Even a small menu with just two or three choices for each of three courses takes some deliberation. Five of us ordered from the $26, three-course First Bite Boulder menu and one, a carnivore married to a vegetarian couldn't resist temptation and othered the venison entree from the regular menu. Each dish on the FBB menu came with a wine recommendation, and the $13 paired wine flight was an reasonable add-on.
Every dish was attractively presented, well balanced nicely flavored -- never overwhelming, but rather subtle and palate-pleasing. The only flaw was that the diced potatoes in both the chowder and the tenderloin curry were undercooked. Perhaps someone has noticed since Saturday remedied that.
First Bite Boulder Menu & More
Below, from the regular menu, White Bean/Roasted Fennel Hummus with triangles of excellent grilled flatbread. The smooth hummus was served in a cup lined with radicchio and topped with cucumber slices and herbs.The fennel was subtle.
The soupe du jour was a substantial bow of golden butternut squash/apple bisque, a fall classic in a soup bowl.
The salad combined fresh field greens, fennel, sliced beets, radishes, microgreens and toasted hazelnuts, here with the tarragon vinaigrette requested on the side. This salad from the FBB menu is on Sugarbeet's regular dinner menu too.
Clam chowder, the dreamy, creamy New England kind, was also on the FBB menu. The chowder was smooth and silky, without cornstarch or potato starch to bulk it up. Generous pieces or clam and applewood-smoked bacon gave the chowder robust and very complementary flavors.
From the regular menu came sliced Broken Arrow Ranch venison with lingonberry sauce, herb-roasted new potatoes and endive that had been halved and grilled.
From the FBB menu, slow-roasted pork shoulder smothered with tangy/sweet mustard fig compote, French green lentils and braised baby spinach.
Mild curry with beef tenderloin, Yukon Gold potatoes, al dente green beans, roasted pepper and tomatoes surrounded a large mound of herb-sprinkled jasmine rice.
This tall tower of layered lightly fried eggplant, arugula, fresh mozzarella and a chunky sauce listed on the menu as "tomato chutney" with squiggles of balsamic reduction was picture pretty to begin. It did slide apart a bit as it was placed on the table, which made it less photogenic but didn't affect the well-balanced contrast of flavors, colors and textures.
The Kenwood Yulupa Cuvée Brut Cocktail was paired on the menu with the pumpkin spice cake, but I requested it with my torte. It was really delicious and would serve as well as an apéritif. It was "cocktailized" with a sugar cube infused with a shot of Angostura bitters on the bottom of the glass
All three of the desserts below came from the FBB menu. The second tall dish of the evening was this triple-layered pumpkin spice cake with whipped mascarpone, pecans and caramel sauce.
A slim slice of one of the richest, chocolatiest tortes I have ever eaten -- so rich, in fact, that the hazelnuts seemed like the light part! Two slim dark chocolate rolls, fresh strawberry, whippe cream and the obligatory bit of fresh mint made for an appealing presentation.
A very generous portion of delicious crisp-crusted blueberry cobbler topped with an equally generous scoop of cinnamon gelato.
Price check: On the regular dinner menu, "Beginnings," $7-$12; "Greens," $6-$9; "Mains," $19-$30. This underscores, again, what an exceptional value the $26 First Bite Boulder menu is for diners wishing to sample a restaurant's style and experience its ambiance.
