They call it the Happy Sumo, were not so sure..

Hi all



We tried out the sushi restaurant The Happy Sumo and….















MEH…. I am glad the Sumo is happy because we left not so much, I wont say it was all bad, but at its best it was fair + and at its worst was fair-, no where I would want to go again.



Thanks for stopping by, I know this is a short one but this meal does not deserve a long one. If you have questions or comments drop us a line here or email us at jonathan or barb @milehigheater.com

Cholon Bistro, Go, Go Right Now!

Hi all,
We spent a great evening at ChoLon which is located at 15th and Blake in Denver. According to their website www.cholon.com, ChoLon, translates to "big market”, and is named after the largest Chinese-influenced market in Saigon, Vietnam.
A peek at the kitchen:


Chef Lon


A glimpse at the restaurant:




They have small bites, small plates, large plates and Wok choices. We decided to try 3 small bites and 3 small plates. Our friend Elena joined us, so we each picked two to try.

First off, they bring you a Sesame Rice Puff with Tomato Chili Jam. This was a nice crunchy appetizer to start the evening with.



He says:

I thought this was pretty cool, something different from the standard bread and looked fun. Taste wise it was good but not great with a nice dipping sauce. If for nothing other than cool factor I liked it a lot.

Jonathan picked the Pork Belly Pot Sticker, with Ginger Mustard and the Butternut Squash Soup with Golden Raisin Miso and Root Vegetables.

Barb picked the Curried Duck Spring Rolls, with Cilantro Yogurt and the Shrimp Cakes with Nuoc Cham and Lettuce Wrap.

Elena ordered the BBQ Chicken Bao Buns with Cucumber and the Green Papaya Salad with Tamarind Sorbet and Grape Tomatoes.

We'll go with the order of how plates came out.

First up was the Curried Duck Spring Rolls.


She says: These were a great start to the night. Crunchy, chewy filled spring rolls. The cilantro sauce was a great sauce to swirl your spring roll in. The contrast between the warm spring roll and the cool sauce made me want more.

He says: Yum! That is all, one of many things that makes me want to go back.

Next was the Pork Belly Pot Stickers.


She says: These were really good as well. I think I could have an entire meal of the spring rolls and the pot stickers.

He says: Double yum. Ok, I need to watch out or all you will hear from me is well, yum. But seriously, these were great. Wonderful cooked pork inside the dumpling made me a happy camper

Next was the Bao Buns.

She says: This was a very interesting dish. You open the bun up and make your bite. We had BBQ Chicken, cucumber and other items. This was a lot of great flavors mixing together. I loved creating it and the taste. I didn't like the messiness of it though.

He says: Bah the messiness was kind of fun, and I agree that the chicken and all the ingredients were very tasty, but for me maybe because I did not put enough on but the steamed bun seemed to detract from the overall flavor rather than make it better.

Small Plates

Next up was the Green Papaya Salad.


She says: This dish was my least favorite of the night. I wasn't expecting this dish to be such a cold dish and the tamarind sorbet just made it that much colder.

He says: Rarely do Barb and I completely disagree but here we do, this was one of my most memorable dishes and one that kind of makes me smile when I think of it. The sweet tart taste of the sorbet just made this salad fun, and fun to eat. I wish every salad could make me want to have more like this one did.

Next up was the Butternut Squash Soup.


She says: This was a wonderful warm, rich soup after the cold salad. It was crunchy and tasted delicious. I wanted to lick the bowl clean!

He says: YUM, darn it there I go again, but really that’s all I can say. This wonderful soup was one of those that warms the stomach and makes the taste buds scream for more.

Last up was the Shrimp Cakes


She says: This was a great end to the meal. I didn't care for the Nuoc Cham (the dipping sauce). It didn't really seem to fit the dish, and it was messy running down your fingers as you ate the lettuce wrap. But, the flavors of the shrimp were good.

He says: Well here is the one thing out of so many great dishes that I was not impressed with. It wasn’t bad and some people at our table liked it but for me, meh. Looking back wish we would of stopped at the soup.


Dessert!
We tried two: Bread Pudding with Palm Sugar Ice Cream and Caramelized Banana and the Spiced Doughnuts, Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream and Condensed Milk.

The doughnuts came first, but we were all in agreement that we wished they were the last thing we had as they were Elena and Barb's favorites. Jonathan favored the bread pudding.

Spiced Doughnuts


She says: Yum! The doughnuts came out spiked with a small bamboo stick. The doughnuts were light and fluffy and the coffee ice cream had a nice kick to it.
-He says: YUM! Nope that does not do it justice - YUMMMMM! These were out of this world yummy even for a non coffee drinker like us. The combination of the incredible donuts and the rich wonderful coffee ice cream will blow your mind. If there are 2 of you, you may want to get 2 orders as you’re not going to want to share even though there is more than enough on the plate to do so.

Bread Pudding


She says: The bread pudding was good, but after the doughnuts, it just didn't stand up. It was also messy to dig into. It was hard to cut into and get just the right bite.

He says: Yeah, would have to agree this was the lesser of the two desserts, but it was still a good bread pudding and I enjoyed it, but this was quickly pushed aside for another bite of the donuts.


Overall, we had a wonderful meal and this was one of the two restaurants from last year that were dying to go back to (the other being DISH in Edwards). Next time you’re in Denver or anywhere close and hungry, GO HERE you won’t regret it. As always, thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them here or email us at jonathan or barb @milehigheater.com



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Fogo de Chao

Hello all,

We first visited Fogo De Chao last year on it's pre-opening night event. Since then, we have visited Texas de Brazil and Rodizio Grill and had come to the conclusion that we thought Fogo De Chao was the best of the three, but had a suspicion that maybe the day to day menu and service there at Fogo may be different than the grand opening so we wanted to come back to Fogo to see if it still held up to it's pre-opening night buzz.

Guess what? It did. We still consider Fogo the best of the Brazilian restaurants.

We invited a couple of friends to try it with us who had never been there but like us had tried the other Brazilian steak houses in the area to see if they shared our view, and they did as well.

Jonathan started off with the signature Brazilian Caipirinha drink (1 lime, 2 ounces of cachaça, Sugar to taste and ice cubes). This tasted a bit like a Margarita. Jonathan really enjoyed it and would recommend for any margarita lover out there to give it a try.

The drink was a great start to the evening along with the house bread, which is a parmesan bread that is gluten free and delicious (these are evil little things that in Jonathan's belief are there to fill you up before the meats come, because they are so darn good when they are toasty hot that it's almost imporrislbe to stop at one of them).
In fact we found out that almost everything on the menu with one or two exceptions is gluten free which is a huge boon for the people that have to watch that.



The Salad Bar
The salad bar at Fogo is full of tasty treats. The items among our favorites were: fresh beets, salmon, asparagus, basil sauce and fresh mozzarella to list just a few of them.

The comments from the table were: The salad bar had less items then the other restaurants, but Fogo's was fresher and seemed of higher quality, and if you let yourself it would be very easy to fill yourself up there. But, whatever you do, don’t do it because if you fall to temptation and fill up on the bread and salad bar, you're missing some incredible meat.









Meatapalooza
Let the meat begin! Fogo has 15 different meats that their gaucho chefs bring to the table. We found out that the servers are also cooking the meat. So, they are very aware about each piece they serve you since they know which cut is rare, medium rare, etc. and seem to take a pride in making sure the meat is exactly the temperature you want, which I think really comes from them being the cook and server.








We also tried out some wine and if you have read the blog much you know we are not huge on wine and know very little about it and seem to gravitate to a white wine when we got a Terreza Reserva Malbec 2008, which we both liked a lot. It wasn’t an in your face strong wine and it seemed to us to go very well with the meat though. Our friend Elena thought it fought with some of the items.

We started out with Filet Mignon (which everyone agreed was the best). From there the meats moved fast and furiously. We were served: lamb chops, chicken wrapped in bacon, pork loin encrusted in parmesan cheese, sirloin and rib eye.

Also on the table are three sides: mashed potatoes, polenta and carmelized bananas. The polenta was a huge hit at our table. Our friends declared it the most moist and best that they had but for Barb and myself the caramelized bananas were the treat of the sides. Thought to be honest, I tried not to spend too much time on the sides because there was just too much wonderfully cooked tender meat to be had.

Daniel showed us a great evening and even gave us a tour of the kitchen area. It was amazing to see where the meat was cooked and to see how the gaucho chefs stay on top of their meat.





Daniel also showed us the Private Dining areas. They also have private rooms and equipment for meetings of all sizes from 8 to 130 and the cool thing about them you can have them for no charge other than the cost of the meal itself. That’s a pretty nice thing where most meetings rooms outside a public library cost an arm and a leg.

Dessert

We were all so full, but we couldn't pass up trying a few desserts (and share family style). We tried Creme Brule, Flan, Turtle Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie and their signature dessert Papaya Creme.

I think we were definitely winding down as we left dessert on the plate - except for the Flan and Creme Brule. They didn't stand a chance! Jonathan kept coming back to the Papaya cream even though he should of stopped. It had a great taste and seemed very light and just appealed to him a lot.






If you are HUNGRY and want a great dining experience, take a few friends out to Fogo De Chao, a great night will be had by all. Thanks again to Fogo De Chao for having us over to prove that our first opinion was not just a fluke! If you have any comments feel free to leave one here or email us at barb or jonathan @milehigheater.com



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Colorado Cheese Festival

Hello all,

While poor Jonathan had to work this weekend, I snuck off to the Colorado Cheesefest with our friend Elena. Lined up all around the Embassey Suites were tables full of cheese (cheese Gromit)!

Our first table was Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy out of Longmont (www.haystackgoatcheese.com). They had several types of cheese to partake of, including one of my favorites of the day which was the Buttercup. Their website describes this cheese as: Our first mixed-milk cheese combines cow milk with our goat milk to produce a butter-colored satisfying semi-hard cheese. Buttercup wheels are dipped in black wax and aged for 30-60 days.

This was one of the cheeses that I purchased today.

Elena purchased the Queso de Mano which is Haystack's first raw milk cheese, which has a robust, nutty flavor with herbal hints. It is aged for a minimum of four months.

Haystack was one of my top 3 Fromager's of the Day.


We also enjoyed Beehive Cheese Company based out of Utah. We had three cheeses to try: Barely Buzzed, Sea-Hive and Big John's Cajun.

The Barely Buzzed includes expresso and lavendar. You could definately taste the coffee in this cheese. I'm not much of a coffee drinker as you know, but mixed with the cheese flavor, I have to admit I liked it.

The Sea-Hive is rubbed with Beehive wildflower honey and Redmond RealSalt.

Big John's Cajun was hot and spicy (I don't think Jonathan could have handled it). It actually brought tears to my eyes, but the heat was good.

Another Fromager we liked was the Avalance Cheese Company. They had several cheeses to try. Such as: Chevre, Garlic and Basil Chevre Spread, Truffled Honey and Lemon Chevre Spread, Lamborn Bloomers, Midnight Blue and Cabra Blanca. Go to their website to get more details (www.avalanchecheese.com).

My favorite was the Lamborn Bloomers (which Elena and I both purchased). This cheese is so smooth and gentle. I have to say it's my favorite of the day.

Another favorite table was the Rocking W Cheese from Olathe, Colorado. Again, they had a wide assortment of cheeses to try. We tried: Farmer's Veggie, Queso Blanco, Farmer's Plain, Garlic Chive Jack, Portobello Leek Jack, Jalapeno and Tomato Basil.

My favorite here was the Farmer's Veggie. I was told it had celery, sun dried tomatoes and pepper. The rep there said this is an awesome grilled cheese sandwich.

And, this is so true. We asked our local King Soopers to get some in so we could try it, and it's now Jon's favorite cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich.

I didn't purchase anything here because you can get their cheese at King Soopers and Whole Foods. She said if your store doesn't carry them, ask and they will get it to the store.

Again, these are the tables and vendors who struck us as the best. But, you can choose for yourself by going to www.cocheesefest.com to check out all of the vendors who were at the Fest.

Thanks for stopping by our food blog. If you have any questions, please leave a note here, or email us at jonathan or barb @milehigheater.com.

Muir Glen Tomatoes

Hi all,

We were invited out to Opus Restaurant in Littleton (www.opusdine.com)for a wine pairing dinner. What made it different was this was a dinner focused on one ingredient and of all things a premium organic canned tomato. Yeah, canned tomato’s being used as a centerpiece for a high end meal with wine pairings. The whole idea seemed a bit odd but we were definately intrigued.


So, we geared up and headed out to Littleton not really knowing what to expect. We were greeted at the bar with Bloody Mary's made out of one the brands of tomatoes called Meridian Ruby. And,to go along with it crostini and cheese with Muir Glen Tomatoes. Now I have to be honest here I am not a huge Bloody Mary fan so my opinion here should be taken with a large grain of salt but these tasted pretty good and you could defiantly taste the tomato in it.


Next, we made it out to the table when Chef Michael Long came out and talked a bit about the meal, and why he was participating in the Muir Glen Tomato Event. What I really came away with was that as far as canned vegetables (yes I know tomatoes are a fruit but they do get treated like veggie a lot) the only one he would use in the kitchen would be a tomato as long as it was a very good one. His family has a farm that raises tomatos back east so he is fairly knowledgeable about them. He also had a chance to actually harvest some of the tomatoes that Muir Glen uses and said they had a better taste and were much juicier than most commercially grown tomatoes and of course Muir Glen are all organically grown.




After Chef Long spoke a bit, the Muir Glen represenitive chatted with us a bit and passed out some information. I actually found it interesting so I will go ahead and pass it along to you.



Just as many Napa Valley wineries bottle both their house wine and a special Reserve line that gets a bit more attention, Muir Glen also harvests and cans a very limited run of Reserve Tomatoes each year. Muir Glen started producing the annual Reserve Tomatoes in 2008 and is excited about this new tradition they’ve begun.

Grown exclusively for Muir Glen in Yolo County, Calif., under certified organic practices, the 2010 Reserve Tomatoes are hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness to guarantee exceptional quality and taste, going from vine to can in eight hours. The unique Meridian Ruby™ variety was chosen as the 2010 Muir Glen Reserve Tomato for its deep red color and delectable tomato flavor. Meridian Ruby is offered in two varieties: Meridian Ruby Diced Tomatoes and Meridian Ruby Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. The fire roasted tomatoes are grilled and smoked over a proprietary blend of hardwoods to add the smoky depth that foodies and home cooks alike have come to expect from Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes.

Now came the food which was mostly prepared by Chef Shaun who is now the Head Chef at Opus.

Course 1: Fire Roasted Tomato Shrimp Bisque with Fresh basil and Mozzarella Crouton. Pared with a 2006 Gunderloch (Gewurztraminer) wine.




He says: By far my favorite dish of the night - this was just killer. From the incredible taste of the bisque which was not really heavy and creamy like you would expect to the wonderful Crouton and shrimp MAJOR YUM. The wine also was a hit and enhanced the Bisque which for me to be honest doesn’t happen all that often with wine pairings.

I am pretty glad this was my favorite because it is one of the recipes that comes with the box of the Muir Glen Tomato’s so I got a copy of it and can't wait to try it at home. The whole recipe looks pretty easy, even for me.

She says: The Shrimp Bisque was a wonderful start to the evening and is also my favorite of the night. It was smooth and warm (on a cold November night) and the flavor combinations combined into a sweet bite when getting a little shrimp, the bisque and the mozzarella crouton. I also liked the wine (which if you've read our blog before know that I am very picky when it comes to wine - so that's a high compliment coming from me).


Second Course was An “Italian Tamale”. Handmade Italian Sausage and Fennel stuffing roasted in a Corn Husk over Soft Polenta and Meridian Ruby Tomato Sauce and Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Cheese from Fruition Farms. This was paired with a 2007 “Langhe” Nebbiolo.




He Says: I liked this ok but it was not a stand out. It really had a good solid taste and I enjoyed the over all flavors but not something that really shines. The wine also was ok but I am not a big red wine fan so I would say just ok.

She says: I agree with Jonathan's assessment. This was ok, but not one for the memory books. The sausage was good, but wasn't memorable. The polenta though was very good and I would have liked more of it. The wine was ok, again, I'm not a wine fan, and definately prefer white over red.

The Dessert was an Olive Oil Cake with Basil Crema and Muir Glen Tomato Sorbet. Paired with “Nivole” Michele Chiarlo.




He Says: Yep, you read that right: Tomato Sorbet! I read this and kind of shuddered. I mean come on, a tomato freaking ice cream - that’s just wrong. I do give tons of props to the kitchen for sticking with the tasting theme and doing a tomato based dessert. That being said this was a hard one to pull off and to some extent it worked. If you got just a little bit of sorbet along with the cake and Basil Creama it was very tasty and had a nice fresh taste with a hint of the tomatoes sweetness. However, if you got even a bit too much sorbet it was like a slap to your mouth as it was inundated with tomato so much so it tasted like biting into a whole semi frozen tomato, which can be good some times but not in a desert.

She says: Intriguing. Tomato Sorbet was not what I was expecting and had no idea what an Olive Oil cake would taste like. Again, I have to agree with Jonathan. If you got the right proportions, this was an ok dish, but get more than the other and it was sweet cold tomato time. And, I'm not a eat a tomato slice kind of girl. The Olive Oil cake was nice, but needed the kick of something other than tomato.


After the dinner we were giving a box that contained 1 can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Meridan Ruby Tomatos, 1 can of the diced, one can of tomato paste and one can of dices fire roasted with chipolte peppers to take home. I am looking forward to making a batch of Chili soon with these. If you want to give them a try for yourself they only sell the handpicked premium ones a few months each year starting today. The cost for the 4 pack (including a recipe book with that killer Bisque in it among others) costs $8.00 with free shipping and you can get them at http://www.muirglen.com/ seems like a pretty darn good deal for tomatoes of this quality.





After the dinner we asked Chef Long a few quick questions about the event

1. Why did you choose to participate in the Muir Glen event?
To be perfectly honest Muir Glen choose myself...I had a recipe published in Cooking Light Magazine where I specified the use of Muir Glen organic tomatoes and they noticed it....because I and the other chefs are not paid there is a certain legitimacy to our sponsorship.

2. A lot of restaurants are preaching farm to table, why choose to use a canned tomato?
Two reasons: One, it is a way to great tomato flavors in the winter! I would not use them say in a caprese salad, but I personally have no problem capturing the harvest and using them in soup, toppings, sauces, stews etc. Second, tradition: while not a venerated ingredient like say truffles, honey, verjus, etc...there is a tradition of using canned tomatoes for fine cuisine since canning was invented....you can say the same about canned peas or beets for example.


3. The Tomato Sorbet was a really daring dessert choice why did you decide to go with a tomato dessert for the meal instead of sticking with more traditional tomato based meal items?
I must say that is an example of my personal commitment to exploring cuisine...the try and let people experience the different and unexpected.

4. Can you tell us a bit about your new restaurant you will be opening soon in Cherry Creek?
The restaurant will be called Aria and will feature fun and creative dishes in a slighly less formal setting than Opus. We hope to open before the New Year.



Thanks for stopping by our Colorado based Restaurant and Food Review and Blog. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment here or email us at jonathan or barb @milehigheater.com

Argyll: Highs and Lows

Hi all thanks for stopping by www.milehigheater.com

We dined recently at Argyll: A Gastro Pub in Downtown Cherry Creek. We found out about the Argyll when we attended the Cherry Creek Food and Wine Festival this summer. So, we took a couple of friends to expand our palette.
The Argyll’s food is based on English pub style food, but raising the bar a bit (not to dis pub food).

Sadly due a camera mishap the first few items we dont have pictures for.

They do their own House Made Charcuterie Selections, which is in house curing of meat. We chose the Rabbit Rillette, Gruyere, and Colorado purple onion jam.

She Says: As you know, I love rabbit. And this rabbit was nice and smooth and delicious. Paring it with the Gouda and the red onion and bread was a nice bite. I could have had more and been very happy.

He Says: This is one of the highs. It tasted really good and the combination of the Rillette, cheese and the red onion was just fantastic. I could have done a whole meal of this. If you end up going, they have a list they give you of several different Charcuteries cheeses and “sauces” that you mix and match you should SO try it.

Jonathan ordered one of the drinks of the day and one of our friends ordered one of the others and of course we all shared They were

He says: The lemonade drink was very tart which I found refreshing and good over all, but if you like sweet lemonade you would want to steer clear. The one I ordered was basically a mulled wine and I was very, very happy with it. It was one of those drinks that makes you want to curl up next to a fire sipping this and settle down to read a nice book.


The second appetizer we tried was a traditional Scotch egg.

He says: Well here is where the pendulum swings down. The egg was very well cooked but the overall flavor was extremely greasy and this may be a case of high expectations (the last one I had was YUM). This one was just not. In fact, I was the only one at the table who wanted a second bite.
She says: I didn’t even have a first bite after everyone else gave their opinion, so I was spared.

They also have a house chip they serve before your meal which was made with malt vinegar gastrique reduction and dried thyme and parsley.



Oh OHH I liked these alot at first I could not figure out what the dark thick sauce was on the chips but I knew I loved the taste. These were such a winner and would be great to just munch on while you are enjoying a drink.




Onto the menu!

Barb had the Confit Chicken Pot Pie - Confit Chicken, Bechamel, Carrots, Parsnips, Potatoes, Celery, Leeks & Pie Crust



She says: I have to admit first, that Jonathan makes a mean pot pie from his Gran’s recipe. And I ask him to make it a lot. But, if I were closer to the Argyll I might have to stop in there more often. It was creamy, with the right amount of ingredients. The crust was beautifully made and melted in your mouth.

He says: This was good; ok yeah no disrespect Gran but this may be better than yours (but not much really). If you like a pot pie you can’t go wrong with this, it is very creamy and the vegetables and meat inside are about as perfect as you can get. As far as a traditional pot pie goes I don’t think you can get much better.

Jonathan had the daily special which was House cured Duck Confit with Parpadelli Pasta, Carrot Puree Cream Sauce, Colorado Peaches, Chives and Chantrelle Mushrooms.



She says: You know how much I love duck, but it seemed to be missing from the dish. The noodles were good, but it just felt incomplete somehow. I was high hopes for this dish, but was let down.

He says: Ok when the server read this I got more and more excited hearing about it. Peaches, duck, and Fruition Farms Ricotta, so of course I had to try it and I was expecting something special. What I got was a bowl of noodles with a little sauce but not enough to keep the whole thing from being a bit stuck together and seeming a bit dry. The flavor was actually good however the duck was almost nonexistent and if there were peaches or even a hint of peach flavor there I know I never tasted it. Overall, with this dish I thought I had been promised a Lexus and got a K-car.

Our friends had:
Sea Bass: Herbed Sea Bass, Goat Cheese & Tarragon Gnocchi, Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Chioga Beets



She Says: She says: The sea bass was thick and delicious, and eaten with the gnocchi and beet became a taste sensation in your mouth.

He Says: The fish was good, well cooked but really nothing all that special. However, the vegetables that surrounded the fish were just wonderful. Had this been a vegetable dish not a fish dish I would of raved about it as it the vegetables were good enough to still make it a overall enjoyable dish.

And Hickory Smoked Venison: Smoked Venison Flank, Roasted Tomatoes, Colorouge Cheese Fondue, Anson Mills Grits



She says: The venison had great flavor and was tender and delicious. But I only had a small bite as I was loving my pot pie.

He Says: Hmmpff! Leave Barb to give a one sentence description to one of the best things in the meal: The venison was perfectly cooked and tender with a flavor that made me want to steal it outright from Elena (but no way she would of given it up for my noodles darn it).

We also all shared a small portion of their award winning Argyll Shrimp MacCheese: Mini-Rigatoni w/ 5 Cheese Sauce, Braised Shallots, Oyster Mushrooms, Bacon, Peas, Parmesan Breadcrumbs & Prawns



She says: This was a smart choice as we could all have a bit, but not get too overloaded, because it would have been so easy to eat the whole bowl and order another. I can see why it’s won awards!

He says: Wow this is not the Mac and cheese I grew up with. It was so rich and creamy that it just made you smile when you took a bite. But be warned when I say “so rich”. I should say SOOO RICH! If you order a full portion of this you had darn better be hungry because each bite just coats your stomach with its creamy cheesy shrimpy goodness.

Considering the entire meal even if not everything was a hit, enough of it was to make it a place worth visiting. Even if they do hit a few foul balls, when they get it right it goes all the way.

Thanks as always for stopping by our Denver/Colorado based restaurant and food review/blog. If you have any questions of comments feel free to leave a comment here or email us at jonathan or barb @ milehigheater.com

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A Visit to Fruition Farms with Chef Alex Seidel

Hi all,

A few weeks back I went down to meet Chef Alex Seidel of Fruition Restaurant (http://fruitionrestaurant.com/) at his farm and sheep dairy. These days “locally grown” and from the farm ingredients are all in vogue and many restaurants in the area boast of using them. However, very few actually have gone so far as to open their own farm to ensure they get exactly what is needed in their restaurant at the peak of freshness and Chef Seidel is one of them.

When I was heading down there I had in mind that he was doing goat's milk cheese, which I was pretty excited about having tried several varieties before. But, I was surprised to find out when I got there that I was mistaken, and it is sheep’s milk cheese he is making. Which, after getting a bite of his freshly made ricotta chesse was very happily surprised by. I asked him why sheep and he let me know that they have a much higher fat content in their milk (8 percent vs 2-3 percent) and that makes a better cheese). He had just gotten the sheep in the week before and already he had begun making ricotta and hopes to make some hard cheeses in the near future.

While he was walking me around the farm, I was amazed at how much work had been done. Most chefs don’t have tons of time really away from the restaurant in the first place, but the amount of work that has been done there at the farm just makes me think the man must never sleep. When I mention this, Chef Seidel quickly mentions that he has had a lot of help from his sous chef and friends and even crews from different restaurants in the area have come down to lend a hand. To give you an idea of the work involved the dairy just a few months ago was a bare bones structure with dirt floors. Now it is fully tiled with a fairly ingenuous milking station and a sterile fully tiled room set up to make the cheese in as well as 2 aging rooms. Considering they did all the work themselves it is pretty amazing.





When we arrived, the first thing we did was go over to the two “covered” growing areas which are flanked by a cherry tree and black berry bushes. I put covered in quotes as currently they are not covered at all as a 90 plus mph wind storm ripped the covers right off them earlier this year. Still there are several varieties of vegetables growing. Another thing I found pretty cool is none of the people working the farm have any farm experience prior, as they all come from culinary backgrounds. So you can tell a lot of work has gone in to get the necessary knowledge to make this work.






Next stop was the barn which they also had to redo the outside of and a lot of the inside as it had fallen in to disrepair. Inside is a chicken coop with several different types of hens and roosters from which Chef Seidel gets his eggs. And of course sheep, which milled around eating a bit. I asked Chef Seidel why he decided to make the farm and besides for of course wanting to use the freshest local ingredients he could, he also said it was a chance for continuing education for the community (he had a Denver school class come down and interact with the animals and dig up some root vegetables) but also for him as a chef.





After the barn we headed over to the greenhouse where just a huge amount of micro greens were being grown. It was a lot of fun going through there and sampling a few of them. The farm supplies 40 different local restaurants with their greens. After this it was into the dairy to watch his cheese maker working on the latest batch of ricotta. The ricotta that comes from his restaurant can be found at many local restaurants. In fact, I ran across some at Argyll restaurant just last week.






What lies ahead? Well, he is planning to get some tables and cooking areas set up to have farm dinners in the future and hoping also to increase the varieties of vegetables and cheese he is making. If you have not yet had a chance to give Fruition a try I would highly suggest you do soon.

Thanks for stopping by our Colorado restaurant review and food blog. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them here or email us at jonathan or barbara @milehigheater.com