=" /> The Mile High Eater: Dec 8, 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Fruition

Hi all,

Barb, our friend Elena and myself made it out to Chef Alex Seidel’s restaurant Fruition this week (http://www.fruitionrestaurant.com). Chef Siedel was Executive Chef at Mizuna before he opened up Fruition and the food and flavors he put out here are wonderful. In general we found the flavors very straight forward and almost comforting in a way. The dining room is small and cozy; we did not have a cramped feeling even with people at all the tables around us. The wait staff was very knowledgeable about not only the food but the wine available and seemed to genuinely care about your experience at the restaurant.

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We decided to split 2 appetizers between the 3 of us the first of which was:

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Riesling Poached Pear Warm Pancetta Wrapped Dates, 34º Sheep’s Milk Feta, Candied Pecans

He said: For me the stand out here was the cheese, the sharp feta taste went so very well with the sweet pears and candied pecans. The flavors combined so well together that I almost forgot about the greens even when I was eating them and in fact don’t really have much of a memory of them even though the dinner was just last night. This was great start and I would give it a 7.

She said: This was a great starter. The sweet pears mixed perfectly with the cheese and greens. I'm discovering that I'm enjoying these different cheeses that I would have never tried before. I would also give this a 7.



The Next Appetizer


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Crispy Duck Leg Confit Maple-Candied Sweet Potato, Toasted Hazelnut Salad, Golden Raisin Vinaigrette


He Said: This dish was very good by itself. With the very crisp skin that had a nice crunch then just melted away in your mouth and the sweet potatoes went very well with this even though I am not a sweet potato guy. If this would have been served by itself it was good enough to get a 8 but when you combined it with the sweet pear taste of the other dish, OH MY, that was good they should always have these together. But since that’s not the case I will keep with the 8.

She said: Yummy. Duck Confit and sweet potatoes, instant gratification for me. The duck was cooked perfectly and mixed in with the sweet potatoes and hazelnut salad was just the perfect combination for me. I would give it an 9.



Elena’s Main course:


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Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast
Carnaroli Risotto, Grilled Arugula & Smoked Duck Prosciutto, Red Onion Marmalade

He Said: DING DING WOOP WOOP we have a winner!! This was amazing, the duck had a fantastic flavor and the prosciutto was very nice. But, that risotto was out of this world. I would have been happy to have an entire plate of it. Sadly, Elena also liked this so I could not steal too much - lol. If this had just been a risotto course I would give it a 10 no problem, but I do have to measure the overall course and while every thing on the plate did taste great and it did draw a mmm from 2 of us it was not the best duck I have had, so I will give it a 9. The waiter told us this was the only dish that had been on the menu from the beginning and I can see why.

She said: Yes, I was the naysayer on the risotto. It's just not my thing, and I didn't go all gooey over it. The duck was very good though and I think even on it's on, I would have enjoyed it. I give this a 8.


Barb's Main course

Fruiton Barb Main

Salmon Creek Farms Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Bacon Braised Brussel Sprouts, Fingerling Potato Confit, Pommery Mustard Emulsion

He said: Another very nice course. The pork was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a very nice strong taste that was just plain good. I would give this a 7.5

She Said: The tenderloin was juicy and tender, and mixed with all of the ingredients on the plate made me very happy. I'm not usually a mustard fan, but didn't mind it as the emulsion this time. I would give this an 8.


Jonathan's Main Course:


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Braised Colorado Lamb Shank, Crispy Parmesan Polenta, Eggplant & Roasted Pepper Ratatouille, Goat Cheese Vinaigrette


He said: I was of two minds on this before I ordered; I love lamb, so it really called to me, but I have had bad experiences with polenta and have never had a good ratatouille. I talked to our waiter and he said it was a good dish though so I gave it a go. I am so very glad I did. The lamb was cooked like the other dishes we shared that night, perfectly with the meat practically falling off the bone. The polenta was just plain yum. I actually wanted more polenta and that never ever happens and the ratatouille had such a nice flavor I finished all of it even though I had to leave some meat behind as my appetite was reaching its limit. I would give this an 8.

She Said: I don't think I got the opportunity to try Jonathan's dish. At least I really don't remember trying it. Was this because he was hording, or I was just enjoying my tenderloin so much. So, I don't feel I can give this a score. :(


For desserts we decided to split 2 and our first was:

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Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Bean & Malted Milk Shake, Chocolate Ganache
Macadamia Nut Brittle

He said: This was good. Not sure how this kind of dish would not be good unless you did not like chocolate. But no better than good, I will give it a 6.

She said: This was very good, and I do like chocolate! The crunchy brittle mixed in with the warm gooey cake was a winner for me. The malted milk shake was just filler for me, but was tasty. I will give this an 8.

Dessert number 2

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Warm Sticky Toffee-Date Cake, Gala Apple Compote, Crème Fraiche Ice Cream, Hot Toffee Sauce


He said: Now this was very tasty, which surprised me because I am not a huge fan of caramel and its like, but the apple compote was very rich in flavor and the over all taste just warmed you up and satisfied quickly. I would go ahead and give this a 7.5


She Said: Unlike my hubby, I do like caramel and mixed together with all of the other ingredients blended nicely on my spoon. Rich caramel, warm apple compote, cool ice cream....yum! I would give this an 8.5.




The numbers the over all score here was an 7.81 which is a very good score especially for a non tasting menu. (As I have stated before we give a .75 overall boost to any 5 course or more meal.) Fruition is a great place to go for a wonderful meal and as I stated earlier the flavors are spot on and not all that complicated which in some ways just enhances the meal.


We all had a fantastic dinner and would recommend Fruition highly, and if you do stop by, make sure you let them know you read about them here! Chef Seidel also took the time to answer a few questions and to give us a recipe which we will post next week! Thanks again for stopping by our Colorado based food blog. We are very happy to share our experiences at Colorado restaurants with you and of course the restaurants at places we travel. If you have any questions, comments or know a place we should try, please let us know. We would love to hear from you either by leaving a comment here or email us at jonathan@milehigheater.com or barb@milehigheater.com


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