Category Archives: Cocktails

Testing Zengo’s ‘Test Kitchen’

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Latin-Asian fusion restaurant blends two cuisines at a time for special menu

Zengo-logoZengo, which means “give and take” in Japanese takes aspects of Latin culinary traditions and gives them to Asian cuisines and vice versa. This broad cross-fertilization has been further refined by chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval and chef de cuisine Clint Wangsnes who developed new dishes melding flavors, and preparation techniques to create new combinations — I should write, interesting new combinations. Several of these dishes are featured as Test Kitchen specials, designated as TK on the menu.

The first TK dishes offered from October through early January combined Korean and Mexican. The current menu, which is available for three months, combines Filipino and Argentine elements, and the result were unusual and delicious dishes. The large restaurant is cleverly divided into smaller spaces via different ceiling heights, partial room dividers and great colors.  I didn’t get a chance to sample the first combo, but my husband and I were invited to try the current menu. From our window table, we could have watched the passing foot traffic, but we were more focused on the food set before us.

Cocktails

  • Guava Mate. Broker’s gin, guava, yerba mate and lime. The guava flavor dominated. Yerba mate is a beverage made from a rainforest tree that grows in South America, including Argentina.
  • Calamansi-Papaya Punch. The citrus-forward cocktail is made with Castillo rum, Midori that makes it green, a citrus hybrid called calamansi and papaya.

Ceviche

  • Mahi Mahi Ceviche. Small bites of mahi mahi  and charred pineapple in cured in coconut milk, along with bonito flakes and red onion on top.

Antojitos

  • Filipino Lumpia Spring Rolls. Crisp-fried, open-ended spring rolls filled with minced, cumin-spiked shrimp and chicken, with a pile of julienned carrots and red cabbage and watercress leaves. The dipping sauce is somewhat reminiscent of Chinese duck sauce.
  • Oxtail Humitas. From Argentina, a single tamal — a corn husk overstuffed with masa, topped with boneless chunks of oxtail and served with a peanut sauce that reminded me of the Thai sauce the comes with satay and tamarind cocnut milk.

Main Dishes

  • Bacolod Filipino BBQ Chicken. Moist and tender skin-on chicken breast with a wing section attached. Chicken was marinated in a lemongrass-chile mixture then grilled as served with coconut ride, pickled papaya strips and a wonderful red chimichurri.
  • Tagalog-Style Churrasco Steak. Churrasco isn’t a cut of meat but refers to grilling. Here, thick, boneless steak was steeped in a calamansi citrus-soy marinade, served with sweet potato tostones (dense twice-fried sweet potatoes),  lemongrass mojo and green herb chimichurri.

 Dessert? No thanks, we’re full.

The pictures that follow are the first taken with a new smart phone — and some are too dark to inflict on you. We dined lavishly on items from the Test Kitchen menu, but I’m only including images that are not too painful to look at.

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Lucky Rum Recipe

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Colt & Gray mixologist develops 12/12/12 cocktail

Ron Abuelo Rums asked 12 mixologists throughout the U.S. to create signature cocktail as a toast to the 2012 holiday season — especially to commemorate the 12/12/12 date, the lucky likes of which won’t happen again for a long time. Kevin Burke of Colt & Gray is one of thechosen dozen to mix a special cocktrail for one of the luckiest days of the year. Kevin created “Catherine’s Cup,” t0 be featured on 12/12/12 and throughout the holiday season. He used Ron Abuelo 12 Años, a fine dark aged rum from Panama, and took further inspiration from the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Frankly, I have no idea where the name Catherine’s Cup came from, but here’s what it is:

Catherine’s Cup
Created by mixologist Kevin Burke of Colt & Gray (Denver)

2 oz. Ron Abuelo 12 Años
1/2 oz. Orgeat Syrup
1/4 oz. orange liqueur
1 dash Angostura Bitters
sprig of fresh mint
1 whole coffee bean

Add the Ron Abuelo 12 Años, syrup, orange liqueur and bitters to the base of a julep tin.  Stir briefly to combine, then fill with crushed ice.  Using a bar spoon begin to churn the mixture thoroughly chilling and diluting the cocktail. Add more crushed ice to top over the tin and briefly place the cocktail in the freezer to set the ice and frost the glass. Garnish with a generous mint sprig and a fine grating of a coffee bean and serve with a straw.

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Election Day Cake & Election Night Cocktails

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Cake is traditional, but now, also celebrate the end of the Election season with a drink

Food historians tell us that an Election Cake recipe first appeared in print in Amelia Simmons’ 1796 American Cookery cookbook. In the 1800s, the cake was served at election time (at least in New England) and was commonly called Hartford Election Cake. From Nourished Kitchen, a site devoted to “reviving traditional foods,” comes this:

“Like a bite from American history, [Election Cake] makes its rounds every November. I make it every year, but only once a year – just before the election. Preparing Election Cake is a celebration of love, of patriotism, of politics and of history….In early America, the electoral process brought communities together in festivity and revelry. Families traveled from the far reaches of their region to town centers where they enjoyed a holiday – visiting neighbors homes, dancing at balls, drinking, carousing and mustering for the local militia. Indeed, for a time before America revolted and became a nation in her own right, these celebratory spiced cakes that we know (or used to know) as election cakes were called muster cakes.

“After the revolution, mustering for the occupying forces no longer proved a necessity, but festivities still surrounded the electoral process and these spiced and fruit-studded cakes were renamed for the annual elections. Election cakes commissioned by local government could often command several hundred dollars by today’s standards, as they were massive – intended to feed an entire community of voters.”

Election Cake is sort of a light, aromatic fruitcake, a version of which I made once long ago in the cantankerous oven of my New York apartment when I would invite friends over to watch the returns. Sustenance was required for the long haul of ballot counting across four time zones. I haven’t hosted an election party in years, and the renaissance of the cocktail seems to lead to going out somewhere for a drink, whether to  celebrate our candidate’s victory or mourn his defeat — or more likely out of relief at the end of “…and I approved this message” season.

The mixologists at the Tap Room at the Omni Interlocken Resort & Spa in Broomfield have devised several enticing and beautiful cocktails to mark the end of this divisive and ugly campaign season:

Mudslinging Mudslinger from the Omni Interlocken’s Tap Room.

  • Swing State. A non-partisan Cosmo with Belvedere vodka, Grand Marnier, white cranberry juice and lime.
  • Mudslinging Mudslide. A creamy  combination of Belvedere vodka, Baileys and Kahlua served with a shot of  espresso.
  • Red Rush. A martini  mixed with Belvedere vodka, pomegranate and grapefruit juices and a “conservative” splash of Grand Marnier.
  • Blue Crush. Blueberry lemonade refresher made for the adult voter with a “liberal” pour of  Belvedere vodka, a splash of lavender and soda.
  • The Thin Margin. A skinny cocktail made with Belvedere Lemon Tea vodka, fresh mint and a splash of  soda (less than 200 calories).
  • Hail To The Chief! Sparkling champagne cocktail made with Chandon Brut, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, and a dash of Belvedere vodka. 

Which would you choose? I like the sentiment behind the “non-partisan” Swing State, but I’m afraid the Mudslinging Mudslide is a more accurate acknowledgment of POTUS 2012. Meanwhile, if The Tap Room had a suggestion box, I would urge them to get the hotel’s bakers to begin perfecting an Election Cake at this elevation so that four years from now, they might actually give a slice to each election day guest. They might start with Nourished Kitchen’s recipe.

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Like Mother Like Son On Tequila ExpressTrain

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Extra-special Herradura tequila available in Colorado + distillery visits

I rode the Tequila Express from Guadalajara into the Jalisco hill country around the town of Amatitán, where blue agave is cultivated. My trip was part of the Society of American Travel Writers 2009 Convention. My son Andrew is there now and the Tequila Express is on the itinerary. He is a sales rep for a wine and spirits distributor, which is sending him as a performance reward — in his case for, among other things,  selling a case of a premium Herradura tequila such as double barrel añejo, and along with his customer (Durango’s El Rancho Tavern, I think), having a say in the way it’s made. It sounds as if his distillery visit following the train ride will be more VIP than ours. I can hardly wait to

I believe that Boulder’s West End Tavern previously purchased a barrel not long ago. When my husband, our friend Dave and I went there for a bite to eat on a recent Sunday afternoon, we didn’t spring for a super-pricey premium adult beverage, but the West End’s beer is cold and the margs tasty, and that’s what we were after as we waited for our meals. Continue reading →

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Jenna Johansen Goes Global in Denver

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Colorado chef on “Around the World in 80 Plates,” new reality TV show

Jenna Johansen, until last fall partner/chef of delightful, delicious Dish in Edwards, is the latest Colorado chef to become a reality TV personality. She appears on Bravo’s “Around the World in 80 Plates,” which premiered on Wednesday evening. On Thursday (that’s yesterday evening), she was at Studio F, James Mazzio’s terrific new Denver Mecca for special food and wine events, preparing a five-course “Celebration of Global Cuisine” dinner that was inspired by countries she visited for the show.

Jenna Johansen & James Mazzio

It plays again this evening and and Saturday, and if you can afford $100 per person for a some great food, well-paired with cocktails and wines, and a congenial evening. Guests are seated at long tables, which lend themselves both to dining with a partner or friend, or solo, since people getting to chatting very quickly.

To start, gentle sangria made with Boraosa grenache rosé, San Pellegrino Limonata, fresh fruit and fresh mint. This and other cocktails were the handiwork of Brian Melton, beverage manager at Leigh Sullivan Enterprises.

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Sweet Stuff in Downtown Denver

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New dessert bar & cocktail lounge fills a downtown Denver void

The team behind Organic Pizza Company are opening Crave Dessert Bar & Lounge on Monday. I jumped at the chance to preview it on Thursday evening. If you are in Colorado, you know that the snow fell hard and heavy on Thursday evening and traffic moved slowly. I took the bus from Boulder, and door-to-door travel, which under the best of circumstances is about an hour, took nearly tw0-and-a-half. I finally walked in the door just as the introductory speeches were winding down. I know that Allen Millham and and Darrell Naughton, who founded the pizzeria (which has its a location right next door), are also partners in the caloric crime called Crave, but there are a lot of other intros I missed — including the gifted pastry chef. I was there in plenty of time to try several cocktails.

If cared for rye whiskey, I would have loved this gorgeous Chocolate Kisses cocktail, made with Old Overholt rye, EVOO Chocolate Balsamic and raspberries. Even though I don't care for that kind of spirit, it liked this coctail -- but not nearly as much as Apples to Apples (Tanqueray gin, muddled apple, apple cider & Cocchi Vermouth di Torino) and the indulgent Dessert in a Glass (Absolut Vanilla, white chocolate-cinnamon suryp, espresso and a crown of cinnamon-infused whipped cream).

Crave was designed to be a sophisticated modern gathering place on the ground flour of The Spire, a sky-piercing downtown luxury apartment building a block from the Denver Performing Arts Complex and across the street from the Colorado Convention Center. I’m hoping that theater-goers and conventioneers quickly discover Crave, which plans to be seven days a week from early morning (try 6:30 a.m.) to well after the theater, it truly fills a downtown void. After one short preview visit, I’m already craving a couple of their pastries.

Thursday was a bizarre evening, bloggishly speaking. I was in such a hurry that I rushed out the door, right past my camera that was on the hall table where I couldn’t possibly forget it. Right! I walked through the near-blizzard to the bus stop, but the bus, which was late to begin with, then crawled much of the way from Boulder to Denver. Feeling and probably looking like Nanook of the North as I entered this swank place, I tried to be unobtrusive among well-dressed guests who actually heard the welcome speeches.  I arrived too late to hear them or even to learn who created those fabulous desserts. Still staying on the fringes of the crowd, I tasted and sipped and talked travel and food until it was time to trek to the bus station for the unpredictable ride home.

I started with a lovely glass of champagne, tasted three cocktails and sampled four desserts. Because I didn’t have a camera, I am relying on images professionally taken for Crave by Marc Piscotty. Problem is, what I ate and drank doesn’t match the images I have, and the images don’t match the menu. Examples? The Vanilla Dusted Donuts — donut holes, actually — are possibly the best I’ve ever eaten, with the Pomegranate Compote to dip them in being a nice extra. The 20-Layer Cake, an assemblage of architectural precision, reminds of a Viennese Doboschtorte — different flavors by improbably thin layers interspersed with luscious filling. The Pumpkin Cheesecake was interesting, but to my taste, a cheesecake filling texture and a mille-feuille texture aren’t the best combo. But that’s just me. In any case, I have images of none of the above, but I do have the cakes below, that I can’t visually match with the menu:

Simply beautiful cake -- like all that Crave offers. I didn't try it, and I can't find it on the menu, but it looks -- as the saying goes -- good enough to eat.

 

This is another tall, light and handsome cake that I didn't get to try, but isn't a beauty?

I only sampled a few of Crave’s offering, and I’m already craving another go at the donut holes and the 20-layer cake. We are theater-goers, so I hope to persuade my husband to stay for a bite to eat after a play….. Actually, he loves donuts, so I might be able to sell him just on the basis of those Vanilla Dusted Donuts for two. With its  charmed location, Crave plans for long hours. They intend to be open from early coffee and what I’m sure are sublime pastry choices, through a high tea-style mid-day meal through until late in the evening for decadent desserts, drinks and a selection of charcuterie and cheese plates for those who prefer savory to sweet. Since Denver tends to button down early, Crave will fill a vacant night niche. I just hope there are enough sweet-toothed night owls downtown to patronize it.

Price Check: In the evening, “Cravings” (desserts), $9 + Dessert for 2, $12; Chef’s Charcuterie Plates ($16-$20): Specialty Cocktail Menu, $7-$10; wine tasting flights, $10-$12.

Crave Dessert Bar & Lounge on Urbanspoon

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Spring44 Vodka & Gin Local Launch at SALT in Boulder

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Colorado-made all-natural spirits introduced to media and hospitality industry folks

The invitation to be among the first in Boulder to taste the new made-in-Colorado, all- natural vodka, honey vodka and gin under the Spring44 brand was irresistible. Part of the irresistibility was curiosity about in-state, sustainably produced artisanal  spirits. Part was because the local launch took place at SALT Bistro, whose food is great and mixology program creative — as I wrote about here when the restaurant introduced its DIY cocktail program that invites guests to concoct their own drinks. In New York, they launched at at Madison Square Garden and other high-profile venues that now escape me. In Colorado, where the brand born, the intro was lower key, at SALT, Denver’s Euclid Hall and perhaps some other venues that no one mentioned.

Spring44 premium spirits source their pure water at some 9,000 feet in what sounds like an inholding in the Roosevelt National Forest in Buckhorn Canyon, west of Fort Collins. In one order or another, they distill it and filter it several times through coconut fibers, letting natural flavors shine through. Spring44′s promotional materials and press kit arerather coy, so I am not sure whether the distillery is in Fort Collins, in Denver (where there is an office and/or mailing address) or elsewhere.

SALT beverage director Evan Faber consulting on a cocktail using a Spring44 product.

I had to leave before the intro event was over because I was on a travel panel that evening, so I only had one drink. My choice mango/honey vodka fizz (above right) was really tasty. Another guest's drink is on the left. I wish I could have stayed to taste the other two Spring44 items mixed with other flavors and made in other styles.

On the way out, I was able to snap a few images and nab a couple of the wonderful raw bar bites put out when the party moved up to the main floor from the basement where it started.

Oysters on ice.

Pretty skewered somethings. I took the picture but didn't want to spoil the preentation before anyone else had a chance to taste.

Smoked salmon-plus on left and shrimp-plus on the right. Again, I photographed -- and that was that.

And than, as I rued previously, I had to leave.

 

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