Denver Beer Company

I've often driven along Platte Street and watched enviously as the beer-sipping patrons at Denver Beer Company lounged outside and enjoyed beer at long tables on the brewery's patio. 

Denver Beer Company could serve the worst beer in the world, and Denverites would probably still flock to their sprawling outdoor seating to drink brews, soak up the Colorado sun, and people-watch along Platte Street.

Fortunately, as I discovered last weekend, their beer is pretty good. 

I have no idea why it took me so long to check out Denver Beer Company, and even my inaugural visit last weekend was unplanned.

On our way to House of Commons but needing to kill 30 minutes ahead of our reservation time, my husband and I couldn't pass up the allure of Denver Beer Company on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Denver.

The Denver Beer Company apparently used to be some sort of garage, or it certainly looks like one. Good weather brings the opening of the large doors and use of the patio along Platte Street in downtown Denver.

On the Sunday of our visit, we arrived at 12:30 pm to a moderately busy brewery filled with beer drinkers and plenty of sunbathing dogs. 

Beer List at Denver Beer Company (5/20/12)

For only $8, we enjoyed a beer flight with all seven of the brews listed in the photo above.

I loved the Kaffir Lime Wheat. The lime taste was wonderfully intense. Every plate of Mexican food I eat now will feel like it's missing the proper fermented beverage accompaniment without the Kaffir Lime Wheat to wash it down.

Mr. Oyster went crazy for the very unique Misseur Flaneur, a saison flavored sharply with basil and lavender. According to him: "this tastes like a meadow." However, I wasn't crazy about the meadow taste or smell, and I felt the seasonings were overwhelming in the beer.

The other brews were decent but not nearly as memorable as the Kaffir Lime Wheat or Misseur Flaneur.

We had to get going - it was time to meet up with my mom for afternoon tea - so there was no time to sip anything beyond the small volumes in our flight.

Nonetheless, my husband loved the Misseur Flaneur so much, he picked up a growler on our way back from House of Commons.

Growler of Denver Beer Company Misseur Flaneur (Saison)

The Denver Beer Company appears to rotate through beers regularly, so I'm glad we were able to try the Kaffir Lime and Misseur Flaneur while they were available.


Denver Beer Company doesn't brew up the best beer in Denver, but it offers excellent patio seating and unique local beers that are worth a try.

Website:
http://denverbeerco.com/

The Kitchen

The Kitchen is a much-buzzed Boulder farm-to-table restaurant that elbowed its way to the #14 spot on 5280's 25 Best Restaurants list in October 2011.

Mr. Oyster and I visited The Kitchen a couple years ago in our pre-blog days and we felt a bit lukewarm about the place, but we decided to give it another try last weekend.

The Kitchen lies immediately west of the Pearl Street Mall, just next door to Salt. Adjacent to The Kitchen are its sister restaurants, The Kitchen [Upstairs], and The Kitchen [Next Door].

The Kitchen seems to epitomize Boulder with its ubiquitous use of the word "community," its commitment to renewable energy, and its nonprofit dedicated to gardens in schools.

We stopped by for brunch on a Saturday at 12:30 pm.. The Kitchen doesn't take reservations for brunch, and securing a table was no easy feat. We were told that the wait would be about 20 minutes, and after that 20 minutes passed we were offered a patio seat. Considering how blustery it was that day, I'm surprised the staff would seat people outside. We opted to wait another ten or so minutes for an indoor spot. Once that was "ready", we went inside and then had to wait a few more minutes before the table was fully prepped.

And we were finally ready to begin our meal. Our waiter brought a carafe of water, and I ordered a latte ($3.95).

Latte

My latte was perfect. The swirled foam layer was frothy, thick, and creamy. The sugar chunks on the side made for a beautiful presentation.

My husband decided on the Long Family Farm Ham with poached eggs, Hollandaise, and an English muffin ($14), which The Kitchen curiously spells out on their menu rather than call it "Eggs Benedict." The dish arrived with a side of breakfast potatoes.

Eggs Benedict

The presentation was lovely and the portion was fairly large. The bread was topped with multiple layers of thinly-sliced ham, poached eggs, and a generous helping of creamy hollandaise sauce.

The benedict was good but not particularly special. The hollandaise and ham both tasted a bit bland.

The breakfast potatoes were really the star of this dish. They were perfectly seasoned, and cooked to a crispy exterior and soft interior.

My brunch dish was the Spicy Long Farm Pork Green Chili ($14), which came with two eggs and cornbread.

Spicy Long Farm Pork Green Chili

The Kitchen advertises this dish as "spicy" by the first word in the dish's title, but it really had no heat at all to it. I was disappointed by the lack of spiciness, although the chili was otherwise well-seasoned and filled with large chunks of pork. The cornbread cube was dry and bland; I had to mix it with the chili to make it enjoyable to eat.

I hadn't requested any specifics as far as how the eggs were cooked, but they were served in the exact form I prefer them: over-medium, with just a hint of runny yolk.

Service was a little slow but otherwise good. The waitstaff did a great job of refreshing our water carafe and my husband's iced tea.

The Kitchen offers a great restaurant concept in terms of their commitment to farm-to-table dining and community support. However, their prices feel a bit steep and their brunch offerings just don't quite come together for me.


Casual Dining

(6 of 10)

Pros: High quality ingredients, great lattes
Cons: Food sometimes lacking in flavor and cohesion, long wait for table at brunch

Website:
http://thekitchencommunity.com/the-kitchen-boulder/

SALT

It seems that all of America is clamoring for people to cut their sodium intake, and Salt in Boulder is serving it up to customers in generously filled little trays.

My husband, my mother and I showed up at Salt looking for brunch at noon on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The outdoor seating was filled but the inside was maybe only a third occupied. I was surprised at how much busier Salt's next door neighbor, The Kitchen, appeared.

We were soon seated indoors and presented with the salt selection shown above, which consisted of a pink Bolivian salt and a white Sicilian salt.

The brunch menu at Salt offers a variety of sweet and savory dishes, and we couldn't resist the allure of the Glazed & Cinnamon Doughnuts ($6) as an "appetizer".

Glazed and Cinnamon Doughnuts

These were incredible. They were served with a tangy lemon curd and a spiced chocolate sauce that had just a slight hint of heat. The warm doughnuts tasted freshly fried and had a perfectly soft and light texture.

For our main dishes, I ordered the Chilaquiles Negro ($12). Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish, and I believe chilaquiles roughly translates into something like "intentionally soggy egg-covered nachos that are delicious and you eat them for breakfast".

Chilaquiles Negro

This came smothered in refried black beans, salsa verde, onions, roasted chicken, cilantro, two eggs over easy, and crème fraiche. I never really figured out how I was supposed to it eat (is it really messy finger food or really tricky fork food?), although it was served in its authentic form. The combination of ingredients was outstanding, especially the very fresh and perfectly cooked eggs. I ate as much as I could and then let my husband dig in to finish it off.

Speaking of my husband, he ordered the Roasted Long Farm Pork Loin Sandwich ($15).

Roasted Long Farm Pork Loin Sandwich

This monster of a sandwich included spinach, fontina mornay, bacon, scallion scrambled eggs, and polenta fries on the side. It amounted to an awful lot of protein in every bite.  The sandwich was good but very filling and lacked a punch of flavor. My husband only ate half of it before throwing in the towel (but he was then able to finish off my chilaquiles).

The polenta fries were well cooked and win novelty points, but I realized I wasn't enough of a polenta lover to eat more than just a few.

And for my mother, the House Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon Melt ($15):

House Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon Melt

The salmon came smothered in fontina cheese on a locally made Udi's bagel. I enjoyed the smoked salmon but the salmon coupled with the cheese made for a very salty meal.

Speaking of salty, considering the name of the restaurant and the copious amount of it sitting in front of us during our meal, I expected the food to be very lightly salted, thereby allowing customers to use the fancy foreign sodium chloride to their heart's desire on their meal. This was not the case. The food seemed to have typical restaurant sodium amounts in it, and I felt no need to add any additional salt. I tried a tiny bit of the two varieties just to see what they tasted like; I'm no gourmet but it was just normal salt to me.

The food was very good but generally didn't blow me away (ok, the doughnuts were awesome). Great service and atmosphere. I would definitely visit again, especially to try Salt for dinner.


Casual Dining

 (7 of 10)

Pros: Great food, local ingredients
Cons: Portions too large


Website:
http://www.saltboulderbistro.com/

Duo Restaurant

Every once in a while, on a lazy weekend morning, my husband and I manage to drag ourselves out of bed, hop in the car, and drive far far out of the suburbs to treat ourselves to delicious brunch in the city.

Last weekend was one of those occasions, as we trekked to the Highlands for an encore visit to Duo Restaurant on Sunday morning.

The last time I was at Duo was sometime in the era of a million years ago, with Mr. Oyster and my mother, for what I remembered was a fantastic brunch.

It was just my husband and me this time, looking for a repeat of the great food from our previous visit.

Duo is tucked fairly deep in the Highlands at 32nd and Zuni. We had reservations on a Sunday for the restaurant's open at 10 am. Within a few minutes of being seated, every table was occupied. Note to anyone eating at Duo at a similar time: make reservations.

Duo is yet another farm-to-table type place that reminds me a lot of The Kitchen in Boulder. It's got a cozy, homey feel that includes napkins that look like this:

How quaint. 

I ordered the mushroom scramble ($8), which included scrambled eggs with mushrooms and spinach, with a side of crispy potatoes and a slice of homemade bread.

Mushroom Scramble

It was perfect. The scramble was very healthy and fresh tasting, although too large of a portion for me. And I love love love their crispy potatoes; they come well-seasoned with a wonderful crunchy exterior. 

And for my husband, the cider glazed pork "benedict" ($10). Direct from menu: poached eggs, grilled sourdough bread, slow roasted cider glazed pork, whole grain mustard cream sauce, crispy potatoes.

Cider Glazed Pork Benedict

This was a completely unique twist on eggs benedict and we loved it.  The eggs sat on a bed of roasted pork, which were atop a slice of sourdough bread. The eggs were perfectly poached with runny centers that melded with the cream sauce, sourdough, and pork. 

We were well attended to at Duo and left with some wonderful brunch in our stomachs. Just as good as I remembered it. 

Casual Dining

 8 of 10

Pros: Delicious food, good service, fresh, local ingredients

Cons: Reservations needed

Website:

http://duodenver.com/

Boulder Ice Cream: Caramel Pecan and Coconut Crunch

While I've reviewed many different treat shops to date - Gelazzi Gelato, CJ's Custard, and Sweet Action Ice Cream - it's about time I gave my two cents on some sold-in-stores stuff.

I spent over two decades living in Boulder and I never tried Boulder Ice Cream until last week. It went on sale at my local Whole Foods for $2.5/pint, and I figured it was time to put it to the taste test.

Boulder Ice Cream flavors are either All Natural or Organic, and they have about an equal number of varieties in either category. All ice creams are batch churned and use local dairies for milk and cream.

The two flavors I purchased were All-Natural Caramel Pecan, and Organic Coconut Crunch.

The Caramel Pecan was excellent. The ice cream had a smooth, velvety texture and rich flavor that reminded me of Ben & Jerry's.

I love lots of "mix-ins" in my ice cream, so I was happy to see large pecan pieces everywhere. The caramel in this ice cream came in the form of the caramel-flavored ice cream base and caramelized pecans.

Nutritionals and ingredients:

I checked this against some Ben & Jerry's we had in the house and noticed that Boulder Ice Cream contains more fat but less sugar than Ben & Jerry's (this applies to both flavors).

Next up for a taste test was Coconut Crunch.

The coconut ice cream base tasted and smelled strongly of coconut, but that was only the result of added coconut flavor. There's no actual coconut in this ice cream. While I was excited to find a coconut-flavored ice cream, I was disappointed there were no coconut pieces in it.

The "crunch" in the name comes from toffee pieces in the coconut ice cream base. I was hoping for substantial, rich chunks of toffee, but instead found only tiny pieces that didn't contribute a strong toffee taste.

Finally, the texture of the Coconut Crunch wasn't as creamy and smooth as the Caramel Pecan. It was harder to spoon out and had a bit of an icy taste. I'm not sure if this was a result of all-organic ingredients in the Coconut Crunch or if it was due to a different issue. Still, this was a good ice cream flavor, but it didn't impress me like the Caramel Pecan did.

Coconut Crunch Nutritionals:

I definitely preferred the Caramel Pecan, but my husband loved the Coconut Crunch. 

I was very pleasantly surprised with the texture and quality of ingredients in the Caramel Pecan. It rivals some of my favorite national premium ice cream brands, but its base price is more expensive. I'll be happy to buy it again when it goes on sale to promote a local company. 

Website:

http://www.boulderhomemadeicecream.com

Beatrice & Woodsley

Beatrice & Woodsley has been on our radar for a while, after we'd heard multiple stories about aspen trees inside and extremely quirky bathrooms. Oh, and delicious food.

Last Sunday night, with four other lucky taste testers joining us, it was time for a visit. Before we even made it to the front door, however, we were greeted with some irritations.

There's barely a sign out front, parking nearby is tricky, and there's no valet. That was my first clue that convenience and comfort aren't top priority at Beatrice & Woodsley. However, if you are able to make it in, you'll be rewarded with one of the most elaborate and unique restaurant settings in Denver.

Bar Area and Entrance

Wood everywhere, chainsaws supporting shelves, and aspen trees right next to your table. The interior was definitely spectacular and a little spooky. There's some imaginary story of a woman marrying a lumberjack behind it all. I really didn't get it.

Bar Area

Beautiful, yes. Comfortable and practical, not really.

The six of us sat at a "normal" looking table, but I noticed many neighboring tables were built of wood and sat almost at the same level as the seating benches. They looked extremely uncomfortable.

Although there were six of us eating, all I've reviewed are the dishes Mr. Oyster and I split.

(Sorry about the dark photos. Spooky lighting = bad iPhone pictures).

We decided to split three small plates. Our first dish was the Crawfish Beignets ($9). From the menu: Crawfish and fresh corn batter, filled with spicy red pepper aioli.

Crawfish Beignets

The beignets were rich had that perfectly doughy, fried texture, but they didn't contain quite enough crawfish for my liking.

Next up was Got Ewe Udder My Thumb (ha...ha....how clever, $13): Ugly Goat ricotta, yogurt and chevre in their own preparations with fried fresh peas, braised carrot and a crisp pasta shell. Note that the "ewe" in the title of this dish is a misnomer as Ugly Goat, I believe, produces only goat dairy - no sheep's milk cheese on this plate.

Got Ewe Udder My Thumb. Translation: Lots of goat cheese

My husband and I both loved this dish, as it was not only wonderfully savory and rich tasting but used local Ugly Goat cheeses.

Our final small plate was A Day at the Peach ($10). From the menu: Spicy peach bbq pork shoulder, succotash salad and pickled watermelon.

A Day at the Peach: BBQ Pork Shoulder

This was also a very nice small plate. While I didn't get much of a peach taste, the pork was extremely tender and pleasantly sweet. The pickled watermelon, however, was way too salty.

The highlight of our meal was definitely dessert. We ordered the Malted Milk Chocolate Custard ($10).

Malted Milk Chocolate Custard
 Disclaimer: We sort of dug in, realized we'd forgotten to take a picture, and then attempted
to reconstruct. It looked better than this at first presentation. Sorry about that. 

The custard came with fresh raspberries, almond florentine cookies, and whipped cream. Every part of this dessert was excellent. The custard had a rich, pudding-like flavor and consistency. We loved it.

The restaurant was only about half full, but service was fairly slow throughout the night.

Now, changing subjects, let's get back to the issues with convenience and comfort at Beatrice & Woodsley.  Let's talk about the bathrooms.

I hated their bathrooms. Some people may think they're fun and quirky and interesting. I didn't. I want privacy and practicality and ease of use in the ladies' room. I had none of these at Beatrice & Woodsley.

Using the bathroom at Beatrice & Woodsley involves one irritation after the next. First, you need to figure out how to get into the toilet areas (Just push the door. I know, it looks weird. There's only one toilet in there, so if you can't get in it's because the door is locked). Then, you need to face an entire restaurant of people staring at you as you try to wash your hands. Getting the water to flow involves pulling on these chain thingees, waiting forever for the water to flow down, attempting to wash your hands, realizing the soap is some powdery garbage, and then waiting forever for the water flow to stop when you're done.

This may be in a tie with Root Down for worst restroom situation, and Beatrice & Woodsley's problems are completely self-inflicted.

Overall, food was very good but not spectacular. The decor was beautiful, but only exciting enough to draw customers in for a single visit. I wish Beatrice & Woodsley were more focused on serving customers and less fixated on their fancy decorations.


Casual Dining

 (6 of 10)

Pros: Good food, impressive decor
Cons: Too many inconveniences in dining experience, slow service


Website:
http://beatriceandwoodsley.com

Root Down

My husband and I first visited Root Down in the Highlands for dinner several months ago, and we loved it. Last night, we went back for seconds. 

Root Down is located on a fairly quiet, mostly residential street in the Highlands. Like Lola or Duo down the street, it is trendy and urban and filled with nicely dressed people. The interior is basically simple and modern, but decorated with vintage photos that had no apparent ties to the restaurant itself.

Root Down's philosophy centers around the increasingly popular "field to fork" concept, using fresh, local ingredients whenever possible. I imagine that's not the easiest way to go in Denver, but their menu credits numerous local suppliers. They also manage to cater to a very wide spectrum of dietary needs. The menu contains meat and seafood options alongside vegetarian and vegan dishes. Nearly everything can be prepared gluten-free, and they offer a raw dinner menu once a month. My husband and I don't have much of an "omnivore's dilemma" apparently; we stuck with mostly meat dishes.

The menu at Root Down is geared toward small plates that can be shared among diners. Even the "main course" dishes come in smaller, tapas-sized portions. Our waitress was attentive and extremely familiar with the details of the menu, and she offered several recommendations. After some heated decision-making, we settled on the Carrot & Thai Red Curry Soup, the "Devils on Horseback", the Buffalo Sliders and the Beef Tender.

The soup arrived first, it was a surprisingly large portion with a bright yellow-orange color. And it was delicious. The soup contains a "pear and apple chutney" which was actually blended into the soup; the sweet flavor of the fruit perfectly contrasted the spiciness of the curry. The broth was rich and creamy, making the soup a very filling starter.

Carrot and Thai Red Curry Soup



Next up was the Devils on Horseback; from the menu: "Date & Goat Cheese stuffed Peppadews, wrapped in Serrano Ham, Smoked Paprika-Sherry Gastrique". The bite-size pieces were tiny but extremely rich and flavorful. The Peppadew peppers were both sweet and spicy, nicely balanced by richness of the ham and goat cheese.

Devils on Horseback

Also delicious - but not quite as memorable as the first two courses - were the Buffalo Sliders and the Beef Tender (the latter was a half order of an entree portion). The sliders were pleasantly juicy for buffalo meat and flavored by array of condiments that included aged cheddar, caramelized onions, tomato chutney, and pickles.

Buffalo Sliders

We finished  the meal with the Seasonal Fruit Crumble, the seasonal fruit in late-April being apple (really?). It wasn't obvious from the menu, but apparently this was a vegan dessert. It was light and only mildly sweet, containing a nutty topping as the "crumble". A scoop of lemon sorbet on top brought out the tartness of the apples. The dessert was satisfying but a little lacking in flavor.



Apple Crumble



Overall, an excellent meal, but maybe just a little too much food. Our bill came to $68 for all the dishes described above plus a beer for each of us.  

 

I do have one very loud complaint, however, before I wrap up. Root Down seats maybe 80 people at full capacity. Get this: there is only one women's restroom for the whole restaurant. I was floored when I discovered this. Prepare to wait in line, ladies. And wait, and wait, and wait. 

I'll be back in a heartbeat, but I hope they can get the "facilities" upgraded!

Casual Dining

(9 of 10)

Pros: Amazing food, fresh ingredients, unique preparations, great service

Cons: Extent of vegan/vegetarian options comes at expense of fewer meat and seafood dishes. Waiting forever for the bathroom.

Website:

http://www.rootdowndenver.com/