The DINR Deck, a nifty deal cooked up by the Denver Network of Independent Restaurants, is a playing card-style deck that costs $50 and contains 52 cards, each good for $10 off a food purchase of $25 or more. The impressive list of participating restaurants includes some real stars in Denver and environs. Purchase one for yourself and others for gifts and enjoy the savings for months to come. Also, $1 from each deck goes to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Buy online (but you do have to add sales tax and a disproportionate shipping charge or $3.64 per deck) or at the Tattered Cover. If you order online, the shipping charge is waived with four or more, so think about stuffing a lot of stockings with an incentive to dine out in some of the Denver area's top dining spots.
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Deal Yourself a Dining Deal
Dining Deck promotion saves dough and supports independent restaurants
The DINR Deck, a nifty deal cooked up by the Denver Network of Independent Restaurants, is a playing card-style deck that costs $50 and contains 52 cards, each good for $10 off a food purchase of $25 or more. The impressive list of participating restaurants includes some real stars in Denver and environs. Purchase one for yourself and others for gifts and enjoy the savings for months to come. Also, $1 from each deck goes to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Buy online (but you do have to add sales tax and a disproportionate shipping charge or $3.64 per deck) or at the Tattered Cover. If you order online, the shipping charge is waived with four or more, so think about stuffing a lot of stockings with an incentive to dine out in some of the Denver area's top dining spots.
The DINR Deck, a nifty deal cooked up by the Denver Network of Independent Restaurants, is a playing card-style deck that costs $50 and contains 52 cards, each good for $10 off a food purchase of $25 or more. The impressive list of participating restaurants includes some real stars in Denver and environs. Purchase one for yourself and others for gifts and enjoy the savings for months to come. Also, $1 from each deck goes to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Buy online (but you do have to add sales tax and a disproportionate shipping charge or $3.64 per deck) or at the Tattered Cover. If you order online, the shipping charge is waived with four or more, so think about stuffing a lot of stockings with an incentive to dine out in some of the Denver area's top dining spots.Denver Restaurant Weeks in 2010
Two weeks, two multi-course dinners for $52.80
Denver Restaurant Week 2010 is doubling from one week to two, stretching from February 20 through March 5 to become Denver Retaurant Weeks. Even if you eat out every single night, that's still only enough time to sample a small fraction of the participating restaurants. There were 225 last year, and 100 have already signed up for 2010. Participating restaurants typically offer a multi-course, fixed-priced meal for $52.80 for two, referencing Denver’s 5,280-foot elevation, or $26.40 for one. Last year, with a record 298,200 meals served, about 75 percent of the restaurants extended their Restaurant Week specials beyond the scheduled week of February 21-27, so this year, the second week becomes official.
Denver Restaurant Week 2010 is doubling from one week to two, stretching from February 20 through March 5 to become Denver Retaurant Weeks. Even if you eat out every single night, that's still only enough time to sample a small fraction of the participating restaurants. There were 225 last year, and 100 have already signed up for 2010. Participating restaurants typically offer a multi-course, fixed-priced meal for $52.80 for two, referencing Denver’s 5,280-foot elevation, or $26.40 for one. Last year, with a record 298,200 meals served, about 75 percent of the restaurants extended their Restaurant Week specials beyond the scheduled week of February 21-27, so this year, the second week becomes official.
Early December News Notes
Openings and Endings
The restaurant rapidly taking shape in the location vacated by Boulder's Seven on Pearl now has a name, Circle, and an identity.The food will be primarily American and the prices moderate (mostly under $20), plus a full bar. Steve Abo, whose Abo's Pizza has 17 locations on the Front Range, is branching out with this new enterprise...Meanwhile, just down the street, the Heidi's Brooklyn Deli franchise in Boulder closed quietly at the end of November, but all or most of the 20-odd other locations in Colorado are still open....Elsewhere in downtown Boulder, the b.Side Lounge, a bar, restaurant and 150-seat entertainment venue, is closing after its December 31 New Year's party. Farewell...One of Boulder's most delightful restaurant venues, the long-vacant creekside space at 1724 Broadway (between Arapahoe and Canyon), is slated to re-open as a still-unnamed Australian pub. I hope it's operating by summer, because the site's patio is one of the best in town...Score one for local pizza-holics with the recent opening of a new style of Udi's, a pizza/bar/cafe in Olde Town Arvada. It's a partnership between Udi's bread founder Udi Bar-on and partner/head baker Maurizio Negrini, a third-generation artisan baker from Italy. It's open from 7:30 in the morning till late o'clock in the evening. The specialty is a wet pizza Bianca-style dough that requires a 48 hour fermentation window. Udi's artisanal breads has grown into Udi's Foods, including includes a sandwich catering business, an artisan bread bakery, a pastry shop, five casual restaurants, Udi’s Natural Artisan Granola and the new Udi’s Gluten Free line of baked goods...If Circle is opening fast, the very-long-anticipated Denver gourmet pizzeria called Kaos has finally opened. I think the original place was spring of 2008! Kaos also crafts wood-fired artisanal pies in standard and unusual flavors, plus salads, pasta and panini, and like Boulder's forthcoming Australian pub, it has a great patio.1439 South Pearl Street, Denver; 303-733-5267...Also open and serving pizza, -- East Coast-style, hooray! -- is Ernie's. Actually, I should see it's reopening, because the original Ernie's debuted in 1943. The reborn pizza-plus Ernie's Bar and Pizza at 2915 West 44th Avenue (at Federal) has an extensive, informal menu and also serves 30 beers on tap and 32 beers by the bottle. The phone number is 303-955-5580..Meanwhile, Gelazzi has closed its1411 Larimer Square location, but a sign in the door says that are still open down south at University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway and up north in Old Town Fort Collins. The sign also promises a new location. Let's hope...Elsewhere, ZG Grill at the base of Aspen Highland has closed....For more such eatery news, go to Westword's November list of "Open and Shut Cases."
Boulder Booze News
Evan Faber, formerly head of the wine program at the nearby St. Julien Hotel (incl;uding Jill's Restaurant and the swank T-Zero lounge), has joined SALT as beverage director. Happily, SALT has extended its happy hour until 6:00 p.m. It originally ended at 5:00. I wondered what that was all about! SALT is at 1047 Pearl Street, Boulder; 303-444-7258....Two local bartenders have co-founded the new Colorado Bartenders Guild, the first statewide chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. Bryan Dayton of Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine and Mike Henderson of TAG in Denver have launched the Colorado branch, including a three-tier master accreditation program...And if you want to learn to mix your own the way the pros do, check out the monthly classes at the Happy Noodle House's Bitter Bar: December 5, Perfect Holiday Party Cocktails; January 16, El Amor Cocktails; February 20, Classic Cocktails; and March 13, Brunch Cocktails. Mixologists James Lee and Mark Stoddard conduct the classes, which are from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and cost $25 per person for two cocktails, three recipes and a gift from the bartenders. Reservations at 303-442-3050. The address is 835 Walnut Street, Boulder, but for these classes, use the back door.
Denver's First Gastro-Cart
If you cross-breed gastropubs, a current culinrary rage, with food carts, of which Boulder has quite a number on Pearl Street and downtown Denver has relatively fewer, you come up the Gastro Cart, which rolled out early last month to a location just off the 16th Street Mall on the corner of 18th and Curtis streets. Bryan Hume and Mike Winston, both formerly at Table 6, prepare high-toned street food. Click here for a rundown of some of their dishes from Westword's Kate Kennedy.
Salute to Escoffier at The Broadmoor
The eighth Annual “Salute to Escoffier” Weekend, January 29-31, launches with a “Taste of The Broadmoor” welcome reception Friday night. Saturday is filled with cooking demonstrations by The Broadmoor's award-winning restaurant chefs, a wine luncheon with the dishes guests saw demonstrated and an interactive cocktail class from the dynamic beverage team at Summit restaurant and finally the dazzling Grand Buffet. This gourmet spectacle features a progressive dinner of five separate courses with more than a hundred varied offerings. To truly honor Escoffier, fine wines and champagnes to complement the courses. Broadmoor entertainers Ken Miller and Lila Mori perform, and there's a live auction too. This event, the only one of its kind in America, benefits the Education Fund of the Colorado Restaurant Association and The Broadmoor’s Culinary Apprenticeship Program and Scholarship Fund.
Reservations are now available starting at $449 per person for two nights' lodging and all Salute to Escoffier activities.
Aspen Food & Wine Classic Tickets On Sale
Tickets are on sale now for the 28th annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, June 18-20, 2010. The big kahuna of Colorado food events attracts a who's-who of the culinary community. The star-chef line-up includes veterans Mario Batali, David Chang, Giada De Laurentiis, Thomas Keller and Jacques Pépin along with first-timers Art Smith and Tim Love. It is three days filled with demonstrations by celebrity chefs, seminars with renowned wine experts and the TV-style head-to-head chefs competitions. Then there's the Grand Tasting Pavilion, where attendees can taste scores of wines and talk to winemakers and vintners from around the globe. Tickets are $1,085 before March 15, 2010 and $1,185 thereafter. Keep in mind that this past June, for the first time, the organizers sold $250 tickets for only the Grand Tasting, and it is possible that this might be an option again. The magazine is donating 2 percent of the proceeds from every Classic ticket sold to Grow for Good, its initiative for supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture. Register online or by calling 877-900-WINE. Use your American Express card and get $35 off.
Junk Junked
I can't say that I'm sorry to learn from EatAspen that developer Scott DeGraff's Las Vegas-style razzle-dazzle of Junk (an unfortunate name for something that was conceived of as a gourmet self-service restauant) and Liquid Sky (a club with the wrong name and the wrong concept) have tanked at Snowmass, and that Junk at the Red Onion in the heart of downtown Aspen won't happen. I still mourn the loss of the iconic Red Onion, which was established in 1892 and closed for good after the 2005-06 ski season. DeGraff started gutting it about two years ago. His legacy to Aspen is one big mess, and this isn't the place to discuss the financial and legal problems that Snowmass Base Village developer Pacific WestPac is in. Its parent company boasts about its award-winning projects elsewhere, but for some reason, does not see fit to put its headquarters address on its website. Let's just hope for better times for the old Red Onion and for Snowmass.
The restaurant rapidly taking shape in the location vacated by Boulder's Seven on Pearl now has a name, Circle, and an identity.The food will be primarily American and the prices moderate (mostly under $20), plus a full bar. Steve Abo, whose Abo's Pizza has 17 locations on the Front Range, is branching out with this new enterprise...Meanwhile, just down the street, the Heidi's Brooklyn Deli franchise in Boulder closed quietly at the end of November, but all or most of the 20-odd other locations in Colorado are still open....Elsewhere in downtown Boulder, the b.Side Lounge, a bar, restaurant and 150-seat entertainment venue, is closing after its December 31 New Year's party. Farewell...One of Boulder's most delightful restaurant venues, the long-vacant creekside space at 1724 Broadway (between Arapahoe and Canyon), is slated to re-open as a still-unnamed Australian pub. I hope it's operating by summer, because the site's patio is one of the best in town...Score one for local pizza-holics with the recent opening of a new style of Udi's, a pizza/bar/cafe in Olde Town Arvada. It's a partnership between Udi's bread founder Udi Bar-on and partner/head baker Maurizio Negrini, a third-generation artisan baker from Italy. It's open from 7:30 in the morning till late o'clock in the evening. The specialty is a wet pizza Bianca-style dough that requires a 48 hour fermentation window. Udi's artisanal breads has grown into Udi's Foods, including includes a sandwich catering business, an artisan bread bakery, a pastry shop, five casual restaurants, Udi’s Natural Artisan Granola and the new Udi’s Gluten Free line of baked goods...If Circle is opening fast, the very-long-anticipated Denver gourmet pizzeria called Kaos has finally opened. I think the original place was spring of 2008! Kaos also crafts wood-fired artisanal pies in standard and unusual flavors, plus salads, pasta and panini, and like Boulder's forthcoming Australian pub, it has a great patio.1439 South Pearl Street, Denver; 303-733-5267...Also open and serving pizza, -- East Coast-style, hooray! -- is Ernie's. Actually, I should see it's reopening, because the original Ernie's debuted in 1943. The reborn pizza-plus Ernie's Bar and Pizza at 2915 West 44th Avenue (at Federal) has an extensive, informal menu and also serves 30 beers on tap and 32 beers by the bottle. The phone number is 303-955-5580..Meanwhile, Gelazzi has closed its1411 Larimer Square location, but a sign in the door says that are still open down south at University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway and up north in Old Town Fort Collins. The sign also promises a new location. Let's hope...Elsewhere, ZG Grill at the base of Aspen Highland has closed....For more such eatery news, go to Westword's November list of "Open and Shut Cases."
Boulder Booze News
Evan Faber, formerly head of the wine program at the nearby St. Julien Hotel (incl;uding Jill's Restaurant and the swank T-Zero lounge), has joined SALT as beverage director. Happily, SALT has extended its happy hour until 6:00 p.m. It originally ended at 5:00. I wondered what that was all about! SALT is at 1047 Pearl Street, Boulder; 303-444-7258....Two local bartenders have co-founded the new Colorado Bartenders Guild, the first statewide chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. Bryan Dayton of Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine and Mike Henderson of TAG in Denver have launched the Colorado branch, including a three-tier master accreditation program...And if you want to learn to mix your own the way the pros do, check out the monthly classes at the Happy Noodle House's Bitter Bar: December 5, Perfect Holiday Party Cocktails; January 16, El Amor Cocktails; February 20, Classic Cocktails; and March 13, Brunch Cocktails. Mixologists James Lee and Mark Stoddard conduct the classes, which are from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and cost $25 per person for two cocktails, three recipes and a gift from the bartenders. Reservations at 303-442-3050. The address is 835 Walnut Street, Boulder, but for these classes, use the back door.
Denver's First Gastro-Cart
If you cross-breed gastropubs, a current culinrary rage, with food carts, of which Boulder has quite a number on Pearl Street and downtown Denver has relatively fewer, you come up the Gastro Cart, which rolled out early last month to a location just off the 16th Street Mall on the corner of 18th and Curtis streets. Bryan Hume and Mike Winston, both formerly at Table 6, prepare high-toned street food. Click here for a rundown of some of their dishes from Westword's Kate Kennedy.
Salute to Escoffier at The Broadmoor
The eighth Annual “Salute to Escoffier” Weekend, January 29-31, launches with a “Taste of The Broadmoor” welcome reception Friday night. Saturday is filled with cooking demonstrations by The Broadmoor's award-winning restaurant chefs, a wine luncheon with the dishes guests saw demonstrated and an interactive cocktail class from the dynamic beverage team at Summit restaurant and finally the dazzling Grand Buffet. This gourmet spectacle features a progressive dinner of five separate courses with more than a hundred varied offerings. To truly honor Escoffier, fine wines and champagnes to complement the courses. Broadmoor entertainers Ken Miller and Lila Mori perform, and there's a live auction too. This event, the only one of its kind in America, benefits the Education Fund of the Colorado Restaurant Association and The Broadmoor’s Culinary Apprenticeship Program and Scholarship Fund.
Reservations are now available starting at $449 per person for two nights' lodging and all Salute to Escoffier activities.
Aspen Food & Wine Classic Tickets On Sale
Tickets are on sale now for the 28th annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, June 18-20, 2010. The big kahuna of Colorado food events attracts a who's-who of the culinary community. The star-chef line-up includes veterans Mario Batali, David Chang, Giada De Laurentiis, Thomas Keller and Jacques Pépin along with first-timers Art Smith and Tim Love. It is three days filled with demonstrations by celebrity chefs, seminars with renowned wine experts and the TV-style head-to-head chefs competitions. Then there's the Grand Tasting Pavilion, where attendees can taste scores of wines and talk to winemakers and vintners from around the globe. Tickets are $1,085 before March 15, 2010 and $1,185 thereafter. Keep in mind that this past June, for the first time, the organizers sold $250 tickets for only the Grand Tasting, and it is possible that this might be an option again. The magazine is donating 2 percent of the proceeds from every Classic ticket sold to Grow for Good, its initiative for supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture. Register online or by calling 877-900-WINE. Use your American Express card and get $35 off.
Junk Junked
I can't say that I'm sorry to learn from EatAspen that developer Scott DeGraff's Las Vegas-style razzle-dazzle of Junk (an unfortunate name for something that was conceived of as a gourmet self-service restauant) and Liquid Sky (a club with the wrong name and the wrong concept) have tanked at Snowmass, and that Junk at the Red Onion in the heart of downtown Aspen won't happen. I still mourn the loss of the iconic Red Onion, which was established in 1892 and closed for good after the 2005-06 ski season. DeGraff started gutting it about two years ago. His legacy to Aspen is one big mess, and this isn't the place to discuss the financial and legal problems that Snowmass Base Village developer Pacific WestPac is in. Its parent company boasts about its award-winning projects elsewhere, but for some reason, does not see fit to put its headquarters address on its website. Let's just hope for better times for the old Red Onion and for Snowmass.
Local Restaurants in Media Spotlight
It's not yet "best of" issue time, but Denver and Boulder restaurants were spotlighted and praised in print, both local and (inter)national.
5280's Best New Restaurants List
The December 2009 issue of 5280 Magazine features words and photos in a cover story by Amanda Faison called "Denver's Best New Restaurants." Her top ten:
• Colt & Gray, Denver
• Salt, Boulder
• Hutch & Spoon, Denver
• Vert Kitchen, Denver
• The Squeaky Bean, Denver
• Arugula Bar e Ristorante, Boulder
• Venue Bistro, Denver
• TAG Restaurant, Denver
• Bones, Denver
Of these, I've only been to three: Arugula, Colt & Gray and Salt. I guess I've got to get out more!
Wall Street Journal Columnist Visits Boulder
A lifetime ago in New York, my path occasionally crossed that of Raymond Sokolov, who was then the New York Times food editor. The Saucier's Apprentice, his exhaustive cookbook about French sauces, is still my go-to source for detailed information and occasional recipes for this culinary category. Ray Sokolov now covers restaurants for the Wall Street Journal, I have lived in Boulder for more than 21 years, and he was here recently, sampling some of the best restaurants in town. Had I but known, we could have traded catch-up gossip over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
He documented his restaurant experiences in a piece called "Rocky Mountain Haute Cuisine" that ran last week in the Journal. In his introduction, he wrote, "This used to be the hippiest, dippiest town around. The home of a Buddhist university, a public university and Red Zinger tea, over a mile high in the Rockies and also just plain high, Boulder embraced New Age culture like few other places. But a new aroma now fills the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall, and it comes from truffles and saffron, not cannabis. A gourmet revolution has edged out the cultural revolution."
I guess he must have missed the dozen or more medical marijuana dispenseries that have sprung up recently around town, but he didn't miss visiting a number of Boulder's best restaurants. He wrote about the iconic Flagstaff House which is as venerable as Salt is new, and also about Black Cat, Frasca Food and Wine and The Kitchen, bastions of excellent contemporary American and international food plus environmental consciousness in the heart of Boulder. He lauded them all.
More Eating Than Blogging This Week
This might seem more like a Facebook entry than a blog post, but I want to show a sign of life here. In the last week, I've cooked a few meals, enjoed happy hour at Brasserie Ten Ten with media colleagues, attended the champagne reception celebrating the opening of the gleaming new Sheraton Denver Downtown, attended a preview of part of the winter menu of Beaver Creek's Restaurant 8100 in the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, been a judge at the chefs competition at the Beaujolais and Beyond festival and enjoyed two First Bite Boulder dinners, one at Arugula Bar e Ristorante and one at Trattoria on Pearl. I know you're feeling terribly sorry for me. Not! In any event, images are on the computer and I will try to catch up on posting. But not tonight. Be patient, please.
Most "Favorite" Hawaiian Restaurants Aren't Really Hawaiian
Hawaii.com, which is owned by Gannett (USA Today and others), asked its million-plus members to vote for their favorite restaurants in the Hawaiian Islands. I'm not sure what constitutes a "member" of hawaii.com -- a site visitor perhaps. The poll is obviously skewed to favor Honolulu, specifically Waikiki, which has the most visitors, the most hotels and the most concentrated tourist-oriented dining options. Beyond that, the leader of every single category is part of a chain, usually with more locations off the Hawaiian Islands than on. Also note that not one of these chains is even headquartered in Hawaii. This makes me incredibly sad, because Hawaii has such rich and varied food offerings and unique local restaurants. I have to wonder: Is this an indictment of Hawaii or a function of the "members" of hawaii.com? With that caveat, below is the list:
- Favorite Steakhouse in Honolulu - Ruth's Chris Steak House Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu; 808-440-7910. One of 100 locations around the world and one of five in the Hawaiian Islands, two on Oahu. It is headquartered in Florida.
- Favorite Hamburger in Honolulu - Cheeseburger in Paradise, 2500 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu; 808-923-3731. One of eight locations in Hawaii. Others are such mainland sites as Reno, Las Vegas, Key West and assorted locations in the Midwest and Northeast. It is headquartered in Illinois.
- Favorite Breakfast Spot in Waikiki - Duke's at the Outrigger Waikiki, 2335 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu; 808-922-2268. Named after Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, a renowned surfer who competed in the Olympics for 20 years and also appeared in over 28 Hollywood movies, this is one of half a dozen Duke's. It is part of the TS Restaurant Group that also owns and/or operates Hula Grills, Cliffhouse, Jake's Del Mar, Keoki's Paradise, Kimo's, Lelani's and Sunnyside Lodge. It is headquartered in California.
- Favorite Restaurant with a View on Oahu - Duke's at the Outrigger Waikiki, see above.
- Favorite Maui Restaurant with a View - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., 889 Front St., Lahaina; 808-661-3111.California-based chain with 22 restaruarants in the US (including two in Colorado and one in the Mall of America in Minnesota), two in Mexico, two in Japan, two in the Philippines, one on Bali and one in Singapore. The chain is headquarted in California.
- Favorite Maui Restaurant - Cheesburger in Paradise, 811 Front Street, Lahaina; 808-661-4855. See above.
- Favorite Kauai Restaurant - Duke's Canoe Club at the Kauai Marriott, 3610 Rice St., Lihue; 808-246-9599. See above.
- Favorite Big Island Restaurant - Roy's Waikoloa Bar & Grill, 250 Waikoloa Beach Dr., Waikoloa; 808- 886-4321. First introduced in Honolulu by James Beard award winner Chef Roy Yamaguchi, two dozen of Roy's Hawaiian fusion are on the mainland. The chain is headquartered in California.
Bourdain to Denver. Hickenlooper to Introduce. Sparks to Fly?
Celeb chef/author/television Anthyony Bourdain comes of Denver on Wednseday
I feel as if I know Anthony Bourdain. I've read several of his books (Kitchen Confidential, A Cook's Tour and No Reservations) and I've traveled around the world vicariously with him on his Travel Channel series, "No Reservations." He's opinionated, snarky and yet has become increasingly empathetic about the lives and tribulations of people he has encountered. Along the way, he once visited Denver to promote A Cook's Tour and much to the irritation of local patriots and foodies, dismissed the Mile High City's food scene.
He's coming back for a one-night stand at the Buell Theater on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m. As a preliminary welcome, Westword ran a contest subtitled "Make Anthony Bourdain Eat His Words." Readers were invited to suggest three local restaurants that would make him change his snooty New York mind. The entries make for hilarious reading.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, quick-thinking and comfortable on stage, will introduce Bourdain. Hickenlooper is a former restaurateur; Bourdain is a former chef. The repartee should be interesting, but I'm betting that both of these smart, eloquent men will spar for a mo', revert to gracious collegialty. Tickets $35-$65 are still available on line from TicketMaster or by calling 866-461-6556
He's coming back for a one-night stand at the Buell Theater on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m. As a preliminary welcome, Westword ran a contest subtitled "Make Anthony Bourdain Eat His Words." Readers were invited to suggest three local restaurants that would make him change his snooty New York mind. The entries make for hilarious reading.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, quick-thinking and comfortable on stage, will introduce Bourdain. Hickenlooper is a former restaurateur; Bourdain is a former chef. The repartee should be interesting, but I'm betting that both of these smart, eloquent men will spar for a mo', revert to gracious collegialty. Tickets $35-$65 are still available on line from TicketMaster or by calling 866-461-6556
Restaurant Chefs Shortcut Thanksgiving Preparations
As a young recent college grad with my own apartment, Thanksgiving was the first big holiday meal that I took off my mother's hands. My recipes were basic, and my pride at pulling it off palable. I've made a lot of turkeys since then. The images below show my 2008 turkey, a 24-pound heavyweight from Wisdom's Natural Poultry ready to be trussed and then ready to be carved. Over the years, I have developed these traditions:
- Always appetizers in the living room.
- Always a sitdown dinner, never a buffet, and always with fine china, sterling flatware and fine glassware.
- Always soup.
- Always a naturally raised turkey.
- Always stuffing -- but always a different stuffing.
- Always a green vegetable -- except this year when I might do a root vegetable medley or some sort.
- Always two kinds of fresh cranberries -- one from the Ocean Spray package and one other.
- Always a sweet potato dish (our friend Laura usually brings that) and mashed potatoes with gravy.
- Always desserts (pies and other wonders made by our friend Vivian).
- Always people we care about around the table -- the more the merrier (our record was 20, and we don't have a huge dining room; we moved out a lot of furniture, so the room was "all table"). And that the most important "always" of them all.
- Second Home, Denver - Thanksgiving Take Out, an a la carte selection of rotisserie turkey breast ($35) and also mashed potatoes, pan gravy, traditional stuffing, Parker House rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, dozen deviled eggs, pumpkin pie and rustic apple pie ($15 each). Each dish is enough for about five people. Order by 12:00 noon, Monday, November 23 and pick up on Thanksgiving morning. Also, if you are cooking at home but find yourself short of something (because of extra guests, perhaps?), you can declare a "turkey emergency" and put in a last-minute order. 303-253-3000.
- Tony's Market, Denver and southern suburbs - While not a restaurant, the chefs at Tony's four markets and their affiliated catering company put out classic Thanksgiving dinners with three turkey choices: oven-roasted turkey serving 8+ ($159.99), a Cajun fried turkey also for 8+ for ($179.99) or turkey breast for 4 ($97.99) Included sides are turkey gravy, brandied cranberries, sage stuffing with sautéed celery and onions, Chantilly whipped potatoes, praline sweet potatoes, roasted baby winter vegetables with garlic butter and pull-apart rolls. For dessert, pumpkin or pecan pie with whipped cream. Order in person or online by Monday, November. 23, and pick up Tuesday after 2:00 p.m. or all day Wednesday at the store where you ordered.
- Flagstaff House, Boulder - Chef Mark Monette's acclaimed Thanksgiving dinner with all-natural turkey and seven chef-prepared accompanying dishes, sauces, trimmings and desserts plus the Flagstaff House’s after-dinner coffee and tea is $178 for six people. See menu details here, and order (online if you wish) by Friday, November 20. Pick up Monday through Wednesday after 1:00 p.m. 303-442-4640.
- Restaurant 4580, Boulder - Entire "Take and Heat" Thanksgiving dinner ($20 per person) or just part of it (call for pricing) They'll prepare; you pick up on Thanksgiving morning. 303-448-1500.
- Trattoria on Pearl, Boulder - Complete dinners for 6 people with turkey and all the trimmings for $100. They'll even deliver the meal to your door on November 25. Reserve by Monday, November 23. Call 303-544-0008.
- Rick and Kelley's American Bistro, Edwards - Thanksgiving feast to go to serve 8-10 people for $80 including side dishes, just the turkey for $45. 970-926-3423.
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