Chocolate and Cheese

d-Bar desserts
1475 E 17th Ave
Denver, CO

Dinner Date: October 8th, 2009
Attendees: Katie, Ang., Jen, Caroline, Marie

Bittersweet, like chocolate, and that song...is my assessment of Denver's d-bar desserts.

Bitter: The Wai-aaaa-ting Is The Hardest Part.

At the d-bar, you will wait. It seems everyone waits...you could probably go alone and have to wait. There are probably people waiting for the door to be unlocked when they open. The place is small and no matter where you stand you are in the way...of other people wanting to get in to wait, the wait staff or people who are actually lucky enough to be done with their waiting.
Let me reiterate here...this place is small. They have one large table that seats 8, and those 8 people are not usually a group of 8 but several smaller groups. They have a few cafe like tables against the wall, 4 tops and 2 tops, booth seating against the wall and chairs on the outside. Then there is bar seating at the counter and along the window on one side.
Naturally, d-bar does not take reservations because they want you to wait. They want you to be seen by the traffic on 17th to be waiting...it's great advertising and it's all free!

I will point out that we were a party of five and there can be up to 8 of us at any given dinner. I would personally like to thank the girls that didn't make it to dinner or there is no way we would have been seated if all of us had showed. I cannot even imagine what our wait time would have been. At the end of a very slow glass of wine...the 5 of us were seated at the bar, not really an ideal spot for a party of five considering we could not really enjoy conversation with each other, but after our particular wait time, we were happy to be sitting at all.

Sweet: Food, Glorious, Food!

We started our evening with an order of the special appetizer fries. First...these should be on the menu at all times. They were DIVINE!!! In fact, I want them right now. Perfectly cooked skinny fries covered with their signature 4 cheese Mac and Cheese sauce...there was other stuff in there but don't ask me what it was because I was too busy gorging myself on my share of these that I couldn't tell you. Holy moley...I am salivating like Homer Simpson at Lamar's Doughnuts right now just thinking about these fries! My guess is that even though they were a "special" you could probably get these folks to serve them up to you anytime as Mac and Cheese is a staple on their small food menu (I had a bit of Katie's Mac & Cheese and wowsers...you can guess that is a house favorite.)
For my dinner I had the special Flatbread pizza with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Organic Pepperoni...it was simple and perfect and delicious.

Now for the reason this place exists and people will wait:
Dessert, and let's not mince words with their logo...that is dessert with a capital "D". As mentioned above, we were seated at the bar and pretty much got to watch the dessert gal (the I-Do-Not-Smile-And-Being-Engaging-With-Customers-Is-Not-My-Job dessert gal) make everything on the dessert menu was quite the treat. You would think that sort of thing would be of assistance when ordering your dessert, but you would be wrong. I had the hardest time deciding on what to have. I finally went with the Molten-Cake Thing That Everyone Seems To Have...a steamed chocolate cake with a truffle hidden inside, topped with 3 kinds of berries and the most delicious cherry I have ever eaten in my life, with chocolate sauce smear and topped with pistachio ice cream...holy jeez whiz...freakin' amazing!!! I couldn't finish it all but pretty much decimated the little plate so their was no salvaging leftovers there.
As for the other girls they will have to tell you about their dinners and desserts cause I'm having a little trouble typing, what with all the mental drooling I'm doing right now.

Bittersweet: It's Bittersweet, More Sweet Than Bitter, Bitter Than Sweet, It's A Bitter Sweet, Surrender.

I liked the d-bar. I'm glad we went to the d-bar. I probably will never go back to the d-bar. It really is a one-time-only kind of thing. It's just too small, the wait is just too much, the food was awesome but maybe they should just be a coffee and dessert place and skip the dinner thing, that way they can turn over more customers and alleviate some of the waiting. It's a treat place, it's a date-night for dessert place or a dessert before dinner hipster hangout. It's lovely and like I said, I'm glad we went but in the end, I'm just not that hip, and as hard as that is to believe, it's true, really, I'm not.


PS...Helpful Hints or as I like to call 'em, If You Go Notes:
Go early...
Go when it's warm out...they have a nice size patio and can probably accommodate twice as many customers outside as in...

xoang.

Go Veggie!

Watercourse Foods
837 E 17th Ave
Denver, CO 80218-1467

Dinner Date: September 10th, 2009
Attendees: Katie, Jen, Ang., Rhonda, Caroline, Lara, Cat

Watercourse Foods is a Denver institution. They, without dispute, make the most amazing gravy (as in biscuits and gravy) in the world. I am dying to have it sent to some sort of culinary lab to have it decoded so I could make it at home. I have known employees and ex-employees that have sworn they don't know the secret of the gravy. It's also not your typical vegetarian/vegan restaurant...there really is something for everyone, even the most die-hard carnivore that will go on a tirade about not climbing to the top of the food chain to eat tofu can find something that will totally appease and satiate them.

Until Thursday night, I had not been to Watercourse since they moved to their location on 17th Avenue nor had I ever eaten there for dinner. Besides parking being what it is on 17th (not that I remember we had that much of a problem or a walk) the restaurant is very lovely...open and airy, with a long, wrap-around bar and the walls are tastefully colored with artwork everywhere. Which is a good thing because we spent a lot of time at the bar, waiting.

And as far as things go, we spent a lot of time waiting everywhere that evening.

I'll admit, Thursday there were 7 of us girls, an odd number, sure, but it seems doubtful that our wait would have been any less had there only been 6 of us. Looking around there didn't seem to be any tables to accommodate parties more than 4...which is fine, but our wait at the bar had to be on the closer to the 45 minutes to an hour side.

Once we were at the table things didn't seem to move at any quicker a pace. It seemed to me (and I could be wrong about this, if I am I'm hoping one of the other gals will correct me in the comments section) that we had to wait a significant amount of time not only for our order to be taken but for our food to arrive. I just remember having the thought at one point that quite possibly my napkin is made out of some biodegradable stuff that could be fit for human consumption. But, admittedly, I'll just throw in that we could have ordered appetizers at the bar, we didn't and that is our fault, so really, quit with the whining already, eh?

As for the food...no complaints. Everything was delicious and except for the gals that ordered the Portabello steak sandwiches, I tried a little of everyone's dinner. I decided to go with something I had never tried before, seitan. For those, like me, unfamiliar, seitan is sometimes referred to as "wheat meat" as it is made from wheat glutan. I had the Seitan Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes, and smothered with that famous gravy it was fantastic. Here's what I love about Watercourse...just because it's vegetarian and vegan does not necessarily mean it's "healthy" or bland at all...like I mentioned before, there really is something for everyone, you just have to have an open mind, an adventurous spirit and be willing to try something you might not even thought you wanted to try.

Due to our wait time, we were all pretty much starving once our food arrived and our chatter pretty much died away as we ate, quickly. By then it was past nine and some of us were tired and just wanted to go home and go to bed, so we got our bill and divvied it up. And that's where things seemed to take a weird turn. As any restaurant is well within their rights (and I say I approve of this practice) Watercourse Foods adds an 18% gratuity to parties of 6 or more. It all worked out, the bill was sectioned, each of us paid our portion, including all the glasses of wine that were consumed during our wait at the bar before dinner... and then Cat, deciding she just had to have one more glass of wine, got up from the table and went to the bar and purchased another glass of wine. I don't know, maybe it is common practice everywhere but the bartender added 18% gratuity to her glass of wine purchase. It was weird and rubbed me the wrong way considering our server (who's name I cannot recall nor did I write down) did not serve her the glass of wine nor was it ordered at the table. Needless to say it ended the evening on a rather strange and sour note.

But overall and in the end, I had a great dinner in a great restaurant that I will frequent over and over...their menu is just too-too to-die-for! And as long as that gravy exists and that is the only place I can get it, well...wait or no wait, I'll be there.

xoang.

This Side of the Border

The Pioneer
2401 S University Blvd
Denver, CO 80210

Dinner Date: July 9, 2009
Attendees: Jen, Lara, Ang., Rhonda, Caroline, Cat and Marie

(Confession: It's been awhile since our dinner at the Pioneer...the dog days of summer having made us lazy in the old blog department...but I have my notes so here goes!)

Mexican food...give it to me...tortillas, corn or flour, I don't mind...beans, black, pinto, fried, refried, borracho, yeah yeah...chiles, I'm an admitted dead-center medium on the old Scoville scale, but yes, I love me some chiles....and we won't even go into how I have a self-imposed margarita limit, for a good reason.

As for the Pioneer Tacos and Margaritas, I can safely say I remember liking it, but that's about it...it was like, not love.
I had the Al Pastor Tacos...pork with a really yummy garlic and pineapple salsa...but that was it. That was it as in that was all that was on my plate...no beans, no rice, no sides...except for these pink, pickled onions that were okay but I still can't figure out their purpose or why they were pink. Also...my tacos a) not hot and b) not edible by hand as the second I picked up the first one, the bottom fell out and I ended up having to use my fork.

What I should have ordered were the Chile Rellenos...cause Rhonda, sitting next to me ordered them, I had 2 bites. They were really good, deep-fried stuffed poblanos, cheesy and delicious.

That's pretty much all I got on the Pioneer...Joe, our server was very nice, friendly and attentive as I recall, and their patio was lovely and not too bad for being right on University but the margaritas were pretty much middle-of-the-road but at Happy Hour they are $3.00 and throw in an extra shot for 75 cents! so they were worth it, for sure.
Overall, in summation , I liked the Pioneer but there are just too many, non-chain, Mexican restaurants in this town that are far superior that I probably wouldn't go back unless somebody else invited me and then I would be sure to remember to order the rellenos or the beans and rice.

xoang.

Little Bites: Sushi Sasa

Thursday, June 18

To celebrate International Sushi Day, we decided to finally get downtown for a visit to Sushi Sasa. Recommended by Dave as his favorite sushi in Denver, he also warned that it is pricey and to definitely make a reservation. Easy enough...

Sushi Sasa is hidden away, across the street from another Dinnergirls favorite, My Brothers Bar. If you didn't know it was there, you would totally miss it. The restaurant is very white and very clean. In most sushi restaurants that I've been to, the sushi bar is closer to the front and you walk by as you're seated. Sushi Sasa is not this way. The sushi bar is at the back and I definitely missed walking by to greet the chef and see what looks good.

Naturally, we started our meal with sake. The sparkling sake to be exact. It was unfiltered and really interesting. It was also priced high enough that we split the two we ordered between us. I really liked it - it was a fun treat.

Next we ordered the Shrimp Dynamite to get us started with eats. I have to say... it was hands down the best dynamite I have ever had. The shrimp was tempura battered and fried and then topped with the dynamite sauce over asparagus. We all loved it and I'm sure each of us would have leveled that plate alone if there weren't other people to share with. It was excellent and I will dream of that dynamite it was so good.

I can't remember the names of all of the sushi rolls we ordered but I do remember the Diablo Roll, which also came highly recommended by Dave. Spicy tuna on the inside with seared (I think? I can't remember if it was seared but I think it was) tuna on the outside. The taste was simple and fresh - not fancy and really good. We also got the roll that had everything inside and tempura-ed. I am not sure that the other girls were as fond, but I really liked it too. You can never go wrong with a caterpillar roll and I think we got one of those (different name perhaps?) and a few other rolls as well. All of them were fresh, tasty, non-pretentious and beautifully presented.

Oh -- I almost forgot about the sashimi. We ordered the salmon that was sitting on a green tea sauce. Roland and I devoured the sashimi and the sauce was great! But I'm pretty sure the other girls prefer having their sushi with rice and that is ok too. I thought the salmon was perfect and melted on my tongue. The pieces were perhaps a little large which a couple of girls struggled with, but I'm not complaining! I thought they were tasty and I would order it again.

By the end of our dinner, we were all entirely too stuffed to order any kind of dessert, although the wasabi tiramisu sounded rather intriguing. I'm not much of a dessert eater but next time, and there will be a next time, I might try and save a little room for it -- and if not, perhaps I'll take some home.

All in all, I thought it was a great meal. Good sushi is never cheap but after the warnings of high prices at Sushi Sasa, I was surprised to find the total not too far off from what I likely would have spent anywhere else. If you like sushi and haven't tried this place, make a reservation and see what you think. We'd love to read your comments!

Patios of Spring!

Pearl Street Grill
1477 S Pearl Street

May 14th, 2009
Attendees: Caroline, Rhonda, Jen, Lara, Marie, Ang. and Special Guest Stacy

My first real apartment in Denver was located at 1430 S. Pearl...just a few doors down from the Pearl Street Grill, the Sushi Den and Stella's Coffee House, I didn't drive at the time, but my roommate hated not having a driveway...because if you weren't home before 6pm there was never anywhere to park. That was over ten years ago, all those places are still there and I can only guess that the neighborhood residents still feel the same. At 6:45 on Thursday, the block was packed.

The Pearl Street Grill is a Denver institution, older than the Wynkoop and legend has it that back in the day, when he was just known as "John", Mayor Hickenlooper would stop in, sit at the bar and pester the owners for business advice. But before this evening, I had only ever been there once before, when I lived down the street. It was one of those steel gray, it's-too-damn-cold-to-snow days and we walked down the block in the afternoon and had one of the best bowls of Potato & Leek soup that I have ever had that didn't come out of my kitchen. But I digress.

We arrived at the restaurant a little early and the nice little hostess gal lead us out to our table on the back patio. Let me start by saying, this patio is amazing.
All outdoor seating arrangements should aspire to be the patio at the Pearl Street Grill. There was not one table there where sun-in-the-eyes seemed to be a factor as the whole thing was shaded by an beautiful, enormous tree (it was shedding but so what!) and the water feature was a true delight, soothing but not overbearing.



As per usual we started off with a round of drinks and that's when it all began.
We had two drink menus and they were not the same. Our waiter, Ted, after asking us about our group and what we do and the like, explained that the drink specials were different on "daily specials" sheet than in the menu and that the wine selections might be a bit outdated. A little odd, but we went with it. I cannot remember the name of the drink I had but it's vodka and ginger beer served in a copper mug...cool, refreshing and delicious.
Jen ordered a mojito, or I should say, the saddest attempt at a mojito that I have ever seen and as soon as I was able to flag down a staff member that just happened by our table, we sent that glass of wilted mint and not-freshly-cut limes back in favor of a glass of sangria, which seemed to be the preferred drink of the evening.

After that we decided on a couple of appetizers. The Artichoke Dip was really good, it was creamy with a great texture and the perfect amount of cheesy, but the toasted beer bread points were the highlight on the dish. We also ordered a plate of Mussels Bouillabaisse...O.M.G.! I am not much of a seafood fan, I like fish, mostly raw...but unless it is shrimp, I am always willing to try something. Outside of the Great Backyard 4th-of-July Mussel Fest last year...these were the single greatest mussels I have ever had in my life. They were perfectly cooked, not one of the five I ate were in the least bit chewy and the sauce was out-of-this-world, fantastic! I'd have to say, they were the highlight of the evening.

As we were preparing to order our entrees our waiter, Ted, came by the table to impart some menu wisdom on us. In short he pointed out all the things on the menu that we should not even think about ordering. The Mediterranean Pasta should, apparently, be avoided completely...it is never any good. He also suggested we steer clear of the Grilled Pork Medallions and the Enchilada Plate. He mentioned that the Meatloaf is excellent but the Pot Roast can be iffy. We asked why the Grilled Salmon appears on the menu twice, both with the same description but two different prices, he wasn't sure nor did he make any gesture to find out. I asked about the Macho Burrito and was told it wasn't anything I couldn't get better someplace else.
In the end, I decided to give the Pot Roast a try...Ted was right. It wasn't awesome but it wasn't so dry that I needed to send it back.
All in all, I feel really weird about Ted. On one hand it's really nice, I suppose, to have a waiter be that blunt and honest about the menu, on the other, I just feel that that entire exchange could have been handled in a more positive way. Instead of telling us what we should avoid, he might have been more open to recommending something else had we tried to order those items on the menu that he just didn't favor. I don't know, the whole thing just threw me off and I can't get over it. Everyone else, however, seemed to really enjoy their dinners, the mushroom gravy for the meatloaf was no lie, loaded with mushrooms, Rhonda and Lara had two of the biggest, most delicious looking Greek Salads I have ever seen, Jen seemed very pleased with the Trout and the Buffalo Burger at Stacy's end of the table looked downright sensational.

Needless to say, my overall impression of the Pearl Street Grill is somewhat bittersweet. I loved the ambiance of the patio and the appetizers were really great but the whole of the dining experience was somewhat tainted. In the end I was just left with the feeling that our waiter just really didn't care all that much and it kinda just threw the whole dining-out experience off completely. I don't know if I'll ever return...well, maybe...if it's really, really cold and gray day, and somebody tells me Potato & Leek is the soup of the day.

Magic at the Monaco Inn!

962 S Monaco Pkwy
Denver, CO 80224
(303) 320-1104
www.monacoinn.com

When: April 9th
In Attendance: Jen, Ang, Katie, Caroline, Rhonda, Lara, Marie

I had been reading about the Monaco Inn for years in the Cherry Creek Chronicle which I receive at home. Over the years, there have been some good reviews of this family owned little hot spot. The article described fantastic food including Greek potatoes, killer dolmades, and excellent Mexican food including their special Monacoritos. I had also passed the somewhat unassuming and hidden restaurant for years but never stopped in.

After going to the Monaco Inn with my favorite group of women, I am kicking myself for not going sooner! When I first walked in, I was a little nervous because it seemed like an early bird special kind of crowd and I was ready to eat and laugh a ton! I saw Katie sitting at the bar and quickly walked over and sat down and ordered a drink. I recognized the owner, Mike Tsikoudakis immediately from the articles I had read and he graciously poured my drink with a friendly smile. I felt at home already. A short time after Lara arrived and ordered a yummy Greek wine at the recommendation of Mike. I knew I wanted some once we were seated at our table.

Alas, the other girls arrived after driving right past the Monaco Inn. It is very easy not to notice this place and pass on by. You must turn at the Hobby Lobby sign! I had made a reservation and our table was ready and waiting for our Greek feast to begin! Mike led us to our table where we were greeted by our cute server and the owner’s daughter, Antigone! Along with Antigone, there was a flock of other servers including Peter and Asimakis attending to our table! I could tell this place was special and the staff considered it home! I felt at home too!

After everyone sampled Lara’s Greek wine, we all decided to order a few bottles. The wine and two orders of on the house saganaki were presented by Mike! OPA my good man! Fire and cheese equals fun! The saganaki was very creamy, lemony, and delicious. One order needed a little more time under the fire but I didn’t care because cheese and lemon two of my favorite things! The saganaki was served with fresh, pillow soft, and delicious pita bread. Thank you Mike!

We also ordered some calamari. It arrived at our table piping hot and with lots of lemon, cocktail sauce, and tzatziki sauce! Cooking calamari seems to be difficult for some restaurants and is often times chewy and over cooked. I thought the Monaco Inn did a great job. I liked the golden brown batter and it had a peppery tang to it. I thought (as the girls called it), the tentacles were the best part rather than the “circle” part! OPA! Whatever it’s called, it must have been good because we ate the whole huge plate! There was a shot of ouzo somewhere during the calamari scarfing. The Monaco Inn serves very LARGE shots of the smoothest ouzo I have ever thrown back! OPA, once again!

We had all ordered big platters, which came with Greek avgolemono soup or Greek salad. I had the soup and it was thick, creamy, and hot! It had lots of rice and a rich lemon flavor. I ate it in about 4 big spoonfuls. A few other girls got the Greek salad. It looked like very good Greek salad, but some of them learned to get the dressing on the side next time! I was full at this point but did not quit eating, naturally.

Our huge platters came to the table from the friendly gentlemen being so attentive to our table. I immediately spotted the Greek potatoes I had read about in so many reviews. I was down right giddy to dig in! I ordered a combo plate with spanakopita, tyropita, and grilled shrimp. I decided to sub the grilled shrimp for dolmades and they were happy to oblige! So many restaurants have combos with one thing I don’t want, but the Monaco Inn was very accommodating about switching things up! Honestly, I was so in to my food I don’t remember what other girls ordered. I will rely on their blog comments to discuss their meals!

I tried the Greek potatoes first. I loved them simply put. The potatoes were rich, buttery, and full of lemon and herb flavors. They were some of the tastiest potatoes I have eaten and would like to make them myself! There was something light and airy about them when other potatoes can be heavy. Next, I tried my spinach pie called spanakopita. It was filled with delicious spinach that was flavored with dill, parsley, leeks, and feta cheese. It was layered with fluffy golden fillo and was scrumptious. It was time to try the dolmades! These dolmades were stuffed with herbs, rice, and ground beef all rapped up in a tender grape leaf. I enjoyed Monaco Inn’s beefy dolmades and thought they were delightfully different from dolmades from other area Greek restaurants, which usually don’t include beef.

I am saving my favorite part of my combo platter for last! The tyropita cheese pies are to die for! I wished I wasn’t so full by the time I sunk my teeth into these heavenly morsels of cheese and flaky fillo dough. They were warm, smooth, and had a wonderful tangy blend of cheeses. The Inn's tyropitas are divine! I could have just had a plate of those.

This is a long review but I don’t remember the last time I had such a fantastic time eating out. I must say I thought the great food was just an added bonus to the fun atmosphere and entertainment we received at our table from the staff at the Monaco Inn. This is what going out to eat is all about! So often you can go to a restaurant and feel like a bother to the servers. They kind of make you feel as if they want you to order in a hurry, eat, and get out so they can turn the tables over. I felt like we could have stayed at the Monaco Inn for days, and they would have kept us full and happy! In fact, we were treated to a wonderful magic show by Peter the great! He did three mesmerizing tricks for us as we laughed and had the best time! We also had our own mini comedy club going at our table as Peter told some funny jokes and stories! I think we may have been the youngest and most enthusiastic table the Inn had seen in a while! I think we gave the staff a thrill, with our dazzling beauty and smiling faces. We were all happy to take part in the fun!

After all the jokes, magic, food, and OPA’s, it was time for a group photo to commemorate my favorite dinner to date! You must try the Monaco Inn because it is a true Denver treasure. There is nothing better than a restaurant that takes pride in their service from start to finish. This little gem is my new neighborhood favorite!

Dreaming In Lentils

Arada Ethiopian Restaurant
750 Sante Fe Drive
www.aradarestaurant.com

Attendees: Ang., Caroline, Jen, Katie, Lara and Marie

Ethiopian food is now the most frequently enjoyed ethnic food group by the Denver Dinnergirls. We have dined at The Ethiopian Restaurant on Colfax (one of our very first dinners, there were 4 of us and our bar tab was twice the total of our food, surely the plan of the establishment) and Queen of Sheba, also on Colfax (again, only 4 of us but since there was no liquor, a very inexpensive dinner). Ethiopian food is one of the most fascinating and enjoyable of all ethnic dining because you are immediately submerged into the culture...there are no plates or silver, everyone just sits around the big platter and shares...it's a wonderful communal experience. Both the previously mentioned Ethiopian Restaurant and Queen of Sheba are entertaining and delicious but Arada is without a doubt the best in town.
(You don't have to take this from me...ask around, Westword, City Search, Denver Restaurant Guide...eating critics and readers all agree...it is the best.)
From the service to the presentation of the bill, this place is what dining out should be...practically perfect in every way.

We all met at the bar, a very well stocked affair and ordered a round of wines by the glass. We were served by Haime, a lovely gal but she was soon replaced by Siaka (see-ah-kah) who would not only take over behind the bar, he served as our waiter and guide...and very graciously, with a fantastic smile, steered us through the million questions we are always bound to ask and did.
Arada is small but very beautifully decorated with a few really amazing, framed pieces of art on the walls and for being such a small dining room it was pretty quiet.
He seated us at our table and was very helpful steering us through the menu...it's not tricky but we wanted to try as much of everything as we could. We settled on one vegetarian combo platter and one festival of meat platter. We also ordered a couple Sambusa's (think Ethiopian empanadas--every culture has their own version), one filled with lentils and other a ground beef mixture....both of them were very good and spicy but not overpowering.

The main event though was served in a very timely manner and this is where Arada really stands above the aforementioned and other Ethiopian restaurants.

Siaka brought two trays to the table containing the Ethiopian bread. It is unlike any other bread I have ever had in my life. It is spongy, kind of like a giant crepe, only thicker, but has a zip and tang to it that I find hard to put my finger on...we asked him and he told us how they make it but I just don't understand how every single serving is perfect. (For those uninitiated the bread is how you eat all the dishes...using little pieces of the bread to "scoop" up bite-size portions and pop them into your mouth...super fun...kids would love it!)
Then he brought all the individual items that went with our combos in small bowls and dished them onto the platters explaining what each item was as he did so.

The vegetarian tray was full of yellow split peas, lentils in a red pepper sauce, green beans, potatoes, carrots and cabbage and the most perfectly cooked collard greens...each dish a delicious mixture of spices and textures...so freakin' good, you could almost cry.

The meat platter contained a plethora of beef dishes, ground beef, strips of beef, beef chunks and number 9, which Siaka said was his favorite and I think all of the girls at the table agreed, was absolutely the most tasty selection on the tray. There was also a lamb selection in the middle of the platter that was tender and supple...and again, each dish was a perfect blend of spices and herbs and garlic...mmm, mmm, mmm!

Each platter also contained 2 salads...one a combination of tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and peppers and then the other seemed to contain all those ingredients and small pieces of the Ethiopian bread all soaked in a sublime vinegar mixture and Siaka kept the bread well stocked on the trays so that we were never without.

Toward the end of our dinner a very beautiful woman (I forgot to write down her name...grrr!) came out to our table and asked how we liked everything, even mentioning some certain dishes that we had. I am sure she was the chef/owner of the establishment...I know I could not tell her how much I had thoroughly enjoyed our dinner...I don't know that there are the proper words in the English language and unfortunately I do not speak Ethiopian. I can't even seem to find the words in my own native tongue to recommend Arada more highly that to just say, don't wait...go there, seriously, your taste buds will thank you after your stomach begs you to stop eating.

xoxoang.

Jonsey's Eat Bar

20th & Logan
www.jeatbar.com
Attendees: Lara, Ang, Jenny, Marie and special guest: Holly

Let me start off by saying I love French Fries! Jonesy's knows how to do french fries with a kick! I had been dreaming about their fries for weeks!

Happy Hour ends at 7pm, so I was determined to get there in time for HH! I did! I started with a Spanish red wine, Tempranillo or something like that. It was yummy! Then I noticed Ang outside. She came in and joined me for a glass. Then Jenny and Holly arrived. We then ordered a Malbec which was yummy! Then Marie joined us just in time for our last HH glass.

I loved how we ordered, we just ordered a whole bunch of apps! Of course FFs, a half and half plate of truffle oil with cheese and buffalo sauce with cheese. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! We also ordered mussels; the Dinnergirls love their mussels. I can't remember the sauce but it was yummy! We also ordered the cauliflower which had a great curry sauce! Then something with a fancy name that Ang knows, it was water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. Can you ever go wrong with bacon? Nope!

Holly and Jenny split a pretty looking beet salad. Ang ordered a great shot of Colorado cherry spiced brandy, or something like that. It was very tastey! Was it warm? I think so.

That was about it. The service was fine, but not spectacular. They were not very attentive, but it wasn't terrible. They did give Jenny a whole bunch of corks and even came and found her when she forgot them.

I would totally go to Jonsey's again, just for the FF!

Fun with Video - Taki Sushi

Little Bites - Breakfast on Broadway

You would never know we are in the midst of economic distress judging from the crowds that keep on crowding weekend after weekend at Breakfast on Broadway in Englewood. Finally a restaurant that works in this offbeat little town! This past weekend was no different than any other; the parking lot was packed and the line went out the door, even though it was chilly outside.

The pace inside Breakfast on Broadway is easy going (if not slow) and nobody is in a hurry around here. The service at BOB is friendly but laid back. I can't stress enough that turnover is not a concern for these folks. But the food makes up for it and is well worth the wait - as long as you aren't sitting near the door on a blustery day as your grits will be cold in no time. In fact, a glass partition or glass bricks or some kind of wind block between the door and the dining room would be a great idea for this place - for many reasons that I won't continue with here. But I know they've got to have some money because the place is always packed.

Breakfast on Broadway boasts bottomless mimosas on the weekends and they make a decent bloody mary as well. The breakfast menu is extensive and if you like Eggs Benedicts, you will love this place. The recent addition of the Benedict Champignon was excellent, with nice, even pieces of mushrooms, and a velvet-y hollandaise sauce topped with a lovely presentation of fried cheese. Since so many of their dishes have meat, this plate pleases the vegetarian in me and still allows me to indulge. (I'm not sure how many vegan plates there might be but I did see gluten-free rice pancakes, I think...) I love the potato cakes and the fruit garnish is tasty in addition to pretty. Other items include Butternut Squash Pancakes, Biscuits & Gravy, Stuffed French Toast, "Hash," and more.

I've never had lunch here but they have a that too. We also noticed that there seems to be a new establishment a few blocks North on Broadway called The Broadway Grill, I believe, that is run by the Breakfast on Broadway folks. Those of us who live in Englewood welcome anything new to the area that isn't a cheap and dirty biker bar or over-the-top expensive steakhouse (with a few exceptions of course.)

Hooray for our friends at Breakfast on Broadway. We love you!
www.breakfastonbroadway.com

Little Bites - Big Day! And lots of drinks!

Dixon's Downtown Grill
16th & Wazee
Attendees: Lara, Katie, Ang and Jenny

I got to Dixon's at 8am on January 20, 2009! I knew it was going to be a Big Day! A day I'll never forget! Though parts of it are hazy due to the drinks! I got us a great round booth looking at the TVs over the bar. It was perfect!

Now, I didn't start drinking until 9am when the gals showed up. We started with Bloody Mary's! They were sooooo yummy! Now things started happenin'! We watched all the festivities and toasted often! Second round, not quite as yummy, but they still worked. We ordered the food during the inauguration prayer. Not sure if that is Kosher, but we were hungry! The food was yummy! I remember the hash browns and bacon were crispy (very important). The eggs tasted like eggs; I'm not a huge fan of eggs.

Now the after breakfast drinks:
I remember some Giggle Juice (mimosas), maybe some more Bloody's for some of the gals, and I think Katie had a fancy shot of some sort. It was a wonderful, memorable time! I think I cried a little. I felt pride, relief, joy, hope and giggles! The crowd was loving the moment too! Lots of hootin' and hollerin', clapping, waving good bye to the Bushes, and other signs of glee! That was the second time I had been to Dixon's for brunch, the first being New Years Day. I think Dixon's is a nice place to have brunch. I have never had to wait, the food is good, not great, but good. I've always had great service!

Next Stop: The Pour House
1435 Market St.
Now we are feeling good! Celebrating! We found ourselves at The Pour House, hoping the roof top was open. It was such a beautiful day, in so many ways, we wanted to enjoy it all! The sign said it was open, it was not! So we grabbed a table and switched to beers. Not sure how many during this time, but enough. We had a nice waitress, though she was the only on in there and was quite busy. Some time during our visit we were joined by Pete. This is when the shots appeared. Something yummy....sweet??? Not sure what!

Next Stop: Red Square
1512 Larimer St. #38R

Our final stop! I had a yummy fruity drink suggested by Katie. Don't remember the name of it, but it wasn't too fruity, just right. There might have been some more drinks. Jenny and Ang took the light rail home. Katie, Pete and I had a very meaningful and heavy conversation! I'm sure no one could understand it but us! This is where I departed. My wonderful husband picked me up, took me to Good Times and took me home, where I needed to be. I promptly feel asleep on the couch. This was the best inauguration day I have had, and probably will ever have! :)

Banzai Sushi

In attendance: Jenny, Ang, Caroline, Rhonda & Marie

http://www.100rolls.com/

A few of the girls decided to go to sushi one Friday night. We decided to go to Banzai Sushi located at 6655 Leetsdale Drive Denver, Colorado 80224. Some of the girls had been there before and were excited to try the nitro rolls again. This is going to be a short review of the food unfortunately.

Banzai was one of my favorite sushi joints in Denver until this visit. I must admit I still like their sushi a lot and find their selection of over 100 rolls very interesting. However, their service just plain STINKS. It was indeed a busy Friday night, but I for one felt like we were a bother to the server. Banzai isn’t exactly a $1 sushi joint and for the money, I felt the lack of service made it impossible to enjoy the good rolls that night. We also ordered the Dynamite appetizer and it was overcooked by the time our server actually remembered to bring it to us.

My husband and I used to go to Banzai every few months when we had the Jones for the “Hotshot Roll.” Several times the cute owner of Banzai would even sit at our table with us and ask how our sushi was. It was a delight and this kind of attention rarely happens in the era of the chain restaurant. So personally, when I went with the girls last month I felt ripped off by our server. I don’t like being a negative reviewer. For me to write this the experience was truly bad and this is very hard to write. Banzai, you need new servers and more of them on a Friday night! After all this, I would still recommend trying Banzai because their nitro rolls are excellent. My advice would be to try take out, stopping by a liquor store, and buying a large bottle of sake to take home.

DG Afterhours: The Colfax Prowl #1

Every now and then the dinnergirls have a night where after dinner it just ain't quite time to go home, Thursday was one of those nights!

While heading out of the CityGrille we decided it just wasn't quite time to go home yet so we jay-walked our little butts across Colfax and found ourselves in a cozy booth at the Red Room
(320 E Colfax) where the majority of us decided what we needed was more vodka.

Rhonda and I both ordered the Key Lime Pie Martini...freakin' delicious. Sweet with a tinge of sour and quite creamy, but I think the that kind of foo-foo really needs a edge of sugar on the rim of the glass.

(Real Quick: I like my martinis freakin' ice cold. I really have never met anyone that doesn't. I like my vodka after it has beaten the edges off some ice cubes...maybe that is not how they are supposed to be made but that's how I like them. Every vodka martini I was served this Thursday was not "Siberia" cold, if you know what I mean...call me crazy, but vodka should be "freezing"!!!)

Meanwhile...back at the Red Room...this was after 9pm on a Thursday night and they were not busy at all...but they were slow, slow slow. I think there may have been only one wait gal and my guess is that she was new cause she didn't seem too familiar with what was available and we must have waited for 10 or 15 minutes before our drinks arrived. Needless to say, we decided that it really was not our night to sit and drink expensive drinks, so we departed and headed east down the 'Fax for more casual, less swank...and man, that's just what we found at the Satellite Bar (308 E. Colfax).

Welcome to Punk Rock Happy Hour...this place was exactly the kind of establishment that makes Colfax great. Cheap beer (Man, if you are into that kind of thing...their freakin' canned beer selection is GD unbelievable), reasonably-priced shots, games and a loud stereo.

Jared, the cute bartender that poured our prospective poisons was friendly, attentive and super fun. The music blaring out of the speakers, for one split second, made me feel like, "holy crap, they are so gonna take away my fake ID!" Plus, not only was there a pool table, pinball and video games, but, please, there was a shuffle board table, that, seriously, if I put my hand on it, the sand was probably warm.

The girls settled on a couple of drafts, some slow-sipping shots and a water (that Caroline, so smart!!!) and plopped our butts down at the end of the bar. A few minutes later, Rhonda decided shots were needed and asked Jared if he knew how to make a Butter Baby. It's one of my favorites but being the driver for the evening I declined, which made me a little sad when they arrived because they were unlike any Butter Baby shots I've ever seen! Instead of blending all the ingredients, Jared made them so the heavier cream was sitting atop the clear liquid...they were pur-dy!!!

And that was all she wrote.

We finished our drinks and paid the tab, left our fella with a hefty tip and made our way out to Colfax to hail Lara a cab...which, in all sincerity, I would say was the most fun of the evening!
With that said and wrote, I'm going for this...give me a dive bar over the "it" place any day, cause for this gal, my money was on Jared and his ability to seriously obliterate some ice with The Grey Goose and make me one happy girl, with extra olives to boot!
xo

Grill in the City

City Grille

321 E. Colfax
Denver, CO
Thursday, January 8, 2008
www.citygrille.com

Attendees: Lara, Jen, Caroline, Rhonda & Ang.

I have always wanted to go to City Grille but something always seems to come up or get in the way and even though I have lived here for over 10 years I have never managed to get there. Upon entering I was a little surprised to find an cute little neighborhood joint, right smack in the middle of downtown Denver...just a hop, skip and a jump from the Capitol Building.

Well....for this Dinnergirl I gotta start by saying, I don't really want to be "judgery" but overall I gotta give this Denver landmark...complete with a giant hamburger on the side of the building and a huge banner in front acknowledging their burger prowess, a just above medium and so-so review.

Let me start with the service. I la-la-loved our waiter, Allen. He was awesome, funny, self-deprecating and totally into the whole, The-Bitches-Have-Come-For-Dinner vibe that was going on (especially with me), and I am completely aware that it was a Thursday night, very busy for a neighborhood joint but the gal that seated us and subsequently served us our food was not very friendly or initiating in any way, so much so that I didn't even have a chance to ask her name. As I said, it was a rather busy night in the restaurant and I can totally understand the whole, My-God-I'm-Swamped kinda thing, but ultimately, to me, two second of your time to make sure everything is right and okay really doesn't seem too much to ask.

The girls started out by ordering a round of martinis at the table (except Lara, who went simple and practical with a lager). Since we had varying degrees of "dirty" and olive count Allen, super-smarty and seasoned waiter that he is brought a glass full of olives and a small beaker of olive juice! Brilliant!

I will start by admitting that I did not have the Best Burger according to the Denver Post 2008, so I can't speak to that. I did have a scrumptious bite of Rhonda's Buffalo Burger which I did think was YUM but their claim-to-fame, I did not taste.

I had the Beer Battered Halibut and City Fries. The halibut was cut into small fillets and deep fried to a golden brown perfection. I am a fan of chunky tartar sauce so I was kinda excited about the prospect of said sauce with capers. I love capers. Don't get me wrong, I could taste the capers, salty and interesting, I just couldn't see them and to me the whole thing was kinda masked by the flavor of dill, which I really like but was just not expecting and rather overpowered the tartar just a bit too much. The fish was really good and you do get a lot of it so it was definitely worth the $10, which, for halibut is a bargain.

But I don't know why they make a big deal out of calling them "City Fries" specifically, because, basically they were shoestrings plain and simple. Good, but by no means exceptional.

With all of that said and even so...I would definitely do CityGrille again and I think next time, I'm having the burger!