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



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.



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



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



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




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



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.

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.



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.



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

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.



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.



To start out with we decided to add on a little something we saw these Fiore di Zucca


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

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


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


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



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



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


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


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


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

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.





Sweet's from Granny's Goodies



Fried Alligator Tail from Bayou Bobs.




Watching over the Turkey drumsticks.



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




Cooking up some pizza from The Fire Within.






Famous Dave's BBQ



Grilling up Sausage and Shrimp at the Golden Toad




Buffaloed Chicken at Grand Lux Cafe.




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

Home made Italian at Paulie and Deanna's

Hi all,

Barb and I went to check out a local restaurant called Paulie and Deanna’s Italian Restaurant.



It is a Mom and Pop Italian restaurant where the main server is Deanna and of course the cook is Paulie. The space would have a romantic feel if not for the 2 TV's playing. There's one over the bar and one in another corner. The service was a bit slow but the waitress did extra little things to make sure you have a good experience. For example, she brought an extra glass of ice out with my tea because it was fresh brewed and was warm enough to melt the ice quickly. ( Please see note at end)


We started out with Deep Fried Cheese Ravioli with Homemade Sauce. We both thought this was a nice twist to the normal cheese sticks (and fought over the last one - which begs the question: why are appetizers served in odd numbers where there are 2 diners)?





For dinner, I had Stuffed Baked Shells. Sadly, I don't have a pic for these.
They were ok, but to be honest nothing special and left me giving Barb's meal the “eye”.

Barb had Chicken Parmesan.



The Chicken Parmesan had a wonderful smell and the few bites I stole were yummy. Barb enjoyed the difference from traditional Chicken Parm in that the chicken was served in small chucks instead of having to cut into a large chicken breast.


For dessert we had the Molten Cake with Ice Cream.




Though this dessert is seen often, I don’t think I have ever had a bad one and this was no exception. It was very rich, warm and yummy.

The restaurant also does a good business with carry out pizza and calzones.



Over all was a tasty meal and it is good to see a restaurant like this move in to the Firestone area.

Numbers and such:
The meal cost $37.00 total. The restaurant is located at 8196 Weld County Road 13. Next to Safeway) and their phone number is 303-833-5095.

As always thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.

Barb and Jonathan

AFTER THE CAMERA

Service alert. Have gone back 2 times without the camera and both times the service was BAD as in start talking to ask about ordering something to go and wait person walks away bad and I had to find another server.

The D-elightful Dbar

Hi all,

Barb and I went out to the Dbar ( www.dbardesserts.com ) for lunch and a few take home desserts on Friday. The D bar is headed up by Keegan Gerhard of Food Network fame and of course they serve fantastic desserts all day and some great looking plated desserts after 6 pm. One thing on the menu that caught my eye though we were in too early to try was a item on the dessert menu that was called "That molten cake thingy every one has (ours is steamed with a truffle inside). Now that's worth going back for after 6pm!



We were there about lunch time after going down to Channel 9 News and talking to the people behind www.denver.metromix.com where we will soon be freelancing for them, which we are very excited about. Make sure to look at their site soon for some future entries from us.

For my lunch I had a pair of Kobe Beef Sliders.



brioche ∙ drunken onions ∙ white cheddar ∙ garlic aioli ∙ parm fries
Perfectly cooked with a nice little bit of fries. I mean really, all that needs to be said is "Kobe Beef" burgers - thats it.

Barbara had a Baked Macaroni and Cheese.



4 cheeses ∙ cheese nips & panko crumbs ∙ small salad
Very cheesey and creamy. The cheese was so stringy and gooey and delicious. Nice comfort food on a rainy day.




The cost for my 2 sliders were $10 and Barbs Mac and Cheese was $7 and for the quality of food was well worth it. We left with several deserts to try for example, a lemon tart, peanut butter cup, a truffle, a interesting twist on a rice crispy treat, a brown and white brownie and a chocolate pecan cookie. I really meant to get some pictures of them but the chocolate pecan cookie fell victim to a small fit of the munchies on the way home and the rest dissapeared quickly that day (for Jonathan at least, Barb had more restraint - hers were gone Saturday) and I think that says plenty about the quality of them. The restaurant itself is located at 1475 east 17th Ave in Denver and is defintly worth a look!

Since this is just a lunch and dessert spot I have not included a ranking, but you could not go wrong by giving this place a go!


Thanks again for coming by and as always if you have any questions or comments please let us know.

A "hidden gem" The Gold Hill Inn

Hi all,

First of all would like to say we are trying a new thing starting with this entry going to do a more of a "he said, she said" approach with both of us talking a little about each dish as we often see things a bit different.
Barb and I made it up to the Gold Hill Inn (www.goldhillinn.com) on the 3rd of August having heard good things about it from several people. Gold Hill is about 10 miles above Boulder and you get there by a mostly dirt road that winds it's curvy way up to this little town of 118 souls. We came from a different direction - coming in as we had just spent some time in Blackhawk before we headed over. Both ways you come in it is very pretty with beautiful views and it seems like there is not much of anything around till you pop into Gold Hill itself (and then still there's not much around). The Gold Hill Inn and Bluebird lodge are 2 of the main business’s here so you can’t miss it and there is parking street side or on the side of the Blue bird Lodge.





When you enter the Gold Hill you first enter a bar area where when we entered a nice jazz group was warming up and we were able to enjoy them throughout our meal. Before you are seated you are pointed to a chalk board that has the evenings menu choices on it so you can get an idea of what you want before you are taken to your table. The inn has a very rustic feel to it and for me at least I immediately loved the place and probably told Barb 4 times that “this place is pretty cool “. You are seated and given the wine list which seemed to be pretty decent from my un-trained eye. The servers here all work each table so you don’t have a certain server per se and I was afraid this would really impact service but they did a great job and never once did my drink glass go empty which is a big thing for me. ( Please see note at end)

To start you out they bring out a loaf of homemade bread with homemade jam and butter.



He says:
The bread was good and the jam which had strawberry, rhubarb, and peach in it just blew me away and I picked at it all night.

She says:
I love bread, and homemade bread the better. The jam was very good and I also picked at it during the entire meal. It was so sweet and tasty.

Next came the appetizer. This was a set item and we both got the same thing. Now all the food here is very simply presented so if you’re looking for pretty plating you will be disappointed and to be honest when I saw this come out was a bit worried, but the doubts went away when I tasted it.




This was a slice of apple and herb cheese wrapped inside a slice of ham. Now as I said all the presentation is fairly simple but as with the rest of my meal everything was good.

He says:
This had a nice flavor with definite garlic over tone and the apple gave it a nice crisp texture to the overall effect. The rating I gave this was a 6.

She says:
The appetizer was nice. I wasn't sure about the mixture of ingredients at first, but they came together nicely. I would give this a 5.

The next item out were our soups. The choices that evening were a Fish Chowder and a Cold Strawberry Melon.




He says:
I had the Fish Chowder and found it to be very good. It had large chunks of fish and vegetables in it and had a creamy texture and the fish taste and smell was not overly strong like I have run into in some of my past fish based soups. I would give the soup a 7. Barbara had the Strawberry Melon and to me it tasted and had the texture of a smoothie which is good for a smoothie but seemed a bit much for a cold soup. I would give that soup a 5.



She says:
I picked the cold soup, because the hot soup sounded very fishy. :) I'm not a fan of cold soups, but this was very good. It was like a strawberry smootie. The fish soup was very good as well, it was very strong with fish flavor. I would have liked a little less fishiness to it. I would give my soup a 6 and Jonathan's a 7.


The next out were our salads.


He says:
I had Raspberry vinaigrette and Barb had the house dressing which was like a Caesar. The salads themself were fresh with lots of chunky vegetables including onions, beets, cucumber, and tomato. I liked my salad and enjoyed the dressing and just because of the amount of vegetables and the great dressing I will give it a 6.



She says:
My salad and dressing was very good. Nice array of onions, cucumber and croutons. I'm not a vinaigrette fan, so didn't try Jonathan's. Overall, I was very happy with mine. I would give it a 7.


Next out was our main course. When they brought out the courses you were given a choice of 3 sides Yams, Ratatouille, and Spaghetti Squash.



He says:
My course was Tournedos. This was a filet mignon wrapped in bacon and with a rich brown stew sauce. The steak was perfectly cooked and tender and the sauce had great flavor. The steak came with rice and it was ok but really it was just rice. I had some of the Ratatouille and the Spaghetti Squash. The ratatouille was a bit blah to me and only had a few bites but the squash OH MY I will start out saying I am not normally a huge cooked veggie person (well outside of potatoes) but this was just fantastic had a delicate flavor that just made me happy and not a bit of this was left on the plate though half the steak came home with me. I would give this dish an 8 and lol if I was just rating the squash it would have gotten a 10 hehe.



Barb had the Pork Tenderloin with Apricots. The pork was thinly sliced and the apricots added a nice flavor to it and with the garlic mashed potatoes and the yams she picked for her side was a very good overall dish. I would give it a 7.

She says: I tried the Pork Tenderloin with Apricots. I had a similar dish at Terroir a few weeks back, but nothing else was saying "eat me" on the menu. The pork was sliced very thinly, which I liked and the apricots was a nice contrast to the meat. On Sunday, they only have mashed potatos, and that was fine by me. Nothing special about them though. Just like you make at home! The yams were good as well, again nothing special. I would give this dish a 6. Jonathan's I would give a 7.


Next out were the desserts.



He says:
I had a chocolate torte and it was rich and very cholatey and was very much enjoyed. I would give it 8. Barb had the Orange Rhubarb Pie with Walnuts which was something neither of us had had before and it was a very interesting and tasty combination. I enjoyed it but feel the torte was the stronger of the 2 desserts and give hers a 7.

She says:
I love rhubarb, so was intrigued by the thought of Orange Rhubarb pie. It was very good and sweet. I would have liked it warmed though (didn't think to ask for it that way). Jonathan's dessert was very sweet and delicious. I almost didn't give him his plate back after my taste. I would give my pie a 7 and Jon's an 8.

Last course was the cheese course. They bring out a huge plate with red and green grapes, lettuce, Melba toast, sliced apples, and 3 cheeses: Gouda, Blue, and a sharp Cheddar




He says:
Between us we had the Gouda and the Cheddar. They were both very good and this was a great way to finish off the meal. I would give them a 6.

She says:
The cheese course was a nice surprise at the end of the meal. The Gouda was very nice with the Melba Toast and the Cheddar was sharp and good as well. I didn't try the Blue Cheese as I'm not a fan. Cheese course: 7

Overall, we had a great time and the live music playing in the room beyond just increased the enjoyment of it all. It is a very rustic place but such a fantastic feel and value. If I stick to my normal rating system I would have to take off points for plating and such, but really folks just come here expecting plainly served great food with a wonderful atmosphere. The hardwood floors and exposed beams just gave it a wonderful rustic appeal.


A side note I would like to add before I go on with numbers and such. The Bluebird Inn which is right next door and is also on the website for the Gold Hill does a murder mystery several times a year that includes a champagne reception, dinner, the murder mystery, the hotel room, and breakfast the next morning for $215 a couple. While Barb and I haven’t made it out for it yet we are definantely going to and for the price can’t imagine anyone not thinking that would be a fun thing to do.

Numbers and such.

The 6 course meal is only $31.00 per person which is an incredible value. Oue over all rating ended up a 6.7 The Gold Hill Inn number is 303-443-6461. It has been mentioned in Gourmet magazine and Fortune magazine and I see why. Make a reservation soon as they close in January and come October they are only open weekends!



Thanks for stopping by and as always if have questions or comments please let us know.

Jonathan and Barbara

Post note by Jonathan. Though the over all score of the food etc ended up being lower than most of the others we have rated in this blog due to the great value and the overall feel of the restaurant I personally look forward to returning here soon probably before the end of the season if we can manage it. It was just one of those over all experiences that left me feeling good about it.


AFTER THE CAMERA

We went back here with some friends not to long ago and the service was fairly poor that night very long intervals between items and litterly had to stand up and wave to get any attention twice. The food was still very good and I am sure this was just a bad night but wanted to note it.