today's denver post food section

[mongo_jones]

thoughts?

[Cathy]

links?

[mongo_jones]

um, denverpost.com? it didn't occur to me that those who don't read the paper copy might have thoughts on it as well.

[Cathy]

Who orders venison cooked MEDIUM? (the Bighorn Steakhouse review)

 

I hear the Broadmoor is hosting a food & wine festival in late October. Any comments? We've been asked to do a version of our 'how to open a restaurant' seminar there.

[mongo_jones]

i know nothing about the broadmoor.

 

i was disappointed to see that the beer of the week in today's section was the latest annheuser busch atrocity. i can see making a mention of it somewhere in the section but there's so many great local brews that the post could be publicising instead--why help out someone who's already got a gigantic advertising budget and not a particularly good product?

 

some of the recipes look good though, and i found the small container baking thing to be interesting, even if i am unlikely to make anything that way.

 

what i would really, really like to see (and maybe the post has already run this and i missed it) is a detailed survey/exploration of the hispanic small restaurant scene, say along colfax.

[mongo_jones]

so, was the whole thing on the french laundry in today's section mostly to give the natives context for the piece on frasca? keller's roast chicken recipe on page 3 looks good--finally something by keller that i can afford to make (price and time). was that special to the post or is it from one of his books?

 

much happier about this week's beer pick.

[TheMatt]

so, was the whole thing on the french laundry in today's section mostly to give the natives context for the piece on frasca? keller's roast chicken recipe on page 3 looks good--finally something by keller that i can afford to make (price and time). was that special to the post or is it from one of his books?

I think it was for context, and I think that recipe is from Bouchon, his bistro-style cookbook. A very good book I've heard with a few recipes that are actually managable (unlike French Laundry).

 

As for the Broadmoor...ah, the Broadmoor, Grande Dame of the Rockies. Only hotel to get AAA 5 Diamond and Mobil 5 Stars every year the awards have been in existence. When I was down at Colorado College I used to go there and dream. One good thing was some graduation stuff was held there, so it was fun to walk around that place. I also went to their Sunday brunch a couple times. Probably the best brunch I've ever been to. Should be for the price, but dang.

[rlm]

The Bouchon cookbook is beautiful, although I can't say I was impressed with my trip to the Yountville location last year. I noticed the Roast Chicken recipe reprinted in the Post today did not call for a metric ton of salt, which was surprising to me considering that's how ours was served.

[mongo_jones]

yes, i was surprised by that. it quoted keller as saying that he likes to rain the salt onto the chicken, and then said 1 tablespoon. i put it down to his presumably never having experienced a monsoon.

[mongo_jones]

now that kris is reading along i think it might be nice to start a regular conversation (frank, of course) about the post's food section. this is a little late but i quite liked this article from last wednesday about top local chefs and how they stay abreast of developments in the world of fine dining and cooking.

 

Travel is the way many restaurateurs expose their staffs to new ideas, and Barolo Grill owner Blair Taylor has become famous for taking his entire crew to Italy every year, closing down the restaurant and then returning to showcase the goodies they've brought back and new techniques they've learned.

 

In November, Bonanno and his wife and business partner, Jacqueline, took two chefs and two head waiters from Mizuna and Luca d'Italia to New York. They ate in nine restaurants in three days, some nine-course meals, at places such as Babbo and Jean-Georges, for a total trip cost of about $8,000.

 

What's slower, Woolcott says, is diners' willingness to embrace the trends, although she believes the turnaround on that has progressively shortened. "This past year has been the first one that I've felt people becoming more open, more adventurous," she says. "Both in an economic sense, it feels like maybe this year we'll see people dining more again, and in terms of trying things."

[mongo_jones]

on the main page of the food section you'll also see an ongoing poll on the best restaurant in the region. some place i've never heard of (not that that's saying a lot) is currently leading.

[TheMatt]

on the main page of the food section you'll also see an ongoing poll on the best restaurant in the region. some place i've never heard of (not that that's saying a lot) is currently leading.

I believe you are speaking of Highland's Garden Cafe. I'm not surprised that it is leading--it's a very popular restaurant. The fact that it's beautiful and serves great American food is a bonus.

 

It's located near the Highland Park area (32nd and Tennyson-ish, maybe on Perry?), and is made up of a couple of Victorians and a nice garden. I've always likened it in a way to Chautauqua Dining Hall. They are both places that you go to when the weather is nice and the sun is out. Those are two of the few places I like--no, want--to eat al fresco at.

 

I'm probably a bigger fan of Bang! in that neighboorhood, mainly because I'm a grad student and Highland's is out of my usual price range. Bang! serves great American food, but for less (albeit in the loudest and most crowded restaurant in existence).

[rlm]

I like Mongo's earlier idea of having the Post explore the Mexican taquerias and hole-in-the-wall joints you see on Colfax and Federal and Alameda (you know, all those places you see when driving around but never read about). I don't know where to start, honestly, and I don't want to get discouraged by picking a stinker right off the bat. I want a sublime experience, not another trip to G.I. Doomsville.

 

So what about that churros place on Wadsworth?

Or the Rico Pollo chain?

Or El Tepehuan on Broadway?

Or just the places on E. Colfax alone?

[mtdew]

I hear the churro place is good, but I hear it from a radio show that I am never sure whether I should trust or not.

[mongo_jones]

appreciate the article on colorado wineries (i didn't even know there were any) in today's section--not the best writing though (in my opinion). the colorado lamb recipes also look good. no restaurant review this week?

 

i am alarmed, however, by the large number of articles that are from non post writers and feature services. i wish the post would take the local food scene more seriously and give kris and crew a decent budget of their own. there's really 4.5 pages of food writing in today's section and by my approximate count 2.25 of it originated somewhere else (and this is counting page 2 which is mostly news).