM MMM MMMMMM. Juicy and tender nice red pink in middle with the outer seared just right yanked another Mmmmmm out of my mouth and the Ragu was such a great mix of flavors that it seemed to enhance the flavor of the lamb which with how good the lamb was that’s a feat! By the end of it I was holding the bone and trying to make sure I got every last scrap off, it was just that good!. I will give this a 9 only because the lamb I had at Per Se was a bit better but not by a large margin.
She says: By the time we got to the Lamb dish, I was getting full. I also have an issue with some meat as if it's too chewy, I can't eat it. That wasn't the problem with this meat, it was very good, the flavoring was spot on, I was just stuffed from all the food before it (It did provide Jonathan with lunch the next day though). I give it a 7.5.


Dolce
lucadessert
Palisade Peach Tart- Rhubarb Conserva

He says: Hmm, dessert was probably the only weak part of the meal. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, just not up to the standards of the rest of the meal. It seems to me it gets to be very hard to impress with a dessert that does not involve chocolate. I give it a 6.5.
She says: Even though I was stuffed by the last course, I can always find room for dessert. This dish was alright. The crust mixing in with the fruit was nice, but nothing that said to me, this is the dish I'll be telling everyone about. It was ok. I would give it a 6.



Luca was a first class meal and it topples Mizuna for me as the Best meal in Colorado to date. The staff is friendly and the service is prompt and the food will make you lick your lips for a week afterwards.


Numbers and such - the meal cost a total of $143.62 for the two of us and was well worth it! Our rating ended up being 8.74 which includes a .75 jump due to tasting menu and a .1 jump for the inventiveness of the meal Of course you can get out of there cheaper by not doing the tasting menu, but if you can try a tasting menu some time when the chef walks you up the culinary ladder, the experience can be so much better than any single course.





Thanks again for coming by if you have any questions or comments please let us know. If you know of any places we should try please do drop us a note and if you see any new restaurants opening up we would love to hear about it. Till next time take care!


Luca D'Italia on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Lunch at Lui's

Quick Bites.


Hi all


I decided to add an article in here about a new restaurant in Erie named Lui’s Wok and Grill. The reason I called this a quick bit is that I just stopped by for a to go lunch and not a full sit down with Barb so I don’t want it to be considered be a full review. From the taste that I got of the food at Liu’s the Erie area has to be very happy to have this gem that has re opened after being away a year.


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As the name suggests Lui’s is an Asian restaurant but what is unusual especially for a smaller town is the caliber of the chef heading up the restaurant. Chef Lui is an award winning master chef with over 20 years of culinary experience and chef Lui has been the head chef of the Silver Palace in Boulder among others. He uses very fresh ingredients and if you are looking for something out of the ordinary chef Lui has some item’s called Lui Creations which chef Lui says will satisfy even the most discriminating of pallets. One thing I really appreciate is that the chef will adjust each dish depending on how tolerant the diner is of spicy food and he never uses Trans fat or msg!

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The inside bar area.


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Main Dining area

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The Kitchen and Che Lui.

The day I went I just had time to grab something to go and asked for a lunch order.


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I had Szechuan Chicken fried rice and an egg roll. The total price for this huge lunch was $7.95! The meal had large chunks of chicken and unlike a lot of places I have been the chicken was not tough or dry and when I cut the chicken in half you could see how perfectly juicy and tender it was!


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I also had to try the Egg drop soup. This turned out to be full of vegetables and had a great taste.



I do have to apologize to my coworkers for bringing this back to work with me as it did cause a bit of the prairie dog effect with people popping up over their cubicle’s when the wonderful smell hit them.



If you happen to be in the Erie area I recommend giving it a try they are located at 89 South Briggs Street and offer free delivery at 303-828-2282!

Thanks for stopping by and as always if you have any questions, comments, or if know a place we should try we would love to hear from you.

Jonathan

Monday, September 15, 2008

In the woods with Beatrice and Woodsley

Hi all,

Barb and I made it out to Beatrice and Woodsley (www.beatriceandwoodsley.com) late last month and it seems they have an all around winner on their hands. The environment is inventive and new and in fact, it is so unique inside that the proprietor asked me not to show pictures of the inside because he wants people to discover it for themselves and we think that’s a great idea! You will be enthralled with the little touches inside this restaurant which seems on the outside to be just a regular place.

The menu is composed of “small plates”, so if you’re not very hungry you can go in and order just one. But if you’re in the mood for a more filling meal, I would say try two and go from there and of course sharing your plate with the others in your party is half the fun! I am going to try to briefly describe this fun place. You come in and see Aspen trees spread throughout the space with a nice soft jazz music playing and converted lanterns overhead. The booths and tables are far enough apart that it gives you a private feeling and you almost immediately forget you are right in the heart of Denver and are transported to a spot of your own up in the mountains.
Jonathan’s first course

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GRILLED, BRAISED PORK BELLY With mashed peas, carrot, potato and house-cured/smoked ham
He says:
Wait for it ………. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! From the wonderful smell of the pork and cherry wood (that’s what is on the plate beneath) to the OMG MMM of the pork belly this was fantastic. Even the veggies on the side had pork flavor and that’s a trend I can get behind veggies that taste like bacon!!! This is the first pork belly I have had and it was so tasty I will go ahead and give this a 10.
She says:
I don’t remember much of Jonathan’s dish…probably because he was too busy eating it all himself! 




Barb’s First dish.

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MARKET GROWIES, CARROT HAZELNUT BREAD Chef selected, pan roasted, with mushroom gastrique

She says:
I thought this would be a good starter for me. I really wanted to try the carrot hazelnut bread (and wish the portion was just a little bit bigger). Overall the vegetables were cooked well and tasted delicious, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. I would give it a 6.
He says:
I thought these were cooked just right - not too soft or too crunchy, but have to be honest it was veggies, just veggies and me in my pork filled bliss, well, this just didn’t do it for me but of course at this point had it been manna that had just fallen down from the sky I would of shrugged it off and gone back to my pork. I give it a 6.5.
Barb’s Second Dish

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PAILLARD Lemon cucumber, New Caledonian shrimp, white soy dressing and micro greens

She says:
Ok, so I did get a little more adventurous with my 2nd small plate. The sauce was heated and made this hard crust on the bottom of the plate which I then cut and placed on the cucumber slice. It had a very light flavor overall, lemony with a small taste of shrimp. I would order this again as it was so very light and airy, but did fill me up. The shrimp heads were more for decoration (but you can eat them if you’re into that). The waiter said that most people just squeeze them for some extra juice! Make this an 8.

He says:
Where’s the shrimp? That’s what I asked myself when I saw this. I see shrimp heads but no shrimp. Then I figured it out the shrimp had been pounded flat and placed under the Shrimp heads and when the shrimp was placed on some the cucumber it had a very pleasing taste with a hint of citrus and a nice crunch from the cucumber. A 7 is what I give it.


Jonathans 2nd

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CRAWFISH BEIGNETS Sweet pepper aioli, spicy powdered sugar

He says:
Do I dare do it two times in one review ……yes I am afraid I must, YUMMM! Ok, not as big of a yum as the Pork but still a very nice yum. The outside was crisp and strangely enough tasted a bit like a donut but then came a rush of warm aioli that adds a taste and spicy heat to the tongue and the combined flavors are fantastic. I will give this an 8.5 as it almost pulled an Mmm out of me.
She says:
I tried a bite of this and just did not enjoy it. It was too mushy for me. I’m glad Jonathan liked it though. I would give this a 6.




Jonathan's Dessert

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THE FALLEN EMPORER
He says:
The cookies are light and crispy and the filling has a light sweet almond flavor that combines very nicely with the chocolate and gives you a very nice way to finish off your night. A 7.5 I would say.
She says:
This was a nice dessert with sweet almond flavoring. I really liked the crispiness of it combined with the almond gooiness. I would give this a 7.5.


Barb’s Dessert

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GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
She says:
For dessert, I had the German Chocoate Cake. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but loved the fact that it wasn’t just all cake and a small amount of topping. The topping was layered in to make this a much more vibrant and delicious treat. I would give this an 8.
He says:
I really enjoy German Chocoloate cake and the was pretty darn good very moist and rich and the chocoloate was very rich. 7.5 as well

Why go?
Kevin Delk the proprietor and his team have done something here that is very special by combing all 4 elements of a great restaurant in one fantastic experience. The atmosphere is relaxing and romantic, the plating is gorgeous, the food mouth watering, and the price surprisingly reasonable for its quality.

Numbers and such. The meal cost a total of $73.94. And our final rating is 7.5. I do want to add that though the score is 7.5 I very much enjoyed this restaurant and have already made plans to go again with a few friends to try some more dishes!

Thanks as always for stopping by and if you have any questions, comments or places that you think we should try please let us know.

Jonathan and Barb


Kevin Delk was kind enough to provide a few inside shots for us here is one of them but I bet you cant guess from the picture what part of the restaurant this is. For the answer to that you will just have to go and check it out for yourself.







Beatrice & Woodsley on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Perilla Nyc

Hi all

This is just a little thing I wanted to add on to the blog even though it really belongs a few months earlier. When we went to New York a few months back another restaurant we hit for lunch was Perilla which is Harold Dieterle’s restaurant from Top Chef Season 1.

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Barbara had a Spicy Duck Burger which she liked a lot but was a bit to spicy for me. I had a Chicken Parmesan sandwich which was darn good. It was a nice lunch and the small restaurant had a great feel to it. I just wish we would have had the time to go to dinner. We sadly did not take pictures of the food but here is an outside looking in picture of the restaurant.

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Numbers and such: The website is www.perillanyc.com. And the cost of our lunch was around $30.00.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Jonathan and Barb

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fabulous Frasca

Hi all,

Barb and I went out to Frasca last month (www.frascafoodandwine.com) which is headed up by Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and sommelier Bobby Stuckey it is considered to be one of Colorado's finest restaurants. The menu has a price fix 4 course menu for $62.00 or if you aren’t feeling as hungry, you can order a la carte. We of course went with the 4 course. We do love a good tasting menu.

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When we entered we were greeted very warmly even though the place was very busy and were given a table right next to co-owner Bobby Stuckey's parents. During the meal we had a nice little conversation with them. We had a lot of expectations for this meal, as the chef had picked up a James Beard award this year. Over all it did not disappoint.

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To start out with we decided to add on a little something we saw these Fiore di Zucca
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These were Fried Squash Blossoms fresh from a local farm stuffed with goat cheese, parmesan and prosciutto.
Yum - they were cooked perfectly and the flavors of the cheeses and the blossom were wonderful. I really wanted some more. Luckily a mistake was made and 2 extra were sent out and luckily for us, they let us keep them :).
We both give these little bites of bliss an 8.

Barbara's Anti-Pasta
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Marinated Rabbit Conserva ( jam), Green Beans, Frisee, Western Slope Cherries and Mustard Crema.

I think rabbit has become Barb's favorite food. I thought this was pretty darn good but could of used a larger rabbit to lettuce ratio. But then again I always like a larger meat to green ratio! I would give this dish an 8 as well. Barb's rating...8.5

Jonathan's Anti-Pasta

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Red Wagon Farm Squash Custard, Grilled Pancetta and Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.

Ok, this one scared me a bit. It was a bright, glowing green custard made of squash. Hmmm, but there is fried Prosciutto. Ok, let’s take a little bite, oh wait a minute, this is good. A bit more. Oh I like this and the taste changes from the top to bottom. With the Prosciutto added in with a bite. Oh my, what is this taste? Maybe take a few more bites. Wait a minute - where did it go? It’s all gone - sigh.

This dish had a very rich taste and a velvety texture that exploded with flavor. If you took a bite from the bottom it had a completely different flavor than the top, where the herbs and lemon were prominent. Once again I would go with an 8. This is starting to be a trend. Barb was not as much of a fan and went with a 7.


Barb's Primi

frasca
Lamb Tortelloni

Was tasty with a nice sauce but did not leave a big impression. I would go with a 7 here. Barb's rating - 6. I wasn't prepared for the al dente-ness of the noodles.


Jonathan's Primi


frasca gnocci
House made Russet Potato Gnocchi, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Munson Farm Sweet Corn and Thyme

Gnocchi with fresh corn. I had high expectations of this as I am starting to really like gnocchi. You know what? It delivered and the sweet slightly crisp corn fresh from the farm was mouth watering. We bounce back to an 8 here. Barb gave it a 7.

Barb's Secondi


frascafish
Pan Roasted Atlantic Striped Bass, Sun Choke Puree, Root Vegetables and Butter Salsa

Very good. Perfectly cooked with a nice non-fishy flavor that just left you happy to of eaten it. A 7 for me here. Barb gives it an 8. It was very delicate and flaky. Melted in your mouth.

Jonathan's Secondi

frasca shortrib
Grilled Boneless Beef Short Rib, Roasted Toohey Farm Beets, Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese and Pickled Horseradish.

Not sure if I have done this yet on this meal but here we go, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! The short ribs were cooked so well it just melted away in your mouth and the taste was just out of this world. Pulled a Mmmmm right out of my mouth and the nice chunk of goat cheese didn’t hurt either. And unlike some horseradish this didn’t burn out your tongue but added a nice tang to the dish. The veggies were beets which had a great earthy flavor. A 9 for this since it pulled that yum right out of my mouth. Barb rated this one an 8.

Barb's Dessert

Frascachoc tort
Valrhona Chocolate Torte with Sour Cherry Compote and Vanilla Bean Gelato

Chocolate pie with cherries. Don't think I need to add much more other than to say this was so rich and tasty that you were almost on overload after the first bite. We give it an 8.


Jonathan's Dessert

frascapeachdessert
Palisade Peach Pasta Sfogliate (flaky pastry)

Very good and you could taste the freshness of the peaches. A great way to end the meal. We give this a 7.






Overall, I think Frasca earns its reputation. The food was very well prepared and conceived with some fantastic tastes and a very friendly staff. On the downside the tables are very close to each other and you will hear everything that your neighbors are talking about, be it good, bad or ugly. The restaurant was completely packed on the evening we went and the service did suffer a bit, but not so bad that it was a huge issue. But I am going to dock .1 from the over all score for it and another .2 for how close the tables are. I know this is needed to get a maximum use out of the space but does not mean I have to like it. We added our standard .75 for it being a 4 course or greater menu.

Numbers and such: Our overall rating was an 8.09. The cost for the meal was $ 166.80. I am sorry alot of the pictures were blurry it was not my best picture night.

As always, thanks for coming by and as always if you have questions or comments or if you happen to see a new restaurant in your area, let us know.

Jonathan and Barb

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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Taste of Colorado

Hi all,

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. Barb and I went to the Taste of Colorado festival in Denver to see what we could find. We tried as much as we could from Fried Alligator Tail to ice cream and we both really enjoyed it. A lot of the booths had it set up so you could try a small portion of what they offered for just 2tickets (8 tickets were $5.00). The crowd's of people finally drove us off to seek some quiet. Below is some pictures from the Taste of Colorado.



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Sweet's from Granny's Goodies

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Fried Alligator Tail from Bayou Bobs.


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Watching over the Turkey drumsticks.

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Cooking up the Twisted Mac and Cheese at Hard Rock Cafe's booth.

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Cooking up some pizza from The Fire Within.



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Famous Dave's BBQ

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Grilling up Sausage and Shrimp at the Golden Toad


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Buffaloed Chicken at Grand Lux Cafe.


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Getting the corn all grilled up!



As you can see there was alot to try and we tried as much as we could. The Buffalo Chicken from Grand Lux and the Shrimp Bomb (Sausage and Shrimp) from the Golden Toad were our favorites. The alligator was interesting (enough said).

As always thanks for stopping by and if have any questions or comments drop us a line.


Jonathan and Barb